Zachariah of Mitylene, Syriac Chronicle
Написано от Кирил Милчев
(7 Гласа)
Zachariah of Mitylene, Syriac Chronicle (1899).
METHUEN & CO.
36 ESSEX STREET, W.C.
LONDON
1899
BOOK VII
Предговор: Кирил Милчев
Захарий Митиленски и Псевдо-Захарий Ритор
Гръкоезичният историк Захарий Митиленски е автор на исторически летопис, който е изгубен. Предполага се, че Захарий умира след 536 г. Руската изследователка Н.Пигулевская твърди, че анонимен сирийски книжовник от гр. Амида (дн. Диарбекир), към 555 г. е съчинител на сироезична хроника, в която кн.ІІІ-VІ, са превод от гръцки на сирийски на част от съчинението на Захарий Митиленски, вследствие на което „анонимният автор” днес е известен като Псевдо-Захарий Ритор.
Определяйки, че само кн.ІІІ-кн.VІ, са оргинали на гръкоезичният труд на Захарий Митиленски, Пигулевская констатира, че той „обхваща събития отнасящи се към периода между 436-491 години.”
Тоест, според Пигулевская, кн.VІІ (гл.ІІІ-VІ), която предоставяме на вниманието на читателите, не е на Захарий Митиленски. Очевидно Пигулевская смята, че тези текстове са на анонимният сирийски автор (Псевдо-Захарий) и понеже в предлаганият откъс се разказва за превземането на гр. Амида през 10 януари 503 г. от персийският шахиншах Кавад (488-496;499-531), тя твърди, че Псевдо-Захарий е от гр. Амида.
Последното е напълно вероятно, но ако се има предвид кн.ХІІ, гл.VІІ, която също предоставяме на Вашето внимание.
В нея анонимният сирийски автор (Псевдо-Захарий), сам определя, че е писал към 555 г. и разказва за двама монаси от гр. Амида, с които има лична среща. Те през 503 г. са били взети в плен от Кавад и заедно с голяма колония сирийци-християни са дадени в плен в гр. Боспор на хунския цар. В периода 522-535 г. при сирийците на Боспор имало епископ Кардост, които покръстил много хуни и в обкръжението му бил създаден хунски алфабет, с който било преведено на хунски Светото Писание. Именно в кн.ХІІ, гл.VІІ, Псевдо-Захарий дава сведението за българите, които живеели в северен Кавказ до аланите, били народ езически и варварски, със собствен език и имали...градове. Това сведение датира от 555 г. и на основание на него българският историк Златарски към 1918 г. отъждестви утигурите на византийските автори Прокопий, Агатий и Менандър с българите, на Псевдо-Захарий.
Да се върнем обаче на кн.VІІ, гл.ІІІ-VІ.
Защо Пигулевская смята, че тя не е на гръцкият историк Захарий Митиленски?
В гл.ІІІ се разказва за Пероз, който през 484 г. е победен от хуните.
В гл.ІV-VІ се дават сведения за превземането на гр. Амида и който е чел сведенията на Прокопий Кесарийски във „Войната с персите” за този период, ясно и категорично ще посочи като извор на Прокопий именно Захарий Митиленски. Данни от Захарий могат да бъдат открити и при Йешу Стилит, който пише своя летопис към 517 г., преди Прокопий.
Изобщо проблематична за изследователите се оказва гл.ІІІ от кн.VІІ, в която сирийският преписвач от гръцки, датира действията на Пероз с хуните (които са през 483 и 484 г.г.), че са се случили през „тринайстата година на Анастасий” (504 г.).
Очевидно е станала някаква грешка при преписването и това е толкова очевидно, понеже в кн.ХІІ, гл.VІІ сирийският преписвач също е объркал географът Птолемей (ІІ в. от н.е.) с гръцкият цар на Египет Птоломей...
Освен това през 504 г. фактически завършват военните действия между перси и византийци и макар, че юридически мирният договор е от 506 г., при Прокопий и Йешу Стилит става ясно, че 504 г. е краят на войната.
Сиреч, не е било никаква пречка да се определи, че кн.VІІ също е на гръкоезичният автор Захарий Митиленски.
Но не в това е проблемът, а в друго.
В кн.VІІ, гл.ІІІ Захарий Митиленски потвърждава сведението на Йешу Стилит, че победителите на Пероз през 484 г., когато Персия е превзета за „две години” (Прокопий), са пост-атиловите хуни от северен Кавказ. Те са хуните-ефталит. И оттук насетне почти всички сироезични автори, включително и Псевдо-Захарий (555 г.), поставят хуните-ефталит на север от Кавказ. Това правят също Михаил Сириец (ХІІ в.) и Бар Ебрей (ХІІІ в.).
Тоест, Захарий Митиленски, Йешу Стилит, Псевдо-Захарий Ритор, Михаил Сириец, Бар Ебрей са били пренебрегнати от модерните учени, които изфабрикуваха, единствено само на основание на Прокопий, че хуните-ефталит не са пост-атиловите хуни, т.е. българите на Ирник от рода Дуло, които са именно в Боспор, точно там, където през 503 г. Кавад, в знак на благодарност към хунския цар, който през 499 г. му става тъст и му дава „голяма войска” (Прокопий), изпраща около 20 000 пленници сирийски християни, които в Боспор създават хунски алфабет и превод на Св.Писание на хунски, т.е. на езика на утигурите (= българите).
Понеже е очевидно, че Прокопий ползва почти дословно сведения от гръка Захарий Митиленски за превземането на Амида през 503 г. от персите, става ясно защо Прокопий противопоставя хуните-ефталит на познатите му хуни и защо не се съгласява с версията на Захарий Митиленски, че те са дошли от северен Кавказ. Прокопий пише като очевидец след 527 г., а тогава хуните-ефталит вече са на изток в Памир, Согд, Тохаристан и владеят Балх, който Страбон знае като гр. Бактр. Прокопий очевидно полемизира със Захарий Митиленски, когато пише, че ефталит са хуни, но нямат нищо общо с познатите ни хуни, т.е. с пост-атиловите хуни. Сиреч, версията на Прокопий, че хуните-ефталит са от югоизточното Прикаспие, където е Гиркания, не е нищо друго, освен анахронизъм, понеже след 522 г. (Еноки) те действително са там, на изток от Персия.
Това означава, че в някакъв смисъл проучванията на школата на Добрев за припамирски българи и за наличие на българи в Балх и в северна Индия, ще се окажат верни, но не по отношение на прародината на българите, а във връзка с липсващи части от ранната българска история в периода 465-565 г., когато пост-атиловите царски хуни (бели хуни, на ирански) превземат през 484 г. Персия на Пероз, а след 504 г. създават династията на ефталитските царе в Согдиана. Според китайският летопис „Бей-ши” през 516 г. вече има ефталитски цар и в столицата му има будиски храмове...
А защо тези хуни са „ефталит” и има ли нещо общо това име с „Авитохол”, както съм казвал и друг път, не е езиков проблем, а проблем на неизучената история на пост-атиловите българи на Ирник в периода 465-565 години. През последната не само е сложен краят на Велика България на Ирник в северен Кавказ и Приазовието от тюрките на Истеми, но същият Истеми слага край и на българската династия на хуните-ефталит в Согдиана и Тохаристан...
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* За превод на български език ползвайте бутона в горния десен ъгъл на сайта с българското знаменце /бел.администратор/
Zachariah of Mitylene, Syriac Chronicle (1899).
METHUEN & CO.
36 ESSEX STREET, W.C.
LONDON
1899
BOOK VII
CHAPTER III 9
THE THIRD CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK MAKES KNOWN HOW THEODOSIOPOLIS OF ARMENIA WAS SUBDUED, AND CONCERNING THE CITY AMIDA OF MESOPOTAMIA
When10 Piroz, king of the Persians, was reigning in his own country, in the thirteenth (year) of Anastasius, the Huns issued forth from the gates that were guarded by the Persians, and from the mountainous region there, and invaded the territory of the Persians. And Piroz became alarmed, and he gathered an army and went to meet them. And when he inquired from them the reason of their preparation and invasion of his country, they said to him, "What the kingdom of the Persians gives to us by way of tribute is |152 not sufficient for us Barbarians, who, like rapacious wild beasts, reject God in the North-West region; and we live by our weapons, our bow and our sword; and we support ourselves by flesh-food of all kinds; and the king of the Romans has promised by his ambassadors to give us twice as much tribute whenever we shall dissolve our friendship with you Persians; and accordingly we made our preparations, and we have come here, that either you shall give us as much as the Romans, and we will ratify our treaty with you, or else if you do not give it to us, take war." And when Piroz perceived the determination of the Huns, although they were much fewer in number than his own army, he thought it well to play them false and deceive them; and he promised them to give it. And four hundred of the chief men of the Huns assembled, and they had with them Eustace, a merchant of Apamea, a clever man, by whose advice they were guided. But Piroz also and four hundred men with him met together. And they went up into a mountain; and they made a treaty, and they ate together, and they swore, lifting up their hands to heaven. And when few remained along with the four hundred men who were to receive the tribute money which was being collected, and the rest of the Huns had dispersed to return to their own country; after ten days Piroz broke faith with them, and prepared war, both against the Huns who had dispersed, and against the four hundred who remained and those with them. But Eustace the merchant encouraged the Huns that they should not be alarmed even though they were very much fewer. And in the place where the oaths were made, they cast musk and spices upon coals of fire, and made an offering to God according to the advice of Eustace, that he might overthrow the liars. And they joined battle with Piroz, and killed him and a great number of his army; and they pillaged the Persian territory, and returned to their own country. And the body of Piroz was not found; and in his country they call him the liar.
But Kawad, who succeeded him in the kingdom, and his |153 nobles cherished hatred against the Romans, saying that they had caused the incursion of the Huns, and the pillage and the devastation of their country. And Kawad gathered an army, and went out against Theodosiopolis in Armenia of the Romans, and subdued the city; and he treated its inhabitants mercifully, because he had not been insulted by them; but he took Constantine, the ruler of their city, prisoner.
And in the month of October he reached Amida of Mesopotamia. (But though he assailed it) with fierce assaults of sharp arrows and with battering-rams, which thrust the wall to overthrow it, and pent-houses, which protected those who brought together the materials for the besiegers' mound and raised it up and made it equal in height with the wall, for three months, day after day, yet he could not take the city by storm; while his own people were suffering much hardship through work and fighting, and he was constantly hearing in his ears the insults of disorderly men on the wall, and their ridicule and mockery, and he was reduced to great straits. And indignation and regret took possession of him, because the winter came upon him in its severity, and because the Persians, being clad in their loose garments, showed themselves inefficient; and their bows were greatly relaxed by the moisture of the atmosphere; and their battering-rams did not hurt the wall or make any breaches in it, for (the defenders) were binding bundles of rushes from the beds with chains, and receiving upon them the violence of the battering-rams, and thus preventing them from breaking the wall. But they themselves made a breach in the wall from inside, and they carried the material of the mound from without into |154 the fortress within, and they gradually propped up the cavity with beams from beneath. And when chosen Persian warriors ascended the mound and laid beams upon the wall to effect an entrance (now they were clad in armour, and the king was near with his army outside, and was supporting them with display of strength and shooting of arrows, and encouraging them with shouting, and stimulating them and urging them forward by his presence and appearance, they being about five hundred men), the defenders threw strings of skin just flayed from an ox, and soaked vetch mixed with myrrh-oil from the wall upon the beams, and poured the liquid from the vetch upon the skins to make them slippery, and they placed fire among the props which were beneath the mound. And when they had engaged in a conflict with each other for about six hours, and (the besiegers) had failed to effect an entrance, the fire blazed up and consumed the wood of the props, and immediately also the rest of the material was reduced to ashes by the violence of the fire, and the mound was destroyed and fell.11 And the Persians who were on the top of it were burned, and they were also bruised, being struck with stones by those on the wall. And the king retired with shame and grief, being more than ever mocked and insulted by those daring, proud, and boastful men. For there was no bishop in that city to be their teacher and to keep them in order. For John the bishop, a chaste and noble man of honoured character, had died a few days before. This man was called from the monastery of Karthamin, and he, having been elected, came, and he became their bishop. However, he did not change his asceticism and self-mortification and habit of life, but was constant (in them) by day and by night. And he |155 warned and rebuked the rich men of the city at the time of the famine and the incursion of the Arabs 12 and the pestilence, saying that they should not. keep back the corn in the time of distress, but should sell it and give to the poor; lest if they kept it back, they might be only hoarding it for the enemy, according to the word of Scripture. And so, in fact, it happened. To him an angel appeared openly, standing beside the altar-table, and he foretold to him the incursion of the enemy, and that he should be taken away as a righteous man from the face of the enemy; and he revealed the saying, and published it in the presence of the people of the city, that they might turn and be saved from the wrath.
CHAPTER IV
THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS HOW THE CITY OF AMIDA WAS SUBDUED, AND WHAT BEFELL ITS INHABITANTS
When Kawad and his army had been defeated in the various assaults which they made upon the city, and a large number of his soldiers had perished, his hands were weakened; and he asked that a small gift of silver should be given to him, and he would withdraw from the city. But Leontius, the son of Pappus, the chief councillor, and Cyrus the governor, and Paul Bar Zainab the steward, by the messengers whom they sent to Kawad, demanded from him the price of the garden vegetables which his army had eaten, as well as for the corn and wine which they gathered and brought away from the villages. And when he was greatly grieved at this, and was preparing to withdraw in disgrace, Christ appeared to him in a vision of the night, as he himself |156 afterwards related it, and said to him, that within three days He would deliver up to him the inhabitants of the city, because they had sinned against Him; and this took place as follows:— On the western side of the city by the Tripyrgion was a guard of monks who were told off from the monastery of John of Anzetene, and their archimandrite was a Persian. And on the outside, right opposite this watch-tower, a certain Marzban, named Kanarak the Lame, was encamped. And day after day, vigilantly watching by night and by day, he was diligent and clever in devising plans for the subjugation of the city. For there was one whom they called in the city Kutrigo, a turbulent and thievish fellow; this man was very daring in all kinds of attacks upon the Persians, and he used to make raids and snatch away from them cattle and goods; so that they also, being accustomed to hear the men on the wall crying out, used to call him Kutrigo. Kanarak observed this man, and perceived that he went out by the aqueducts adjoining the Tripyrgion, and snatched up spoil, and went in again. And for a time the Persians let him accomplish his will, marking and examining his actions, and they ran after him and saw the place from which he came out and where he went in.
But it happened on that night on which the city was subdued, that there was darkness, and a dense cloud sending clown soft rain; and a certain man gave a friendly entertainment to the monks who guarded the Tripyrgion, and he gave them wine to drink late in the night, and consequently sleep overtook them, and they did not watch diligently upon their guard, according to their usual custom. And when Kanarak and a few soldiers came up, pursuing Kutrigo, and drew near |157 to the wall, the monks did not cry out nor cast stones; and the man perceived that they were asleep, and he sent for scaling-ladders and for his troops; and his followers went in by the aqueducts, and climbed the tower of the monks, and killed them. And they took the tower and also the battlement; and they set up the scaling-ladders against the wall, and sent to the king.
But when those who were in charge of another tower, their neighbours, heard it, they cried out, and tried to come to the monks who were being killed, and were not able; but some of them were wounded by arrows from the Persians, and died. And when the report reached Cyrus the governor, and he came up and torches were held close to him, he was easily struck by an arrow from the Persians, who stood in the darkness and were themselves unhurt by the archers; and he withdrew wounded. But when it was morning, and the king and his army reached the place, they set scaling-ladders against the wall; and he ordered his troops to go up; and many of those who went up perished, being wounded by arrows and by stones, and driven back by spears. And those who through fear turned and fled down the scaling-ladders were killed by the king's command, as cowards and fugitives from the battle. Whereupon the Persians took courage and set themselves either to gain the victory by conquering and subduing the city, or being smitten in the actual conflict to escape reproach and slaughter from their king; for he was near, and was a spectator of their struggle. But the citizens tried to loose from beneath the keystone of the arch of the tower in which the Persians were, and they were engaged in loosening the supports; and while this was taking place, another tower was subdued, and another and another in succession, and the guards of the wall were killed.
But Peter, a man of huge stature, a native of 'Amkhoro, |158 being clad in an iron coat of mail, held the battlement of one side alone by himself; and did not allow the Persians to pass, and repelled and hurled back with a spear those who assailed him from without and within, holding his ground and standing like a hero : until at length, when five or six towers on another side were subdued, he also fled and was not killed. And the Persians first got possession of the whole wall and held it; and they spent a night and a day and the following night in killing and driving back the guards. And at last they descended and opened the gates, and the army entered, having received the king's command to destroy the men and women of all classes and ages for three days and three nights. But a certain Christian prince of the country of Arran pleaded with the king on behalf of a church called the Great Church of the Forty Martyrs; and he spared it, being full of people. And after three days and three nights the slaughter ceased by the king's command. And men went in to guard the treasures of the Church and of the great men of the city, that the king might have whatever was found in them. But the order also was given that the corpses of those who were slain in the streets and of those whom they had crucified should be collected and brought round to the northern side of the city, so that the king, who was on the south side, might enter in. And they were collected, and they were numbered as they were brought out, eighty thousand; besides those that were heaped up in the taverns, and were thrown into the aqueducts, and were left in the houses. And then the king entered the treasury of the Church, and seeing there an image of the Lord Jesus, depicted in the likeness of a Galilean, he asked who it was. And they answered him, "It is God";13 and he bowed his head before it, and said, "He it was Who said to me, 'Stay, and receive from Me the city and its inhabitants, for they have sinned against Me.' " But he took away a quantity of silver and gold of the holy vessels, and costly garments formerly belonging to Isaac Bar Bar'ai, a consul and a rich man of the city, which came to the Church by inheritance a few years before. But he found there also good wine dried into its dregs, which |159 used to be brought out and placed in the sun for seven years together, and at last it became dry; from this the stewards, when on their journeys, were accustomed to take some, ground to dust, in clean linen pouches. And they would put a little of it into water so as to make a mixture, which, when they drank it, afforded the sweetness and flavour of wine. And they told the ignorant that it was "h'nono." And the king admired it greatly, and took it away. And the art of making this agreeable beverage was lost to the sons of the Church from that time.
But the gold and silver belonging to the great men's houses, and the beautiful garments, were collected together and given to the king's treasurers. But they also took down all the statues of the city, and the sun-dials, and the marble; and they collected the bronze and everything that pleased them, and they placed them upon wooden rafts that they made, and sent them by the river Tigris, which flows past the east of the city and penetrates into their country. But the king sought for the chiefs and great men of the city; and Leontius, and Cyrus the governor, who was wounded by the arrow, and the rest of the great men, were brought to him; but the Persians had killed Paul Bar Zainab the steward, lest he should make known to the king that they had found a quantity of gold in his possession. But they clothed Leontius and Cyrus in filthy garments, and put swine-ropes on their necks, and made them carry pigs, and led them about proclaiming and exposing them, and saying," Rulers who do not rule their city well nor restrain its people from insulting the king, deserve such insult as this." But at last the great men, and all the chief craftsmen, were bound and brought together, and set apart as the king's captives; and they were sent to his country with the military escort which brought them down. But influential men of the king's army drew near and said to him, "Our kinsmen and brethren were killed in battle by the inhabitants of the city," and they asked him that one-tenth |160 of the men should be given to them for the exaction of vengeance. And they brought them together and counted them, and gave to them in proportion from the men; and they put them to death, killing them in all sorts of ways.
But the king bathed himself in the bath of Paul Bar Zainab, and after winter he departed from the city. And he left in it Glon the general as governor, and two Marzbans, and about three thousand soldiers to guard the city, and John Bar Habloho, one of the rich men, and Sergius Bar Zabduni, to rule the people.
And then in the summer the Romans came, and their leaders were Patrick the commander-in-chief, an old man, upright and a believer, but deficient in mental power, and Hypatius, and Celer the master of the offices, and at length also Areobindus; moreover, Count Justin, who received the kingdom after Anastasius, accompanied them. And they met together, and they attacked the city with wooden towers and excavations, and all kinds of engines; and they set fire also to the gate of the city, which was called the gate of Mвr Z''uro, to effect an entrance upon the Persians; however, they were hindered because they were resting, and they did not rush in, for the Persians shut the gate. And the Romans did not subdue it nor take it from them by assault; although the inhabitants were reduced to misery from famine, day after day, until at last the people there were eating one another. But how this happened, although the story is horrible and wretched, yet because it is true, I shall relate how in the following fifth chapter of this seventh Book.
CHAPTER V
THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE FAMINE WHICH OCCURRED WHEN AMIDA WAS BEING SUBDUED, AND HOW THE PERSIANS WENT OUT FROM IT AND DEPARTED TO THEIR OWN COUNTRY
King Kawad, as stated above, on his departure with his army from Amida to his own country, left in it Glon, a |161 general, and two Marzbans, and about three thousand soldiers to guard the city; and also two or three rich men and some private inhabitants. These the Roman generals did not overcome, nor did they subdue and take the city. But at last Patrick went down to Arzanene of the Persians, and carried off captives, and subdued fortresses there. And Areobindus and Hypatius went down to Nisibis and did not subdue it, although the citizens were favourably inclined towards the Romans, and showed themselves lazy in the fight. However, the king of the Persians hearing of it, came with an army against the Romans; and they fled before him, and they left their tents and the heavy baggage which they had with them. Areobindus fled from Arzamena and Aphphadana, and Hypatius and Patrick and others from Thelkatsro. And they lost many horses and their riders, who fell from the cliffs of the mountains, and were bruised, and perished, and were mangled. But 14 Farzman alone, a warlike man, prospered in battle several times; and he was celebrated and dreaded amongst the Persians, and his very name terrified them, and his exploits wasted and weakened them; and they proved themselves to be cowards in his presence, and fell before him. This man at last came to Amida with five hundred horsemen, and he watched the Persians who went out to the villages, and he killed some of them, and he took the animals which they had with them, and also their horses.
Now a certain crafty fellow, Gadono by name, of the town of Akhorи, whom I myself know, introduced himself to him, and made a compact with him, that he would beguile and bring out to him, on some pretext, Glon, the Persian general, and three or four hundred horsemen. And because this aforesaid Gadono was a hunter of wild animals, and partridge, and fish, he used to go in freely to Glon, carrying in his hands a |162 present of game for him; and he ate bread in his presence, and received from him out of the property of the city what was equal in value to the game.
And at last he told him that there were about one hundred Romans and five hundred horses nearly seven miles away from the city, at a place called 'Afotho Ro''en; and as a friend he advised him to go out and take possession of the beasts, to kill the Romans, and make a name for himself.
And he sent scouts, who saw a few Romans and the horses, and returned and gave him the information. Then he made preparation and took with him four hundred horsemen, and this Gadono upon a mule; and he led him and set him in the midst of the ambush of the Romans, who were on the watch for him. So the Romans cut the Persians to pieces, and they brought away the head of Glon to Constantia.
Upon this, distress and rage seized the son of Glon and the Marzbans, who used to allow the inhabitants who happened to be shut up in the city to go out to the market, which was held beside the wall by peasants from the villages. These peasants brought wine and wheat and other produce, and sold them both to the Persians and to the citizens, while horsemen were stationed close to them, and escorted them, a certain number at a time, and conducted them in. And by an excellent law of the Persians, no one dared to take anything from the villagers, who sold what they liked and received the price in money and kind from the city; consequently they attended the market diligently. However, in consequence of the slaughter of Glon and the horsemen, the market was held no more. And the great men who were left in the city, and about ten thousand persons besides, were arrested and shut up in the Stadium, and they were kept there without food; and they ate their shoes, and they also ate and drank their excrements. And at last they attacked one another; and now when they were almost perishing, those who were left in the Stadium |163 were let loose like the dead from their graves in the midst of the city. And famishing women, who were found there in troops, laid hold of some of the men by means of blandishments and guile and artifices, and overcame them, and killed and ate them; and more than five hundred men were eaten by women. And the famine which was in this city being so grievous, the distress surpassed the blockade of Samaria and the destruction of Jerusalem, which is recorded in Scripture and Josephus relates. But at last Farzman came to the city, and he made a treaty with the Persians there, for they, too, were weak. And the chiefs of the Romans and the Persians sat by the gate of the city, while the Persians went out carrying as much as they could, and they were not searched. And if any of the citizens accompanied them they were asked whether they desired to remain or would like to go with the Persians. So the evacuation of the city took place.
But eleven hundred pounds of gold were given to Kawad by Celer, the master of the offices, for the ransom of the city and for peace. And when the documents were drawn up they brought the drafts to the king for his signature. And the king fell asleep, and it was told him in a vision that he should not make peace; and when he awoke he tore up the paper, and departed to his own country, taking the gold with him.
But Farzman remained in the city to govern its inhabitants and the country. (Now a remission of tribute was granted by the king for seven years.) And he dealt kindly with the inhabitants of the city. And he bestowed gifts lavishly on those who returned from captivity, and he received them peaceably, every man according to his rank. And the city was at peace and was inhabited. And building was added to the wall. And, by the advice of Dith, a merciful bishop was sent again to the city, a quiet and affable man, a monk, and a councillor, Thomas |164 by name. And, besides, the providence of God summoned and conveyed thither Samuel the Just, from the monastery of the Katharoi, a miracle-worker and a "dissolver of doubts"; and he also sustained the city by his prayers, and aided its inhabitants.
CHAPTER VI
THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE TOWN OF DARA OF MESOPOTAMIA, HOW IT WAS BUILT ON THE BORDER OF THE ROMAN AND PERSIAN TERRITORIES IN THE DAYS OF ANASTASIUS THE KING, AND THOMAS THE BISHOP OF THE CITY OF AMIDA
Anastasius the king brought severe censures against the Roman generals and commanders who betook themselves to the royal city after the conflict with the Persians, because they did not, according to his will, under the Lord, prosper and succeed in the war, and conquer the Persians or drive them out from Amida, except by the gifts and the gold that were sent from him. And they alleged in their defence to him, that it was hard for generals to contend with a king who according to the word of God, although he was an Assyrian and an enemy, was sent by the Lord to the country of the Romans for the punishment of sins, and, moreover, on account of the greatness of the army which he had with him; and that it was no easy matter for them in his absence also to subdue Nisibis; because they had no engines ready, nor any refuge in which to rest. For the fortresses were far away and were too small to receive the army, and neither the supply of water in them nor the vegetables were sufficient. And they begged of him that a city should be built by his command beside the mountain, as a refuge for the army in which they might rest, and for the preparation of weapons, and to guard the country of the Arabs from the inroads of the |165 Persians and Saracens. And some of them spoke to him in favour of Dara, and some in favour of Ammodis. Then he sent a message to Thomas the bishop of Amida, and he despatched engineers who drew up a plan, and this holy Thomas brought it up with him to the king. And the king and the great men agreed that Dara should be built as a city. And at that time Felicissimus was commander, an energetic and wise man; and he was not at all covetous, but was upright, and a friend of the peasants and the poor. Now King Kawad was fighting with the Tamuroye and other enemies of his country. And the king gave gold to Thomas the bishop as the price of the village which belonged to the Church; and he bought it for the treasury. And he liberated all the serfs who were in it, and granted to each of them his land and his house. And for the building of the church of the city he gave several hundred pounds of gold. And he promised with an oath that he would give with liberal hand whatever the bishop might expend, and that he would not disown the obligation. And at last he issued a royal decree, and in full detail, providing that the work of building the city should be carried out according to the direction of the bishop without delay, gain and profit thereby accruing to the craftsmen and slaves and peasants who were required for the collection of material there. And he sent a number of stonecutters and masons; and he commanded that no man should be deprived of the wages he earned, because he rightly perceived and cleverly understood that by that means a city could quickly be built upon the frontier. And when they began by the help of the Lord and commenced the work, there were there as overseers and commissaries over it Cyrus 'Adon and Eutychian the presbyters, and Paphnout and Sergius and John the deacons, and others from the clergy of Amida. And the bishop himself paid frequent personal visits |166 to the place. And gold was given in abundance without any stint to the craftsmen and for work of every kind, at the following rate, the regular sum of four keratin 15 a day for each workman, and if he had an ass with him, of eight. And consequently many grew rich and wealthy. And since the report was published abroad that the work was honest and that the wages were given, from the East to the West workmen and craftsmen flocked together. And the overseers who were over the work also received a liberal allowance, and their wallets were filled; for they found the man generous, gentle, and kind; and, moreover, he believed in the just king, and in his promises which he made to him. And in two or three years the city was built, and, as we may say, suddenly sprang up on the frontier. And when Kawad heard of it, and sought to put a stop to the work, he was unable, for the wall was raised, and built high enough to be a protection for those who took refuge behind it. And a large public bath and a spacious storehouse were built. And a conduit was constructed which passed along the lower part of the mountain, and wonderful cisterns within the city to receive the water. And persons to hasten the work were frequently sent from the king to the bishop, and they all brought back excellent reports of his integrity and justice to the king; and he was greatly pleased with the man, and sent gold in answer to the man's requests, and fulfilled them without delay. And at last the number of hundred pounds which he sent was counted, and the bishop forwarded a written statement to the king, that, speaking in the presence of God, the money had been expended upon the work, and that no part of it remained in his hand or had been given to his Church. And he readily sent him a royal decree containing a receipt of the exchequer |167 to the effect that all the gold which had been sent by him had been expended upon the building in the city. And Dara was completed, and it was named Anastasiopolis, after the name of the just king. And he swore by his crown that no statement of accounts should be required from Thomas or from his Church, either by himself or by any of his successors in the kingdom. And he16 appointed there and consecrated as first bishop Eutychian the presbyter, a zealous man, and accustomed to the transaction of business; and he gave the privilege of certain rights to his Church, taken from the jurisdiction of the Church of Amida. And attached to him was John, one of the Roman soldiers from Amida. Him Eutychian tonsured, and made him a presbyter and master of the hostelry; and when he went up to the royal city this John accompanied him. And the king, upon his being presented to him, gave him an endowment for his church. But Abraham Bar Kili of Thel-midи was notary at that time, who was the son of Ephraim of Constantia, and he also attached himself to Eutychian the bishop, who made him a presbyter. And he was sent as overseer of the work and the building of the bath; and at last he became steward of the Church.
But the king gave Eutychian gifts of holy vessels and gold for the building of the great church, and sent him away. And the bishop having lived but a little longer, died. And his successor there was Thomas Bar 'Abdiyo of Resaina, who had been a Roman soldier, and had been appointed steward of the Church of Amida; and he also was vigilant and well versed in business. And John the master of the hostelry, being an honourable and chaste man, was faithful to him and beloved by him. And when this holy Thomas withdrew from his see on account of his zeal for the faith, this believing John |168 joined him, and he appointed him as his suffragan; and for about seventeen years he lived in exile in different places. And he sent him (John) to Berroea,17 where he died in the year three (when Khosrun went up to Antioch), having joined the monks who had withdrawn from Marde before the enemy; and he was buried in the monastery of Beth-Thiri; and he was laid beside his bishop, who entered into rest before him.
BOOK ХІІ
CHAPTER VII
THE SEVENTH CHAPTER TREATS OF THE MAP OF THE WORLD WHICH WAS MADE BY THE DILIGENCE OF PTOLEMY PHILOMETOR, KING OF EGYPT
Now Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, as the Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea declares, two hundred and eighty years and more before the birth of our Lord, at the beginning of his reign, set the Jewish captives in Egypt free and sent offerings to Jerusalem to Izra'el,15 who was priest at that time; and he assembled seventy men learned in the law and had the Holy Scriptures translated from the Hebrew tongue into Greek; and he stored them up and kept them with him; for in this matter he was indeed moved by God, in order to prepare for the calling of the nations who should attain to knowledge, that they might be true worshippers of the glorious Trinity through the ministration of the Spirit.
Yet again about the space of one hundred and thirty years after him Ptolemy Philometor also was honourably moved and exerted himself, and by means of ambassadors and letters and presents, which he sent and dispatched to the rulers of the countries of the nations, he urged them to write down and send to him the limits of the lands under their sway and of the neighbouring peoples, and also a description of their habitations and their customs. And they wrote and sent them to him except the northern region extending to the East |326 and to the West. And we have thought it necessary to write it out here at the end for the understanding of the discerning. And the account is as follows:—
[At this point follows an epitome of the geography of Claudius Ptolemaeus, whom our author has taken for an Egyptian king. As no good purpose would be served by publishing a translation of this section, I omit it. A portion of it is also contained under Zachariah's name in Add. MS. 14,620, fol. 28, with considerable variations from our MS. After the description of the province of Africa this MS. has the curious addition, "and they speak Syriac and Latin." There is another addition to Ptolemy in the notice of the Scenitae of Arabia Felix,16 where our author adds, "who are called Sabaeans," to which 17,202 further adds, "the same is Sh'ba," while in place of the Sabaeans, whom Ptolemy mentions lower down,17 our author has "the Ofirians, the same is Ofir." 18 These additions are of course due to our author himself or some earlier Christian translator; but there are others which point to a difference of reading. Thus in place of "'Aqa&kai, Ai0qi/opej"19 he has "others who live in the water, who eat fruit," and to the notice of the Sachalites he adds, "from whence come pearls, and they sail on the water on bladders," an addition which in Nobbe's text of Ptolemy is printed as the note of a Scholiast.20 Again to the notice of the frankincense country in Ethiopia21 he adds, "thence comes beet." There are a few other places where our author throws some light on Ptolemy's text. Thus in place of thePexi=noi 22 of Ethiopia he has "cubit-men," and, therefore, perhaps read Phxi=noi, while among the tribes of Arabia Felix in the place where Nobbe's text has Dwrhnoi/ 23 our author's reading [Syriac] (14,620, [Syriac]) shows that he read "Dwsarhnoi/," as in the text of |327 Montanus. Other variations from Ptolemy's text are probably due to carelessness or misunderstanding. There is, however, one peculiar variation, of which it is hard to see the origin, in the account of Taprobane, where our author has "and their women are deaf," the corresponding statement in Ptolemy being "[Greek]." 24 I continue the translation at p. 336, 1. 13, of Land's text.]
This description of the peoples of the world was made, as recorded above, by the exertions of Ptolemy Philometor and in the thirtieth year of his reign, one hundred and fifty years before the birth of our Saviour, so that the space of time from that day to the present, which is the twenty-eighth year of the reign of Justinian, the serene king of our days, the eight hundred and sixty-sixth year of Alexander, and the three hundred and thirty-third Olympiad,25 will be found to be a space of seven hundred and eleven years. In such a space of time, therefore, how many cities have been built and added among all peoples in the world from the time of Ptolemy down to the present day, and especially since the birth of our Saviour! And peace has reigned among nations and kindreds and tongues, and they have not observed their former custom, nor has nation stood up to make war or to use their swords against nation, nor have they contended in battle, in that the prophecy has been fulfilled in them which says, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks."26
And besides these there are also in this northern region five believing peoples, and their bishops are twenty-four, and their Catholic lives at D'win, the chief city of Persian Armenia. The name of their Catholic27 was Gregory, a righteous and a distinguished man. |328
Further Gurzan,28 a country in Armenia, and its language is like Greek; and they have a Christian prince, who is subject to the king of Persia.
Further the country of Arran in the country of Armenia, with a language of its own, a believing and baptized people; and it has a prince subject to the king of Persia.
Further the country of Sisagan, with a language of its own, a believing people, and there are also heathens living in it.
The country of Bazgun,29 with a language of its own, which adjoins and extends to the Caspian Gates and sea, the Gates in the land of the Huns. And beyond the Gates are the Bulgarians with their own language, a heathen and barbarous people, and they have cities; and the Alans, and they have five cities; and the men of the race of Dadu (?), and they live on the mountains' and have strongholds; the Unnogur, a people living in tents, the Ogor, the Sabir, the Bulgarian,30 the Khorthrigor, the Avar, the Khasar, the Dirmar (?), the Sarurgur (?), the Bagarsik (?), the Khulas (?), the Abdel, the Ephthalite, these thirteen peoples dwelling in tents; and they live on the flesh of cattle and fish and wild beasts and by arms; and beyond them the tribe of the pigmies and of the dog-men, and north-west of them the Amazons,31 women with one breast each, who live entirely by themselves and fight in arms and on horseback; and there is no male among them, but, when they wish to pair, they go in peaceful fashion to a tribe near their country and hold intercourse with them for a month of days and return to their country; and, when they bear a child, if it is a male, they kill it, and, if it is a female, they preserve it alive; and in this way they keep up their Tanks. And the tribe which lives near them is the Harus (?), tall, big-limbed (?) men, who have no weapons of war, and |329 horses cannot carry them because of the bigness of their limbs (?). And to the east again verging on the north are three other black tribes.
Now in the land of the Huns about twenty years and more ago some men translated some books into the native tongue; and the origin of it, which the Lord brought about, I will relate as I heard it from certain truthful men, John of Rhesaina, who was in the monastery founded by Ishokuni close to Amida, and Thomas the tanner, who were carried into captivity when Kawad carried away captives fifty years and more ago. And, when they reached the land. of. the Persians, they were again sold to the Huns and went beyond the gates and were in their country more than thirty years; and they took wives and begot children there. But after about this space of time they returned and told us the story with their own mouths as follows:—
After the coming of the captives from the land of the Romans, whom the Huns had taken away with them, and after they had been in their country for thirty-four years, then an angel appeared to a man named Kardutsat, bishop of the country of Arran, as the bishop related, and said to him, "Take three pious priests and go out into the plain and receive from me a message sent to thee by the Lord of spirits, because I am guardian of the captives who have gone from the land of the Romans to the land of the nations and have offered up their prayer to God. And he told me what to say to thee." And, when this same Kardutsat, which, when translated into Greek, is Theokletos,32 had gone zealously out into the plain and had . . , called upon God, he and the three4 presbyters, then the angel said to them, "Come, go into the land of the nations and warn the children of the dead, arid ordain priests for them, and give them the mysteries, and strengthen them; and behold! I am with you and will deal graciously with you there, and signs shall ye do there among |330 the nations, and all that is needed for your service ye shall find." And four others went with them; and in a country in which no peace is to be found these seven priests from evening to evening found a lodging and seven loaves of bread and a jar of water. And they did not enter by way of the Gates, but were guided over the mountains. And, when they reached the place, they told these things to the captives, and many were baptized, and they made converts among the Huns also. They were there for a week of years, and there they translated books into the Hunnic tongue.
Now at that time Probus happened to be sent on an embassy to those parts by the king, in order to hire some of them to meet the nations in war. And, when he heard from the Huns about these holy men and understood their story also from the captives, he was very eager and desirous to see them. And he saw them, and received a blessing from them, and showed them much honour before the eyes of those nations.
And our king, when he heard from them the facts recorded above, which the Lord so brought about, loaded thirty mules from the territories of the neighbouring Roman cities and sent them to them, and also flour and wine and oil and linen cloths and other commodities and sacramental vessels. And the animals he gave as a present to them, because Probus was a believing and a kindly man.
Now another Armenian bishop also, whose name was Maku (?), was stirred to emulation by such noble deeds and went out after two more weeks of years; and he was honourably moved and went to the country of his own accord and some of his priests with him. And he built a brick church and planted plants and sowed various kinds of seeds and did signs and baptized many. When the rulers of these nations saw something new happening, they admired the men and were greatly pleased with them and honoured them, each |331 one among them inviting them to his own district and his own people, and beseeching them to be his instructors: and behold! they are there to this day. And this same thing is a token of the mercies of God, Who cares for everyone that is His in every place. And henceforth it is the time which is placed in His own power, that the fulness of the peoples may come in, as the apostle said.33
For for one week of years the king of Persia also, as those who know relate, has separated himself from the eating of things strangled and blood, and from the flesh of unclean beasts and birds, from the time when Tribonian thearchiatros came down to him, who was taken captive at that time, and from our serene king came Birowi, a perfect man, and after him Kashowi, and now Gabriel, a Christian of Nisibis. From that time he has understood his food, and his food is not polluted (?) according to the former practice, but rather it is blessed, and then he eats. And Joseph also, the Catholic of the Christians, is high in his confidence, and is closely attached to him, because he is a physician, and he sits before him on the first seat after the chief of the Magians, and whatever he asks of him he receives.
Out of kindness towards the captives and the holy men he has now by the advice of the Christian physicians attached to him made a hospital, a thing not previously known, and has given 100 mules and 50 camels laden with goods (?) from |332 the royal stores, and 12 physicians, and whatever is required is given; and in the king's retinue (?) 34 ...
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