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The Armenian Life of Marutha of Maipherkat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2011

Ralph Marcus
Ralph Marcus
Affiliation:
Jewish Institute of Religion and Columbia University
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Extract

The Armenian Vita here translated, of Marutha, a Syrian bishop of the fifth century, has an interest because of Marutha's activity as mediator between the Byzantine emperors, Arcadius and Theodosius II, and the Sassanian king Yezdegerd I.

The ancient sources for the life of Marutha are scanty nor does the biography here translated add greatly to our knowledge of him. From the Greek and Nestorian sources it is known that he was present at the important councils of the church in the last decades of the fourth century; was sent to the court of Persia, probably at least twice, once on the accession of Yezdegerd in 399 A.D. and again about 408 A.D., when Theodosius II became emperor of the eastern Romans; and that he was present at the Council of Seleucia in 410 A.D.

Type
Research Article
Information
Harvard Theological Review , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , January 1932 , pp. 47 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College 1932

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References

1 For the literature on Marutha see Assemani, Bibliotheca Orientalis, Rome, 1719–1728, I, 174, 195; III, 74; Labourt, Le Christianisme dans l'empire perse, Paris, 1904, pp. 87–90; E. Nestle in Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche, XII, Leipzig, 1902, p. 392; Duval, La Littérature syriaque, 3d ed., Paris, 1907, pp. 132 ff.; Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur, Bonn, 1922, pp. 53–54.

2 Labourt, p. 88 note 5, and p. 89.

3 Assemani, III, 74, gives' Abhdišo's catalogue of works written by Marutha, among them a “book concerning martyrs,” which Assemani identifies with the Persian mar-tyrology mentioned in the next note. For other works by Marutha see Baumstark. A list of Armenian translations of Marutha's writings is given in the Catalogue des anciennes traductions arméniennes, Venice, 1889; they include “Orations and Disquisitions: On the Mystery of the Church; On the Mystery of the Third Day of the Week; On the Martyrdom of St. Simeon and other Martyrs; On the Holiness of Christ.” For a discussion and translation of Syriac fragments of Marutha's writings, see also O. Braun, De Sancta Nicaena Synodo (Kirchengeschichtliche Studien, IV), Münster, 1898, and A. von Harnack, Der Ketzer-Katalog des Bischofs Maruta von Maipherkat (Texte u. Untersuchungen, N. F. IV). These two studies, cited by Chabot, Synodon Orientale, p. 4, n. 1,1 have not consulted.

4 The Syriac text was first published by Assemani, Acta Sanctorum Martyrum Orientalium et Occidentalium, 2 vols., Borne, 1748; this was translated into German by Zingerle, Echte Akten heiliger Märtyrer des Morgenlandes, Innsbruck, 1831; a fuller text was published by Bedjan, Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum, Paris, 1890, II, 57–896.

5 Edited by R. Hussey, Oxford, 1853.

6 Edited by R. Hussey, Oxford, 1860.

7 Edited by Classen in Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, Bonn, 1889.

8 Maris, Amri et Slibae de Patriarchis Nestorianorum Commentaria, ed. Gismondi, Borne, vol. I, 1899, vol. II, 1897.

9 Bar Hebraei Chronicon Ecclesiasticum, ed. Abbeloos et Lamy, Louvain, 1872–77.

10 I have not been able to consult Photius, Bibliotheca; on the Synodicon Orientale, ed. Chabot, Paris, 1902, see the Postscript at the close of this article.

11 At the death of Theophilos and the accession of Cyril as bishop of Alexandria (412 A.D.).

12 Read Abda (Syriac 'Abhdā.)

13 Bahram V.

14 This sentence may belong with the following notice, as Hypatia was killed in 415 A.D.

15 Theodosius II, 408–450 A.D.

16 Arabic text, pp. 29 ff.; Gismondi's Latin version, pp. 25 ff.

17 Maipherkat; see below on Martyropolis in Armenian Vita.

18 So the Arabic text. Gismondi in his Latin version has ‘Marutae cognatus,’ probably a slip of the pen.

19 Gismondi, wrongly I think, translates ijtima' as ‘restauratio.’

20 Ctesiphon.

21 Arabic 'aqāq.

22 Byzantium.

23 Compare the story Of the ransom of Nep‘rkert in the Armenian.

24 394 A.D.

25 350 A.D. The editors of Bar Hebraeus note that the synod of 150 bishops was held in 381 A.D., and that Macedonius was deposed at the previous synod of 360 A.D.

26 410 A.D.

27 416 A.D. In fact, the twelfth year of Yezdegerd was 411 A.D.

28 In two MSS. he is called hayr ‘Father.’

29 Kawat in Armenian.

30 Unless indeed the story of Kawat is an addition to Gagig's text.

31 See F. Justi, Iranisches Namenbuch, Marburg, 1895, pp. 107–108.

32 Cf. Bibliotheca Hagiographica Orientalis, Brussels, 1910, p. 176.

33 Semitic idiom, found also in the Greek Old and New Testaments. For the Syriac original, see T. Nöldeke, Kurzgefasste syrische Grammatik, 2d ed., Leipzig, 1898, pp. 225–226.

34 Read xawareal ‘i pēspēs me⋖sn in place of ‘i xawareal pēspēs me⋖s.

35 Nisibis. Cf. H. Hübschmann, Altannenische Grammatik, Leipzig, 1897, I, 295. On Yakob, see E. Nestle, Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche, 3d ed., Leipzig, 1900, VIII, 559.

36 One MS. Awtaċ. It is probably the province Uti. Cf. H. Hübschmann, Altarmenisehe Ortsnamen, Strasbourg, 1904, pp. 270–275.

37 Syriac, Marūthā, ‘lordship,’ explained by a popular Armenian etymology as marutha, ‘lord of Utha.’

38 Read p‘araworċi in place of parawori?

39 Here means Syria. For other meanings of Asorestan see below, note 51.

40 One MS.,Šmawni.

41 Cf. 2 Maccabees 6, 14–7, 41; 4 Maccabees, chaps. 8 ff. In the Greek the mother's name is not given, but in the Syriac memre celebrating the Maccabean martyrs her name is given as Šamone, cf. Bensly, Fourth Book of Maccabees and Kindred Documents in Syriac, Cambridge, 1895.

42 One MS. ‘seven.’

43 That is, thirty-three years.

44 Semitism; cf. Nöldeke, above, note 83.

45 Luke 1, 79.

46 One MS. ‘the bands of the demons (dev)'.

47 Matthew 10, 8.

48 Reading norin in place of noroun?

49 John 10, 11.

50 One MS. ‘And this happened in the thirty-third [year] of the era of the Greeks, in the time of Theodosius, emperor of the Romans.’ Another MS. ‘And this happened in the eighty-third [year] in the era of the Greeks, in the twentieth year of the younger Theodosius, the pious. Text probably corrupt.

51 Not Syria or Assyria, but Suristan. Cf. Marquart, Evanšahr.

52 Psalm 89, 17, etc.

53 Matthew 15, 21–28; Mark 8, 24–30.

54 Matthew 8, 28–34; Mark 5, 1–21; Luke 8, 26–40.

55 Sophene; cf. Marquart, p. 171.

56 Martirosaċ K‘a⋖alk‘, Martyropolis, modern Maipherkat, Arabic Mayyafäraqīn. See Marquart, p. 161; Hübschmann, Ortsnamen, pp. 308–309. In this Vita it is also called Ċop‘k’ and Np'arkert.

57 Bel and the Dragon 13 ff. (Vulgate, Daniel 14, 12 ff.).

58 One MS. ‘a very small chamber.’

59 One MS. ‘they put words in his mouth to say to the king,’ etc.

60 One MS. ‘priests.’

61 Two MSS. ‘and to despise me and my ministers;’ Compare the Syriac life of St. Ephraem, ed. Brockelmann, Syrische Grammatik, 4th ed., p. 24.*

62 In Zoroastrianism an evil odor is a sign of the presence of demons.

63 One MS. ‘a pit.’

64 Two MSS. ‘two swords.’

65 One MS. ‘toward the king of the Persians’ (i. e., between the Christians and the Persian king).

66 Esther 5, 2–3.

67 That is, Byzantium.

68 One MS. ‘the City of Martyrs.’

69 Here, probably, Syria or Assyria or both.

70 Armenia, the country of the translator.

71 Two MSS. ‘Father Gagik.’

72 One MS. ‘in January, on the 21st day’; another MS. ‘on the 21st day of the month of June.’ The dates are given in Roman nomenclature, and the numbers are written in cipher, by letters of the alphabet.

73 Philippians 3, 21.

74 Literally ‘there.’

75 Kawādh I, who reigned 488–531 A.D. and was the grandson of Yezdegerd II (438–452 A.D.) not Yezdegerd I.

76 One MS. ‘which had been given by Yazkert his grandfather as a gift.’

77 Compare the story of the ransom of the Christian captives of Ba'arbāyā and Mesopotamia in Mārl ibn Sulaimān above.