Chronicle of Arbela: Difference between revisions

''The Chronicle of Arbela'' relates the history of [[Nestorian Christianity]] in [[Adiabene]], a "northern Mesopotamian province located between the two [[Zab River (disambiguation)|Zab river]]s"<!--intentional link to DAB page--> in what is modern Iraq. [[Erbil|Arbela]] was an "important junction point on major east-west and north-south caravan routes, and has been an occupied site since remote antiquity."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hansman|first1=J. F.|title=Arbela|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arbela-assyrian-arbailu-old|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|accessdateaccess-date=24 January 2018}}</ref>

Around the beginning of the third century, he was succeeded by Ebed Meshiha, who oversaw a peaceful thirty-five years.<ref>Chapter 7, ''Chronicle of Arbela,'' as translated in 1985 by Timothy Króll, as volume 468 of the ''Corpus Scriptorum Christanorum Orientalium'' series, a joint product of the Catholic University of America and Louvain Catholic University in Belgium.</ref> The next bishop, Hairan (bishop 217-250), oversaw Arbela during the end of the Parthian empire, at which time Arbela was incorporated into the [[Sasanian Empire]].<ref name="COA8" /> Unlike the Romans, or the Sasanians which followed Persia, Christianity was somewhat more tolerated Christians,by Persians and Christianity spread accordingly.<ref name="COA8">Chapter 8, ''Chronicle of Arbela,'' as translated in 1985 by Timothy Króll, as volume 468 of the ''Corpus Scriptorum Christanorum Orientalium'' series, a joint product of the Catholic University of America and Louvain Catholic University in Belgium.</ref>

"By the time of [[Trajan]]'s invasion of Adiabene in 115 or 116 CEAD, the [[satrapy]] had been ruled by a Jewish dynasty for more than 75 years. According to the Chronicle of Arbela, Christianity firmly rooted itself in Adiabene in Trajan's time. This tradition has been rejected by several historians, most notably [[F. C. Burkitt]]."<ref name="Jacob Neusner">{{cite book| last=Neusner| first=Jacob|title=A History of the Jews in Babylonia: From Shapur I to Shapur II| year=1968| publisher=E.J.Brill| location =Leiden, Netherlands}}</ref> Burkitt says a Syriac speaking version of Christianity was in Adiabene and there were bishops in Arbela before the collapse of the Parthian empire, but after the conversion of Abghar in Edessa around 200.<ref name="Jacob Neusner"/>{{rp|356}} Tertullian and others confirm there were Christians in Persia before the Sassanians [in 224] but give no indication how long they might have been there.<ref name="Ian Gillman"/>{{rp|92}}<ref name="Robin Waterfield">{{cite book| last=Waterfield| first=Robin| title=Christians in Persia (RLE Iran C): Assyrians, Armenians, Roman Catholics and Protestants|volume=volume 24| year=2011| publisher=Routledge|location=New York| isbn=978-0-415-61048-3}}</ref>{{rp|16,17}}<ref name="John C. England">{{cite book|last=England|first=John C.|title=The Hidden History of Christianity in Asia: The Churches of the East Before 1500|year=2002|publisher=ISPCK|location=Delhi|isbn=81-7214-242-0}}</ref>{{rp|15}}

"TheBurkitt Chronicleis assumescontradicted Christianityby reachedother theinformation. satrapyEusebius, [ofin Adiabene]''HE by 100 AD,1.13.1-22'' and [[Eduard''HE Sachau]]2.1.6-7'' considerswriting thebefore tradition324 sound."<refAD, name="Jacobrecords Neusner"/>{{rp|354}}''from Accordinga toSyriac Lukesource''s accountthat inThomas Actssent 2:9,Thaddaeus those(in whoSyriac responded'Addai') first"one atof Pentecostthe wereseventy 'Parthiansdisciples" andto Medespreach andin Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia'Edessa."<ref name="IanHarold GillmanW. Attridge">{{cite book|author1editor1-last=GillmanAttridge|author1editor1-first=IanHarold W.|author2editor2-last=KlimkeitHata|author2editor2-first=Hans-JoachimGohei|title=ChristiansEusebius, inChristianity, Asiaand Before 1500Judaism|year=19991992|publisher=RoutledgeWayne State University Press|location=NewDetroit, YorkMichigan|isbn=0-70078143-10222361-18}}</ref>{{rp|109213}} Tradition alsoOthers saysdismiss manythis "fledclaim eastwardsand afterargue for Tatian as the destructionfounder of Jerusalemthe church in 70 AD"Persia.<ref name="JohnSamuel C.Hugh England"/>{{rp|15}}Moffett, "One ofunder the firsttitle Aramaic-speaking"Tatian Christianthe centersAssyrian," mightwrites have been Adiabene...wherethat the localfirst rulingverifiable househistorical hadevidence convertedof toChristianity Judaismis inprovided aboutby 40the AD. This Jewish city-state had regular contacts with Palestine,life and itwork seemsof possibleTatian that(c. through110–180 thisAD) routeafter Christianitythe reachedmiddle Adiabene as early asof the firstsecond century."<ref name="KenGeorge ParryV. Yana">{{cite book| editor-last=ParryYana| editor-first=KenGeorge V.| title=TheAncient Blackwelland CompanionModern toAssyrians: EasternA ChristianityScientific Analysis| year=20102008|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=Malden,Xlibris Massachusettescorp.|isbn=978-01-6314363-234231028-4}}</ref>{{rp|25197}} "Whatever conclusions we draw from these and other traditions", not only is there "firm evidence for the existence of Christians in the area by AD 170",<ref name="RobinIan WaterfieldGillman"/>{{rp|16109}} Withthere Adiabeneis asalso a"extensive possibleevidence refuge from persecution elsewhere,for the numbermovement of ChristiansChristianity greweastwards, markedlyin "sothe thatearliest bycenturies, ADfrom 235bases theyin hadArbela morein than 20 BishopsAdiabene and someEdessa 18in diocesesOsrhoene."<ref name="IanJohn GillmanC. England"/>{{rp|10915}}

Eusebius,"The inChronicle ''HEassumes 1.13.1-22''Christianity andreached ''HEthe 2.1.6-7''satrapy writing[of beforeAdiabene] 324by 100 AD, recordsand ''from[[Eduard aSachau]] Syriacconsiders source''the thattradition Thomassound."<ref sentname="Jacob Neusner"/>{{rp|354}} According to Luke's Thaddaeusaccount (in SyriacActs 'Addai')2:9, "onethose ofwho theresponded seventyfirst disciples"at toPentecost preachwere in'Parthians Edessaand Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia'."<ref name="HaroldIan W. AttridgeGillman">{{cite book|editor1author1-last=AttridgeGillman|editor1author1-first=Harold W.Ian|editor2author2-last=HataKlimkeit|editor2author2-first=GoheiHans-Joachim|title=Eusebius,Christians Christianity,in andAsia JudaismBefore 1500|year=19921999|publisher=Wayne State University PressRoutledge|location=Detroit,New MichiganYork|isbn=0-81437007-23611022-81}}</ref>{{rp|213109}} Tradition Othersalso dismisssays thismany claim"fled andeastwards argue for Tatian asafter the founderdestruction of the churchJerusalem in Persia70 AD".<ref name="SamuelJohn HughC. Moffett,England"/>{{rp|15}} under"One of the titlefirst "TatianAramaic-speaking theChristian Assyrian,"centers writesmight thathave been Adiabene...where the firstlocal verifiableruling historicalhouse evidencehad ofconverted Christianityto isJudaism providedin byabout the40 lifeAD. This Jewish city-state had regular contacts with Palestine, and workit ofseems Tatianpossible (ca.110-180that AD)through afterthis theroute middleChristianity ofreached Adiabene as early as the secondfirst century."<ref name="GeorgeKen V. YanaParry">{{cite book| editor-last=YanaParry| editor-first=George V.Ken| title=AncientThe andBlackwell ModernCompanion Assyrians:to AEastern Scientific AnalysisChristianity| year=20082010|publisher=XlibrisWiley-Blackwell|location=Malden, corp.Massachusetts|isbn=978-10-4363631-102823423-4}}</ref>{{rp|97251}} "Whatever conclusions we draw from these and other traditions", not only is there "firm evidence for the existence of Christians in the area by AD 170",<ref name="IanRobin GillmanWaterfield"/>{{rp|10916}} thereWith isAdiabene alsoas "extensivea evidencepossible forrefuge from persecution elsewhere, the movementnumber of ChristianityChristians eastwards,grew inmarkedly the"so earliestthat centuries,by fromAD bases235 inthey Arbelahad inmore Adiabenethan 20 Bishops and Edessasome in18 Osrhoenedioceses."<ref name="JohnIan C. EnglandGillman"/>{{rp|15109}}

After the conversion of King Abgar VIII (r.179-212 179–212) of Edessa, the Aramaic language (later called Classical Syriac) spread and became the ''lingua franca'' for a wide variety of Aramaic speakers.<ref name="Ken Parry"/>{{rp|251}} "The revitalization of Zoroastrianism under the Sassanid rulers [in the third century] brought with it a revitalization of the [historic] Pahlavi language of the Persians as well." Whereas the church's established status facilitated their continued use of Syriac instead of Pahlavi."<ref name="Dale T. Irvin">{{cite book| editor1-last=Irvin|editor1-first=Dale T.|editor2-last=Sunquist|editor2-first=Scott| title= History of the World Christian Movement: Volume 1: Earliest Christianity To 1453|volume=volume 1|year=2001| publisher= T&T Clark| location=Edinburgh| isbn=0-567-08866-9}}</ref>{{rp|112,113}}<ref name="Thomas A. Robinson">{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Thomas| title=Who Were the First Christians?: Dismantling the Urban Thesis|year=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York| isbn=978-0-190-62054-7}}</ref>{{rp|174}} "The Syrian churches of today all trace back their origin to the Christian communities that developed in Syria and Mesopotamia in the second and third centuries, especially to those that in this period used some variety of Aramaic rather than Greek as their primary language."<ref name="Ken Parry"/>{{rp|251}}

From 53 BC to about 215 AD, the "two super-powers" Rome and Persia repeatedly "engaged each other in a vicious cycle of invasions and counterattacks".<ref name="Douglas Kelly">{{cite book|editor1-last=Phang|editor1-first=Sarah| editor2-last=Spence|editor2-first=Iain|editor3-last=Kelly|editor3-first=Douglas| editor4-last=Londey| editor4-first=Peter|title=Conflict in Ancient Greece and Rome: The Definitive Political, Social, and Military Encyclopedia|volume=volume 1| year=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC|location=Santa Barbara, Cal.| isbn=978-1-4408-4978-7}}</ref>{{rp|1107}} "Throughout the third century, the border zone between the Romans and the Sassanids remained a region of conflict. Cities passed back and forth between the two powers, affecting the churches within them."<ref name="Dale T. Irvin"/>{{rp|113}} "The Syriac [Christian] churches straddled the Late East Roman and Early Byzantine empires, as well as the Parthian and Sassanian empires (in Persia). The Syriac Christian tradition thus found itself in two opposing worlds, [west and east] both of which it needed to accommodate, and both of which would sporadically and violently persecute it."<ref name="William Taylor">{{cite book| last=Taylor|first=William| title=Narratives of Identity: The Syrian Orthodox Church and the Church of England: 1895-1914| year=2013| publisher= Cambridge Scholars Publishing| location=Newcastle upon Tyne, UK| isbn=978-1-4438-4526-7}}</ref>{{rp|78}}

In 224-226224–226 AD, Parthian rulers of the Persian empire that embraced Adiabene and Arbela, fell to a coalition force of southern Medes and Persians, with the collaboration of Adiabene. This Thewas the beginning of Sassanid empire began.<ref name="Douglas Kelly"/>{{rp|1106–1112}} The new ruler assumed the title of "Shah of Shahs" and vigorously began defending the state religion, Zoroastrianism. The next generation saw "an imperial revival of the Zoroastrian faith among the Sassanids that eventually brought about brutal persecution of Christians in the Persian empire."<ref name="Dale T. Irvin"/>{{rp|113}} "It is impossible to estimate the numbers [of Christians in the Persian empire by this time] but we know that they formed a substantial minority of the population and on the whole were well educated and famous for their skills in medicine and the sciences."<ref name="Robin Waterfield"/>{{rp|18}}

In 258 AD, Shapur the First pushed west, besieged Edessa, captured emperor Valerian and vast numbers of prisoners were brought into Persia. Many of these were Christians. "The first figure of the Christian church who emerges clearly is Papa who became Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon around 300 AD.<ref name="Robin Waterfield"/>{{rp|18}} The Chronicle references Papa and from Papa onward there is good support for the historicity of the text. On Good Friday, April 17, 341, Shapur the second had 100 Christians put to death beginning a persecution lasting nearly forty years without remission, calling them "traitors who shared sentiments with Caesar."<ref name="Robin Waterfield"/>{{rp|19}} "The persecution was reported to be very fierce between AD 344 and 367 in Susiana and Adiabene with some 16,000 names listed as martyrs, which points to an even larger number of victims."<ref name="Ian Gillman"/>{{rp|112}} By the late fourth century, Christianity is recognized as a legitimate minority with a decree of toleration from Yazdgard I. Some persecution returns under Bahram V. and in "AD 422 a new treaty is signed between Persia and the Roman Empire which guaranteed freedom of worship to Christians in Persia."<ref name="Ian Gillman"/>{{rp|113}}

In 1959, social scientist [[Paul Kahle]] wrote a book supporting the authenticity of the ''Chronicle'', saying that Christianity reached Adiabene at an earlier date than previously thought due to the conversion of the Jewish ruling family. He concludes, "similarities with the Edessene ''Abgar'' (c. 200 AD) are the result of that legend having its origins in Arbela and was only adapted to Edessa at a later date."<ref name="Everett Ferguson"/>{{rp|270}} Other scholars who have supported the (at least partial) authenticity and historical credibility of the ''Chronicle'' include [[Eduard Sachau|Carl Eduard Sachau]], orientalist (1915), [[Adolf von Harnack]], theologian and historian (1924), and [[Sebastian Brock|Sebastian Paul Brock]], scholar in Syriac languages (1967 and 1992) who also says the account of the early spread of Christianity in the Parthian period cannot have any historical basis. Historian Peter Kawerau wrote in 1985 and 1991 that authenticity is confirmed by "the bi-lingual inscription at [[Bishapur|Bīšāpūr]] and by the mention in the text of a solar eclipse that occurred on 10 July 218".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kawerau|first1=Peter|title=Chronicle of Arbela|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/chronicle-of-arbela|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|accessdateaccess-date=24 January 2018}}</ref> Professor of Iranian Studies Marie Louise Chaumont, (1988), among many others, support the text as having historical credibility.<ref name="Michał Marciak">{{cite book|last=Marciak| first= Michał| title= Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West|year=2017| publisher=Koninklijke Brill Publishing|location=The Netherlands|isbn=978-90-04-35070-0}}</ref>{{rp|282}}

The ''Chronicle of Arbela'' was "first published by [[Alphonse Mingana]] in 1907." He attributed it to a "little known church historian of the sixth century," 'Mšīhā-Zkā' "(a compound East-Syrian name meaning 'Christ has conquered')".<ref name ="Joel Thomas Walker">{{cite book| last=Walker| first=Joel Thomas|title =The Legend of Mar Qardagh: Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq| year=2006|publisher=University of California Press| location=BerkleyBerkeley, Cal.|isbn=0-520-24578-4|chapter=Appendix: The Qardagh legend and the Chronicle of Arbela}}</ref>{{rp|287}} Historian Joel Walker has asserted the author of the text was Mingana himself based on his knowledge of Mar Qadagh.<ref name ="Joel Thomas Walker"/>{{rp|289}} Kettenhofen says the author was most likely a medieval author working from a pool of narrative traditions that contributed to all three heroes in both the text of Arbella and Qardagh. Christelle and Florence Jullien, "while conceding Mingana's manipulation of the text, have vigorously defended the ''Chronicle'' as a legitimate East-Syrian source" that reflects an "early documentary core" and a Syrian author.<ref name ="Joel Thomas Walker"/>{{rp|288}}

The ''Chronicle'' includes the stories of two key characters: "Gufrašnasp the ''[[mobad|mohapat]]'' of Adiabene" in third -century [[PersiaGreater Iran]] during the rule of the [[Sasanian]] kingemperor, Bahrām[[Bahram II]] (c. 274-291274–291 CEAD), and Raqbakt, a ruler with an unspecified leadership position in Adiabene. Their combined careers resemble the historical figure of Mar Qardagh, a Sasanian ''marzban'' (guard) of northern[[Upper IraqMesopotamia]], who became a Christian martyr c. 360 CE during Shapur II's large -scale persecution of Christians.<ref name="Walker2006">{{cite book|author=Joel Walker|title=The Legend of Mar Qardagh: Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snwkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA289|date=24 April 2006|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-24578-5|page=289}}</ref><ref name="Sebastian P. Brock">{{cite book|last=Brock| first=Sebastian P.| title=Fire from Heaven: Studies in Syriac Theology and Liturgy|year=2006| publisher=Ashgate| location=Hampshire, England| isbn=0-7546-5908-9}}</ref>{{rp|72}} The "History of Mar Qardagh" and the Chronicle of Arbela have thematic connections through these characters.<ref name="Walker2006"/>

Some of the similarities between Arbela and Qardagh are: Raqbakt had a public office such as viceroy, possibly a governor, as did Mar Qardagh. They both converted to Christianity, led an army of foot soldiers to protect the land, and served their king through many military victories. "He (Rakbakt) was fatally wounded by a spear thrust into his side and 'gave up his spirit like Judas Maccabee'."<ref name="Walker2006"/>{{rp|289}} "The echoes are closer still in the case of Gufrašnasp, whom the Chronicle depicts as a pious ''Magian,'', who revolts against the Persian King of kings and defends his fortress in Adiabene by heroic archery. Although neither Rakbakt nor Gufrašnasp provide an exact model for Qardagh, their combined careers contain many of the central features of the Qardagh legend."<ref name="Walker2006"/>{{rp|289}}

*''[https://web.archive.org/web/20171026053945/https://www.sasanika.org/wp-content/uploads/ChronicleofArbela.pdf Chronicle of Arbela]'', English translation by Timothy Króll.

[[Category:SyriacTexts literaturein Syriac]]

[[Category:IraqIraqi literature]]

[[Category:History of Erbil]]