Zachariah of Mitylene, Syriac Chronicle (1899). Book 7.
THIS seventh Book, in the fifteen chapters which are contained in it as given below, tells about the events that occurred in the reign of Anastasius; in the first chapter, about the beginning of his reign, and how Epiphanius the bishop was ejected; and in the second chapter, about the Isaurians who rebelled and were subdued, and the tyrants at the head of them were killed; and in the third chapter, about Theodosiopolis and Amida, the cities which were subdued; and in the fourth, about the manner in which the city of Amida was subdued; and the fifth, about the famine that was in it, and how the Persians departed from it; the sixth, about Dara, how the city was built; the seventh, about the expulsion of Macedonius, who was ejected from Constantinople; the eighth, containing the letter of Simeon the presbyter, giving information concerning his expulsion; the ninth, about his successor Timothy, and how the expression, "Who was crucified for us," was proclaimed in Constantinople in his days; the tenth, about the Synod which was held in Sidon in the days of Flavian and Akhs'noyo the bishops, in the fifth year,1 the eight hundred and twenty-third year of the Greeks; the eleventh, about the petition which was framed by the monks of the East and Cosmas of Antioch, and presented to the Synod; the twelfth chapter, about the Synod that was held in Tyre in the days of Severus and Akhs'noyo, which anathematised the Council of Chalcedon and the Tome of Leo with great freedom of speech; the thirteenth chapter, about Ariadne the queen, who died, and about Vitalian the tyrant, who took Hypatius prisoner in war; the fourteenth chapter, about Timothy, who died, and his |148 successor was John; and about demons that entered into the Egyptians, and Alexandrians, and Arabians who came to the dedication festival at Jerusalem, and barked at the Cross and then ceased; the fifteenth, telling who were chief priests in the days of Anastasius the king. Anastasius, then, died in the eight hundred and twenty-ninth year of the Greeks, in the three hundred and twenty-fourth Olympiad.
CHAPTER I
THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TREATS OF THE REIGN OF THE EMPEROR ANASTASIUS WHO RECEIVED THE KINGDOM AFTER ZENO, AND OF EUPHEMIUS2 THE BISHOP THERE, WHO WAS EJECTED
Zeno,3 having reigned seventeen years, as is recorded above in the sixth Book and its chapters, died in the three hundred and seventeenth Olympiad, in the eight hundred and second year by the reckoning of the Greeks, the fourteenth Indiction, on the fourth day of the Great Week. And Anastasius, who was silentiary decurion, received the kingdom. This man was from the city of Dyrrhachium, and was powerful in aspect, vigorous in mind, and a believer. When he was a soldier he had confidential friendship with Ariadne the queen, who desired and agreed to make him king. To this man a few days before he became king [it happened as follows].4 There was a certain person named John the Scholastic, brother of Dith, a native of Amida, a valiant man, and just and upright, fearing God and forsaking evil; but by his own accord and freewill |149 he was constant in the ministry, being a scholastic of the Church. And when he was in Constantinople on a confidential mission on behalf of his city, he saw a vision once, and again a second time, showing that Anastasius the silentiary should be made king. And he called him, and said to him, "In accordance with the rectitude and the virtues and the honour of thy soul, that thou mayest fulfil the goodwill of God, do thou be peaceable and gentle and modest and upright, and show thyself towards everyone quiet and kind for the benefit of all men, who are thy kindred. It is not because I want anything from thee, or because I would flatter thee, that I reveal to thee that thou shalt be made king very soon." And because this John was celebrated and honoured for his merits, and was known also to many, and, moreover, because he was a learned man, Anastasius believed him, and took it as true; and he was constant with him there in the vigil of the church. But it happened that when he received the kingdom, and he was desirous of rewarding his friend with gifts of gratitude such as are sought after by and visible to men, this John would not take anything at all from him; but he soon left the city and returned to his own country : being content with the documents 5 which Zeno had drawn up, he only took assurance from Anastasius that they should be received.
But Euphemius the bishop there had been threatening Peter of Alexandria that he would decree his deprivation, because he wrote expressly a reply to Fravitta the predecessor of Euphemius, and also because in his synodical letter which was sent by some clergy, Longinus the presbyter and Andrew the deacon, he had anathematised the Synod of Chalcedon and the Tome. But at that time Euphemius was prevented from doing this by the advice of Archelaus, bishop of Caesarea, |150 a wise man who happened to be there. And when Peter died, Euphemius maintained the same hatred against Athanasius, Peter's successor in the bishopric of Alexandria, who more openly and authoritatively anathematised the Synod and the Tome; against him Euphemius was making preparations to depose him, and called in Felix of Rome to his aid. And when his machination became known to Athanasius through his Apokrisiarioi there, who wrote and also sent to him a copy of the letter which had been sent by him 6 to Felix, then Athanasius made preparation, and wrote to Sallust of Jerusalem, and received a reply from him concerning the agreement of the faith. And they both informed Anastasius the king respecting Euphemius that he was a heretic, and showed a copy of his letter in confirmation (of their charge). And when his deeds were examined by certain bishops who happened to be in Constantinople, and also by believing monks from Alexandria and the East, he was banished and ejected from his see; and Macedonius, who also was ejected fifteen years later, as is recorded below, became bishop in his stead.
CHAPTER II
THE SECOND CHAPTER OF THIS BOOK TELLS US HOW ISAURIA REVOLTED
Now the Isaurians prospered in the days of Zeno (who withdrew before Basiliscus and Marcus the tyrants, and dwelt as a refugee in the strongholds there called Salmon); and they also had free intercourse in the kingdom in his days, and he was their rewarder, and he counted them worthy to receive good things of all kinds from him; and on that account they could not bear their good fortune, but were proud and insolent when Anastasius became king. And they raised a rebellion against him, and they appointed a |151 tyrant for themselves, and they refused the gifts which were sent to them by Anastasius, and they would not consent to give him tribute, but they even raided the provinces round about them. And when an outcry and accusation against them was brought to the king, he sent an army and made preparations against them. And the Isaurians were defeated in battle; and they showed themselves to be weak, and were subdued, and the tyrants were killed.
But an earthquake occurred. And locusts invaded 'Arab 7 of Mesopotamia. And there was a famine in the year nine,8 of which James the doctor of Batnae wrote an account, in the eleventh (year) of the reign of Anastasius. And many of the Arabs died, both in Amida, whither they retired, and in various other places.
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 Mâr 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 Akhorè, 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-midè 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.
CHAPTER VII
THE SEVENTH CHAPTER OF THE SEVENTH BOOK CONCERNING THE EXPULSION OF MACEDONIUS THE HERETIC FROM THE ROYAL CITY
Macedonius, who was bishop of Constantinople, omitted no intrigue of heart to conceal his opinions. But, like the fruit which bursts open in its day, according to the saying of Job,18 and "what is covered shall be revealed, and what is done in the secret chamber shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops,"19 as is said, again, in the Gospel. This man (was attached) to the monks of the monastery of the Akoimetoi, of whom there were about one thousand, and who lived luxuriously in baths and in other bodily indulgences, and outwardly appeared to men honourable, and were adorned with the semblance of chastity, but were inwardly like whited sepulchres, full of all uncleanness. And they agreed to the mind of Macedonius; and he used to celebrate the memory of Nestorius every year, and they used to celebrate it with him in their monastery and in the other monastic dwellings where the same opinions were held. And consequently they had great freedom of intercourse with this Macedonius. And they were continually reading the writings of the school of Diodorus and Theodore; and Macedonius himself |169 compiled a book of quotations from them, and from the work which was drawn up by Theodoret concerning the Acts of the Synod (not the one that is translated into the Syriac language); and he ornamented it with gold; and he said, "It is from the holy fathers and the doctors of the Church." And when he showed it to the king, he would not receive it; and he said to him, "You have no need of such things, go rather and burn this." And when he saw the mind of the king he formed a plan for actually raising a rebellion against him; and he was in the habit of calling him a heretic and a Manichaean. And the Master of the Offices, because he was lavishly supplied with gifts by him, was favourably inclined towards him. And the report was brought to the king by some true men who were no framers of flattering words. And he held a Council; and in the presence of his patricians he told of the insult which had been offered to him by Macedonius; and he was distressed, and wept, and adjured them not to be influenced by fear; but if, in truth, their king was displeasing to them, or if they knew that he was infected with the deceit of heresy, they should take his dominion from him, and he should be cast out as an unbeliever. And they fell upon their faces before him, weeping. And they inveighed against the audacity of Macedonius, crying out and reviling him; and they praised the king; and they decreed the bishop's banishment. And in order that the Master of the Offices,20 who aided him, might be humiliated, he was commanded to expel him, so that he should be sent to Oasis. And also Pascasius the deacon, who was attached to and beloved by Macedonius, was arrested (and he Wrote, in the presence of the prefect, in the records of the Acts, all his deeds), he and certain monks and others who caused a tumult in the city to prevent the words, "God Who was crucified for us," being proclaimed there, as they had been proclaimed in the whole jurisdiction of Antioch from the days of Eustace the bishop. |170
And to show when and how these things were done, behold I have written down accurately, for the instruction of the readers, the letter of Simeon the presbyter and his brethren the monks who were with him, who happened to be at that time in the royal city having come from the East, and who wrote to Samuel their archimandrite concerning the expulsion of Macedonius, as follows :—
CHAPTER VIII
THE EIGHTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE LETTER THAT WAS SENT FROM CONSTANTINOPLE CONCERNING THE EXPULSION OF MACEDONIUS
"To the virtuous, elect, and God-loving presbyter and archimandrite Samuel, and to the presbyters and deacons, together with all the other brethren, from Simeon the presbyter, in the royal city, and the brethren who are with him, greeting. After we wrote the former letter to your Holiness concerning all that Macedonius did in the monastery of Dalmatus against the whole truth, God stirred up the spirit of the believing king like a lion to the prey, and he roared, and made the whole faction of the enemies of the truth to tremble; for it is said, 'As a watercourse in the hands of the gardener, so is the heart of the king in the hands of the Lord.' 21 May He Who has not turned away from the prayer of His elect, and Who has not suffered the desire of those who worship man instead of God to come to pass, grant that the matter may receive a righteous fulfilment through your prayers; yea and amen! We testify to you that after Macedonius did that of which we sent information to your Piety, and anathematised those reprobate persons and the accursed Council on the 20th of July, there was on the 22nd (the sixth day of the week) a dedication festival at |171 the Martyr Church in the Hebdomon; and the king himself was present. And neither he nor the queen would receive the oblation from him; on the contrary, he even addressed him in severe terms. But on the 24th (the first day of the week) the monks of this place went in and communicated in the church with Macedonius, and the king was vexed with them for going in. And on the 25th (the second day of the week) a few brethren, who seceded from these monks, entered in and went to Mar Patrick the general, and gave him a libel to present to the king, saying, 'We declare that he celebrated the memory of Nestorius, and that he used to send orders to us, and we also did the same in our monasteries every year.' And they wrote other things against him, testifying that transactions such as these took place in their monasteries. On that same day the king commanded, and the water which supplied the baths was cut off from their monasteries, and only that which they drank was left to them. And also he took away the denarii which they used to receive from the treasury. And on the 26th, one of the senators called Romanus went in to the king and gave him a written statement of all the things which were done at the bishop's house; and he said to the king that Pascasius the deacon, along with Macedonius, was the author of all the mischief; and he said besides, 'They have made a certain large book containing extracts from all the heresies, and it is overlaid with gold.' And the king sent for it, and took it to himself, that he might see all its blasphemies. But on the 27th the king convened a Council; and when the patricians went in the king said to them, 'Have you not seen what this Jew who is amongst us did, for in my presence and that of your excellencies he did what he did, and he anathematised the accursed Synod and those reprobate persons; and when, to avoid great trouble, we accepted his act, he then went off, and in the monastery of Dalmatus reversed everything which |172 he himself had done, and he contradicted the whole truth, and lied unto God and before me and unto you. Is this a fair statement?' And at once Clementinus the patrician said before them all, 'May God Himself cast him out from his priesthood who has lied unto God!' And forthwith the king commanded the great prefect to go out into the city and bring together all the orthodox who were wounded when they cried out, 'Who was crucified for us,' that he might learn who their assailants were. And the prefect went out and did as he was commanded. And on the 28th he took the names of all the Nestorians who were the life of Macedonius, and brought them in to the king; and the king commanded that they should be arrested.
"And on the 29th the king assembled all the commanders of the forces and all the officers of the Scholarians and the patricians, and he said to them, 'According to my regular custom I wish to give a donative.' For so it had been his practice to give it once in five years ever since he became king, at the same time requiring oaths from all the Romans to the effect that they would not act treacherously against the kingdom. But on this occasion he required them to take the oath in the following manner: A copy of the gospel being placed for them, they went in and received five denarii each, and they swore as follows, 'By this law of God and by the words which are written in it, we will contend with all our might for the true faith and for the kingdom, and we will not act treacherously either against the truth or the king.' In this manner, indeed, he required them to take the oath, because he heard that Macedonius was trying to raise a rebellion against him.
"On the 30th of July the king gave a largess to the whole army. On the same day the presbyters and deacons, who separated from his clergy lest they should be implicated |173 in his wickedness, presented a libel against Macedonius to the king, charging him, in addition to all his other wickedness, with calling his Majesty a Manichaean and a Eutychianist. And on the 31st of July (the first day of the week) they went in to the king's presence with great fear, and found him filled with rage and agitation. And when they had waited a long time, and everyone was watching in fear to see what commands would issue from him, he opened his mouth and began to speak thus, 'Do you not know that from my childhood I have been brought up in the faith; have any of you ever seen in me any departure from the truth?' And they said, 'Far be it from us, lord.' And at once he rejoined to them, 'Since Macedonius calls me a Manichaean and a Eutychianist, behold! before God the Judge of all I make my defence, affirming that I neither have held nor do hold any opinion foreign to the faith of the three hundred and eighteen holy fathers, and of the one hundred and fifty; and I confess that One of the Persons of the Trinity, God the Word, came down from heaven, and became incarnate from Mary the Theotokos and ever virgin; and He was crucified for us, and He suffered and died; and He rose again in three days, according to His own will; and He is the Judge of the dead and of the living. I adjure you by the Holy Trinity, that if you know anything else in me, or if you are not persuaded of the truth of what I have said, you take this robe and crown off me and burn them in the midst of this city.' And when he said this there was great weeping; and all the patricians cast themselves down before him, and Patrick the general said, 'God will not forgive, nor will your Majesty and the canons of the Church have mercy on him who has done this.' And the king said, 'Everyone, then, who goes to confer with Macedonius or to hold communion with him, is thereby alienated from me.' And while they stood before him, he spoke against the Master of the Offices, saying, 'The riches and the honour which God gave us were not sufficient, |174 but we must needs take a bribe in a matter of the life of all men, and we shall lose our own life.' And while he was speaking he looked at the Master of the Offices, who had inflicted many evils upon the believers; and the Lord, forasmuch as He is the Judge of the dead and the living, rewarded him according to his works. And on the same day the king set guards of Romans at the gates of the city and the harbours, lest any of those monks here should come in to the city. And on the first of August Pascasius the deacon was arrested, and he went in before the prefect and confessed everything which was done in the bishop's house, saying that Macedonius was even trying to raise a rebellion against the king. And on the day after some Nestorians were arrested, and they affirmed that they had some forged books of this heresy; and the prefect sent and brought them to the Praetorium, and he showed them to the king and to the Senate.
"And on the sixth day of the month there was a General Council, and the orthodox and the Nestorians who undertook the defence of Macedonius came in before them. And they found the king standing, because some bishops belonging to our party had entered. And the king said to these clergy of Macedonius, 'Why have you come?' and they replied, 'If your Majesty commands, your servant will come to your Clemency.' And he said, 'Let him go to those before whom he proclaimed his wickedness, and who obeyed him; for, at one time, he had a certain ornamented book, and he affirmed it was taken from the fathers, and that they taught two Natures after the Incarnation; and I said to him, 'There is no need for you to use this, go and burn it.' And he said to the clergy, 'What are the two Natures and the Synod of Chalcedon which God has overturned from its very foundations? Ye are accursed Jews, I declare to you that there is not one God-fearing man among you who is grieved for what has been done in His Church.' And they went out from his presence in great fear and distress. And the orthodox were |175 loud in his praises. And when the clergy returned to Macedonius they said to him, 'The lord of the world has, in the presence of the Senate, anathematised the Synod of Chalcedon and everyone who says two Natures.' And he replied to them, 'I, in my turn, anathematise everyone who does not receive the Synod, and say two Natures.' And his archdeacon cried out, 'Far be it from us, then, ever to have any more part or communion with you.'
"And on the first day of the week, which was the seventh of the month, the believers came and entered the church, and it was filled from end to end. And when the passage from the apostle was read, all the people began to cry out together, 'Let not him who has taken away from the Trinity enter the church; let not him who has blasphemed against the Son of God come in hither; no one wants the Jewish bishop; where Nestorius went, there let his disciples also go. Long live the king, the second Constantine, the upholder of the faith; the gospel to the throne!' And at that instant the clergy took the gospel and placed it on the throne. And when the clergy saw the whole congregation of the church crying out together, they also showed themselves, and cried out, shaking their stoles, and saying, 'The victorious king has gained the victory for our Church.' And as soon as they ceased, the great prefect delivered an address to them in the following terms: 'We accept your goodwill and your zeal on behalf of the truth; and the lord of the world is, as you know, very solicitous for the preservation of orthodoxy and the peace of all the Churches; and your acclamations on behalf of the true faith we will bring to his hearing.' And when the deacon made the proclamation and did not mention his name, and it was not read in the Diptych, the mysteries were celebrated : and as our Lord willed that he should go out, the king commanded, and his banishment was decreed. And, with the object of humiliating the Master of the Offices, he sent him to expel |176 him; and he found him in the church, whither he had fled, sitting-down, with his head between his knees; and he said to him, 'The lord of the world has decreed your banishment'; and the other asked, 'Whither?' and he replied, 'Where your comrade 22 went.' And the stewards of the Church interposed, saying to him, 'We entreat your Lordship, have pity on his old age, and let him not depart in the daytime, lest the people of the city strike him and stone him, but in the evening time let him go.' And when they swore that they would keep him, then he (the Master of the Offices) also left an auxiliary force with them. And they said to him, ' The king has commanded you to give up that book of the Synod which you have with you'; and he replied, 'I will not give it.' But, being forced to do so, he laid it on the table; and the clergy took it up and gave it to the Master's officer,23 and he brought it to the king. And in the evening of the seventh day of the month the Master of the Offices arrived with a military force 24 and expelled him, and gave him up to those who were appointed to carry him away. And all the orthodox were in great fear.
"Now, my lord, we have truly informed your Holiness of what has occurred, and we shall declare to you hereafter whatever the Lord may bring to pass. Pray for us, O elect of God!"
But the former defence made by the king proves to us that Akhs'noyo, the believing doctor, the bishop of Hierapolis, |177 who was a zealous man, having learned that Macedonius was a heretic, sent a written statement of the true faith to the king (as he had done also in the days of Zeno),25 and it was read before the Senate; and he showed that opinions in opposition to it were held by the school of Diodorus and Theodore, and by Nestorius, their disciple, who was ejected, and by Theodoret, and Hibo, and Andrew, and John, and Aetheric—the men who set up the Synod of Chalcedon and received the Tome, and cleft asunder the unity of God the Word, Who became incarnate, dividing it into two natures with their properties, by what they taught concerning Christ after His Incarnation. And at the same time he (Akhs'noyo) urged the king, saying, "It is right that they should be anathematised by all who make a public boast of their own orthodoxy, and of agreeing to the faith of your Majesty." And when Macedonius was required to do this, he anathematised them under compulsion; but after that he used secretly to celebrate their memory in the monastery of Dalmatus, as has been written above.
CHAPTER IX
THE NINTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT TIMOTHY THE SUCCESSOR OF MACEDONIUS, AND HOW IN THE DAYS OF ANASTASIUS THE KING, THE WORDS, "WHO WAS CRUCIFIED FOR US," WERE PROCLAIMED IN THE ROYAL CITY 26
After 27 Macedonius, Timothy became bishop in Constantinople; and he was a believing man, and his deeds were in conformity with his name, for it means "God-honouring." And in his days there was one Marinus of Apamea, a vigilant and clever man, well-versed in business, wise and learned, who was, moreover, true in the faith, the friend and confidant of the king, and a chartularius and his counsellor. And when he was |178 walking in the street or sitting anywhere, he would tell his secretaries to commit in concise form whatever thought he had to writing. And at night also, he had a pen-and-ink stand hanging by his bedside, and a lamp burning by his pillow, so that he could write down his thoughts on a roll; and in the daytime he would tell them to the king, and advise him as to how he should act. And accordingly, as he was from the district of Antioch, all of which ever since the days of Eustace the bishop had been so full of zeal that it was the first to proclaim,"Who was crucified for us," he also vehemently urged and advised King Anastasius to do the same. And 28 when some heretics heard of his ardour, they went to him together, and said to him, "You desire and incite men on earth to go beyond the holy hymn of praise which the angels offer to the Trinity, saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, mighty Lord, of whose praises heaven and earth are full.'" Immediately, God the Word Himself, Who in the flesh was crucified for us men, prepared a defence in his mouth to this effect, "The angels, indeed, offer the hymn of praise, which contains their confession to the adorable and co-equal Trinity, rightly, and do not proclaim that He was crucified for them; but we, on the other hand, in the hymn of praise, which contains our confession, rightly say that He was crucified for us men, for He became incarnate from us, and did not invest Himself with the nature of angels." And so he put them to silence, and he instructed the king, who thereupon commanded that the words, "Who was crucified for us," should be proclaimed in the royal city as in the district of Antioch. And at the same time a wonderful sign occurred, proving to wise men that Christ, Who was crucified in the flesh at Jerusalem, was God; namely, an eclipse of the sun, which took place in those days, and produced darkness from the sixth hour unto the ninth hour. |179
CHAPTER X
THE TENTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK GIVES INFORMATION RESPECTING THE SYNOD WHICH WAS HELD AT ZIDON IN THE YEAR FIVE, THE EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THIRD YEAR OF THE GREEKS, AND OF THE ANTIOCHENES THE FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTIETH
Akhs'noyo,29 a learned man and a Syriac doctor, and zealous in the faith, the bishop of Hierapolis, in the days of Zeno sent a written statement of the faith, and asked Zeno some questions about his faith, and received a reply. And it was he who exposed Calandion of Antioch, and ejected him from his See. But he had his suspicions also about Flavian, that he was a heretic; and he sent a letter and urgent messengers to King Anastasius, begging that a Synod should be held at Sidon. And the king gave the order, and the Synod assembled in the five hundred and sixtieth year of the Antiochene era.30 And he urged the believing and zealous monks of the East, and Cosmas a learned man from the monastery of Mar 'Akiba at Chalcis, who was residing in Antioch, and they drew up a petition and presented it to Flavian and to the Council of bishops who were with him at Sidon. And they wrote, in an able and logical manner, a list of censures in seventy-seven Heads, with many quotations from the holy doctors confirming the censure upon the Synod of Chalcedon and the Tome of Leo, and they presented this also to the Synod, at the same "time begging and adjuring the priests to effect reforms, and take stumbling-blocks out of the way of the Church and purge it, by openly anathematising the Synod. But Flavian the chief priest and some of the priests who were with him deferred the matter, saying, "We are content with a document anathematising the school of Diodorus, the censures of certain persons upon the twelve Heads of Cyril, and Nestorius, lest we should arouse the sleeping dragon and corrupt many with his poison." And so the Synod was dissolved. |180
But the zeal of Akhs'noyo urged the monks again, and they went up to Anastasius and informed him of what had occurred in the Synod, and concerning Flavian, that he was a heretic; and having received an order for his ejection, and returned to the East, they assembled at Antioch against him. And some of them were wounded, and others were killed; but nevertheless Flavian was ejected from his See. And his successor was Severus, a learned and well-tried monk from the monastery of Theodore the ex-pleader at Gaza, who was apokrisiarios at the royal city, and was a confidant and friend of Probus, and his kinsmen. This man had previously written the Philalethes, and also he had made a solution of the seven questions of the Diphysites. And he was ready in dispute with the heretics, and he was well known to the king by means of Probus; and he was appointed chief priest of Antioch. And afterwards, when there was a Synod in Tyre, he joined with Akhs'noyo, and the priests of his district, and those of Pheenice Libani, and Arabia, and Euphratesia, and Mesopotamia in expounding the Henotikon of Zeno, showing that its effect was to abrogate the Council of Chalcedon. And the bishops assembled at Tyre openly anathematised the Synod of Chalcedon and the Tome. And they wrote to John of Alexandria and to Timothy of the royal city; and received replies from them and from Elijah of Jerusalem, who was eventually ejected, and was succeeded by John. And because Sergius, a grammarian there, composed shortly afterwards a book of censure upon that Synod, and gave it to the monks from Palestine who were of his way of thinking, this holy Severus, hearing about it, wrote a refutation of it at great length, and by quotations and proofs derived from the true doctors of the Church he confirmed his doctrine in three volumes, entitled, Against the Grammarian. But the other treatises of this doctor Severus, and his commentaries, and his Catechism, and his work, Against Julian the Phantasiast, and his wonderful Dogmatic Letter, afford great profit and instruction to the lovers of doctrine. |181
CHAPTER XI
THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF THIS SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT THE PETITION WHICH WAS DRAWN UP BY MONKS OF THE EAST AND COSMAS OF CHALCIS, AND WAS PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL WHICH MET AT ZIDON IN THE DAYS OF FLAVIAN AND AKHS'NOYO THE BISHOPS, IN THE FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTIETH YEAR OF THE ANTIOCHENE ERA
"Before all things we give thanks to Christ, Who is God over all, and we also thank our merciful Christ-loving king, who has aroused you all to zeal for religion, and called this your holy Council to one meeting place, in the name of one only Christ the Son of God, that in Him you may bring all men together to the one faith, which the Holy Scriptures have delivered and the fathers have ever kept, standing steadfastly in one mind, and being united and agreeing together in one good man, and teaching all men the divine doctrine through the Holy Spirit, Who spoke by them. For our Lord has accounted you to be worthy, and chosen you at this time for the sake of the unity of his holy Churches, not that you should make a new faith for them; because that written definition, which was made by the three hundred and eighteen holy fathers who assembled at Nicea, is sufficient for the affirmation of the Holy Scriptures; but that you should build up the faith which has always existed, and which many persons have rashly sought to destroy, speaking 'not from the mouth of the Lord,' as the prophet says, but 'from their own belly,' and by their wicked artifices they have severed from one another those who in the simplicity of their hearts kept the tradition of the holy fathers and were united together in the true faith. For Christ is He, O holy men ! Who is divided by them; and, therefore, as long as He is denied, it is not possible for the Church ever to come to any |182 agreement; seeing that it is rent asunder by these persons through the inventions of different words. For it is written, 'No kingdom that is divided against itself shall stand';31 and again, 'If ye bite and devour one another, take heed lest ye be consumed one of another.'32 Since,then, we are one body in Christ, and we are members of His members, according to the word of the divine apostle,33 we draw near to your Holinesses with confidence as to pastors, entreating you to keep the true faith for the whole world, without spot, like the fair dove spoken of in the Song of Songs; and that you separate it from all heresies which have the outward appearance of religion, and stand around it like queens and concubines and damsels, and are anxious to associate and to be one and the same with it, and through it to be received as true. But by doing this you shall receive a reward, and you shall hear the Lord saying, 'Him that confesses Me before men, will I confess before My Father Who is in heaven.'34 Separate, then, as stewards of the divine words, between the pure and the corrupt, as He says;35 and cast out those who mingle the tares with the pure wheat, and their evil doctrine along with them, for He says, 'Put away the evil-doer from the congregation, and victory shall go forth with it.'
"Now, though what has been said is manifest and well known, it was necessary to explain it above and prove it clearly, even as the holy fathers agreeing in one true faith bound all men together in one concord. But the heretics have mingled lawless wranglings with the words of the holy fathers, and confound with them schismatical impieties, and have separated the holy Churches; whom the prophet rebuked, saying, 'Thy tavern-keepers mingle water with wine.' "36 |183
And so the petition goes on, and has many quotations from the fathers in proof of the seventy-seven censures upon the Council of Chalcedon.
CHAPTER XII
THE TWELFTH CHAPTER, WHICH TELLS ABOUT THE SYNOD THAT WAS HELD IN TYRE, IN THE DAYS OF SEVERUS AND AKHS'NOYO THE DOCTORS, AND THE BISHOPS WHO WERE WITH THEM, WHO EXPRESSLY AND OPENLY ANATHEMATISED THE SYNOD AND TOME
Now Severus, who succeeded Flavian in Antioch, was a learned man by reading the wisdom of the Greeks, and he was an ascetic and a well-tried monk, and he was also zealous for the true faith and well-versed in it, and he had read the Holy Scriptures with understanding and the expositions made by the ancient authors who were disciples of the apostles, namely, Hierotheus, and Dionysius, and Titus, and also Timothy; and after them Ignatius, and Clement, and Irenaeus, and such writers as Gregory, and Basil, and Athanasius, and Julius, and the other chief priests and true doctors of the holy Church. And like a "scribe who is instructed for the kingdom of heaven, who brings from his treasures things old and new," 37 so also he had thoroughly studied many histories, and they were rooted in his mind clearly to be seen.
And this Akhs'noyo, also, was a Syriac doctor, and he had diligently studied the works existing in that language, and besides these he was well-versed in the doctrine of the school of Diodorus and Theodore and the others; but, nevertheless, as his actions proved to the wise, this old and zealous man was truly a believer.
These men gave full and clear information to King Anastasius, who rejected the Council of Chalcedon with all his heart; and he commanded that, for the purpose of effecting needed reforms, a Synod of Orientals should be assembled at |184 Tyre. And it was assembled, consisting of the bishops of the districts of Antioch, and Apamea, and Euphratesia, and Osrhoene, and Mesopotamia, and Arabia, and Phoenice Libani. And, making the true faith clear, he (i.e. Severus) expounded the Henotikon of Zeno as meaning the abrogation of the transactions of Chalcedon; and he openly there anathematised the addition which it had made to the faith. And the bishops in Council assembled, along with Severus and Akhs'noyo the believers and doctors who zealously stood at their head, proclaimed the whole truth; and they wrote letters of agreement both to John of Alexandria, and to Timothy of the royal city, and also Elijah of Jerusalem at that time assented to the letters, although shortly after he was ejected, and was succeeded by John. Consequently the priests were again united in this concord of the faith, with the exception of the see of Rome. (And the reason of this exception was) that Alimeric was the anti-Caesar there, and he had rebelled against Anastasius in the Western region, and he held the kingdom in Rome. And he was a warlike man; and in his day he rendered great service to the people of Italy, by delivering them from the barbarians and Goths. And he also conferred many benefits upon his city, Rome, erecting buildings and granting privileges. However, he was a Diphysite, having been converted from the heresy of Arius. Consequently there could not be any assent on the part of Symmachus and his successor Hormisda, the chief priests of Rome, to what was done in the East. And zealous persons can gain information respecting these matters from the letter which Akhs'noyo wrote after his expulsion. |185
CHAPTER XIII
THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF THIS BOOK TELLS ABOUT ARIADNE THE QUEEN, WHO DIED, AND HOW THE TYRANT VITALIAN CAME UPON THE SCENE, WHO TOOK HYPATIUS PRISONER IN WAR
Ariadne 38 the queen, the wife of Zeno, was allied to this Anastasius after the death of her husband, and she made him king; and she held the kingdom for many years, as many as forty, in the state of first and second marriage; and she died in the year eight hundred and twenty-four of the Greeks. And her husband remained on, keeping the holy truth; even though he was advanced in years, and he was occupied with the business of his kingdom.39 And he had anxiety and trouble, because of one Vitalian a Goth, who was a general, and warlike, and courageous and daring, and cunning in war. To this man many savage people attached themselves; and he gave them gold with a liberal hand, and, besides, they enriched themselves with the spoil which they took from the dominions of Anastasius. And when he had been for a long time at peace, Vitalian broke his word; and he rebelled and injured the Roman dominions, and oppressed the kingdom, and treated it with contempt; and he haughtily advanced to the very suburbs of Constantinople without any fear. And at one time troops, with Hypatius at their head, were sent against him by Anastasius; and they were routed by him, and Hypatius was taken prisoner; and he treated him with great indignity, and to insult him he even shut him up in a pig-sty. And upon one occasion he put him to open shame, carrying him about through the army in the most humiliating fashion, because Hypatius once took the wife of this Vitalian prisoner and treated her insultingly. And in consequence of this Vitalian's indignation against him was very strong. For in the impetuosity of his youth this Hypatius was carnal and wanton in lust after women. And at last he was ransomed by a large |186 sum of gold that was sent for him, and he returned from captivity with Vitalian, possessing the wisdom that results from punishment.40
CHAPTER XIV
THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE SEVENTH BOOK TELLS ABOUT TIMOTHY, WHO DIED, AND WHOSE SUCCESSOR WAS JOHN; AND OF SOME PEOPLE WHO CAME TO JERUSALEM FOR THE FESTIVAL, AND THEY WERE POSSESSED BY DEMONS, WHO BARKED AT THE CROSS DURING THE DEDICATION41
Timothy, having lived six or seven years, died in the year eleven. And John succeeded him. And in the year in which Anastasius the king died, there were some Egyptians and Alexandrians and men from beyond the Jordan, Edomites and Arabians, who came to the festival of the dedication which is the making of the Cross at Jerusalem, which was held on the fourteenth of September; and demons took possession of many of them, and they barked at the Cross, and then ceased and went out. And this caused anxiety and distress to the prudent; they did not, however, accurately understand the reason, until the event occurred, and it signified the wrangling about the faith, and the stumbling-block afterwards caused thereby. This God made known beforehand, that we might consider the temptation42 and be proved by it; and by our enduring it and persevering in the faith we might have joy; as James the apostle says, "Let it be all joy to you, my brethren, when you enter into divers and many temptations; for you know that the trial of faith procures patience for you. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be complete and perfect, wanting nothing."43 |187
Now Anastasius died on the ninth day of July. And his successor was Justin, who went down with the army in company with the generals, at the time that Kawad, king of the Persians, came to Amida. And he was a handsome old man with white hair, but he was unlearned; and he shared in the opinions of the people of Rome respecting the faith, because he belonged to that jurisdiction, being from the camp called Mauriana,44 the water of which is bad, and turns to blood when it is boiled.
There is in this Book a period of twenty-seven years, three months and a half, the lifetime of Anastasius.
CHAPTER XV
THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE SEVENTH BOOK, STATING WHO WERE CHIEF PRIESTS IN THE DAYS OF ANASTASIUS THE KING
Now the following were the chief priests in the days of Anastasius. Of the Diphysites:—Of Rome—Felix, and Symmachus his successor, and Hormisda who is still living.
Of Alexandria, the believers—Athanasius, and John his successor, and again another John, and Dioscorus who now occupies the See.
In Antioch—Flavian who was ejected, and Severus the believer.
In Constantinople—Euphemius, and Macedonius who was ejected, and Timothy the believer, and John his successor, who received the Synod in the beginning of the reign of Justin and died shortly after, and Epiphanius was his successor.
Of Jerusalem—Sallust, and Elijah his successor who was ejected, and John who received the Synod in the days of Justin, and Peter his successor.
[Note to the online edition: footnotes have been moved to the end. Footnotes concerned only with bits of Syriac and Greek have been omitted because of the time it would take to transcribe it.]
1. 1 I.e. of the Indiction = A.D. 512.
2. 2 Called Epiphanius in the Introduction to this Book.
3. 3 Here begins an extract in Cod. Rom.
4. 5 The words in brackets are not in the Syriac, but they must be understood.
5. 4 ... Here the extract in Cod. Rom. ends.
7. 4 " 'Arab," a name applied to certain districts in Mesopotamia.
9. 6 This and the three following chapters are contained in Cod. Rom.
10. 7 Mich. fol. 156v ff.; Greg. p. 75 ff.
11. 4 There appears to be some confusion in both texts; by a few slight alterations it might be made to yield this meaning, "and consumed the wood of the props, and immediately it was reduced to ashes; and the rest of the mound which escaped the violence of the fire was loosened and fell."
12. 2 So the text; but it may be corrupt, and the reference be to the invasion of " 'Arab" by locusts (see ch. 2).
13. 1 Cod. Rom. and Mich. add "of the Nazarenes."
16. 2 Thomas, bishop of Amida, seems to be the subject of this sentence, not the king.
22. 1 Probably Euphemius, who was also banished to Euchaita.
23. 3 "Magistrian," an attendant upon the Master of the Offices. The whole passage is a troublesome one, and I am much indebted to M. Nau, who has published an analysis of the unedited parts of the Chronicle attributed to Dionysius of Tellmahrè, and who, through Mr. Brooks, kindly supplied a MS. extract from fol. 147 of the account of the expulsion of Macedonius.
24. 4 The corresponding expression in the Chronicle of "Dionysius" is ... a large auxiliary force."
25. 1 Assem., B. O. vol. ii. p. 34.
26. 3 This chap, is in Cod. Rom.
38. 2 Here begins an extract in Cod. Rom.
39. 3 Here an extract in Cod. Rom. ends.
40. 1 Or literally, "And punishment is wisdom."
41. 2 This chap, is in Cod. Rom.
42. 7 So Cod. Rom. The MS. has "the event."
44. 6 Or Bederiana, as Mai writes here.
This text was transcribed by Roger Pearse, 2002. All material on this page is in the public domain - copy freely.
Greek text is rendered using the Scholars Press SPIonic font, free from here.
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