The Paschal Chronicle records that in 624 the emperor Heraclius left Constantinople on the day of the Annunciation of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Written in Greek at Constantinople, c. 630.
Evidence ID
E07972
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Paschal Chronicle, s.a. 624
Τούτῳ τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ μηνὶ δύστρῳ, κατὰ Ῥωμαίους μαρτίῳ, ε' καὶ x' τοῦ μηνός, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελισμοῦ τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν τῆς θεοτόκου, ἐξῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀνατολικὰ μέρη ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἡράκιλειος [...]
'In this year in the month Dystrus, March according to the Romans, on the 25th of the month, on the day of the Annunciation of our Lady the Mother of God, the emperor Heraclius departed for the eastern regions ...'
Text: Dindorf 1832, 713-14.
Translation: Whitby and Whitby 1989, 166.
Festivals
Dating by saint’s festival
Non Liturgical ActivitySaint as patron - of a community
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMonarchs and their family
Source
The Chronicon Paschale (paschal or Easter chronicle) is a chronicle compiled at Constantinople in the first half of the 7th century. It covers events from the creation of the world up to the anonymous author's own time. The Chronicle probably concluded with the year 630 (see Whitby and Whitby 1989, xi), though the surviving text breaks off slightly earlier, in the entry for 628. The traditional name for the Chronicle originates from its introductory section, which discusses methods for calculating the date of Easter. The Chronicle survives thanks to a single manuscript, Vatican, Gr. 1941 (10th c.), on which all other surviving manuscripts depend. The only critical edition remains that of Ludwig Dindorf (1832).The chronicler uses multiple chronological systems to date events: Olympiads, consular years, indictions, and years from the Ascension, as well as using Roman, Greek, and sometimes Egyptian dates (see Whitby and Whitby 1989, x). Numerous literary sources are utilised for the period before the author's own time, including well-known historical sources such as Eusebius and John Malalas. We have not included entries for material in the Paschal Chronicle which simply reproduces material in earlier sources already entered in our database.
Discussion
Heraclius' departure from Constantinople on 25 March 624 was in order to launch his military campaign against the Persians in eastern Asia Minor. The choice of the Annunciation as the day of his departure would certainly have been deliberate. Heraclius celebrated Easter at Nicomedia before embarking on the campaign proper.Bibliography
Edition:Dindorf, L., Chronicon Paschale (Bonn, 1832).
Translation:
Whitby, M., and Whitby, M., Chronicon Paschale 284-628 AD (Translated Texts for Historians 7; Liverpool, 1989).
Record Created By
David Lambert
Date of Entry
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | ἡ θεοτόκος | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
David Lambert, Cult of Saints, E07972 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07972