Michael the Syrian

From MedNub
Revision as of 17:42, 22 September 2014 by Adam Simmons (talk | contribs) (Created page with "Michael the Syrian (d. 1199 A.D.) ''Michael the Great, born in Melitene, Jacobite Pat¬riarch of Antioch 1166 — 1199 A.D. Wrote, besides other works, a Chronicle in Syriac,...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigationJump to search

Michael the Syrian (d. 1199 A.D.)

Michael the Great, born in Melitene, Jacobite Pat¬riarch of Antioch 1166 — 1199 A.D. Wrote, besides other works, a Chronicle in Syriac, which is the main source for the history of the Jacobite Church up to 1195 A.D. Krumbacher 405.

Ed.: J. B. Chabot, 3 vols. CSCO, Paris 1899-1905, with French transl.

[Stories from the Old Testament Era]

(Lib. II, ch. I): Among the descendants of Ham are: the Hindôyê , the Mesrôyê (Egyptians), the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Hivites, the Amorites, the Gergesites, the Aradites. (Chabot I, p. 16). (Lib.II, ch. Ill): The children of Hām, the second son of Noah, received as their lot all the southern region (of the world) which can be inhabited, from the East to the West, i.e. from the middle and the southern Indias, the country of Kūsh, Saba, Egypt. (ibid., I, p. I8).

(Lib.II, ch.VIII): Names of peoples who possess the art of writing: from among the descendants of Hām: (the) Egyptians, (the) Pamphylians, the Phrygians. Those who do not know the art of the writing: the Kushites, the Troglodites. (ibid. I, p. 32).

(Lib.Ill, ch.II): In his 28th year Moses built Hermoupolis and waged war against the Kushites: he captured Ragusa, the daughter of king Zaros, and put her among his womenfolk ... The Ethiopians left the river Indus to settle near Egypt. (ibid. I, p. 39).

(Lib.Ill, ch.V): In that year (the 37th year of Moses) the third deluge occurred in Thessaly, while Deucalion was king; there was also a big fire at the time of Phae¬ton, in the land οf Kūsh. (ibid. I, p. 40).

(Lib.IV, ch.XII): At this time (2nd year of King Abias of Judah (915-913 B.C.)) the Kushitē King Zārah, having recruited some Libyans, marched against Judah. Asa (King of Juda, 913-873 B.C.) moved forward, won the battle and defeated him at Gerar. This happened in the 10th year of Asa. The Ethiopians together with the Li¬byans numbered hundred thousand. (ibid. I, p. 40; 2 Chron. 14:8).

(Lib.IV, ch.XII): While the king of Egypt, whose name was (Ne)ctanebos, or according to others, Necotanebonis, was fleeing to Ethiopia, an augury made him see the nu¬merous armies which were advancing against him. Some people claim that he was the father of Alexander, (ibid. p. 112).

[Events in the Christian Era]

(Lib.V, Appendix): We record below the names and the martyrdom of the Seventy Disciples (of Jesus):.. 30. Mârmâtos, (St. Matthew?) went to preach to the Ethiopians and died among them. (ibid. I, pp. 149 - 150).

(Lib.IX, ch.I): He (Gregory the wonderworker) became very famous (to such an extent) that the Ethiopians sent (some one) to pay him a visit, as it is written. (ibid. p. 136).

(Lib.IX, ch. XXVIII): In the book of John of Asia (I.e. John of Ephesus) there is a comprehensive account of the plague which broke out in the year 855 (= 543 A.D.), which is the 16th year of Justinian. It was a plague such as had had no equal since the beginning of the world nor will it ever have. The whole world was struck by this scourge. It started among the people living in the interior of the countries South-East of India, that is to say Kush, the Himyarites and others; later on, it also began spreading among the western countries which are called the Upper Countries: viz. the "Romans" (probably to be read: the Rūm), Italians, Gauls and Spaniards. It was said that men became enraged like dogs, turned mad, attacked one another and went to the mountains to com-mit suicide. ... The scourge advanced and reached the countries of Kush on the frontiers of Egypt, and from there it spread all over Egypt itself. (ibid. II, pp. 235 - 236).

(Lib.IX, ch.XXX): At this same time Julian, bishop of Halicarnassus in Caria, originated a heresy teaching that since the (time spent in the) womb of the Virgin, Our Lord had made his body incapable of suffering. His here¬sy perverted the minds of the simple, in some places, in the countries of the Rūm, the Persians, the Indians, the Kushites, the Himyarites, and the Armenians. (Ibid. II, p. 251).

[The Conversion of the Nubians]

[The Phantasiasts and the Conversion at the Nubians]

(Michael's Account)

(Lib.IX, ch.XXXI): The abominable Eutropius, a vessel of damnation, added to his own malice by ordaining ten bishops, whom he sent out in all directions to be cham¬pions of the heresy of the Phantasiasts. One of them went to Hirte of Beit Na'mān and to the country of the Himyarites. His name was Sergius. He had been an ascetic and had received the tonsure; then he became a vessel of damnation. He spread the doctrine of the Phantasiasts and perverted those countries. He ordained priests and, af¬ter having spent three years in the country of the Himyarites, he appointed a bishop by name of Moses to become his successor: then Sergius himself died in the country of the Himyarites. The other (nine) bishops went to other countries far distant and deluded many peoples. By telling lies and spreading false accusations they calum¬niated the holy Severus (of Antioch, the Jacobite). Then the Phantasiasts allied with the Gaianites of Alexandria and had one of their bishops consecrated a Patriarch. He, in his turn, made many bishops whom he sent out to all the country of Egypt and Kūsh, as well as to far distant countries, so that they eventually caused many people to fall into their ways of error. Then they split into factions among themselves. (ibid. II, pp. 263 - 264).

(John of Ephesus' Account)

There was among the entourage (synodos) of Pope Theo¬dosius a priest named Julian. He showed himself fired by seal for the people who were inhabiting the upper frontier of Thebaid, to the east, in Upper Egypt. These people used to receive a tribute from the Romans, on the condition that they did not carry out raids (in Egypt). As Julian wished to devote himself to the care of these people, he informed our late empress, Theodora, who then considered how to protect the faith. She joyfully in¬formed the emperor about the project, in order that he himself might support her plan to have this Julian sent. But the emperor decided to send a bishop (from the party) of the Chalcedonians. He hastened to write to the pre¬fect of the Thebaid to send one of the bishops of that region. As the empress learned that, she wrote to the prefect a letter like this: r The emperor and I have de¬cided to send (a mission) to (the people of) the Nabados. Now I am sending Julian and want him to be the first to enter there.’ The prefect delayed the delegate of the emperor until Julian arrived and had proceeded further. When the delegate of the emperor realized (the trick), he tore his vestment but he succeeded in entering only later on.

Julian, when he came to the king of the Nabados, was received with rejoicing. The letter from the empress was read. The king and all his people were converted and baptized. Julian told them about the schism of Chalcedon.

When the delegates of the emperor arrived and warned (the Nabados) not to join the schismatics, they (the Nabados) replied: "We accept the present sent by the emperor and we too shall send him a present; but we will not receive his corrupted faith. We have been found worthy to become Christians. We follow Theodosius who has been deprived of his seat on account of his orthodox faith. Please God that we did not renounce paganism to fall into heterodoxy." With these words they dismissed the messenger of the emperor.

Julian stayed there for two years. People used to tell that from the third to the tenth hour of the day, he was staying in caverns full of water, naked, except for wearing a loin cloth, keeping only the upper part of his body out of the water.

He baptised the king and all his people. He had ta¬ken along with him a bishop from Thebaid. After he had instructed and organized them (the Nabados), he left them in the charge of this bishop and came back to the capital, where he died.

Patriarch Theodosius, about the time of his death, remembered those people and ordained Longinus to be their bishop. When the emperor learned that, he prevented Lon¬ginus from travelling to that country. At the end of three years, this (Longinus) escaped, reached that coun¬try and built there some churches. He also taught them the discipline (taxis) and the holy mysteries of Chri¬stianity. ... Longinus had already spent six years there when he was invited by the faithful to take part in the election of the Pope of Alexandria. He then left for Mareotis. These people were subject to the seat of Ale¬xandria and kept the pure (Orthodox) faith. (Ibid. II, pp. 265-267).

[Merwan the Last Omayyad (749 A.D.)]

(Lib. XI, ch. XXIV): When Merwan came back, ashamed af¬ter having been beaten in several territories, he was afraid to settle at Harran. He had his treasure loaded on three thousand camels and fled to Askalon on the coast. Then Abdalla, the son of Ali, went in pursuit of him. But Merwan had already left that place; he camped or. the banks of the Nile opposite the town of Syene, which is on the frontier of the Nabados. Merwan was killed in battle there: then Abdalla reigned alone over all the kingdom of the Tayaye (= Arabs). (ibid. II, p. 517).

(Lib. XII, ch. XVI): In this year 1141 (830 A.D.) while Ma'mun the king of the Tayaye was at Kaishūm Mar Dionysius went to him to have a meeting with him. But as the king suddenly left for Damascus, the patriarch, too, went there with him. There, through the mediation of Lazarus the mardanāya, the presents, or "xenia", which he had brought (to offer to the king) were received (by the king). The king ordered the patriarch: 'Await here, so that you may accompany me to Egypt, for we want to send you as our ambassador to the Biamāyē (= Bashmurites) in Lower Egypt, that they stop the re¬bellion which they have begun and make submission, (ibid. Ill, p. 76).

[The Journey of the Nubian Prince to Baghdad]

(Lib. XII, ch. XIX): In this year 1147 (= 835/836 A.D.), Georgius, who was the son of the king of the Nubians, set out on a journey (to come) to pay a visit to the king of the Tayâyê, and this was the reason. The kings of the Nubi¬ans since olden times used to give every year to the king of the Tayâyê 360 Moorish slaves, trained monkeys which could imitate men in their manners, some animals which are called Zoraphê (giraffe), elephant tusks and skins of tigers (= leopards). The kings of the Tayâyê used to give the Nubians a certain number of khure of wheat, vegetables from Egypt, a specified number of kaile of olive oil and textiles for precious vestments and they permitted the king of the Nubians to collect taxes from the Nubians who were living throughout the empire of the Tayâyê, without hindrance. .By virtue of this agreement and arrangement, the Tayâyê would not seize the Nubians, nor did the Nubians cross beyond the town of Syene, which is on the frontiers on the side of Egypt and the empire of the Arabs.

Now, it happened that this agreement was being in¬fringed, as a consequence of the trouble which spread over the world and caused disturbances and unrest at the time of the sons of Harun. Also it was a consequence of the extension of the empire of the Tayâyê who dis¬paraged the Nubians. These arrangements had been aban¬doned: the Nubians did not keep the tradition of sending something to the Arabs, nor did the Arabs keep their part of the bargain in sending something to the Nubians.

Mutasim noticed these things. He summoned one of his advisors and sent him to say to the king of the Nubians: "Send me the presents, according to the old custom of all the years past: if you fail to do that, I shall send the Tayâyê to devastate your country." When the envoy arrived, he found that the king of the Nabados had died and that, at that time, the kingdom was ruled by a prince named Zacharias. He (= Zacharias) was not of royal descent - without which it is unlawful among them to become king - but he had a son of a woman whose family was of royal descent. This son was called Georgi(us). They crowned him king, while his father ruled the king¬dom until such time as the boy became of age.

When Zacharias saw the messenger of the Tayâyê, thinking of the snares which the Arabs extended to him, he decided to send his son, who was (already proclaimed) a king, to Abu Ishaq, if he would grant such a favour, in order to settle satisfactorily all the requests of the royal delegation. He said to the messenger: "I do not want to conclude a treaty by letters; I shall send my son who is king over the Nubians, to pay homage to your king."

When this messenger brought the news to Abu Ishaq, the latter answered: "Let him come", and issued orders to the prefects of Egypt to meet him and receive him with due honour. When Abu Ishaq was informed that the king of the Nubians had left and had arrived at Fusṭāt in Egypt, he wrote to the governors of Egypt to supply him with as many camels as he might need for his luggage, and to give him thirty dīnārs daily for his own expenses and to have him received by the chiefs of every town, with the honours due to a King. When the prince arrived at Callinice, the emir of Jezirah came to meet him. The Tayâyê and the Christians accompanied him to see the unprecedented marvel which had happened in their country. He rode a camel harnessed with a saddle quite different from those of our country. An umbrella in the form of a dome covered with scarlet cloth was carried above his head, and on the top of the umbrella was fitted a golden cross. He held the sceptre in one hand, and a cross in the other. On his right and left young Nubians marched carrying crosses in their hands. Before him rode a bi¬shop, he too holding a cross in his hand. All these cros¬ses were of gold. The remainder of the horsemen and slaves followed behind, and around him were all blacks. Two other bishops, who had left with him, had died on the way, as had many other persons of his retinue, because they had journeyed in the time of snow and frost which they had never experienced in their own country. They stopped at Callinice on Christmas day. He went down to Baghdad being escorted in the streets by the troops. He took lodging in one of the royal palaces. He stayed there from sebāt (February) until āb (August). The rea¬son for this delay was the following. A Nubian who was in charge of receiving the dues of the Nubian subjects in the country of the Tayâyê had rebelled against the king of the Nubians and became a Muslim. Georgi(us) chased him, recaptured him and fettered him.

Now, this wretched man had the idea of writing to the king of the Tayâyê telling him: - "This man is an impostor." The king sent to Egypt to enquire about the accusation brought by the rebel. For this reason the audience of Georgi(us) with Abu Ishaq was postponed. When the answer arrived, assuring that he actually was the king and son of a king, Abu Ishaq sent for him. On his ar¬rival, Abu Ishaq ordered his troops to go out dressed in their armour and ornaments to meet him. They stood on both sides of the road he was passing through. He was wearing the crown, which was a tiara with a cross on top of it. A throne more splendid than usual was prepared for AbuI shaq.

Georgi(us) advanced towards the king who took him by the hand and made him sit before him. (Abu Ishaq) learned from him, through a translator, that he had come to salu¬te him. He received Georgi(us) very well and gave him rich presents of gold and silver and cloths for vestments, musk of amber, ten she-camels from the royal stables, caparisoned, and issued orders that he should be treated with honour in all towns until he entered his own terri¬tory, and that thirty dīnārs be given him daily for his expenses.

As we have already mentioned, Patriarch Mar Dionysius descended to Baghdad, as he himself tells it: "At the beginning of the month of āb (August) of the year 1147 I went to king Abu Ishaq, as I used to do with his brother. He received me peacefully, in the new palace which he had built between the two canals.

The king of the Nubians, Georgi(us), who had arrived in Baghdad the previous sebāt (February) had not yet been received by Abu Ishaq. Now, while Georgi(us), the king of the Nubians was on his way to Baghdad, he had written to me upon his arrival at Callinice, that he desired to meet me so that we might personally accompany him with our prayers. I answered him: "That is impossible with¬out leave from the king. You should rather continue your journey. As soon as I arrive there, I shall see you."

That is why I recalled that matter to the mind of the king and told him that I wished to meet him because he was a member of our community. I did not know the rea¬son for the delay.

After Georgi(us) was received by the king and salu¬ted by Solomon, his physician, (the king) said (to us): Go and see that Nubian.

We went there with some bishops and faithful. We found he was a clever young man, about 20 years old, well mannered, educated and handsome, worthy of the royal rank on account of his manners. After we had talked with him through an interpreter, we found him (to be) a faithful Orthodox, zealous for his faith, who detested having any communication with the heretics. On Sunday, we celebra¬ted the Mass and gave the communion to him as well as to those who formed his retinue. They had carried with them the sacred vases and all the apparel for the celebration of the mysteries. When we had to take leave from the king, at the moment of our departure, we offered to the king of the Nubians a present of some objects of gold and silver, such as it was convenient to our rank to offer, to be a memento to him in his kingdom. While we were going back from Baghdad, in the year 1148 (= 836 A.D.), we learned the news of Abiram's death."(ibid. Ill, pp. 90 - 94).

[The Chalcedonian Greeks]

(Lib. XVI, ch. Ill (1126 A.D.)): There were in Syria and Armenia, as well as in Palestine and Egypt, besides the patriarch and bishops of our nation, and our Egypti¬an Armenian brethren, also those of the Chalcedonian Greeks, who were troubling, as far as they could, these three nations, and, on occasion, also the Nubians and the Abyssinians. (ibid. Ill, p. 226).

(Lib. XX, ch. II): The same year (= 1171 A.D.) Saladin, who was the ruler of Egypt, extended his empire over inner Arabia, as well as over several places of the Nu¬bian Kingdoms, through a brilliant victory, (ibid. Ill, p. 361).