Universal History

KITAB AL-`UNVANDECORATED WITH THE EMINENT QUALITIES OF WISDOM, CROWNED WITH VARIOUS SPECIES OF PHILOSOPHY, ILLUSTRATED BY THE TRUTHS OF KNOWLEDGE. Ms. C Mss. BA In the name of the only and eternal God. We beseech his help. The book al-`Unvan (of the Title), decorated with eminent qualities of wisdom, crowned with various kinds of philosophy, illustrated by the truths of knowledge, composed with care by the eminent sheik, the erudite doctor, the excellent philosopher, Agapius, son of Constantine, a Greek of Manbidj, and which he sent to an eminent man `Isa, son of al-Husein. |10 Know, may great God help you, that this blessed book is composed by its author, and is written according to the Sacred Books of God, according to the books of the philosophers and the scholars. He worked on it with sorrow, weariness, assiduity and effort; he composed it for the great benefit and profit of people who will meditate on it; those who, indeed, will contemplate this book with assiduity, will understand it, think about it seriously and will be interested, like a man who had traversed the whole universe, as if he knew the world from its origins |11 and as if the world were telling its history, its wonders, its extraordinary things, the events and miracles which have taken place from the origins of creation until his own time and era. May he who reads it, do so with great care and understand it well.

Here is the beginning of the book. The Apostle says: "Every excellent grace and every perfect gift comes from above and comes down from the Father of lights ." God, O friend, has granted to you in abundance the good and beautiful gift, which inspires in you the desire to arrive at knowledge and to clarify events, and to arrive at the possession of the truth about them and the knowledge of the subtleties of their mysteries. In the name of God, clement and merciful. The Book of history, attributed to Mahbub, son of Constantine, a Greek of Manbidj. Its title belongs to the man, decorated with eminent qualities of wisdom, crowned with various kinds of philosophy, illustrated by the truths of knowledge, the virtuous and good, Abu-Musa-`Isa, son of al-Husein, may the grace of God towards him endure, may his wisdom be perfect, may his |10 philosophy increase twofold, may his dignity be raised, may all the power of his enemies, who hate him, be decreased and be subjected to him, may the hand which preserves be on him, and may his life be prolonged.

Mahbub, son of Constantine, the Greek, of Manbidj, composed this book and wrote it according to the revealed Books of God, may His name be great, and the books of the philosophers and the scholars; he worked there with much care, great weariness and great sorrow; he composed it for the great benefit and profit of people who will meditate on it; whoever will contemplate with assiduity this book, will understand it, will pass through it in spirit and |11 will know what is in it, --- he will resemble a man who has traversed the whole universe, as if he knew the world from its origins and as if the world told its history, its wonders, its extraordinary things, miraculous events which took place and which are worthy of admiration, and marvellous stories. The beginning of the book. Every excellent gift - may God prolong your glory and raise the happiness of your rank - comes down from the Father of lights. God has granted a high spirit and noble and beautiful qualities to you. He put in you the desire and the intention to find out the history of the faith and to arrive at the possession of the truth and the knowledge of the mysteries.

To the best of my ability, may God help you, I have wanted to publish a book commencing with the origins of the world and I considered that you were able and worthy, because I have solid evidence of the fineness of your spirit and your intelligence. I have composed this book which explains, shows and clarifies. This book contains, from the origins of the world, complete information on the years of the world, the centuries and dates, and the nations, nation by nation, with an explanation and description, the events which took place in former times in the regions of the earth, their history and the wonders which existed among the nations, the peoples and the kingdoms, nation by nation, kingdom by kingdom, - and the history of the prophets, prophet by prophet, their date and era, the philosophers, tyrants and the owner of talismans invulnerable against reptiles or insects, - the confection of pearls, the art of working hyacinth, marble, Pharaonic glass, -- the arts, i.e. the ten gifts, that God has given specially to the children of Adam, the description of the seven wonders of the world and the places where they are.

These wonders are: the Capitol in Rome; it is a marvellous building, where Apollonius taught magic. The second wonder is the Pharos |13 of Alexandria. It is a tower with an observatory, which is at the entrance to the sea, on four columns of glass. It is this of which the scholar Bedas speaks , who measured the sea, traversed the earth and did not find any construction in the world higher than this one. The third wonder is the temple of Çyzicus in Cappadocia, in the country of the Greeks. It is an astonishing building of one hundred fifty square cubits, on four pilasters, and what is most astonishing, is that the rain does not fall on it. The fourth wonder are the three stones of Baalbek. The fifth wonder is the woman (?) in the town of Caesarea in Palestine. The sixth wonder, the Ifos (ἱππος) of Bellerophon; it is an iron horse, on which is an iron rider, suspended in the air under a vaulted ceiling without any support against the walls of the vault. The seventh wonder is three statues that Hercules, the most ancient king, made in the sea to preserve travellers from immersion. Along with this, in this book is gathered the explained history of the divisions of the earth and the seven climates, their length, |14 their width, their seas, their gulfs, their famous cities, the state of the inhabitants of the climates, their manners and what there is in the way of vermin and of use in each climate.

In the name of God unique and eternal. We beseech his help. This is the beginning of the book of the eminent master, the perfect philosopher, Agapius, son of Constantine. May God give eternal rest and great reward to his soul. Amen. Some intelligent people, versed in the knowledge of the things which, as you see, happen according to the order of nature from the origins of the world, know that the beginning of time, the origin of things created, the order of the years and days are counted from the time of the equinox at the entry of the sun into the head of the Ram, i.e. the equator. From this time, the earth starts to produce green grass and the trees start to produce leaves and change colour. The earth is covered with greenery and shows its beauty and a great number of pretty colours. At the same time the animals, all the insects of the earth and all the birds, as we see, mate one with another and bring into the world the little ones of every species and every kind according to their nature. At the time of which we speak, |15 and in this period, birds built nests of every kind and form, according to their ability.

The time of which we speak starts, according to all the scholars and all the chronologists, at the origin of the world, the 18 of the month of Adar (Mark), which is the lunar month of Nisan (April); as for Nisan, it is Redjeb, (the first) the twelve lunar months at the beginning of the months of the world. We have found that the book of God, (may it be blessed), revealed via the intermediary of Moses the prophet, agrees with what we have said on the natural course of the things since the first origins of the world; (this book) is like it, agrees with it and follows it. However God, may His name be blessed and His glory be great, inspired Moses his prophet and said to him: "Let this month be the first and the beginning of the lunar months." The people versed in the books revealed by God affirm that in this same month the end of the world will take place. Then there is no-one among all the scholars and people of knowledge who doubts that this month started on a Sunday at the beginning of the world; and we do not need to examine this question or to explain the account of this, because it is clear and obvious among all scholars and all the experts of the Scriptures, that the first beginning of creation took place on Sunday; the name of this day proves what we say. On this day, this month and this year |16 the chronology of the history of the world started and from this moment what happened is reported and related.

This book is called in Greek χρονικόν, which in the Arabic translation means the sequence of years and the mark of dates and the centuries. This book begins with the first day, when God created all the creatures, from Adam to the Ascension of Christ, (our) Lord; it describes, tells and deals with the nations, nation after nation, of the kings of the earth, king after king, of the things which took place in the world, of the wonders in the various kingdoms and the various nations and other things. The author and the writer of this book said; "We must start with the origins, that we seek the reasons and the causes of what is known about the beginning of the world and the order of the years, that we explain the evidence and that we tell and set forth this history."

He said : In the first year after the exodus of the Israelites from the country of Egypt, Moses, the prophet of God, went up on the mountain of God, Tur-Sina (the Sinai), fasted for forty days and forty nights and prayed. Then God condescended to speak to him and granted to him power, wisdom, knowledge and the gift of prophecy, so that he prophesied, told, reported and wrote |17 how God had created this world in six days; and God sent down (revealed) to him the written tablets of the Law, and Moses wrote five books: The first book makes known things created, described the beginning of their creation and their qualities. The second book writes and tells the exodus of the Israelites from the country of Egypt. The third book sets forth the rules for the priests and the Levites and is called the book of the priests (Leviticus). The fourth book is that of the number of Israelites, in which Moses the prophet counted them and enumerated their number. The fifth book is that of Deuteronomy.

Here ends the era of the world from the beginning of creation until this year which is the 81st year since the birth of Moses finishes and which is the year when Moses the prophet went up on the mountain of God Tûr-Sina (the Sinai); and there were three thousand eight hundred and forty-seven years until this date and this day, as we can give it according to the version of the Seventy, Jewish commentators who translated the Pentateuch and all the books of the prophets from Hebrew into Greek under Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt. That took place approximately three hundred years before the arrival of Christ Our Lord. |18 At the beginning of the first book, Moses the prophet writes that God created in the beginning the substance of heaven and earth, understanding by the word 'substance' the hypostasis of heaven and earth and their essence. God created the light, which was a dispersed and extended light, separated the light from darkness on the first day, which was the beginning of creation, and which he named Sunday. This is the first day of the month of Nisan which is the lunar month Redjeb at the beginning of creation. The proof that this first lunar month was Redjeb and that it was Sunday, is the astronomical calculation, the formula for which is easy to understand; thus whoever wishes and wants to know this, will acquire this knowledge with little effort, which will satisfy his understanding. But sometimes this astronomical calculation is hidden from he who wants to know it, God willing.

On the second day God created the celestial sphere which turns with a perpetual motion and travels from East to West, making a circuit every twenty-four hours, day and night, permanently, without stopping; and God named the revolving, attached and raised sphere 'heaven'. On the third day God ordered that all the waters above the earth be gathered in one location and one place; and after their gathering, the waters were called seas. |19 Then the earth produced grasses, various flowers, trees with fruit and trees without fruit. On the fourth day God, may his name be exalted, ordered the extended light to gather and placed it in all the luminaries, i.e. the sun, the moon and all the fixed and moving stars according to their categories and their classes, which are moved in the sphere which puts them in perpetual and continuous motion, and they turn in a direction opposed to that of the sphere, from West to East.

On the fifth day God created from the water all the birds which fly in the air over the earth, and all the animals of the sea; God created from the water their bodies and the breath of their life. On the sixth day God created from the earth all the animals and the wild animals, all the reptiles which crawl on its surface, and the others whose bodies and breath of life came from the earth. On this day God created a man -- i.e. Adam -- in the image of God. He created him and made him the most perfect of the creatures and improved him, putting in him a particular superiority of intelligence, word and soul, endowing with reason, intelligent and speaking, wherein was the resemblance to God. The body of Adam and his spirit came from the earth and the four elements, |20 the primitive forms, created before everything as separate, independent and free; the soul of Adam, intelligent, expressing thought, speaking, similar to God, immortal, was from God; its flame and all that there is of good in it, (was also from Him). And the man, i.e. Adam, having become a spiritual and corporeal being, with a better structure, God took him and put him, he and his wife, whom he had created from one of his sides, in the garden of Eden.

On the seventh day God completed all his works which He had created, and He called (this day) the day of Sabbath, because Sabbath means rest. Certain scholars believe that God, may He be blessed and exalted, located the garden of Eden and placed it above the earth, at a distance of fifteen cubits, without support. God put Adam there and on the one hand established him as king over the animals and the beasts, which were below him, and on the other hand He placed him beneath the wisdom and knowledge of the immaterial Angels, enjoying the special favour of God, who were above him.

In the middle of the paradise God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which He prohibited to Adam, rigorously prescribed to him not to approach it and He gave him the order not to eat of its fruit, to test his obedience thus; and if Adam had persevered in obedience, he would have been worthy to be placed in the order of the angels |21 and to be with them; if he fell into disobedience and error, he would be rejected from paradise altogether, would be driven out and would be with the animals. When Adam had disobeyed his Lord and his Creator and had violated his order, he could not live in the holy and spiritual paradise any more after the error and the violation of the commandment; this was inadmissible in the holy and spiritual paradise. God made him leave the paradise, made him live opposite it in the mountains and did not drive him far, thanks to His leniency to him. This is why David, the prophet, said in the Book of the Psalms about Adam: "The man, who did not understand his honour and the favour of God that was granted to him, was delivered to the animals, driven out to them and became similar to them."

Adam and his wife Eve remained sad and afflicted for a hundred years because of their disobedience towards their Lord, and they experienced sorrow every time that they looked at the paradise; they regretted the delights which had escaped them, and they were afflicted at their cohabitation with animals. A hundred years afterwards, Adam knew his wife Eve, and fathered from her Cain; then, after him, Abel (was born). When they had reached the age of thirty, they offered to God their offerings; and God accepted the offering |22 of Abel because of his purity and the kindness of his heart; but God did not accept the offering of Cain, who had in his heart resentment and secret hatred against his brother. He envied his brother because God had preferred his offering to that of Cain. Cain said to Abel, his brother: "Come with us to the fields." They went down from the mountains to the fields, and Cain threw himself on Abel, his brother, and killed him. God was angry against Cain and made him pass all his life in fear. Adam and Eve, his wife, were extremely upset at the violent death of Abel for hundred years more. Adam understood that the misfortune of Abel, his son, was the punishment of his error and his disobedience towards His Lord, because the fathers were to be struck and punished for their own sins in their children; and Adam feared Cain for himself.

A hundred years after, Adam and Eve his wife, were comforted for their affliction. Adam knew Eve, his wife, and fathered Seth, who resembled Adam in appearance and features. Seth remained with Adam his father, in the mountains, and Cain lived down in the plain. The seventh descendant of Cain was Lamech the blind man, |23 son of Methuschael, son of Mehuiael, son of Hirad, son of Enoch, son of Cain, son of Adam. Lamech the blind went out one day with a child who led him. Trembling, Cain was in the woods. Lamech the blind man heard him and believing that he was a wild beast of the forest, he took a stone, threw it against Cain and killed him. The child said to him: "What have you done? You have killed Cain!" In an access of pain, sorrow, regret and affliction which invaded him, he struck his hands one against the other, and they hit the head of the child, broke it and killed him. Then he came to his wives, Hada and Scilla, and said to them: "Hear my voice and listen to my word in silence, Hada and Scilla, wives of Lamech! If Cain is punished seven times, Lamech will be seventy-seven times, because he killed a man with a blow of a stone and a child by striking it a blow with his hands."

At that time and during this generation lived Nahama, sister of Jubal and TubalCain, descended from Cain. There was nobody in the world more expert than TubalCain |24 at playing the lute, the cymbal and all the string instruments and in all the kinds of entertainments and recreations. He was the first who introduced them into the world, so that thanks to excellence of his playing and the beauty of his voice the wild and savage beasts and the birds gathered near him to hear his voice without attacking each other. Nahama, his sister, was one of the most beautiful women and the prettiest. It was she which first taught how to dye and colour fabrics and used coloured clothing. The children of Cain delivered themselves to recreation and devoted themselves to entertainment, gaity, to excess in delight and passion, without slackening either day or night. The children of Seth, being in the mountains above them, heard their voices.

In the fifth generation of the children of Adam, -- it was the 135th year of the birth of Mahalalail, son of Cainan, son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, - Adam died, may God have pity on him, nine hundred and thirty years old. He had lived seven hundred years after the birth of his son Seth. Here is the calculation of this, according to the translation of the Seventy. |25 It is written: Adam lived two hundred and thirty years and fathered Seth; from the day of the birth of Seth until that of Enos, there were 205 years, which makes 435 years; from the birth of Enos until that of Cainan, son of Enos, there were 190 years, which makes 625 years; from the day when Cainan was born, until the birth of Mahalalail, son of Cainan, there were 170 years, which makes 795 years. After the birth of Mahalalail Adam completed 930 years, which was the duration of his life.

According to the Torah, which is in the hands of the Jews, and which they have mutilated by reducing the years of the life of the patriarks before the birth of their children, here is the calculation of the years which are counted in the chronology of the world. The Syriac Torah depends on the Torah (of the Jews), because it was translated from Hebrew after Christianity and the deterioration (of the text). It is written there that Adam lived until the ninth generation of the children of his children, i.e. until the 56th year of the birth of Lamech, son (of Mathusaleh, son) of Enoch, because the Jews |26 reduced by one hundred years the years of Adam and other patriarks before the birth of their children and added them to the years of their life after the birth of their children. Hanan (Annas) and Caiphas, High Priests of the Jews, wanted to refute the advent of the Messiah and said that the time of his advent had not arrived yet. The Jews wrote: Adam lived 130 years and fathered Seth; from the day of the birth of Seth to the birth of Enos 105 years; from the day of the birth of Enos to the birth of Cainan - 90 years; from the day of the birth of Cainan to the birth of Mahalalail - 70 years; from the day of the birth of Mahalalail to the birth of Jared - 65 years;

from the day of the birth of Jared to the birth of Enoch - 162 years; from the day of the birth of Enoch to the birth of Mathusaleh - 65 years; from the day of the birth of Mathusaleh to the birth of Lamech - 187 years. If we count in an exact way what we have set forth, the number of the years comes to 874 years to the day of the birth of Lamech. 56 years after the birth of Lamech, father of Noah, who was the ninth generation from Adam, Adam was 930 years old, which is the lifespan of Adam. |27

The beginning of the flood. This is set down, as a proof and an argument for those who have not read nor examined the sacred books, without speaking of others, (and who claim) that the life of Adam did not last until the days of Lamech, father of Noah. After a duration of 1656 years, according to the chronology, Noah, son of Lamech was born. Lamech, his father, prophesied of him, that he would relieve the world of its sins.

It is written that the children of Seth, son of Adam, and his descendants, three hundred men, gathered and went down from the holy mountain to the children of Cain in the wicked plain, which had received the blood of Abel, led by the desire to hear their plays and their recreations. The daughters of Cain united themselves with them, and they committed adultery with them. A few days afterwards, when they wanted to go up on to the mountain to their residences and their domiciles, the mountain became a fire in front of them, so that they could not approach it nor go up there because of their sins. Those who were on the mountain, supposing that the delay of their companions was a serious thing, and seeing that they had not gone up home, did not cease going down, one after the other, themselves, their children and their wives, until there was |28 only Noah alone who remained on the mountain; he was then five hundred years old, and he was not yet married. Then God said to Noah that He would send the flood on the earth and would submerge the earth and those upon it. And Noah arose, picked up the body of Adam, father of mankind, went down from the mountain and married. All the descendants of Seth and Cain were devoted to adultery, fell from all the ways of purity and descended in everything to the rank of beasts. The first cause of this, as we have said, were TubalCain and his sister Nahama. The sacred book says on this subject that the sons of the Angels dallied with the daughters of men, meaning by the former the sons of Seth and his descendants.

And the word of God and its commandment were in them and with them during their stay in the holy mountains. But after they had dallied with the daughters of Cain and fallen from the ways of purity, God ordered Noah, who was five hundred years old, to make a ship; and God fixed the limit for him and told him of the time of the flood at the end of a hundred and twenty years. On this, Noah married, |29 as we have already told, and fathered three sons, Sem, Cham and Jafeth. And God, may He be blessed and magnified, showed them during these years the rainbow, in the lower part of which there was a cord of fire and some arrows of fire; the cord was tight; all was on fire, with a sword of fire, which permanently shone in the air. That is explained in the Book of the Psalms, where David the prophet said: "His sword shines and his bow is knocked; and the features of war and rage will set ablaze everything."

God wanted men to repent and renounce their sins and their errors; but they did not do penitence and did not repent; on the contrary, they fell into all kinds of impiety and all kinds of hypocrisy. They started to kill one another; whoever was stronger than his companion, killed him and ate him to satisfy himself because of the lack of animals and beasts. On these events, God reduced the deadline by twenty years, advanced the date of the flood and fixed it at the end of hundred years. Then Noah was six hundred years old and Sem, his son, one hundred years. God acted thus from his mercy for them, to prevent them being led astray, from sinning, from bloodshed between them and from eating each other. |30 Now before commencing the account of the flood, it is necessary that we return to the narration of the period from the life of Adam and his children until the flood to explain the chronology of the world until this year.

It is written in the true Torah, that the Seventy learned translators translated, that Adam lived 230 years and fathered Seth his son in his image and his resemblance. Adam lived after the birth of Seth 700 years and his life having been 930 years, he died in the 5th generation, 135 years after the birth of Mahalalail. As for what relates to the mutilated Torah, that the Jews mutilated after the resurrection of the Lord Christ by reducing the number of the years, it is written there that Adam lived before the birth of Seth 130 years and after the birth of Seth 800 years. The Jews reduced the years of his life, which are counted for one hundred years in the chronology of the world, and added them to the years of his life after the birth of Seth, which do not count in the years of the history of the world. According to the calculation, which the Jews mutilated, Adam died fifty-six years after the birth of Lamech, father of Noah. Seth lived for 205 years, according to the translation of the Seventy, fathered Enos and lived after the birth of Enos for 707 years; his life was 912 years, |31 and he died in the seventh generation, twenty years after the birth of Enoch.

As for what is in the mutilated Torah, which is in the hands of the Jews, which was reduced by them and from which the Syriac Torah was transcribed, it is written that Seth lived 105 years, fathered Enos and lived after the birth of Enos for 807 years; they reduced the years of his life by a hundred years, which count in the chronology of the world, and added them to the years of his life after the birth (of Enos); and they did not count them. In the same way they reduced the years of Adam; and they did the same thing for the others. According to this calculation he died in the ninth generation, 108 years after the birth of Lamech, father of Noah. Afriqoun the scholar (Africanus) says that Seth, son of Adam, was the first to invent letters and taught writing and the Hebraic language. Enos lived for 190 years before the birth of Cainan, and he lived after the birth of Cainan for 715 years; his life having been 905 years, he died in the eighth generation, fifty-three years after the birth of Mathusaleh.

As for what we find in the Torah of the Jews, which were reduced by them, and in the Syriac Torah, which was copied from it, it is written there that Enos lived for 90 years and fathered Cainan; having lived after the birth of |32 Cainan 815 years, he died in the tenth generation, 84 years after the birth of Noah. According to what we find in the Torah, translated by the Seventy, Cainan lived for 170 years until the birth of Mahalalail and 734 years after the birth of Mahalalail; his life having been 904 years, he died in the ninth generation, 55 years after the birth of Lamech, father of Noah. Cainan lived, according to what we find in the mutilated Torah, for 70 years and fathered Mahalalail; he lived after the birth of Mahalalail 834 years, and he died in the 10th generation, 173 years after the birth of Noah. Mahalalail lived, according to the true Torah, before the birth of Jared for 165 years and after the birth of Jared 730 years; his life was 895 years, and he died in the tenth generation, 34 years after the birth of Noah. Mahalalail lived, according to the Torah in the hands of the Jews, and the Syriac Torah, for 65 years before the birth of Jared; he lived after the birth of Jared for 830 years, and he died in the tenth generation, 284 years after the birth of Noah. Jared lived for 162 years before the birth of Enoch and 800 years after the birth of Enoch; his life was 962 years, and he died in the tenth generation, 266 years after the birth of Noah.

Jared lived for the same number of years |33 according to the mutilated Torah. By this report the version of the Seventy agrees with the mutilated Torah of the Jews. As for the agreement of the years of Jared in the true Torah and the mutilated Torah of the Jews, it is one of the arguments which indicate the corruption and the defect (of the latter text). There is yet another reason for that: if the Jews had reduced (the years) of all the (patriarchs), Adam would have lived almost until the flood and until the 174th year after the birth of Noah. But the Jewish priests did not want a scandal; however they fell into what they sought to avoid, which is seen according to the evidence and testimonies of the books which we will establish and check later, so that the truth of the Torah, translated by the seventy commentators, will be manifest, if God wishes.

Forty years after the birth of Jared the first millenium of the history of the world finished, according to the version of the Seventy. This is the explanation and the example of what we have said (of the manner of calculating); that will suffice for he who wants to count every year of the history of the world. We have already said that the years which we count, are those which are before the birth of their children; they count in the general chronology of the world. As for the years that they lived after the birth of their |34 children, it is only (to indicate) the length of the life of each one of them. When we calculated the life of Adam from the day of his creation by God until the birth of Seth, his years were 230 years; this is the beginning of the chronology of the history of the world; then we added to this the number of the years of Seth from the day of his birth until he fathered Enos, which makes 205 years; the total is 435 years; then we added to this the number of the years of Enos from his birth until he fathered Cainan, which makes 190 years; the total is 625 years; then we added to this the number of the years of Cainan from the day of his birth until he fathered Mahalalail, which makes 170 years; the total is 795 years; then we added to this the number of the years of Mahalalail from the day of his birth until he fathered Jared, which makes 165 years; the total is 960 years. If we add 40 years to this from the birth of Jared, the first thousand of the years of the history of the world is complete.

With this calculation we will obtain the millenia of years of the history of the world in the time of their expiration, as we explained and described, until our days and our time, year after year and month after month, God willing. Specialists and educated men will understand from this example, how |35 the years of the history of the world are calculated from the beginning of creation. Enoch lived, according to the true version, for 165 years until he fathered Mathusaleh, and he lived 200 years from the birth of Mathusaleh, so that his years are 365 years. All his life, he had requested God humbly to be transported to Paradise, and God granted his prayer, accepted his appeal and transported him to Paradise, 200 years after the birth of Mathusaleh and thirteen years after the birth of Lamech. As for what is in the mutilated Torah, which is in the hands of the Jews, and in the Syriac Torah, which is a copy of it, it is written there that Enoch lived 65 years and fathered Mathusaleh; and he lived after the birth of Mathusaleh 300 years; and God transported him to paradise, 300 years after the birth of Mathusaleh and 113 years after the birth of Lamech, father of Noah. Enoch is the same person as Idris.

Certain scholars also affirm that Enoch — i.e. Idris — made known, explained and taught the arts of writing, letters, stars (astronomy) and calculation. Manetho, a scholar of Egypt and an astronomer, affirms that God raised Enoch to the revolving sphere and made known to him the signs of the zodiac, which are there, the fixed and wandering stars, horoscopes, the terms of the influence |36 of the stars, the decades of the degrees, the constellations which are there, and the other mysteries of astrology. This is why it is said that his book of stars is called a book of hidden meanings. All the Harranians, who worship the idols and the stars, share the opinion of Manetho the Egyptian. Mathusaleh lived for 187 years and fathered Lamech, father of Noah; and he lived after the birth of Lamech for 782 years, his life having been 969 years. This is what is written in the Torah, which is in the hands of the Jews, and in the Syriac Torah. This also indicates, as we have said, their corruption and retrenchment of the years, that we have reported.

Mathusaleh died in the tenth generation, 600 years after the birth of Noah, in the year when the flood took place. Lamech lived for 182 years and fathered Noah; and he lived after the birth of Noah for 590 years, his life having been 777 years. On this point, i.e. on the years of Lamech, the mutilated Torah of the Jews agrees with what is in the Torah translated by the Seventy, with complete agreement, without any difference. Lamech died 595 years after the birth of Noah, and the death of Lamech took place five years before the death of Mathusaleh, his father. Noah lived for five hundred years and fathered |37 Sem, Cham and Jafeth in the 600 year after the birth of Noah. Sem, his son, being one hundred years old, the flood spread over all the earth. Noah entered the ark with his three sons, Sem, Cham and Jafeth, the three wives of his sons and his wife, on Friday the 17th day of the second lunar month. God made it rain from the sky over all the earth for forty days. The springs of the earth overflowed, and the earth was submerged with all that there was on it, men, animals, beasts, and birds. Their exit took place on Sunday the 27th day of the second month of the following year after 366 days; they remained in the ark (366 days), because the year was a leap year. Certain scholars say that they would have eaten nothing there, neither they, nor those who were with them, the animals, beasts and the birds, throughout their whole stay in this ark.

The length of the ark was three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits; the ark had three levels. Josephus the Jew, the scholar, who wrote about the destruction of Jerusalem after the Ascension |38 of the Messiah Our Lord, affirms that the planks of the ark were in the town of Afamea . Abidenos and Alexander (Polyhistor), Greek philosophers, affirm that Kronos was the first man; he showed and revealed to Ksis that on the 15 of the month of Haziran a great inundation and flood would take place. When Ksis understood what he was being told, he left, moving by water towards the region of Armenia in a wooden boat. They claim that some planks of this boat are on the mountain of Ararat, and that they cure the inhabitants of this country until this day . As for the place where the ark stopped, this account agrees with that of the Torah. 344 years after the birth of Noah the second thousand of years of the history of the world was completed.

We have already said that the total of years to the birth of Jared was 900 years; if we add to this the years from the day of the birth of Jared until the birth of Enoch, that makes 162 years; - if we add to this also the years of Enoch, from the day of his birth until he fathered Mathusaleh, that makes 165 years; --- if we add to this then the years of |39 Mathusaleh, from the day of his birth until he fathered Lamech, that makes 187 years; --- if we add to this then the years of Lamech, from the day of his birth until he fathered Noah, that makes 182 years, --- years until the day when Noah was born, making 1,656 years. 344 years after the birth of Noah the second millenium completed, as we have already reported. The total number of years of the history of the world from Adam and the beginning of creation until the year of the flood is 2,256 years, according to the Septuagint. As for what is in the Torah mutilated and reduced by the Jews and in the Syriac Torah, the total of years there is 1,656 years.

As for those which would like to make the sum and count of these figures, according to what we explained and exposed, we have given him the method to make the account and calculation of it. There were ten generations from Adam to Noah: They are those of Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalalail, Jared, Enoch, Mathusaleh, Lamech and Noah. When Noah had left the ark, he made sacrifices to God, and the Lord smelled the good odour of the sacrifices of Noah and purified him. |40 The rainbow. God gave him the rainbow as a guarantee against the flood and as His sign to him and his descendants in the centuries of the centuries. God filled the children of Adam with his leniency and his mercy. He gave them the ark, the cord and the arrows; and God made them from various colours, red, green and others, which indicate the satisfaction of God, because the translation of "chumreh" (red) and "khaudreh" (green) according to the Hebrew is the satisfaction and the mercy of God. God did this as His sign to him and to his children and as a guarantee against the flood in the centuries of the centuries.

The division of the earth. After the flood, the earth was divided between the tribes of the children of Noah. The borders of Shem, the first-born of Noah, extended from Persia and Bactria to India, i.e. the country of India. The borders of |41 Cham extended from the Rinokûrûra country in Gades ; the borders of Jafeth extended from Media which is the country of Mosul and the neighbouring region, to the country of Gades, on the north side. Their border, which separated their lands, was the river of the Tigris which separates Media from Persia. There were fifteen tribes of the children of Jafeth, twenty-five tribes of the children of Shem and thirty-two tribes of the children of Cham, which gives a total of 72 tribes. The limits which separated the land of the sons of Cham, were the Djaihoun river, which is the river Nile . We will explain all this, with the distribution of the seven climates following the division of languages and we will describe their inhabitants, their uses, their religious opinions, their concerns, their science and the culture of their spirit; we will speak about their animals, their birds, the lifespan of their population, their manners and the wonders which can be found in their land, after the confusion and the division of the languages in Babel; we will mention the seas of each climate, their gulfs, their length and of their width in parasangs, of the point where they start and to where they extend, which islands, inhabited and uninhabited, are there; we will describe the famous cities of each climate, if God wills. |42

Noah lived after the flood for 350 years, and his life having been 950 years, he died in the fourteenth generation, 74 years after the birth of Scaleh. According the Torah of the Jews and the Syriac Torah, which the Jews mutilated after the Ascension of the Messiah, Noah died in the 21st generation, 53 years after the birth of Abraham, the friend of the Merciful one. This is a proof of the alteration of the Torah by the Jews and the reduction of the number of the years, as we have already reported. But Noah did not arrive at the time of the birth of Abraham and did not live until the time of the division of the languages. Two years after the flood, Shem fathered Arphaxad and lived for 500 years after the birth of Arphaxad; his life was 660 years. On this point the version of the Seventy is in agreement with what is in the Torah of the Jews. Shem died 74 years after the birth of Haber. According to what is in the mutilated and reduced Torah Jews, Shem died 70 years after the birth of Jacob. Arphaxad, sons of Shem, lived from the day of his birth until he fathered Kainan, 135 years, and after that 430 years; his life was 565 years, and he died 27 years after the birth of Phaleg. According |43 to the Torah of the Jews, Arphaxad lived, until he fathered Kainan, for 35 years, and having lived after that 530 years, he died one year after the birth of Kahath, son of Levi, son of Jacob.

According to this calculation, he lived, until he fathered Kainan, 35 years, and having lived after that 530 years, he died one year after the birth of Kahath, son of Levi, son of Jacob. According to this calculation he lived until the entry of Jacob in Egypt, which proves the deterioration (of the text). Kainan lived 130 years, until he fathered Scaleh, and 330 years after the birth of Scaleh; his life was 460 years, and he died 66 years after the birth of Phaleg. This is a second Kainan, the son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah; neither his name, nor a mention of him, nor his years are found in the Torah which is in the hands of the Jews; he is not either question of Kainan in the Syriac Torah; his name and years are cut out in the Torah of the Jews. In the Syriac Torah it is written that several Jewish doctors and some honest people stood up to Annas and Caiphas, high priests at that time, blamed them and reproached them for what they had done to the Messiah, and made them fear for themselves because of their arrogance towards him, though they had recognized his grace and his benefits for them. |44

The frightened high priests hid from them; and the treasures of the revealed books of God being in their hands, they omitted these years of which we already spoke and which we will explain later, if great God wills. When they had found the name of this second Kainan among the descent of Noah, whose name was identical with that of Kainan, son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, they cut out his name from the Torah; and they cut out his years, with other years still, to make their followers believe that they were in the middle of the duration of the world, in order to refute the word of the blessed Paul who said that the last days have arrived; as well as the word of the disciples of the Messiah, who were after them, that the Messiah will appear at the end of time. They talked among themselves against them on this subject and said aloud that the time of the Messiah had not arrived and that it would arrive only at the end of time.

When the argument and the controversy had started between them, the disciples (of Christ) discovered the clear and obvious truth, noted it and forced them to acknowledge that they had cut out the name of this Kainan. After that they gave a reason to those who believed in the Messiah, and said to them that they had cut out his name because he had invented, had proclaimed and introduced the worship of idols. Then it was said to them: "Alright, you have cut out his name. But his years, where did you put them?" And they remained stuck and without arguments. |45 We have found the name of this second Kainan written in the Torah which is in the hands of the Samaritans, and also in the Gospel of Luke the Evangelist, when he gives the genealogy of the Messiah . Scaleh lived 130 years and fathered Haber, and he lived after the birth of Haber 330 years. It is said that Haber is the same person as Hud. His life having been 460 years, he died in the seventeenth generation, 66 years after the birth of Ar`û (Rahu). As for what is in the mutilated Torah of the Jews and that which is extracted from it, it is written there that Scaleh lived 30 years and fathered Haber; having lived after the birth of Haber 430 years, he died in the 23rd generation, 65 years after the birth of Jacob. Haber lived 134 years until he fathered Phaleg; he lived after the birth of Phaleg 270 years; his life having been 464 years, he died in the 18th generation, 8 years after the birth of Sarûg.

According to the Torah of the Jews and the Syriac, Haber lived 430 years until he fathered Phaleg; he lived after the birth of Phaleg 370 years and he died in the 23rd generation, 39 years after the birth of Jacob. From the name 'Haber' the Jews were called Hebrews, because the first language |46 was Hebrew. Others say that they were called Hebrews, because Abraham had crossed the Euphrates. Phaleg lived 130 years, fathered Ar`û and lived after that 280 years; his life having been 338 years, he died in the 18th generation, 76 years after the birth of Sarûg. According to the Torah of the Jews, Phaleg lived 30 years until he fathered Ar`û; having lived after that 368 years, he died in the 22nd generation, 37 years after the birth of Isaac. He died 62 years before the death of Haber, his son. At the time of Phaleg, son of Haber, and from his time, the languages, the people and the tribes divided among the seven climates of the earth, as we reported above. Each of their tribes and groups took a country and a climate, of which it was master.

Account of the division of languages on the surface of the earth in all the climates. It is written that the earth had only one race and one language for everyone; this was Hebrew. Because of this, men gathered |47 to build a high building and a castle, i.e. a tower, whose the top, as they believed, would reach to the sky, to take refuge there so that the flood would not arrive and drown them or that they would not be dispersed over the surface of the earth. The division of languages. When men revolted against their Lord and turned with eagerness to build the tower, -- there were seventy-two chiefs on seventy-two towers in this building, on each tower a chief to make his companions work -- God, may his name be blessed, during their disobedience, their wrongdoing and their revolt against their Lord, showed to them seventy-two tongues of fire in the air, revolving and of various colors to warn them, so that they would be converted (to God). But they did not convert and did not cease revolting.

Then God was angry against them, because they had not obeyed the signs of his dissatisfaction and his anger. The sacred Book said that the Lord then divided their language into seventy-two languages, so that one did not understand the |48 language and the words of another, according to the number of their tribes, coming from the children of Shem, Cham and Jafeth, about which we spoke, and according to the number of their chiefs who supervised the construction of the tower. According to this account, this country was called Babel, because the Lord there had confused and divided their languages. As for Haber, he remained firm in obedience to his Lord, did not share in their wrongdoing, did not have any leaning to their passions and their perverse thoughts, thanks to his holiness, because he knew that God could do with them what he wished. A certain scholar has said that God revealed to him, because of the more perfect knowledge that he had of God because of his holiness and his purity, what He would do to men, and for language, He taught the Hebraic language to him. Men dispersed over all the earth, and their attacks, one against another were renewed.

The beginning of the description of the climates. We said at the beginning what we have reported earlier and wrote on the limits of the countries of the tribes of the children of Shem, Chain and Jafeth, son of Noah; we set forth how the earth had been divided in general between them, without indicating |49 the limits of the climates, without describing who was where, without explanation and comment. We will now begin by telling and setting forth the division of the seven climates, cultivated and inhabited, and the delimitation of their length and their width; we will describe the state of the tribes and the peoples which inhabit them; we will report their habits, their administration, their conditions, their distinctive characters, the principal events which have occurred on there since ancient times and since their dispersion; we will speak about the animals and all the wild beasts which are there, climate by climate, according to what Ptolemy the scholar said and after him Eratosthenes (?) the scholar.

We say that the earth is divided into five parts, of which four are not cultivated, nor habitable. The first part is that of the east, always hot, blazing and extreme; the second part is that of the south, located on the right side of the first climate, excessively hot, so that it is impossible to live there; the third part is that of the west, full of water; its limits are insuperable seas and uninhabited islands; the fourth part is that of North, on the right side of the seventh climate, excessively cold, poor and arid, always covered with snow. There is only one part of these five climates which is cultivated in the inhabitable world, it is the middle part. |50 It is divided into seven parts and these seven parts are called in Greek Flimata, i.e. the climates, and in Persan Kouschour. It is necessary firstly to know that the earth is round like a ball; its cultivated and inhabited centre represents an elevation; its sides touch the four parts which are located below; because of its elevation the centre is closer to the course of the sun in the Eastern part of the earth, i.e. the area of the "scorched" earth . As a man moves and advances mentally and intellectually from the northern area towards the extreme limits of the earth and examines it attentively, he finds that the increase in the length of the day is related directly to the rise of the sun over the northern part of the twelve signs of the zodiac in the sign of Cancer, and the increase of the length of the night to the descent of the sun into the Zodiac in the south; he will perceive this by his intelligence and will understand it.

(This part that we are describing) is extremely cold. The explanation of what we reported the length of the duration of the night and the day in these places, is found in the astrolabe, i.e. in the "dial" that Ptolemy made, in "the beydeh" (egg), in the «zat al-Halk» and also in the Book of the Canon, where |51 he tells and describes the length and the width of the earth, the seas, the islands, the cities and the knowledge of the hours of the seven climates. Ptolemy reports in his books what follows and he said: "The first climate starts close to the scorched earth, and this climate is called διάμερος; it is the area of India and the part furthest away from China; the longest day is thirteen hours there. The second climate is called in Greek διάστατος which is the country of Kush; it is the country of Abyssinia; the longest day is thirteen hours and half there.

The third climate is called the climate of Alexandria; the longest day is fourteen hours there. The fourth climate is called in Greek Rodous (Rhodes), the island which is in the sea; it includes the towns of Syria and Mesopotamia, which is located between two rivers; it includes Babel and other cities; the longest day is fourteen hours and half there. The fifth climate is called in Greek Hellespontus (Pontus), where Constantinople, Amouryah (Amorion) and Rome are; the longest day is fifteen hours there. The sixth climate is called in Greek Mesopotamia, where the countries of the Bourdjans and others are; the longest day is fifteen hours and half there. The seventh climate is called in Greek |52 Baristhanis (Boristhenes), whose inhabitants are always somnolent; the longest day is sixteen hours. Now we will start to describe the longitude and the latitude of each of these climates. We say that the latitude of these seven climates, cultivated and inhabited, which are in the centre of the earth, starting with India and the part furthest away from China and the area of the scorched earth and going until the end of the seventh climate, i.e. of the area from the south to north; the whole latitude is of sixty-three degrees.

This latitude is divided into seven parts which are the climates; the latitude of each climate is nine degrees, as divided by the scholar Hermes and by Ptolemy. The extent of these nine degrees is twenty-seven days, because the extent of each degree is one hundred miles. There is obviously no doubt that the extent of each degree is a distance of three days. This climate begins in the region of the East and extends to the end of the region of the West; its longitude is 180 degrees, a half of the sphere being above it and other half below. Its overall length, from the area of the Sea-Ocean to the sea which surrounds the world, up to its Western point, is 160 days, a total of 5,600 parasangs, |53 according to the calculation of the Persians and the peoples of the East. We already said that the latitude of this first climate, from the area close to the scorched earth, extends to the land of Serendib (Taprobane, Ceylon).

The inhabitants of this climate, i.e. from the part of China furthest away from the edge of the land of the East to the edge of the region of the West, have one characteristic: they are naked like animals, of hideous and ugly exterior aspect and form. The majority of them derive from the tribes of the children of Cham. They had many mysteries and knew magic and other things well; their life is long. In this climate are found beasts and large animals with dreadful bodies, of hideous aspect, of extremely ugly form, large birds of which some have the shapes of animals, for example, the ostrich, the giraffe, the griffon and a bird which is called the sparrow of the elephant, which throws itself on the great elephant and carries it off; there are found large elephants and other animals which are not seen and about which are not spoken of elsewhere. Also there are found there every species of large snake, large dragons, ordinary snakes and hideous and dreaded reptiles. |54

In this climate the men are experts in magic and know aromatic plants and stones, whose quality and nature make of them effective remedies for the cure of the diseases; they treat with these all those who suffer from the bite of these hideous and dreaded reptiles, and cure them. Its length, as we have already recounted, is, from the region of the East to the region of the West, 5,600 parasangs, and its width, from the region of the South to the region of the North, is 285 parasangs. The second climate is that of Abyssinia. Its width extends from the limits of the land of Serendib to the Western region of the country of Abyssinia and to the mountains of emerald, precious stones and the gold mines; its inhabitants are those of the nearer part of China, Sind and India. In this climate are also found animals, birds and reptiles which are robust, dreaded and large, but less so than in the first climate; the aspect of its inhabitants, their form and their exterior, is not quite so hideous as among the inhabitants of the first climate. Many aromatic plants and stones are also found there which, thanks to their quality and their nature, produce a cure, if diseases are treated with them. Among its inhabitants, there are many who know magic, the mysteries and the treatment of the diseases |55 with these plants and stones very well; but they are less expert than the inhabitants of the first climate. It is the same thing concerning their life (= their life is shorter). As for its length and its width, they are the same as the ones we gave for the first climate.

The third climate is that of Alexandria. This climate extends from the ends of the country of Egypt, of the region of the West and the East, from the borders of the land of Sindous of bysse; and its width goes from the region of the West to the borders of Syria (Souriya) external and the first part of Persia, close to the country of Ispahan, of Ray and the country of Maisan and to the border of Alexandria and Barkah and the first part of Africa. The inhabitants of this climate, I swear by my life, are interested in nature and in examining physical things; they are assiduous at work; they study literature, the sacred books and the sciences with more zeal than the inhabitants of the first climate or those of the second, because this climate is by nature better than the two precedents. As for its length and its width, they are same dimensions that we gave in connection with the length and the width of the first climate.

The fourth climate in the centre of which is a maritime island which is called Rhodes, includes many cities which it is impossible to count. But we will list some of them so as to clarify and explain the charts and the plans where the system of the division of the seven climates is traced. |56 Of its cities we will name Damascus, Hims, Qinnesrin , Haleb, Menbidj, Afainée, Antioch (Anthakyah), Harran, Edessa (ar-Roha), Rakkah, Râs`Ain, Nisibis, Mosul, Baghdad and Ray. Its limits extend from its eastern end on a line which goes to the region of the west; and from the country of Spain they touch part of the country of Africa, the north coast in Sicily, the country of Laodicea and Tripoli , the country of Athens and Ephesus, in the Greek country with Cyprus and Asia Minor. This climate is in the centre of the earth, and, for this reason, it is superior to all the climates by the moderation and the evenness of the temperature. This is why its inhabitants are scholars, philosophers, scholars, astronomers, writers, doctors, and carry out research on the physical and natural questions and on the essence of things.

The books indicate that among them all the wonders and the ten sciences are joined together, i.e. astronomy, or the movement of stars, and astrology, i.e. the proverbs which relate to them, and their knowledge; geometry, i.e. the measurement of surfaces, the construction of figures, the operations of levelling and unspecified distances; arithmetic, or books of |57 numbers; music, i.e. the collection and composition of melodies; medicine (ἰατρική), which is the art of treatment; al-Soumie (= τὰ σημεῖα), this is the science of alchemy; mechanics, these are books on machines, and al-Arkhifie (?) from which come the books of magic and the other similar things; the tenth science is that of the categories; these are the treatises on the way of speaking, which is the art of learning the truth and distinguishing it from error. The inhabitants of this climate are superior to those in the third climate and have more scholars and philosophers, because they are characterized by fineness of spirit and knowledge because of the balance of their character. As for its length and its width, they are what we already indicated.

The fifth climate corresponds to the Hellespont where are Constantinople, Amorion, Rome, Spain and the province of Thrace. The inhabitants are a fair, reddish people, passionate, extremely lustful, fiery and irritable. Such was Esau, their father. They are less erudite and less philosophical that the inhabitants of the fourth climate; they are wild and are not civilized, but they hasten to adopt civilization and adapt to it quickly; however the inhabitants of the fourth climate |58 have a finer spirit and a clearer intelligence than those of this climate. As for its length and its width, it is as we have already given.

The sixth climate corresponds to Mesopotamia, one of the islands of the sea. The inhabitants of this climate are Bourdjans and Slaves; and other tribes of women live also in a region of this climate, and the men do not live with them. They are called in Greek Amazons; they always cut off the right breast and cauterize it with fire to prevent it from developing in order to be ready for war and combat. They are also called al-Kharouniat (?) because the Samiris fought them and killed all their male children. They are obliged because of this not to raise the males, but only the women. They go out and go once a year to the border of their country, to the country of Bourdjans, where the men of Bourdjans sleep with them, and they conceive; then they return to their residences. They are always ready for war and combat. No scientist puts this fact in doubt or denies the truth of their history such as we report, and nobody disputes it . The inhabitants of this climate like war and the effusion of blood and are pitiless; |59 this is why they are called Slaves. They are circumcised. This is a people with no knowledge of moral books, nor sciences, nor other things. As for its length and its width, it is as we already reported.

The seventh known climate corresponds to Borysthenes; it is inhabited by the people who are called in Greek Youmid.s (? ) i.e. "somnolent"; they are a weak and feeble people because of the excessive rigour of the cold, because they are close to the region of the north and the uncultivated and uninhabited places, where the constellation of the Bear turns always just above their heads. The animals and the beasts of their country are very small; the cows and the sheep do not have horns because of the excessive rigour of the cold; no reptiles are found in their country; they cannot build houses; but they manufacture huts of wooden boards, coat them with tar, put them on carriages pulled by oxen; they live there, and travel day and night everywhere where they find in their country the means of living and the pastures for their herds. They are constantly reduced to misery because of the bad conditions of their deplorable life. It is said that, if they fall seriously ill, they |60 put their patients on a carriage, remove their men's clothes and put those of woman on them; they are thus cured. As for the length and the width of this climate, it is as what we have reported for each of the seven climates. The indications which we have given on the seven climates, rest on obvious evidence for he who finds them, using our description, on the plan or the chart on which we have traced where these seven climates are represented.

Now look and examine well this chart and this map where the seven climates are traced, and see how many ideas this plan shows you, how it shows and explains the course of the sun in the four regions of the world from the beginning of its course and its rotation from east to west, - how it makes known you its rotation through the twelve signs of the zodiac, in every month of the year, - how the sun rises in the northern signs of the zodiac and sets in the southern signs of the zodiac; (this map) will explain to you the passage of the sun during the night in the regions lower down and located at the bottom; and from how many climates the sun is distant, when it is in the sign of Cancer, in the month of Haziran (June), and leaves behind him a climate and half in the region of the south, and when the sun enters the sign of the Capricorn, in the month of first Kanoun. Moreover, on the map there are explanations and information on this fact that the sun, entering there, leaves (without light) all the seven climates far from him. |61

Here is the description of the climates of the tribes of the children of Noah after the division of languages over the surface of the earth and over the whole length of these climates, from the west to the east, or over the width of the region, from south to north. As for what remains beyond the sixty-three degrees of latitude, which is called the top of the seven climates, day does not cease there, and lasts in the region of the north beyond the inhabited earth for twenty one hours and twenty two minutes and arrives at twenty-four hours, so that daylight does not cease Then one arrives at the country of darkness: the night lasts six months, the day there also six months.

Chapter of the seas, gulfs and islands.The sea of India has been measured and it is said that it extends in its length from west to east, i.e. from the coast of India until the coast of Abyssinia; its length is 8,000 miles and its width is 2,700 miles, until it passes beyond the island where night is equal to day ; its second part is 1,900 miles; this sea contains |62 a gulf in the country of Abyssinia, which extends from the region of Berber and is called the gulf of the Berbers; its length is 500 miles and the length of the coast is 100 miles. The other gulf is that on the coast of Aylah; its length is 1,400 miles and its width at the beginning is 700 miles, and its end, i.e. the part which is called the Red Sea, is 200 miles. This sea contains also on the coast of Persia a gulf which is called the Persian Gulf; its length is 1,400 miles, its width at the beginning is 500 miles and its end is 150 miles. Between these two gulfs is the country of Hedjaz and Yemen; the distance between the gulf of Aylah and the Persian Gulf is 1,500 miles. This sea contains still another gulf, extending to the end of the country of India, which is called the Green gulf; its length is of 1,500 miles.

Among the 1,370 islands, inhabited and uninhabited, at the end of the sea, near the country of India, on the east coast, there is a large island which is called Taprobane, 3,000 miles of circumference; there are there high mountains and several rivers from where the red and blue hyacinth are found; around this island there are 90 inhabited islands where many cities are found. As for the Green Sea, only its proximity to the region of the west and the north, at the edges of the country of Abyssinia as far as |63 Britain, is known; ships do not go there. Six islands are found there, located near the country of Abyssinia, which are called the Eternal Islands (Khalidâth, the Canaries). There is another island, which is called Ghadyra (Cadiz); this island is located near Spain, close to the strait which comes out of the other sea. Its width is four miles; it is located between Spain and Tangier; it is called the strait of Ceuta and emerges in the sea of Roum. On the north side of this sea are twelve islands, which are called the Islands of Britain. Then this sea extends away from the inhabited regions and nobody knows anything about it.

The sea of Roum and of Misr (the Mediterranean) extends from the strait which leaves the Green Sea, towards the East, to Tyre and Sidon; its length is 5,000 miles and its width is about 800 miles. It forms a gulf moving north near Rome, of which the length is 500 miles and which is called the Adriatic Sea; it forms another gulf which starts near the country of the Berbers, of which the length is 200 miles. In this sea there are 162 inhabited islands, including fifteen large islands: Anhàr (Corsica?) 200 miles in circumference, |64 Sardinia 300 miles in circumference, Sicily 500 miles in circumference, Crete 300 miles in circumference and Cyprus 350 miles in circumference. The sea of Pontus extends from Lazikah to beyond Constantinople; its length is 1,300 miles and its width 300 miles. It receives the river called Tanais; it runs from the north and comes out of the lake called Mayotis; it is a large sea, but it is called a lake; its length from east to west is 300 miles and its width is 100 miles. At Constantinople, this sea forms a strait which runs like a river and throws itself into the sea of Misr; its width at Constantinople is three miles; Constantinople is built on its sides.

The division of the earth. The sea of Djordjan or the sea al-Bab (Caspian Sea). The length of this sea, from east to west, is 800 miles and its width is 600 miles; it contains two islands, located near Djordjan, which were once inhabited. Such is the topography of the inhabited earth and the situation of the seas of the sphere which are known. The earth is also divided, in another way, |65 into three parts. The first part is that which lies between the Green sea on the north coast and the strait which leaves the sea of Pontus in the great Sea, and that which lies between the Lake Mayotis and the sea of Pontus. The limits of this region are, on the west and north, the Green sea; on the south, the Sea of Roum (the Mediterranean) and of Misr (Egypt); on the east, the strait, the Tanaïs river and Lake Mayotis. This land resembles an island and is named Europe.

The second part extends from the south coast of the sea to the sea of Abyssinia. Its limits are, on the west side, the Green sea; on the north side, the sea of Roum and Misr; on the east side, al-`Arysch, and on the south side, the border of Abyssinia. This part is named Libya. The third part is what remains of the inhabited country of the earth as far as the ends of the East. Its limits are, on the west side, the Tanais river, al-`Arysch and Aylah; on the south side, the sea of India and Yemen; on the east side, it extends until the end of the inhabited country of China. This part is named Great Asia. These three parts include the seven climates, all inhabited countries and all the cities. As for the earth, its length, according to the description that we |66 have just given, extends from the east to the west and its width from south to north, starting from the middle of the circumference of the earth, where night and day, summer and winter are equal [in length], to the region of the north. In this place the days and the nights are twelve hours, without increase, or decrease.

Note on the rising and setting of the sun, on the increase and decrease in the day and night and on the course of the stars.

Night and the day are equal [in length] when the sun enters the head of the Ram [=Aries] and Libra; then, starting from the entry of the sun into the sign of the Ram to the entry of the sun into the sign of Cancer, the day does not cease increasing and the night decreasing, because the sun goes up towards the region of the north twenty-three degrees and fifty- one minutes; then the sun, from the moment of its entry into the head of Cancer until the first minute of Libra, goes down from the region of the north twenty-three degrees and fifty-one minutes. Then the day starts to increase and the night to decrease until the entry of the sun into Libra, until the night and the day become equal. Then the sun goes down |67 into the region of the south, from the head of Libra until that of the Capricorn; these are the degrees about which we spoke, --- twenty-three degrees and fifty-one minutes. Then it is the day which starts to decrease and the night to increase until the sun arrives in the first minute of Capricorn. Then the sun is driven while going up and climbs from the south towards the equator, from the head of Capricorn to the head of the Ram. At this time the day starts to increase and the night to decrease;

the sun, as we said, is inclined in its rise and descent by twenty-three degrees and fifty-one minutes, because the sun crosses the centre of the Zodiac, on the right and on the left. As for the variation of the sun that we see, it occurs in front of the curvature of the Zodiac. The sun, the moon, the stars and the five planets move from west to east in a contrary direction to the rotation of the sphere, because the sphere turns from east to west. The sun moves as much below the earth, as above it; there is always above the earth the figure of the Zodiac and below it also the figure of the Zodiac; when one appears, the other disappears.

As for the remainder of the earth, it is unknown whether it is inhabited or deserted; it includes the eleven twelfths of the sphere; there is only one part out of twelve which is inhabited. |68 In this part, which is the inhabited country, there are seas and deserts. The researcher who wants to give an account of these things, will perhaps ask us whether there is in these eleven parts, vegetation, animals, or seas, as in our own single part; we will answer: the land which was inhabited before us, does not exceed the limits about which we spoke; as for what is beyond that, nobody has entered there and nobody came from there to us. The opinions and the ideas of the scholars are in agreement, and no intelligent person denies that the sun, the moon and the stars move over us, and that this movement produces the summer, the winter, spring and the autumn, which everyone knows. If the sun rises above all the places of the surface of the earth, as with us, just as the moon and stars, it is necessary that there are plants, animals, seas and mountains, as with us.

Here are some reasons why, as follows: if, in the seven climates, the sun, the moon and the stars move, as we said, it is also necessary that the earth as we described, is inhabited starting from the equator, i.e. the northern half of the terrestrial sphere and (the other) half of the terrestrial sphere, i.e. starting from the equator on the south side; there must be also a climate, like these seven climates which are in the north. In addition to the division that we have just given, the ancients divided the earth, its countries and its cities into twelve |69 parts and allotted each part to one of the twelve signs of the zodiac, so that these countries and cities knew their relation to the signs of the zodiac and planets to which the ancients had allotted them; they thought thus to know of either abundance or famine in their countries by calculating the movement of the years, and from the signs of the zodiac which dominate the year, and from the stars. According to this idea one may form an opinion on the area and the country where (such a sign) dominates, according to the knowledge of the scholars, so far as that depends on external and interior qualities of the celestial sphere and that which it contains.

Chapter of the countries and the cities of the earth, named according to the signs of the zodiac. The countries of the Ram [=Aries] are: Fars, Azerbaijan, Britain, Sicily, Germany, Palestine and part of el-Balka. The sign of the Bull [=Taurus]: all towns of Mah, Ispahan, the small islands of the sea of Roum, Cyprus, Minor Asia. The sign of Gemini: the countries of Djilan, Deilem, Djordjan, Thabaristan, Greater Armenia, Merv, Tripoli (Athrablous), |70 Marakiah and Misr. The sign of Cancer: the land of the Berbers (Barbary), Africa, Bithynia, which are in the country of the Greeks, Phrygia, Ladikiyah (?) and Lydia. The sign of the Lion: the countries of the Turks, Abraschahr, Antioch (Anthakiah), Halikiyah (?), Aetolia (?) , Emesa (Homs), Damascus (Dimeschk) and the country around Koufah. The sign of Virgo: Corinth, the country of Babel, of Mosul and al-Djezîreh, the country of the Greeks and Carthage .

The sign of Libra: Bukhara, Thabaristan, Kashmir, Tibet, Schoul, Awsis (?), the part of the country of Abyssinia which is called Troglodytica, Sedjestan, Carmania. The sign of Scorpio: the country of Hedjaz, Amoul, Tangier, Hatouliyah, blue Nubia, Souriah (Syria), Cappadocia. The sign of Sagittarius: the country of Ph.lathiki, Andalusia (Spain) and country of the Slavs. The sign of Capricorn: the country of India, al-Sous, Mokrân, Hûah (?), Thrace, Macedonia and Illyria (?). The sign of Aquarius: Sarmatia, the river of Balch, Sogdiania, Ferghânah, |71 as-Schasch, al-Balkah and Azania in the centre of Abyssinia. The sign of Pisces: Babylonia, Paphlagonia, Smûnithis (?), Khorramah, Nikûdhûliah (Nicomedia?) We have already explained the state of the seven climates of the earth and their inhabited country; we have set forth the conditions wherein are their inhabitants and their distribution on the sphere; finally we described the earth which is neither cultivated, nor inhabited, as far as the information found in books of earlier scholars allowed.

Now we will return to the account of the history of the world. An account which makes known the true cause of how the worship of the idols entered the world after the division of languages over the surface of the earth.

It is written that when the languages of the tribes of the children of Shem, Cham and Jafeth, son of Noah, were divided in all the climates, on the surface of the earth; when they had occupied their areas and when each language, each people and tribe had moved away into an unspecified region of a climate of the earth, as we described, the people began to make war on each other, one against another. Each tribe and each people chose a head of an army, who led their troops and |72 led them into battle, going at their head. It is told that once, when some of the chiefs of the warriors and commanders of the troops returned victorious and triumphing to their companions, their people and their tribe, the people took them as their masters because of their victory and for their chiefs, renowned and famous for their exploits, their wars and their success, they set up idols bearing their names and resembling them, so that these idols recalled the memory of those who had made conquests to their profit and had returned victorious to them. A long time after this, people started to show veneration towards them and to offer sacrifices to them, initially as a testimony of veneration for them and to remember the victories which they had gained; then when misfortunes occurred, when their enemies, wanting revenge, inflicted on them all kinds of evils and wounds, they came to these idols, beseeching their help. For this reason, in the times that followed, the worship and the veneration of the idols were introduced by the living themselves of the heroes; devils, according to what is written, spoke to the men from the interior of these idols.

The total of the years from the time of the flood until the birth of Ar`û, son of Phaleg, which took place at the time of the division of the languages, is |73 670 years; from Adam and the beginning of the world until that year, there were 2926 years. Here is the explanation of this calculation: Shem fathered Arphaxad two years after the flood; the years of Arphaxad from the day of his birth until that of Kainan, his son, were 135 years; from the day of the birth of Kainan until that of Scaleh, his son, they were139 years; from the day of the birth of Scaleh until that of Haber, his son, they was 130 years; from the day of the birth of Haber until Haber fathered Phaleg, his son, 134 years; from the day of the birth of Phaleg until he fathered Ar`û, 132 years. That gives 670 years. If the years from Adam to the year of the flood, i.e. 2,256 years, are added to it, the total is 2,926 years.

This calculation is made using the Septuagint, which translated the Torah and all the books of the prophets in accordance with the truth. As for what we find in the Torah which is in the hands of the Jews, because of the reduction and the mutilation that they made it undergo, and in the Syriac Torah which is copied from it, it is written there that Shem fathered Arphaxad two years after the flood, and from the day of the birth of Arphaxad until he fathered Scaleh, there were 35 years; they omitted Kainan, his son, and, having removed from the Torah his name and his years, they wrote Scaleh, |74 his grandson; from the day of the birth of Scaleh until he fathered Haber, there were 30 years; from the day of the birth of Haber until he fathered Phaleg, 34 years; from the birth of Phaleg until he fathered Ar`û, 30 years. That made 131 years. According to the reduced and mutilated Torah, from Adam to the flood there were 2,656 years and from the flood to the birth of Ar`û, son of Phaleg, at the time which the languages divided, there were 131 years.

According to the reduced Torah, from Adam and the origins of the world until this year, there were 2,787 years, so that the Jews reduced the count until that year by 1,139 years. In consequence of the confusion and the division of languages, Phaleg was called (the divider), because the translation of his name in Hebrew and Syriac was "moukassim". Ar`û lived from the day of his birth until he fathered Sarûg for 132 years and after the birth of Sarûg 267 years; he lived for 339 years, and he died 77 years after the birth of Nachor. As for the reduced Torah, it is written there that Ar`û lived for 32 years and fathered Sarûg; he lived after the birth of Sarûg 367 years, and he died 38 years after the birth of Jacob; his death happened before that of Haber, his grandfather. 74 years after the birth of Ar`û the third millenium of the chronology of the world was completed, according to the version of |75 the Seventy, because we already explained and indicated above that the years from Adam and the origin of the world until the year of the birth of Ar' û, son of Phaleg, were 2,926 years; if we add 74 years to this from the birth of Ar' û, the third thousand years will be complete.

History of Nimrod, son of Chanaan, son of Cham, son of Noah, son of Lamec, the Giant-King. It is written that in the 84 year after the birth of Ar`û, ten years after the third millennium, there appeared the first king who ruled over all the earth, in Babel, Nimrod, son of Chanaan, son of Cham, the king-giant, who reigned for sixty-nine years; his crown was woven and was not of gold. Nimrod built three cities, Arakh, Adja and Kila, i.e. Edessa (ar-Roha), Nisibis and Seleucia. In the hundredth year of Ar' û the Egyptians, after the Babylonians, gave themselves a king, whose name was Manouphis (Μήνης), who reigned over them for 68 years; he was called Mesraïm according to the name of Mesraïm, their father. It is certain that it is from the name Mesraïm that (Egypt) was called Misr . |76 History of the children of Kahthan, which is called in the Torah Abrithan , who made known weapons and engines of war.

It is written that at that time the sons of Yokthan appeared, who is the same as Kahthan; they were three chiefs who were giants; one was called Sheba, another Ophir, the third Heval. The sons of Kahthan started to make war against the peoples and tribes with every kind of weapons and implements, because they were the first who used engines of war and who understood them. The first knowledge that they had of them and the first use that they made of them were suggested to them by the example of wild animals. The lance they imitated from the animal called in Greek Monokeraton (Μονοκέρατον); it is the animal which the Persians call and know as Karkadann (rhinoceros), and the Arabs also call it by this name, because it has only one horn which rises in the middle of the head in the shape of a lance, with which it strikes any beast or animal.

The sword they made use of in the imitation of the wild boars, which, when they strike a tree with their tooth, cut it and split it in two. |77 The arrow they imitated from the animal which is called the porcupine or douldoul, which, when it draws up one of its hairs, launches it and does not miss the place aimed at. The shield they borrowed from the turtle, whose back was of an extraordinary size. In this way, they invented by imitation all the kinds of weapons about which we spoke. The earth and the countries that each of these three chiefs obtained for themselves, were the Eastern countries on the coast of China and the neighbouring countries; pure gold is found there, hyacinths, emeralds, pearls and all the large trees which exhale perfumes, - for example: the aloe tree, the sandal tree and others, as the Bible reports.

The learned Mousous (?) wrote in his book on the nations that the peoples, tired of their battle against the children of Kahthan, and the disorders which resulted from the war and the battles waged against them with every kind of weapons that these people did not know, allowed them to choose the climates which they would prefer, so that they put an end to the war. The children of Kahthan chose this country: everyone needs this country, what is found here and what those who govern it possess, while they do not need anything of what is found in other countries. |78 Sarug lived until he fathered Nachor for 130 years, and, after the birth of Nachor, for 200 years; his life was 330 years, and he died 46 years after the birth of Abraham. According to what we find in the Torah, which is today in the hands of the Jews, in consequence of the reduction that they made to it, and the deterioration (of the text), Sarug lived for 30 years until he fathered Nachor, and 300 years after the birth of Nachor, and died 61 years after the birth of Jacob; he died seventeen years before the death of Ar`û, his father.

In the year 21 from the birth of Sarug, there appeared the second king of Babel; he was called Kambiros and he reigned 85 years. In his time currency appeared, i.e. the house to strike dinars and dirhems and the art of making silver and gold ornaments. At that time Amorius was distinguished, of the family of Ophir, a craftsman of iron and copper. In the year forty-six of the reign of Cambiros, king of Babel, this monarch built some cities, of which the first was great Susa. At that time Kambiros made war on the Chaldaeans and put them to death, as we find in the books and the accounts attributed to Zoroaster (Zaradouscht) the Magus. In year 106 of Sarug, there reigned |79 in Babel the third king, who was called Samiros; the duration of his reign was 72 years; he was the first which had measures made, the balance and weights .

The Birth of Abraham. Nachor lived for 79 years, and fathered Tarikh, father of Abraham, and he lived, after the birth of Tarih, for 122 years; his life was 201 years, and he died 47 years after the birth of Abraham. Nachor lived until he fathered Tarih, according to the Torah of the Jews, for 29 years, and 172 years after the birth of Tarih, and he died 22 years after the birth of Isaac, son of Abraham; and his death took place before that of his father and his grandfather. At that time Kisrounis, king of Parthia, made war against Samiros and after having fought him killed him; he tore off the skin of his head and the hair, braided them in four braids, and made a crown for himself from it. Because of that he was called Diokratis, i.e. having two horns (Dou-l-Karnein). This is not the same person as |80 Alexander Dou-l-Karnein, because Alexander was called Dou-l-Karnein because of his passage and his arrival in the East and the West.

The first to invent the sciences and astronomy. At that time in Egypt there reigned a king, called Antoutis (Aphintos), for thirty-two years; he was the first to invent books, sciences, astronomy, arithmetic according to the books of Chaldaeans and the Eastern scholars, and introduced them in Egypt; he learned science from sorcery and magic. At that time, Sodom and Gomorrha and also Babylon on the river Nile were built. In year 70 of Nachor Damascus (Dimeschk) was built. Tarikh lived 75 years and fathered Abraham; after the birth of Abraham, he lived 130 years; his life having been 205 years, he died 55 years after the birth of Isaac. This is what is written in the mutilated and truncated Torah of the Jews. The corruption and reduction continue until the years of the date of the birth of Abraham because this space of time, which the majority of men know nothing about, is so distant, the high priests of the Jews reduced the years to the era |81 of the Messiah and after his ascension into Heaven. At that time two high priests of the Jews, Annas and Caiphas, wished to falsify the mission of Christ and to refute the time of his advent, because they were frightened because a great number of their respected and older chiefs recognized the mission of Christ for them and the authenticity of the miracles among them, when they had seen the resurrection of Christ, as it is written in the Gospel, in which the Christians believed firmly. They talked against them, and a controversy took place between them. Annas and Caiphas, the high priests, made arguments against them and affirmed that the Messiah whom the prophets had prophesied, would come only in the last days; but, they said, we are still in the middle of the days of the world.

But the others disagreed with them; then they, having the libraries in their possession, set out to cut off these years from Adam and the beginning from the world until the time of Tarih and from the birth of Abraham; and because of the distance of time and ignorance of the majority of the men, as we already said, they cut off from the history from the world, from Adam to the time of Abraham, 1389 years; when they had arranged it between them, in secrecy, they showed it to their companions and all the men who agreed with them in their desire of the death of the Messiah. They made several copies, |82 which they hid with their right-hand men, so that they would show this version and mislead people with it; they hid the translation of the Torah, translated by the Seventy commentators, with their companions, with the books of the Prophets, which were translated under King Ptolemy Philadelphus in the town of Alexandria; they changed and mutilated in the Books of the Prophets all that they could, of what referred to the prophecies on the Messiah. The acts of the Messiah Our Lord which are in the books of the Seventy, are, on the contrary, faithful and clear. They made this falsification after the Resurrection of Christ, while the translation of the Seventy was completed approximately 300 years before the Advent of Christ.

We will tell without ambiguity the history of Ptolemy Philadelphus and the care which he gave to the translation of the sacred books and their explanation, until we arrive at the end, if God so wishes. The beginning of this history goes up at the time of Ptolemy and Alexander Dou-l-Karnein, the greatest king. In this history we will explain the corruption of the Jews and the reduction of the years that they made, if God so wishes. |83 The account of King Alexander Dou-l-Karnein. His empire was divided between his four servants, who had been his bodyguards. The sacred book calls them his servants . One of them was Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Alexandria, about whom we have already said that the Seventy, erudite Jews, translated for him into Greek the Torah and all the Books of the Prophets of Hebrew. It should not be thought that this account has been anticipated and has been put in a place which was wrong for its date, but it was necessary to mention it above, because the reduction and the corruption of the years affected the date of Tarih and of the birth of Abraham. It was necessary for us to explain and to indicate the reasons and the reasons which caused Ptolemy Philadelphus to be concerned with translation of the sacred books and to desire this, to show exactly to the learned the motives and reasons from which the Jewish High Priests, Annas and Caiphas, applied themselves boldly to the corruption and reduction, and to explain to intelligent people, the learned and to investigators, how they were exposed and how these passages, mutilated and reduced by them, were recognized, when they were studied and examined. |84

One of the important people of Persia, called Darius, had a quarrel with (Alexander) Dou-l-Karnein, who reigned in Egypt for six years. Alexander conquered him and killed him and seized the best part of his kingdom; after that, he gathered many troops and went at their head against various countries, to make war on their kings and to seize their kingdoms; when he arrived at Sind, he seized some of it and was then on the point of invading India and China. Before that, he divided his empire between four of his bodyguards, as I have already mentioned above, and continued the war against the kings of various people until his death. When his death became known to his governors, each of them seized the country where he had been named as lieutenant. One of his governors, Ptolemy, son of Arib (Lagos), reigned over Egypt 40 years; Philip reigned over Macedonia; Antigonus and Demetrius over Syria and the country of Asia. Seleucus, who reigned over the countries of the East, went against Egypt in year 13 of Ptolemy, son of Arib; previously he had conquered Syria. Demetrius went towards Asia and having overcome and killed him, seized Asia, Syria and Babylon, where he reigned 32 years. He wanted to institute for Alexander something memorable which would recall after |85 his death the benefits which he had received from him. On this basis he established the count of years according to his name and fixed the beginning of this era at the first day of the conquest of Syria, year 13 of his reign.

From Adam to this year, which is the first year of the reign of Dou-l-Karnein, the years of the history of the world are 5,197 years, which we will explain later, if God so wills. At that time Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned, for whom, as we have already told, the sacred Books were translated; he reigned over Egypt 38 years. He freed from the captivity the people who were in his kingdom, 130,000, including 30,000 Jews. First of all, there is an allusion to him in the sacred books, where it is written that there was one of the great foreign kings, called Ptolemy Philadelphus. It is reported that he resembled Alexander in his power, and was higher to him in learning, wisdom and philosophy; all his care and all his pleasure tended only to philosophy, reading books, to all sciences and the knowledge of their mysteries; he propagated them, by gathering them from all the countries and all the regions, so that he cultivated them all; these were the sciences about which we spoke: astronomy, astrology, geometry, arithmetic and the others which we mentioned. In his history, it is written that he joined together the works of |86 these sciences, erected the house of Wisdom (library) for them; he cultivated them and knew their laws and their mysteries. It is written that this king Ptolemy, in gathering books, thought with satisfaction of what posterity would say of him.

Ptolemy gathered the foreigners of all the people who were prisoners in his kingdom, and counted them, and he found their number was 130,000, including 30,000 Jews; and he proposed to them that they return to their countries. The Jews were extremely content with this, were delighted, addressed many prayers for him and thanked him. The causes of the translation of the Seventy of the old books.

Ptolemy said to them: "I give you this favour; but I have to ask you for something which you will do to show your gratitude." They said to him: "O King, what it?" He said to them: "My request is that you bring me, by the messengers who will go with you, some books of wisdom of your country." They agreed to this and made him an oath to do so. Then the Jews said |87 to him: "Among us, O king, are found some rare Hebrew books that no other people have; these are the revealed books, which were sent from Heaven to the prophets, such as regulations, laws, commandments, order and prohibition; (there are found) what is and what must be." Their language on this subject astonished him and he liked their conduct. He provided them lavishly with travel provisions and food as far as their country and gave orders that they should be allowed to pass to their own place, to the place where they were staying, their governors and their chiefs; he sent gifts and clothing with them and wrote to them about his request. Rejoicing (at the news) which had reached them, they went to meet their companions, when the noise of their journey had reached the borders closest to their country. When they had read the letters of the king, they hastened to agree to his request: they collected the books of the Torah and all the books of the Prophets for him, and sent with them a letter written in Hebrew in letters of gold to him using his messengers; at the same time they wrote a reply to his letter. The Hebrew books arrived, and this was awkward, because he not understand them at all. He sent messengers back to them and let them know, requiring them to send scholars and jurists to him, |88 to translate these books for him into his language; he promised splendid gifts to them.

When his letter had arrived and had been read, they hastened to choose (someone) to send to him, in order to obtain what he promised. Discord and argument broke out among them on this subject; finally they agreed to send six people from each of their tribes, their number being of 72 men, who went to him. When they arrived, he received them in a very hospitable way and divided them into thirty-six groups. Their tribes being of differing opinions, he appointed for each group a man who prevented them from meeting, dealt with their business and, once the translation of the books was completed, passed them from one group to another, until the Torah and all the books of the Prophets were entirely finished. He obtained thirty-six copies in Greek, distributed them to all the countries in his empire and sent a certain number of them to Rome, Ephesus and Byzantium. During their stay, thanks to his good relations with them, he learned Hebrew and became more skilful than themselves in the reading of their books.

After the end of their labours, he loaded them with gifts and provisions for the voyage, sent them back to their compatriots and sent his messengers with them with gifts for their governors and clothing for their chief Eleazar, the high priest, and their companions; in his letter he praised their work. The scholar translators asked him for one of these copies so that they could impress their compatriots; and Ptolemy granted them one. This was the action of the Providence of God who, in his eternal wisdom |89 (knew) the future acts of Annas and Caiphas, their high priests and chiefs, and their followers, who acted in an iniquitous way against the Messiah at the time of his appearance, his advent and their participation in his death, according to what is written in the Gospel of the Christians. Then the resurrection of Christ happened. Several of them joined him, counting on His kindness and His mercy towards them, because He raised the dead, cured the leprous and worked miracles, who struck the spirit, disturbed reason, confused intelligence, made real the inexplicable, in support of what was written on this subject in the Books of the Prophets.

The Jews revealed what they had changed in the sacred books. Then they revolted against the high priests on the question of Christ, threatened their life, proposed to kill them and attacked them. On this, the high priests changed tactics to escape them and switched their attention to inventing evidence in the question of the Messiah thereby to protect their lives. The libraries were in their hands, as we already mentioned above, so they busied themselves |91 with the Torah with a preconceived intention and observed there that the their own time was very far away from the time of Adam ; then they cut off 1389 years from the count of years of Adam and his descent to the birth of Abraham, after cutting off a given number of years from the life of each one (among the patriarchs) of the years before the birth of their children, a hundred years from each, and transferred them to the years of their life after the birth of their children, who are not counted from the beginning of time.

They found Kainan, son of Arfaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, and cut out his name and his years from the book of the Torah. The retrenchment of these years from their place is obvious to anyone who looks at these passages with their own eyes and examines this question according to the Torah; this passage will tell him what they have mutilated and cut out. When they had done this and arranged it in secrecy, they invited a certain number of those who had revolted against them, because of their manner of acting in the question of the Messiah, and proffered the evidence to them claiming that his time had not arrived yet and that his appearance would take place only at the last days of the world; they said: "We are still in the middle of the space of years of the world." |90 Then they added: "May this Torah be between us and you!" and they brought out the book of the Torah, which had been already mutilated by their reduction of these years; with this they threw them into doubt and diverted them. After that they composed separate copies of this Torah, which they gave in secrecy to the people of confidence in their countries and the neighbouring provinces, so that they recited it and supported their arguments in favour of the corruption and the reduction. Even today this Torah is in the hands of all the Christians who use the Syriac language.

The true Torah, translated by the Seventy, was not shown to them until the reign of Constantine, son of Helen, the faithful one, who reigned 305 years after the advent of Christ. He went to Jerusalem, and asked for the relics of Christ and the books of the Prophets to choose some and benefit from them. The Jews gave him all the books; and among the books that was given to him was the book of the mutilated Torah. Before that, no discord had broken out among them; but there were some of them who were afraid that the truth about the Messiah and what had happened to him might be discovered. Then these plotted with king Constantine and taught him about the corruption of the Torah which the Jews had given him, and their perfidy |92 towards him on this matter , they informed him that the copy, made before them by the Seventy commentators, had been hidden, that there were still (copies) similar to this one in Alexandria, Rome and in the cities which were between them.

The emperor sent to the high priests of the Jews, informing them of what had happened. They did not agree and disavowed his information. Then Constantine ordered them to be thrown in prison and sent his messengers to Alexandria, Rome and other cities so that a copy could be brought to him. That happened to the imprisoned high priests, who were in fear of their lives. Then they gave in secrecy this copy to some of their impious chiefs and asked them to inform the emperor Constantine about this business when they had obtained his forgiveness for them. They did so and, a few days after, they gave the copy to him. The emperor ordered the high priests to be set at liberty. The copies from Alexandria, Rome and the other cities arrived, and he compared them and found that they were of one manner and one language only. Then he asked for the mutilated Torah, and he found there clear and obvious alteration, man after man, and their |93 years, century after century, which had been transferred from their early years which count in the chronology of the world, before the birth of their children, to the later years which do not count.

Here is the reason that the emperor Constantine asked for the books of the Torah and the Prophets: previously he had asked them what was found in the Book of the prophet Daniel in the way of information and indications of the time of the advent of the Messiah and his death at the end of the seven weeks and of the sixty-two weeks, after the 70 years during which the Israelites had remained in the country of Babel, and on the speech of the archangel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel on this matter, on his mission, on the command that he gave him to understand his word well, while he was making his speech, on his revelation of the advent of the Messiah and of his death at the end of these weeks, within the limits that archangel Gabriel fixed for the prophet Daniel in the discourse which he addressed to him, and on the exit of the Israelites from Babel and the reconstruction of Jerusalem.

When the emperor Constantine learned of the lie of the Jews and the ruse of their language in their arguments drawn from what their former kings had been called anointed, he said to them: "Which of them was called the Messiah (the anointed) and appeared after the exit of Israelites from |94 Babel at the end of these weeks?" But they did not answer because they were totally inhibited and embarrassed. Then they said that the Messiah announced by the prophets would come in the last days: "We await him later, because we are in the middle of this time." He said to them: "How many years do you count to today?" They said to him: "The complete length of time is 7000 years, and we are still in year 4000 approximately." Then the emperor answered them and accused them of cheating, when he saw their audacity in the lie.

On this he sent messengers in the bishops, to inform them of this, and of his interest in the prophecy of the prophet Daniel about the Messiah, and to tell them what he had seen of the weakness of the arguments of the Jews on this matter. He asked the bishops to clearly set forth the arguments for him on this subject. The bishops asked him for a delay so that they could address this subject, until the time of a special audience. He was astonished by this language and in his desire to know and to understand, he assigned an audience to them; because he took pleasure in their argument with the Jews on this subject and ordered them all to speak. He informed the bishops of the statement of the Jews which confirmed it.

Then the bishops said: "The deviation of the Jews from the word of truth, O king, on the question of the Messiah has been since ancient times, |95 like the heritage of their first (high priests). Their refusal to believe in his mission for fear of changing their religion pushed them into acts worthy only of misleading and impious men. The argument that they plead about the number of the years since Adam, is right only in seeming. You have examined it and elucidated it to the bottom which you understood rightly. We have given you two manuscripts in which we have explained everything to you; we have reported the translation of the Seventy scholars who translated the Torah under king Ptolemy Philadelphus, approximately 300 years before the advent of the Messiah Our Lord and the time of his appearance. The copy of the Torah which is today in the hands of the Jews is made according to that which Annas and Caiphas, their high priests, mutilated at the time of the Messiah and from which they cut off years which they reduced. In addition to this, we have clear arguments that we will bring with evidence and explanation and which will be long to set forth; but if the emperor allows, we will submit the report and will explain the length of the years according to the weeks of the prophet Daniel until the death of the Messiah, date per date, king by king." Then the emperor said to them: "Do so." The bishops said: "(Daniel), the prophet of God, prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, the demolition of his walls, the captivity of his people in Babylon, their stay over there for 70 years.

When king Bokht-Nassar (Nabuchodonosor) reigned over Babylon, he attacked Jerusalem, and took into captivity |96 most of the population, among whom was the prophet Daniel. Not ceasing to attack it during the 20 years which followed his first invasion, in his last invasion Nabuchodonosor demolished its walls, burned its temple, seized all its people and devastated the country. And after 50 years the prophet Daniel remembered the word of God which the prophet Jeremiah had announced during their stay in Babel. It was obvious for him that this time was already close. On this he was absorbed in prayer with God in fasting, tears, with humility and compunction . It is written in the Book of Daniel the prophet: He acknowledged before his Lord the malicious actions of his companions, enumerated their sins and beseeched his forgiveness and his indulgence for them. He fasted for twenty one days, without eating bread, drinking water or lying down. In his prayer he recalled the promise of God to the Israelites to reveal to his prophets the advent of the Messiah to support their goodwill and to bring them to the good; he asked God (to show him) the realization of this hope and to indicate to him the time of their return to Jerusalem. God answered his prayer because of his good faith, the uprightness of his heart and the purity of his intentions in the request that he addressed to him. God revealed to him |97 what he asked, because truth follows sincerity and certainty results;

and because of the fidelity of Daniel, He answered his request and raised the veil of what had been hidden from his eyes and that he had not known. God sent the archangel Gabriel to him to explain his request to him. The angel Gabriel said to him: "The vision and the word of the prophets about the Messiah, the Holy of Holies, will be accomplished. Learn and know, O Daniel, the word which is uttered, and which my word has revealed to you, O man of desire: you will return and rebuild Jerusalem. As for the reign of the Messiah, until the time of His advent and His death there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. Then He will be put to death and the Holy City will be destroyed."

Thus began the angel Gabriel; then he said to Daniel: "The vision and the word of the prophets will be fulfilled, i.e. with regard to the return of the Israelites at the end of 70 years, in accordance with the word of the prophet Jeremiah . After their return, Jerusalem will be rebuilt and after its restoration the weeks of the Messiah will be counted until his death." God treated the Israelites as Gabriel had said, to attest the sincerity and the truth of his words. The transplantation of the Israelites to Babel lasted for 20 years and was done on different occasions; their return also lasted and was completed in 20 years and was done on different occasions; the total duration of their stay in Babel being 70 years, |98 the equality was perfect, in accordance with the word of the prophet. The first group arrived to Babel the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, and remained there during the remainder of his reign until the end of his life, a period of 43 years, then five years under the sovereigns of his house, and, after them, 22 years under the domination of Cyrus the Persian - which makes 70 years, in accordance with the word of the prophet. The other group of prisoners arrived to Babel in the year 22 of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, and remained there for the 23 years of the remainder of his reign, then under the reign of his successors 5 years, after that under Cyrus the Persian for 31 years; under king Cambyses 8 years, under the Magus one year and under Darius, son of Hystaspes, 2 years, - which makes 70 years.

The return was completed at the end of 70 years, as the prophet Jeremiah said. They set themselves to rebuild Jerusalem, in accordance with the word of the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. But they did not finish it at the time that they had intended, because the acts of men, compared to their wishes, are such that sometimes they precede it, sometimes are late, because of the accidental circumstances which prevent them and stop them.

The acts of men are not like those of God, whose words are fixed and time is determined, as He fixed the stay of the Israelites in Babel at 70 years, the time of the advent of the Messiah and the term of his death in a given number of years, because the actions of |99 God in his providence are hidden from men, if he did not want to reveal them to his servants; as far as it is useful for them, He informs his prophets of them so that they announce the good news and exhort men to perseverance in good deeds; if He starts to threaten and announce the punishment who must strike them in punishment of their sins, the prophets announce it and in fixing the time as a warning to induce them to obey Him, to lead them to repentance, to frighten them by terrible signs appearing in the sky and to make them desire the mercy of their Lord and his benevolence towards them. And by deferring the time, God leaves them the possibility of converting and of repentance, as He had done at the time of the flood, the confusion of languages, Sodom and Gomorrha, Nineveh and other events. And concerning this time, the angel Gabriel again determined it in the explanation that he made about it to the prophet Daniel. He said to him: "First the return will take place, then the construction"; then, after that, he determined for him the weeks of the Messiah as from that moment.

And the return from exile of the Israelites to Jerusalem occurred 2 years after the advent to the throne of king Darius, son |100 of Hystaspes. At that time they began to rebuild the city and did not cease working there until the time of Artaxerxes Longhand. It is written in the Books of Esdras that in year 20 of his reign king Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah his wine waiter to supervise the construction of Jerusalem; and Nehemiah found that they had already finished it five years before. He found that they were building the Temple in year 46 after the captivity, as the Jewish scholars said to the Messiah: "This temple was built, completed and finished at the end of 46 years, and You, You say that you will restore it in three days. However there is nobody who thinks that the Jews worked without interruption at the construction of the Temple during 46 years; but, as we have already said, its construction was entirely finished in year 46 after the captivity in Babel. Nehemiah went to the king and let him know.

The weeks of the Messiah are counted from the time of the end of the construction of the city, according to the word of the angel Gabriel: first the return; then the construction; then it is necessary to count the weeks from the 2 year before the end of the reign of king Artaxerxes, and starting from the end of the construction until the death of the Messiah; then the total is 483 years, which all things considered makes seven weeks and sixty-two weeks of seven (years), as |101 we have already set forth in detail in our book, king after king, with the years of their reign. It is also written that the dignity of the high priests of Israelites was abolished at the time of king Herod, in whose reign the Messiah appeared. The prophecy of Jacob, leader of the Patriarchs, and Moses was realised; they said: "The royal sceptre will not be removed from Judah, nor the legislator from among him, i.e. the prophets, until the one comes who must be its king; and the people will place their hope in him."

We have said that seven weeks and sixty-two weeks make 483 years, because we multiply them by seven. Here is the explanation of the years of the weeks of the Messiah - 483 years, according to the word of the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, the names of the kings and the total of their years, king after king. The account of the kings of Persia. Artaxerxes Longhand reigned 41 years; Artaxerxes II, 5 years; after him Sogdian, one year; Darius Nothus, 19 years; after him Artaxerxes, his son, 40 years; Artaxerxes Ochus, 25 years; Faris(Arses), son of Ochus, 4, years; Darius, |102 son of Arses, 6 years. The total of the years of kings of the East is 141 years. After this the count arrives at the years of the Ptolemies, the years of the kings of the West and the enumeration of the blessed Ptolemies. Ptolemy Alexander reigned 12 years; Ptolemy Logos, i.e. word, 40 years; Ptolemy Philadelphus, i.e. he who loves his brother, 38 years; it is he who had the Sacred Books translated by the Seventy commentators; Ptolemy Ergates (Evergetes), i.e. the do-(good)er, 24 years; Ptolemy Philopator, i.e. he who loves his father, 17 years; Ptolemy Epiphanes, i.e. the Famous one, 24 years; Ptolemy Philometor, i.e. he who loves his mother, 25 years; again Ptolemy Evergetes, i.e. the do-(good)er, 19 years; Ptolemy Soter, i.e. the Saviour, 12 years; Ptolemy Alexander the Second, 10 years; Ptolemy Philippe, i.e. he who loves horses, 8 years; Ptolemy Dionysios, i.e. the noble one, 30 years; Cleopatra, i.e. the Glorious one, 15 years; Herod, king of the Jews, 35 years.

The years of the Messiah Our Lord are 33 years. That gives for the Western kings 342 years. The total of the years of kings of the East and West are 483 years. Because of the contradictions contained in these books, the emperor Constantine sought for the books of |103 the Torah, had them examined as well as the books of the Prophets and the recollections of the Messiah. Before that time, there was among Christians nobody, except for the scholars, who knew the things kept secret and who knew about alterations and mutilations performed by the Jews. As for the people, they did not know that the Torah had been mutilated. Thus today the Christian people, in the East and West, do not know the cause of the disagreement between the Greek Torah, translated by the Seventy, and the Syriac Torah, copied from the Hebraic Torah, which is mutilated and reduced, which all the Christians read in the churches.

At the beginning we said that the deterioration and reduction go only as far as the birth of Abraham, son of Tarih, and the total of the reduction of the years of the world, from Adam and the beginning of the world until the birth of Abraham, son of Tarih, is 2,389 years. Now the mutilated Torah and all the books of the Prophets in Syriac copies which are in the hands of the Christians, are widespread in all the countries of the earth of the East and West, so that because of that the Christians cannot explain them and give an account of this question. All the scholars and the learned and those who wanted to translate the books of the Prophets from one language to another, or to make an exegesis of what they contained, changed nothing and |104 commented on the Syriac text, which is in disagreement with the translation of the Seventy because the Jews mutilated it and changed it after the Resurrection of the Messiah.

The ending of the history of Abraham. Now that we have explained and recounted the history of the interpretation and the translation of the Seventy, the efforts and research of king Constantine on the reason of the difference which he had found in the Sacred Books, we will return to the account of the time of Abraham; that is the point where we had arrived before beginning this narrative. At the time of Abraham, Khoudroun, brother of Tarih, made war on Kisaronos , king of Babel, and having fought him and overcome him, he killed him; (he did it), because he wanted to lead the population into captivity and to plunder all the country. At that time the empire passed from Bebel, whose kings were called Babylonians, to the Assyrians, who reigned over the countries of Mosul, Nineveh and the surrounding provinces. The first of their kings, Boulis (Βῆλος), reigned 72 years and built several cities. |105

Abraham, having lived 100 years, fathered Isaac by Sara; but 16 years before Isaac, he fathered Ishmael by Agar. We start with Isaac, because the years of the history of the world are counted from Isaac. After the death of Sara, Abraham fathered a great number of strong children by Retura; they were called the sons of Cadir (the Strong) and their children were also called Modar, because of Ishmael. Abraham lived for 75 years after the birth of Isaac and, his life having been 175 years, he died 40 years after the birth of Jacob. At that time king Boulis died and after him reigned Ninos, his son, who built the town of Nineveh, so called after his name. The fifth year after the birth of Abraham, Jerusalem was built by king Melchizedek. The first king of the Sicyonites was Aglaous who reigned over them 53 years.

In the year 71 after the birth of Abraham wars and conflicts broke out between king Rodollogomor and the five kings of the country of Sodom and Gomorrha; they lasted for 14 years until the 10th year after the departure of Abraham from the country of Ur of the Chaldaeans, which was the country of Canaan, son of Cham, son of Noah. At that time the town of Hebron was built, |106 which is the al-Ladjoun of the Canaanites. In the year 75 after the birth of Abraham, God said to him in the country of Ur of the Chaldaeans: "Get up, leave the house of your father and the place of your birth and go to the promised land that God promised to give you, to your seed and your posterity. Thus God concluded a pact and alliance with Abraham, for him and his posterity, ensuring to him the inheritance of the promised land. From this time, 430 years are counted that God assigned to the Israelites for their slavery with the country of Egypt. Other scholars say that these years are counted from the time when Abraham made the sacrifice of a goat, a pigeon and a dove. We have done some research on this subject, but have found nothing about it. The total number of years from Adam and the beginning of the chronology of the world until this year is 3,417 years, because the years from the flood to this year is 1,161 years.

In the year 77 of his life, Abraham went to Egypt because of the famine and the drought which prevailed in the country of Syria. In the year 85 of his life, Agar the Egyptian woman came to him, and he fathered by her Ishmael. For this reason her children were |107 named sons of Agar. They were also called Arabs because of the blood-link of Ishmael with the tribe of Djourboum, because he married women of this tribe and spoke Arabic. They were named Ismaelites after Ishmael, their father. Ishmael lived for 137 years and fathered by Arab women twelve princes who are named and mentioned in the Book of the Torah. His death took place 63 years after the birth of Jacob.

At that time Lot was made prisoner by king Khodollogomor. In the same period Semiramis reigned in Babel for 42 years; she seized the country of Asia and several cities of Syria, rebuilt Babel for the second time, and she raised artificial hills and a great number of monuments that are allotted to her. Abraham reached the age of 99, and God ordered him to circumcise himself. He was 100 years old when he fathered Isaac by Sara. At the age of 60 years Isaac fathered Esau, who was hairy, and Jacob, the same as Israel, twins of Rebecca, daughter of Balhuel, a relative of Abraham, of a family of Haran. Isaac lived 180 years until the 31st year after the birth of Levi, |108 son of Jacob. At that time the queen Semiramis built a large temple in a city, at the edge of the Euphrates, to the idol Q.yous (Bel, Baal) and, after having appointed for Q.yous (Bel) seventy sacrificers, she named this city Hierapolis, which means the city of the sacrificers; this was the old town of Manbidj.

When Isaac had reached the age of 16, God said to Abraham: "Get up. Take Isaac, your only son, whom you love, place him on the altar and offer him to God, your Lord, in a holocaust on the mountain of the Amorians (Moriah)." Later, 1,030 years after the birth of Abraham, Solomon, son of David, built a temple of God on this mountain, the place of the holocaust of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac. We possess the Sacred Books, which tell and indicate that it is on this mountain, at the place of the holocaust of Abraham, that Adam was interred and buried; it is said that the body of Adam was with Noah in the ark; when the flood was over, and Noah with his companions had left the ark, he buried Adam on this mountain. Thus God led Abraham to travel until he indicated to him the place of the tomb of Adam. Abraham offered Isaac (to God): he built the altar above the tomb of Adam and put Isaac |109 on the altar raised on the tomb of Adam, and he was on the point of immolating him to God in a holocaust. But God saved him, substituting for him a lamb, because of his confidence in God and because he knew the sincerity of the intention of Abraham and his confidence that God could return life to his son after the immolation. It is written that at the moment of the sacrifice of Isaac, when Abraham raised the knife, the troops of the angels beat their hands and that God announced in the heavens the holocaust of Abraham; (then) he said: "Stay your hand from the child: now I know that you love God, your Lord, with all your heart."

The first construction of Jerusalem. After the time when Noah went out the ark and before the installation of Abraham in the promised land of the country of Syria, the high priest Melchizedek built over the tomb of our father Adam the town of Jerusalem. God let him know and indicated to him the place of the tomb of Adam, and he offered two sacrifices of bread and wine to Him. Here what the Jews report in their book that they call the Mishna: we have heard it said that Hakib and |110 his followers claim that Melchizedek was the same as Shem, son of Noah, and that Joshua, son of Nun, killed him, along with the thirty one kings whom he put to death. But all the Jewish scholars disagree with them about this stupidity and this error. The Christians find in the mysteries of their books that the cross on which the Messiah was crucified, was planted in the middle of the tomb of Adam, on his larynx; it is on this cross that the Messiah was crucified; because of that this place was called al-tarfqah and it is called Golgotha, which means cranium.

In the year 19 of the birth of Isaac, Abraham learned that his brother Nachor, son of Tarih, had several children, and (from the children) of Nachor was born Aram, son of Kamuel; he gave his name to the Aramaeans, who lived in Haran in Mesopotamia and the surrounding country as far as the area of Mosul. We have found books which mention and make known another Aram, resulting from Shem, who lived to the East of Susa (Susiana), i.e. of Elam, and Assur, brother of Elam, from whom the Elamites, Assyrians and their tribes come. The borders of Aram (extended) from the native land of Shem to the country of Misan; it is for that that the population of this country and beyond took the name of Aram their father, the issue of the son of Shem, son of Noah. In year 37 of the |111 birth of Isaac, Sara died at the age of 127, because she was 90 years old when she brought Isaac into the world by Abraham.

In the year 44 of his birth, Isaac married Rebecca, daughter of Bathuel, cousin of his father Abraham. At that time king Abimelech made a pact of friendship with Isaac; his kingdom was located at Gerar, in the country of the Jordan. At that time the domination of the Philistines started, who are the inhabitants of Philistine (Palestine); their race indicates the origin of their country. Jacob was 89 years old when he fathered Levi; the life of Jacob was 147 years. In year 20 of the birth of Jacob, Esau, his brother, married the daughters of Canaan, son of Cham, son of Noah; one of them was Judith, daughter of Beeri, the Hethaean, the other, Basmath, daughter of Elon the Hethaean . When Esau had seen that his father Isaac did not like them, he married Basmath, daughter of Ishmael. It is written that Job the Just drew his origin from the children of Basmath, daughter of Ishmael. It is written that Moses, the prophet, wrote the famous book allotted to Job the Just; in this book, i.e. in the book of Job the Just, there are 1,348 verses. |112

In the lists of the generation of the tribes and the people (of Esau) Job was called Jobab, son of Zerah . Job lived 210 years, including 70 years before his misfortunes and 140 years afterwards. We have found among the children of Shem, son of Noah, another Jobab ; certain people claim that he is the same as Job, because they believed him prior to Abraham. Thus from this people affirm contradictory things on this subject. At that time Hamor, brother of Sichem, built a large city which he named Sichem, according to the name of his brother. Some time after, two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, devastated it and killed three thousand men there to avenge their sister who was called Dina on its population. When Jacob had reached the age of 77 and Isaac, his father, that of 137, Isaac his father blessed him and addressed in his favour the prayers and the blessings which are reported in the Torah; then he sent him to Haran to Laban, his uncle, because he feared that Esau would kill him. Jacob left with his staff in his hand.

Having arrived at Beitaïl, he prayed and putting his head on a stone, he fell asleep. In the night he saw angels of God who went up and down along a ladder of which the top touched heaven and the foot was on the earth. Throughout this night, until dawn had risen, the angel fought with him. And here God appeared to Jacob and said to him: "Jacob, |113 I will not let you go until you tell me your name." When it was dawning, Jacob said: "This place is the window of heaven and the house of God " and he made a vow to devote to God a tithe of what God had granted to him during his absence, to build to him in this place a house of God. After that Jacob crossed the Euphrates with his staff and arrived at Haran . In year 84 of his life, Jacob married Leah, the daughter of Laban, his uncle, and fathered by her Ruben, Simeon, and at the age of 89 years he also fathered Levi, in whose name the chronology of the world was regulated. Then after Levi he fathered Judah, after him Issachar, then Zabulon. Jacob married Rachel, sister of Leah, and fathered by her Joseph and Benjamin. He also fathered (two sons) by Bilhah, the maidservant of Rachel, who gave to Jacob Gad and Asher, and (two sons) by Zelphah, the maidservant of Leah, who gave to Jacob Dan and Nephthali . They gave rise to the twelve tribes of the Israelites.

In the year 97 after the birth of Jacob, he went back to Haran to (Isaac), his father; his herds, she-asses, oxen and cows, slaves and utensils were |114 innumerable. After coming to the promised land of the country of Syria, Joseph was sold by his brothers. At the age of seventeen, he was brought into Egypt where he spent ten years as a slave and three years in prison. When Joseph reached the age of thirty, the Pharaoh, king of Egypt, saw in dream seven cows and seven ears of corn. Joseph was brought out of the prison and his hair cut; then he was presented before Pharaoh. Joseph, being thirty years old, explained his dream to him. Everything happened as Joseph had explained to him. The Pharaoh gave him power over the country of Egypt.

In year 39 from the birth of Joseph, Jacob his father, arrived in Egypt with all his children and the children of his children in the second year of the famine and the drought which prevailed in Syria. In fact the Israelites remained in Egypt, as slaves, for 215 years. The number of the Israelites who arrived in Egypt with Jacob was 70 men; moreover, Joseph, his two sons, Ephraïm and Manasseh, and their two sons, (makes) 5 men. Jacob, being 127 years old, presented himself before Pharaoh 7 years after the death of Isaac, his father. The number of Israelites, when they left Egypt, was 603,500 men able to carry the weapons who were counted in the census, i.e. in the census (of Moses). When Moses counted them and separated them, |115 he did not register and did not count those who were younger than 22 years old and those who exceeded 50; the women were not counted either. Jacob lived in Egypt 20 years, and died 13 years after the birth of Kahath. Levi lived 45 years and then fathered Kahath, and Kahath lived 60 years and then fathered `Amran. At that time the Pharaoh the sovereign of Joseph died and Amousiyus (Ἄμωσις) reigned after him in Egypt for 25 years

In year 38 from the birth of Kahath, there reigned in Egypt Kebroun (Χεβρών) for 13 years. At that time Zeus, whose name is translated as Jupiter (Al-Mouschtari), knew Niobé and fathered Apis by her, who was named later Serapis and who started to fight the courageous women (?) who are called Amazons and killed their male children. Zeus reigned over the country of Crete on the coast. The meaning of "Zeus" is "long lived" because it is told that he lived for a thousand years. At that time the town of Eleusina was built. In year 51 from the birth of Kahath, son of Levi, |116 Amenophis (Ἀμεμφῆς) ascended the throne of Egypt and he was also called Pharaoh; he reigned 21 years and then he started to persecute Israelites. `Amran lived 70 years and then fathered Moses the prophet and, having lived after the birth of Moses for 67 years, he died 13 years before the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In year 6 from the birth of `Amran Joseph died, at the age of 110. His brothers ordered the Israelites to carry his bones with them, until God called them and made them leave the country of Egypt.

It is written that at that time, under (the king) Agous (Ὤγυγος), the flood took place . In year 12 (after the birth of `Amran) there reigned in Egypt Mensis (Ἀμενσῆς) for 12 years. In the year 24 after the birth of `Amran, Balaios also reigned for 18 years. In the year 68 after the birth of `Amran, Amenofis (Asfanis, Μισφρῆς?) reigned in Egypt for 43 years; he ordered that the first-born males of the Israelites should be strangled and drowned in the river Nile. |117 The birth of Moses and his history. When Moses came into the world, `Amran, his father, the very same day was 70. His parents put him in a basket, and exposed him on the river Nile. He was only three months old and was pretty and beautiful. At that time Mary, daughter of the Pharaoh, went out to the river Nile where she found Moses. When she saw that he was circumcised, she knew that he was one of the Israelites. Mary took him, raised him, educated him and taught him all the sciences of the Egyptians, their education and their wisdom. Janis and Jambris were the teachers of Moses, who became, in Egypt, extremely strong and powerful.

In the year 28 of the birth of Moses the prophet, the Pharaoh built the town of Hermopolis on the river Nile which was called also Al-F.r.ma. At that time the Ethiopians fought the Egyptians and devastated several provinces of Egypt. Then Kenefra, the king, all his companions, his notable and his close relations were envious of Moses, but because of Mary, neither he nor they could do what they wanted about this; then they tried to make him lose his rank |118 and his powerful situation, saying to him: "You have great obligations towards the queen. Look, the Ethiopians are coming down the Nile in boats, thanks to the rising waters, and attacking the country of Egypt; they have devastated already several provinces and reduced their population to captivity. It is your duty to defend the kingdom, because you are placed at its head and that its defense rests on you. The king, all his chiefs and his court are thinking that you will attack the Ethiopians. It is said that all the lands and deserts which are between Ethiopia and Egypt are uninhabited, the country being full of a great quantity of snakes, which prevent people from passing there."

When Moses had learned of their ambushes and what they were weaving against him, he ordered 10,000 riders chosen from among the Israelites and the same number from among the Egyptians; then he ordered them to prepare the greatest possible number of large cranes (ibis), which was called ka`ka`, and to put them in wicker cages, so that their heads appeared out of the cages . Moses set out to march with with his companions. He had these cranes fed at the break of day, and when night fell and he had set up camp, he ordered that the cages where the cranes were be distributed throughout the camp. During |119 the night, tormented by hunger, all the cranes made resounding cries. The snakes, having heard their cries, ran away into the earth for fear the cranes would eat them. Moses did not cease doing this until he reached the Ethiopian city of Meroe.

When the inhabitants saw him with his troops, this struck them with admiration and fear, and they were astonished that so many troops had arrived at their home through these deserts. Then God inspired the daughter of the king of Ethiopia and let him know with certainty that Moses would capture the city and its inhabitants and that God, may He be blessed, would make him master of it. So she sent a message to Moses that she offered herself to him in marriage; (in return) she would show him a place from where one could take the city and capture its surroundings. Moses granted her wish. God gave him the victory over the city and his inhabitants, and Moses married the daughter of the king of Ethiopia. This is why the Holy Scripture tells that Mariam, the sister of Moses, and Aaron, while speaking about Moses, slandered him, because he had married a Kushite woman, i.e. of the sons of al-Khabaschat (an Ethiopian) . God was irritated against Mariam, who became scabious and leprous, so that the Israelites avoided her. |120

But Moses, the prophet of God, having pity on her, prayed to God for her. And God said to Moses: "If her father had spit in her face, wouldn't she be covered with shame for ten days ?" Moses remained, after the conquest of the city, in the countries of Ethiopia, with all his troops, until the time of the flood of the Nile; then he brought his troops back to Egypt, by means of boats during the rising of the Nile and the high waters, and he returned to the king laden with riches. On this, the king, all his notables, his courtiers, his ministers and all the inhabitants of Egypt were afraid of him, and the king even conceived the idea of killing Moses, after the death of Mary who had raised Moses. In the year 37 after the birth of Moses, Joshua, son of Nun was born.

In the year 41 from the birth of Moses, the Pharaoh ascended the throne of Egypt who, according to the Sacred Books, was submerged in the sea, 40 years later, with his troops and his chariots. According to what is written, Moses, at the age of 40, killed an Egyptian who wanted to put him to death, and he fled into the country of Midian to Raguel or Jethro or Sa`ïb and, having married Sephora, daughter of Sa`ib, he fathered Guerson and Eleazar. |121 In the year 42 of the birth of Moses, Caleb, son of Jephonneh was born. At that time Atlas, son of Prometheus appeared and made himself known, who taught magic (astrology) . It is told that, when his magic reached the celestial sphere, he knew all that occurred of its mysteries. Because of this, the name of Atlas was given to the mountain which rises above the clouds. According to his knowledge and his books, Erathosthenes, the scholar, traced the plans of the sphere with all the species of its constellations and their terms. This book was translated from Greek into Arabic by Thahir ibn al-Husein, a clever man , with its charts, all its plans and all the kinds of its details. It is a remarkable book and can be obtained if desired.

At that time king Souris was known, who reigned over Dimeschk (Damascus). Where Syria (asch-Scham) is called Souriah, this name is derived from the name of Souris. In the year 80 from the birth of Moses, Joshua, son of Nun being 39 years old, God appeared to Moses at Tur-Sina (in the Sinai) and showed to him the miracles which he worked with its staff and his hand, which became white, and the other things that God did. Then God ordered to him to go to Egypt to work miracles and celestial signs in order to lead the Israelites out. |122 In this year Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt; he struck the sea with his staff and led the Israelites through the sea; when they had passed, he struck the sea again with his staff, and God submerged the Pharaoh and all his troops. Then the word that God had said to Abraham was accomplished, that his posterity would remain in a remote country in a state of slavery for 430 years.

Explanation of the causes and the reasons which led to the introduction of the worship of idols into Egypt. It is told that all the Egyptians who had not gone with Pharaoh and who had remained in Egypt, having learned the news that the Pharaoh and his troops had drowned in the Red Sea, were struck by this; and they adored the thing and the object which they held in the hand, and each one of them made an idol following the example of the object and adored it, as if it were that which had saved them from immersion. Because of this, the worship of idols in Egypt increased and, at the end of a certain time, the devils spoke to them from the |123 interior of these idols. In the year 81 after the birth of Moses, when the Israelites had left Egypt, the Amalekites attacked them; but God led a great number to perish via Moses. The hostility between the Amalekites and the Israelites continued until the time of Haman the Amalekite, the minister of king Artaxerxes. We will give the account of this in its place, if God so wills.

In this year, in the third month, Moses went up on the mountain of God, Tur-Sina (Sinai), and received from God the knowledge of things. God granted wisdom, the power of prophecy and knowledge to him, so that he could speak about the origin of the world and explain the universe, so that he made known and explained why the universe was created and had a beginning; it is said that in the space of the centuries passed, from the origins of the world, there had never been as many followers of temporal origin than at the time when Moses, the prophet of God, composed the Torah, in which he discussed the origin of the world, to bring men to the opinion that the world was temporal. And the majority of Israelites adhered firmly to this belief and professed these doctrines; it was their belief and their religious conviction. Moses also spoke about the Tabernacle. From this year, Moses appointed to the Tabernacle the oldest of the Israelites, selected from the twelve tribes, who governed the Tabernacle. |124

The total number of years from Adam and the beginning of the world until the year when Moses went up on the mountain of God Tur-Sina (Sinai) and received the tables of the Torah, i.e. until year 81 from the birth of Moses, - the total years from Adam to that year is 3,847 years. We have set forth all this at the beginning of our treatise and our book; we have corrected it by shortening the calculation and have explained it above. The Jews celebrated the first Passover in Egypt on the Sunday of the ninth cycle; and they did not celebrate Passover for the 40 years that they passed in the desert. Then Moses governed them, after this year, for 39 years and he died at the age of 120. The years from Adam and the origins of the world until the year of the death of Moses are 3,886 years. After that the years are counted, as we have explained, in the history of the world, according to the years of the government of the Judges over the the Israelites.

The explanation is as follows: the total number of the years from Adam to the flood is 2,256 years; from the flood until Ar`û fathered Phaleg, at which time the languages were divided, -- 670 years; from |125 Adam until that year 2,926 years; from the day of the birth of Ar' û until the day of the birth of Abraham 416 years; from the flood to that year 1,076 (1,510) years; from Adam to that year 3,342 (3,766) years; from the day of the birth of Moses to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, i.e. until the year when Moses went up on the mountain of God Tur-Sina and received the tablets from God, - 81 years; from the flood to that year 1,591 years; from Adam to that year 3,847 years, according to what we have said above. After that Moses governed for his life until he died, a space of 39 years, so that the years from Adam and the origins of the world until the year of the death of Moses are 3,886 years. The Jews celebrated the first Passover 40 years after, at the time of Joshua, son of Nun, near Jéricho, in the tenth cycle. After Moses, it was Joshua, son of Nun, who governed them for 27 years; then after Joshua, son of Nun, it was the governors and the judges who governed the Israelites for 556 years; after the end of their government the chronology of the history of the world is evaluated according to the years of their kings.

This chronology starts with the year when Saul, son of Kisch, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king who reigned over the Israelites, ascended the throne. |126 The years from Adam and the origins of the world until the day when Saul ascended the throne are 4,391 years. The life of Moses was 120 years, of which he spent 40 years in Egypt, 40 years with Jethro in the country of Midian and 40 years in the desert. Moses wrote five books, about which we spoke earlier; in these books there are 17,041 verses.

History of the art of alchemy, the work of the hyacinth and other precious stones. It is written that God endowed Beseleel with intelligence and indicated the manner to him of setting up the Tabernacle; He taught him art and knowledge to work the precious stones and to clean them from foreign substances and impurities. Béséléel made the Tabernacle and embellished it with his talent. He was the first who managed to make a work of art. In this year Moses sent them |127 spies into the countries of Canaan, i.e. Palestine, the Jordan and the regions bordering, so that they could examined the country and the people. Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephonne, cut a bunch of grapes and carried it between them on a pole . At that time Joshua, son of Nun, was 45 and Caleb, son of Jephonné, 42 (43) years old. When this year had passed, Balak, king of the Midianites, sent ambassadors to Balaam, the magician, so that he would come to him and curse the Israelites .

In the year 84 of the life of Moses, Aaron, his brother, became high priest. God made his two sons die because they had offered a profane fire in sacrifice . Eleazar, son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, to which the Levites belonged, married a daughter of Aminazab of the tribe of Judah. This was the first case of the mingling and family ties of one tribe with another, because the law (νόμος) allowed only marriages between people of the same tribe. Eleazar fathered Phinehas of which it is written that he was zealous for God, was annoyed for Him, struck two adulterers with his lance and hanged them in the air . In the year 118 from the birth of Moses, Aaron his brother died. |128 He had as a successor Eleazar, his son. Moses died two years after Aaron; he was 120. After the death of Moses, it was Joshua, son of Nun, its servant, 83 years old, who started to govern the Israelites in the place of Moses, two years after Aaron. Joshua, son of Nun, led the Israelites in the promised land of Canaan that God had promised to give to the posterity of Abraham. After governing them for 27 years, Josua, son of Nun, died at the age of 110.

In the first year of the government of Joshua, son of Nun, the Amalekites made war; but he overcame them and killed a great number of them, so that there remained only one small troop of them; with his troops he did not cease pursuing them until the 9th hour of the day. In fear of not succeeding in what he intended to do with them, he entreated the sun and the moon and said: "You, O sun, halt over Gabaon, and you, moon, in the field of Aïloun (Ajalon)!" And the sun remained motionless for 6 hours until he had been avenged on his enemies . As for the sun halting where it was, it is not, as people believe who do not examine it and do not know the treasures of books and their mysteries, that |129 the sun and the moon alone stopped, while the sphere continued to move. That is explained by this fact that if, as certain people believe, the sun had stopped and the moon had been frozen, then an upheaval would have occurred in the times and the four seasons, because, once the celestial sphere had crossed three signs of the zodiac in 6 hours, then instead of spring we would have had summer, instead of summer, autumn, instead of autumn, winter and instead of winter, spring. But the books of the scholars indicate that the celestial sphere stopped with all its planets and all its stars without change in the seasons.

From Adam to Joshua, son of Nun, until the death of Moses, there were 27 generations. In the year 10 of the government of Joshua, son of Nun, he divided the land that God had given them as an inheritance between the tribes of the Israelites, except for the tribe of Levi, that of the Levites; he did not give them land, in accordance with what God had instructed him. He said that the Lord was their portion and their inheritance. And God ordered that all the eleven tribes gave each year the tenth of their harvest to that of Levi. In that time Erichthonius the Greek made the first chariot, harnessed four horses and similar to the moving throne for nine mikdar; ten people were |130 in it and the chariot, drawn by these four horses, ran on wheels. The king took his seat with his most favoured notables; and the chariot went where he wanted. It is said that none exist any more, because there is nobody who can make one; but certain people say that the Greeks do this even now.

In that year the sons of Lot, the Ammonites and Moabites, made war and fought against the Cananaeans, but the latter killed 5,000 of them, and Joshua, son of Nun, himself killed also 7 tribes and 31 kings of them. After Joshua, son of Nun, it was Kuschan, the deceiver, who was the leader of the Israelites and governed them for 8 years . In this time the Curetes and Corybantes in the town of Knossos made themselves known; they were the first to invent music, dance, song and various kinds of music with various types of instruments. Then Othoniel, son of Kaniz, governed the children of Israel for 40 years . In the first year of his government, Cecrops reigned in the town of Athens for 49 years. It is written in the poems of Homer that |131 Cecrops and his successors who had the same religious beliefs were those brought into existence those evil things and those unpleasant stories received among Greeks; this is what is written in the poems of Homer.

In this year Othoniel killed Kuschan, the deceiver, king of Aram, and freed the Israelites from him. At this time, another flood happened in the time of Deucalion. Some time afterwards, Plato, who was the teacher of Aristotle, gave us an account and history of this flood in his books . At this time Zeus is mentioned who, it is reported, was a king of Crete, a maritime country; his lifetime was 107 years; he did all kinds of abominations and was soiled with the vices of the Greeks. At that time, Io, who was called Isis because of her behaviour, went to the country of Egypt. Then the Moabites, from the posterity of Lot, having overcome the Israelites, governed them for 14 years. At this time the town of Kourithous was built, which is known by the name of Corinth. At that time the Corinthians made copper (?) which neither quadrupeds, nor reptiles could attack.

Towards the end of the reign of Moabites, there reigned over Athens, after Cecrops, Cronos, whose name translated means Saturn, for 9 years. At that time, in the town of Athens, the assembly of the Areopagus was established, which means the assembly of the judges and the scholars. |132 It is told that at that time Dionysios, son of Deucalion, started to plant vines and to press wine; and men drank it. But that does not agree with what certain people say in their ignorance: they said that the first who learned how to drink wine and gave indications on this subject, were the devils; but we also found in the Sacred Books that before that time Noah planted vines, pressed wine and drank it.

Ahoud (Ehud, Aod), son of Hara (Gera), governed the Israelites for 80 years. It was he who killed Eglon, king of the Moabites, of the race of Lot; he killed him as follows: he attached to his thigh a sword with two edges; then he was presented before Eglon and said to him: "I have a secret for you; I want to entrust it to you." Eglon ordered all his companions to leave and remained alone with him. Then Ahoud detached his sword from his thigh and stabbed him in the belly, so that his entrails came out, and killed him; after that he left. He governed the Israelites and overcame the Moabites. In year 25 of the government of Ahoud, the fourth thousand of the years of the history of the world was completed. This is clear, because we have already set out and described in a precise way that the space of the years from Adam and the origins of the world until the year of the death of Moses, prophet of God, was 3,886 years. If we |133 add to it, from the day of the death of Moses, the years of the government of Joshua, son of Nun, over the Israelites, i.e. 27 years; --- after him those of Kuschan, the deceiver, 8 years; then those of Othoniel, 40 years; after Othoniel, those of the Moabites, the children of Lot, 14 years; then if we add to it the 25 years of the years of the government of Ahoud, who, as we said, governed them for 80 years, we obtain the number of 114 years, and if we add this figure to the years past from Adam to the day of the death of Moses, i.e. 3,886 years, then that will give the 4,000 year figure of the chronology of the world, just at the end of 25 years of the government of Ahoud over the Israelites, which we spoke about earlier.

At this time Nicomedes built Nicomedia, i.e. Constantinople; but at the end of a period of time this city sank into the earth. Then after that, king Byzas rebuilt it and called it, after his name, Byzantium. At the end of a period of time, Constantine, son of Helen, ascended the throne; he enlarged it, increased it and called it by his name Constantinople (Constaniyniya). At that time Poseidon married Lysianasse and fathered by her Douk.ntis and Busiris; some time after, Busiris seized the country which is located |134 on the river Nile; he massacred the foreigners who passed, and travellers, and he ate them. Then (Samgar) governed the Israelites, after Ahoud, for 22 years. At that time Phrixus was illustrious; it is told that, thanks to his agility and speed, he flew like a bird, and that neither the most excellent horses, nor the gazelles could catch him. Then Barak, of the tribe of Nephthali, governed the Israelites for 40 years; he made war with Sisara and killed him with all his troops and 500 iron chariots which he had.

At that time Achaeus built a city and gave his name to it. At that time Sibyl, the prophetess lived, who clearly explained the thoughts of men by her gift of prophecy. At that time it was a question of prayers and supplications of '¦'¦'¦'¦.. addressed to the gods '¦'¦ Zeus; he knew a slave of the family '¦'¦'¦. on the edge of Lake Triton; she brought Aphrodite into the world, which means Beauty (Venus) . At that time Melampus the magician, Tantalus and |135 Tityus are notable, who with their magic revealed hidden things, so that people admired them. It is told that Zeus also knew Leto and fathered on her Apollo and Hercules . At that time reigned the kings whose history is in the books of the poems of Homer. After Barak, the Midianites, who were Arabs, governed the Israelites for 7 years; they devastated all their country. [End of PO 5.4 ] |147

At this time , Phemonoe the magician was notable; she predicted the future in hexameter verse and disturbed the spirits of people. In that time, Gideon, son of Joash, saw the angel of the Lord who encouraged him to deliver the Israelites. Then he arose and governed the Israelites for 40 years. At the same time, Perseus returned to the country of Persia and cut of the head of Gorgon (Gharghou) the courtesan, who, by her beauty and grace, had struck all those who looked at her, so much so that they seemed changed into stones, as Didymus the scholar reports in his books. |148 Gideon governed the Israelites for 31 years, when the daughters of Helios appeared and were made known, whom Klytia had given him; the names of these seven girls were Circe (Qirqâ), Merope (Mirfa), Hirqa (?) , Zirqa (?), Qirda (?), Lampétie (?), (Midyâ) and Pasiphae (Basoufiyâ) ; they were magicians. It is said that a man could see his face in that of each of them, because of the beauty of their colour; and when one of them arose in the darkness, the place shone.

At that time, the towns of Cyrene and Miletus were founded. At that time reigned Fasouniyous (?) Apollo (Afoulyoun). It is told that he played the cithar; it was he which was made a lute from stone; the wild beasts and the deer gathered to him to hear his voice, without injuring each other, because of the great beauty of his voice, his playing and his song; it is told that sometimes, when he sang, the wild beasts and the deer fell asleep. It is written that Gideon, having gathered an army of 30,000 men, |149 went out with them against the Midianites. But God did not want the victory to be due to the great number of troops, and ordered him to take with him 300 men; and Gideon delivered the Israelites from the Midianites. After Gideon, Abimelech, his son, governed the Israelites for three years. When he became king, he killed his seventy brothers by his father Gideon. When Abimelech had gone out against the town of Tebec, a woman threw on him, from the top of the citadel, a fragment of a grinding stone and killed him. Thus God repaid him and rewarded him by promptly punishing him for his bad conduct and the evil which he had done to his brothers. Then Tholag, his cousin, judged the Israelites for 22 years.

In that time, Kora (Proserpine), daughter of Zeus, was abducted. At that time, Marsyas the shepherd (Silenus) was a flute-player and tried to excel Apollo; they made both a contract and a bet. Then Marsyas, having been overcome, was hung from a tree, as had been agreed between them In the year 21 of the government of Tholag, the town of Tarsus was built by king Perseus. |150 At that time, Apollo married a woman and fathered on her Asclepius. Dionysius captured India, was governor of it and built the town of Nysa there on the banks of the river Indus. In that time, after Tholag, Jair, of Gilead, judged the Israelites for 22 years; he had thirty sons who mounted with him on thirty foals. At that time, the town of Cyzicus was built on the shore of the sea. This is the Cyzicus, of which we already said that the temple, one of the seven wonders, had been built there.

Then, after Jair, the Israelites were subjected to the Ammonites, descendants of Lot, for 18 years. At that time, Linus, the teacher of Hercules announced himself, the first great king who, as we have said, erected in the sea three marvellous statues to preserve sailors from shipwreck; they were one of the seven wonders of which we spoke at the beginning of our book. In the first year of the victory of the Ammonites, the town of Tyre was built. As the Ammonites oppressed the Israelites at every meeting, the |151 inhabitants of Gilead went to find Jephte, fifteen years after driving him out and sent away from them. They went to him, brought him back and placed him at their head; then he governed the Israelites for six years. He engaged himself by a vow and an irrevocable oath to offer to God in sacrifice, after his return from combat, the first of his house which he met, if God granted the victory to him. Having gone out and having overcome the enemies, he returned: however, his only daughter came out to meet him; he immolated her and offered her to God in sacrifice, in accordance with the vow which he had made.

Then Ebsan (Abîsan) or Hesbon, of Bethlehem, judged the Israelites for seven years. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters; he married off his thirty sons and, in one day, he acquired thirty daughters-in-law; he married off his thirty daughters and, in one day, he obtained thirty sons-in-law. Then Elon, of the tribe of Zabulon, judged the Israelites for ten years. In that time, the witch Medea announced herself. By her magic spells she made Creon (Qâroun) and Glaucus (`Alouqa) burn. In an fit of rage, she killed all her sons. Then Labdon or `Abdon judged the Israelites for eight years. He had |152 forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode with him on seventy foals. In that time, king Hercules fell seriously sick; he threw himself in the fire and died, at the age of 52. At that time, Apollo was taken with and in love with Daphne to such a point that he lost his head and became insane.

The Israelites having sinned and their faults having become enormous, God delivered them into the hands of the Philistines, i.e. of the people of Palestine, for 41 years. Then, after the Philistines, Samson, devoted to God by his parents, judged the Israelites; he was of the tribe of Dan, he was a judge for 20 years. In the year 3 of his government, he began a war against the Philistines. In year 5 of the same, the story of Ruth the Moabite took place, i.e. originating from the tribe of Moab. Boaz married her and fathered by her Obed, grandfather of the prophet David. The story of Ruth contains 246 verses; her book is so beautiful, that it was translated from Greek into Arabic. |153

In year 8 of the government of Samson, Alexander Paris, son of Priam, king of Ilion, took some offerings and went to offer them to the god Apollo, in the country of HelIas, at the age of 33, because he said that this was the god who had predicted to his father that he would have a son. When he had left and had been presented to the king of Sparta who was called Menelaus, he saw Helen there. Her beauty and her grace charmed him and he ardently desired her. Her husband being delayed where he had gone, and being far from him, Paris abducted the young woman and brought her to Troy, in the country of Phrygia, to his father, without having presented his offering [to Apollo]. When Menelaus arrived and learned what had happened, he sent messengers and called to his assistance twenty kings with their ships, to the number of 2,250. They went by sea and fought Priam and his son who had abducted the beautiful Helen. They captured Helen and all the country which had made war against them for ten years, until the year 18 of the government of Samson. At this same time, the town of Ilion, described in the book and poetries of Homer, was destroyed.

In year 19 of the government of Samson, Zeus, king of Crete, died |154 and was buried at Aqrathi, i.e. on the shore of the sea. He had lived 780 years. Because of his longevity he was called Zeus; but before he was called Dios. In that time, after Samson had killed a great number of the Philistines, he was handed over to them; they put out his eyes because of one of their women, whom he had loved passionately. This girl-friend did not cease employing tricks against him until he had let her know that his strength was in his hair. While he slept in the room of this woman, she cut the hair devoted to God from him; his strength disappeared, she strangled him and called the Philistines to him. After Samson the Israelites were without a judge for 12 years. The book of Joshua, son of Nun, the first book of Judges, contains 1,953 verses; the second book, 2,880 verses.

After that the priest Heli (`Ali) came who judged the Israelites for 40 years; he had become their judge at the age of 38. In year 18 of the government of the priest Heli priest, was born the prophet Samuel, consecrated to God by his parents. In year 20 of the government of Heli, Anne, mother of Samuel, presented him and dedicated him to the Lord, when he was two years old; and he remained with |155 the priest Heli in the temple, for the remainder of his government, without leaving it. On the death of Heli, the prophet Samuel succeeded him and judged the Israelites for 20 years. When he replaced Heli who had just died, Samuel was 22. This was the year when the Philistines seized the Ark of the Lord; but as they could not endure the pain which took them from behind, when it arrived, they restored it and sent at the same time offerings in its honour. When Samuel had governed the Israelites for 20 years, they requested him to name and appoint a king for them; they asked to be delivered from the government that the Lord exercised over them by the intermediary of the judges and the governors. Consequently, Samuel gave them for king Saul, son of Cis.

The number of the years from the government of Joshua, son of Nun, and from the judges who followed him, until the day when Saul, son of Cis, began to reign, was 505; from Adam to that year, 4391 years. This is explained by what we have set out above. We have said that from Adam to the flood there were 2,256 years; from the flood to |156 the birth of `Aru, 670 years; from Adam to the year of the birth of Ar`u, 2926 years; from the birth of Ar`u until that of Abraham, 416 years; from Adam to that year, 3342 years; since the birth of Abraham until that of Moses, 424 years; from Adam to the birth of Moses, 3766 years; from the year of the birth of Moses until the year of the exodus of the Israelites of Egypt and the ascension of Moses on the mountain of the Lord, Tur Sina, 81 years; from Adam to that year, 3847 years. Then, after bringing the Israelites out of Egypt into the desert, Moses governed them for 39 years. From Adam and the origins of the world until the year of the death of Moses there were 3,886 years; if we add to this the total of the years of the judges who governed the Israelites, i.e. 505 years, the years of the history of the world, from Adam and the origins of the universe, will be 4,391 years. (This book) is called the book of the Judges.

Saul, son of Cis, of the tribe of Benjamin, reigned over the Israelites and governed them for 40 years, and the years from the beginning of his reign are counted and these years added to the years of the history of the world which, as we said, until the beginning of the reign of Saul, are 4,391. After |157 that the years of their kings are added, one after the other, until the moment when king Nabuchodonosor (Bokht-Nasar) reduced them into captivity. Then, after the period of the kings and the captivity, the work of Nabuchodonosor, by adding them to the era of the world, the total of the years of kings of Persia and the East are counted, one after the other, until the end of the time of the latter; and the total of the calculation reaches the first year of the Ptolemaic kings who were kings of the West and the first was Ptolemy Alexander or Dou' l-Karnein.

We will recount this in our account; we will write the whole story, the events, the news and the wonders which marked these centuries and those times; after which, we will continue the annals from the beginning of the reign of Alexander Dou' l-Karnein until our own times and even to this day; we will tell what happened then and you will set it out in a clear account, if God wills. The history of the prophet Samuel, last governor and the last judge of the Israelites; the history of Saul, son of Cis, first king of the Israelites.

It is written that the prophet Samuel governed the Israelites for 20 years. They obeyed, as we said in the beginning, neither Samuel nor |158 their Lord; and they set themselves to demand of the prophet to be exempted from the government of the judges, requesting him to obtain for them from the Lord, following the example of the other peoples, the establishment of a king, thus scorning the worship of the Lord and the government which he exercised over them through Samuel, in order to run after their love of pleasure. Samuel advised them, exhorted them, warned them, told them which would be the conduct of the kings towards them, [of the kings] who would seize their daughters to make of them weavers, tapestry-makers, bakers and cooks, and would reduce them to slavery. Samuel informed them this, hoping to reach them; but they did not obey and did not attend at all to his remonstrances; on the contrary, they came from there to accuse the son of Samuel of lying and to charge them wrongfully. They said to Samuel: "As for you, we want to loosen your yoke." In view of their audacity, their importunity and their manifest impiety, he asked God for permission to give them a king. The Lord ordered him to go out, to anoint for them Saul, son of Cis, of the tribe of Benjamin, and to make him reign over them to punish them.

That took place 545 years after the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and this figure |159 includes all the time in which they were administered by their governors, their judges and also by their Lord of whom these were the intermediaries. After Saul, reigned the prophet David and, after him, his son Solomon. To Solomon his son succeeded, and, after him, the son of his son, until the last of their kings and until Nabuchodonosor had taken them into captivity to Babylon. During the long period of their kings, lived the prophet Elijah, the prophet Abdias, the prophet Eleazar, the prophet Micaiah, the prophet Judas and the prophet Hosea. After his ascension into heaven, the prophet Elijah was replaced by his disciple Elisha. At the time of king Oziah, the prophets Isaiah, Joel and Zachariah, son of Barachiah, prophesied about Christ. The Jews stoned Zachariah, son of Barachiah, in the temple, because he reproached them for the abominations which they had committed: they killed him between the temple and the altar. The Lord, irritated against them, put them under the yoke of king Salmanasar who took their ten tribes into captivity. According to the Jews these are those who [are] beyond the river Gozan.

The Bible says that Saul, son of Cis, reigned over the Israelites for 40 years. This was the punishment which the Lord inflicted on them to punish them. |160 In the year 3 of his reign, Saul made war on the Amalekites and overcame them. In the year 10 of the same reign, was born David, son of Isaiah; his mother was Nahas; he belonged to the tribe of Judah. At that time, the kings of the Lacedemonians and Corinthians began to reign and the town of Nileus was built. In the year 23 of the reign of Saul, the prophet David was annointed by the prophet Samuel, who was then 65 years old; David was 13. In year 28 of the reign of Saul, David, 18 years old, killed the giant Goliath. In year 33, a pilgrimage of the prophets to Nayoth took place, a town of Ramah; and king Saul prophesied with them.

In year 35 of the reign of Saul, died the prophet Samuel. In year 30 from the birth of David, 17 years after his anointing and 5 years after the death of Samuel, Saul died in battle against the Philistines, who are the inhabitants of Palestine. The tribe of Judah was assembled, and took David |161 for its king at Hebron. Then he was annointed again and reigned over all the tribes of the Israelites. He reigned in Jerusalem for 33 years, in all for 40 years. The complete book of Samuel contains 3,436 verses and the book of David, i.e. the Psalms, 4,830 verses. David, in year 10 of his reign, gathered all the Israelites and made the Ark of the Lord leave the house of Amminadhab in the Tabernacle which he had designed and constructed for it. In that time, the prophets Gad, Nathan and Asaph prophesied. Nathan is the one who presented himself before David to say that he would not build the house of the Lord, but that it would be his son Solomon who would build it; it is he also who reprimanded David because of the wife of Uriah. Being in the town of Gabaon, this prophet died there and was buried there. Asaph was of those whom David established to praise God before the Ark of the Lord. It was Gad whom God ordered to tell David to get up and to build an altar to the Lord on the ground of Ornan.

It is said that David united to the dignity of prophet and king that |162 of priest. We do not need to bring testimonies to show that he was a king and prophet, because it is an obvious and manifest fact which every one knows. It remains for us to show and demonstrate that he was also a priest. We are assured that Jesus Christ attested this in the Gospel, saying: David ate the unleavened bread that nobody could eat except the priests alone, that nobody had the right to eat, except them. Moreover, David wore all the time the priestly vestments. One of the famous men of this time was the high priest Abiathar. In that year, i.e. in year 10 of his reign, David brought up and placed the Ark of the Lord in the Tabernacle, i.e. the house which he had built to receive it; he established before the Ark of the Lord, in the Tabernacle, cantors who sang psalms, praised and glorified God, we mean Asaph and his companions.

From that time dates the custom of praying at three o'clock, at six o'clock and nine o'clock, without counting the prayers of the morning, evening, before the day and midnight: this makes a total of seven prayers of the day and the night. It is also said that the custom of making these prayers goes back to the time of Enoch, son of Seth, son of Adam, because Enoch, the first, started to name and to call upon |163 the Lord; Adam and Seth already knew the name of God (Allah). But it was Enoch who gave him the name of Lord (ar-Rabb) and made mention of the name of God (Allah). He said: "Allahomma! my Lord and my God!" He was the first to know the name of the Lord (ar-Rabb). In year 16 of the reign of David, died Nahach, king of the Ammonites. Then David sent his son Hamon (Hamnoun) to comfort the Ammonites. When he arrived, an argument broke out between them. Hamon was unjust to him; then he went away. In year 18 of the reign of David, Hamon revolted against his father David; he hired the kings of Harran, Nisibis and Aram for a thousand talents (kikar); the kikar is a great amount of money; he brought them with a numerous army which numbered 32,000 men to make war on David. Joab, son of Zerouya (Sarouyâ), and his brother Abisaï, both son of David's sister and leaders of David's troops, advanced to meet them; they fought a battle with Hamon and his troops, put them to rout, exterminated them and captured Rabbath, a city of the Ammonites.

In that time, David had Uriah the Hethaenn killed and took his wife. |164 At the same period the towns of Magnesia and Myrina were built in Asia. In year 30 of his reign, David made war on the Philistines; in the battle that he fought with them, he killed the four giants of Gath and destroyed the race of the giants. At that period the town of Ephesus was built. In that period, the Greek poet Homer lived. In year 39 of his reign, David reorganised the families of the Levites, the tribe of the priests; he established 288 priests who were to praise and glorify God, while singing before the Ark of the Lord; he divided them into twenty-four classes; each class, which included twelve priests, was to sing for one of the 24 hours of the day and the night, one group of twelve priests succeeding another, without interruption. He instituted the tribes of the priests, one following another.

After a reign of forty years, David died, aged 70. From his time, the Jews received part of the Mishna, which is the book |165 of Chema`sa, according to the books of Ananias and others , as well as astonishing stupidities which are not good and which it is inadvisable to make known by repeating them in our book. There are yet other stupidities, which the foolish ones believe down to this day, together with their eminent scholars, without speaking of others who also like and want to know these [follies]. To David succeeded his son Solomon, who reigned over the Israelites for 40 years, as it says in the Bible. In the first year of his reign, he drove out and exiled the priest Abiathar, as well as his brother Adoniah and killed Joab, son of Zerouya (Sarouyâ). In the year 11 of his reign, Solomon completed the construction of the Temple of the Lord, construction begun in year 4 of his reign, at the beginning of the month of Ayar (May), on the ground that David had bought from Oman (Arân) the Jebusaean, on the mountain of the Amorrhaeans. He thus built the Temple in seven years, this |166 construction having been finished in year 11 of his reign, the 2nd of the month of Tichrin II (November). It is said that God had inspired in David the idea to buy this ground and to order his son Solomon to build the Temple of the Lord there, because, as we told above, it was the place where Abraham had offered to the Lord his Isaac son in a holocaust; we described this place with precise details.

In the place of the priest Abiathar whom Solomon had deposed, the prophet Zadok (Zadeqiyâ) was appointed to his position as priest. It is said that he was the eighth since Aaron. In the place of Joab, son of Zerouya (Sarouyâ), Benaya son of Yoyada was appointed as head of the army. At that period, Hesiod and Homer, poets of the Greeks, were illustrious. In the year 24 of his reign, Solomon destroyed Antioch and built Tadmor in a desolate and deserted country. In the year 29 of the reign of Solomon, the prophet Ahiya the Scilonite prophesied. It is written that Solomon, in year 34 of his reign, built on the mountain |167 which is opposite Jerusalem, a altar to Kamoch, god of the Moabites, and to Malkoum, god of the Ammonites: he obeyed some of his wives who had made him impious and had misled him. At that period, Jeroboam, son of Nabat, fled to Egypt to king Sesac (Shishak) and remained there until the death of Solomon and the advent of his son Roboam (Ardjab`am).

The book of the Proverbs of Solomon contains 1,762 verses; the book of Great Wisdom 1,550 verses. The book of Ecclesiastes, which means the sermon of Solomon addressed by him to the Israelites, when he reigned over them and gathered them in order to deliver this speech to them, contains 427 verses. In the book of the Song of Songs there are 256 verses. Roboam, son of Solomon, was born from an Ammonite woman named Naama, a year before the advent of Solomon. Roboam, son of Solomon, reigned 17 years; he lived 58 years. In the first year of his reign, not having taken the advice of the old men who had advised to him to act with uprightness and to be gentle towards the Israelites, |168 but having shown to them even more harshness than his father, the Israelites revolted against him, assembled and stoned Adoram (Oudous), the controller of the taxes. The kingdom was divided into two parts, according to the word of the prophet Ahiya.

Jeroboam, son of Nabat, who had fled to Egypt, reigned over ten tribes for 22 years; Roboam reigned only over the tribe of Judah. Jeroboam built Sichem, on the mountain of Ephraim. In year 2 [of his reign], Jeroboam made two golden calves and brought them out for the worship of the Israelites. In year 5 of the reign of Roboam, Sesac (Chishaq), king of Egypt, went up to Jerusalem and took all the shields of gold that Solomon had made in the Temple; Roboam replaced them by others made of bronze. After the death of Roboam, his son Abiah succeeded him for 3 years. In the first year of his reign, he gathered his troops to the number of four hundred thousand to make war with Jeroboam and with the tribes of Israel. Jeroboam on his side gathered his troops which counted eight hundred thousand riders, and they made war. Jeroboam was overcome and fled. Five hundred thousand warriors |169 of the Israelites succumbed. In that time, Abiah took fourteen wives; he had twenty-six sons and sixteen daughters.

After his death, his son Asa reigned for 41 years; he lived 60 years. In year 3 of his reign, Nadab began to reign, after Jeroboam, over the Israelites, and reigned for two years. In year 5 of the reign of Asa, the hight priest Abimelek flourished. Then Ba`asa (Ba`cha) reigned over the ten tribes of the Israelites for 24 years. Asa, in year 10 of his reign, gathered the idols and burned them; he drove out the public women from all his kingdom and sent away his mother, because she celebrated the festivals of the idols of the grove. In year 29 of the reign of Asa, Ela, son of Ba`asa, reigned over the Israelites and occupied the throne for two years; and after him, Zimri, his servant, for seven days. Then the kingdom of the ten tribes of the Israelites was divided: one part lined up under the standards of Tibni, another under the standards of `Amri. |170 The troops of `Amri being numerous, Tibni was so afraid and so dismayed that he fell sick and died because of this. `Amri reigned over [only] the [ten] the tribes for six years. In that time, `Amri bought the mountain of Samaria (Chamarîn) which belonged to Samer (Chamîr); he built there a city which he called Samaria (Chamarîn), like the mountain. It became the seat of the kings of the ten tribes of Israel. The seat of the kings of the tribe of Judah was in Jerusalem. `Amri reigned another six years in the royal city which he had built.

In year 30 of the reign of Asa, king of the tribe of Judah, Zarah, king of India, went against Jerusalem, by land and sea, at the head of an army of eleven hundred thousand men; he camped under its walls and besieged it. Then king Asa addressed his prayers to his Lord, . . . he removed his royal clothing, covered himself with sackcloth and, humbly prostrate on ashes, prayed to God, asking His help and assistance against Zarah, king of India, and against his troops. God, who is powerful and great, answered his prayer, spoke to him and ordered him to assemble his troops and go out at their head against Zarah, in order to show him His power; but He prohibited him |171 from including in his army people who carried swords or who shot arrows. When he went out with his army and came hand to hand with the troops of Zarah, those bent their bows, whose cords made a sound similar to the buzz of hives full of bees. They launched their arrows; but when these arrows reached their destination, God returned them to the hand of each rider of Zarah. The riders wounded by the arrows complained and informed their king of what had happened to them: "It is one of the magic spells which the Israelites have brought out of Egypt, " said the king to his companions.

The soldiers took their swords then and set to kill each other, because God had given them, each to the eyes of the others, the appearance of the Israelites: thus they exterminated themselves. Those who escaped death, drowned in the sea; and three days after the sea threw them on to the shore. Then God ordered king Asa to go out with his troops towards the sea to take their skins. May no-one be astonished by my account in which I explain the order given by God to king Asa: any intelligent man knows, indeed, that victory and triumph depend on God. The history of the campaign of Zarah against Jerusalem and the reason which caused him to make war on the Israelites would take a little too a long time to tell.

After Asa, king of Jerusalem, his son Josaphat reigned over the tribe of |172 Judah for 25 years. In year 2 of his reign, Ahab succeeded his father `Amri and reigned in Samaria over the ten tribes of Israel. He then married a woman, named Jezabel, the daughter of Ethba'al, king of Sidon. He rebuilt the accursed city of Jericho that Joshua, son of Noun, had cursed, when he captured it at the time of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt; Joshua had cursed also he who rebuilt it. Jericho was rebuilt 700 years after its destruction. One of the prophets of this time was Elijah, of the family of Aaron. He lived in a town of Gilead. On the day of his birth, his father saw him in a dream, surrounded by flames and going up to the sky. Another prophet was Abdias, of the tribe of Ephraim, who had hidden a hundred prophets for fear they would be killed by king Ahab. There was also the prophet Micaiah who had proclaimed to king Ahab the victory that he would gain over his enemies; the chaldaean prophets, among whom was Zedekiah, son of a Canaanite woman; Eleazar with 400 prophets who prophesied in the city of the queen Jezabel against her whims and passions.

In year 8 of the reign of Josaphat, king of the tribe of Judah, Ahab built |173 a temple and some altars to the idols in the town of Samaria. Josaphat, in year 12 of his reign, made war on the king of Ramah who was called Ben-Hadad (Bar-Hadad) and with 32 kings who were with him; he overcame them and killed 7,000 of their men. Among the prophets of this time, there were Oziel (Hazayyal) and Eleazar. In the year 24 of the reign of Josaphat, king of the tribe of Judah, Ochozia (Ahaz), son of Ahab, began to reign over the ten tribes of Israel and occupied the throne for two years. Josaphat died at the age of 60 and had as successor his son Joram who reigned over the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem for eight years; he lived 40 years. At that time, the prophet Elijah was lifted up into heaven.

Joram, king of the tribe of Judah, married Athalia, sister of Ahab, king of the tribes of Israel. At the same time, Joram killed all his brothers, the children of Josaphat. After which he fell ill: all his entrails came out of his |174 belly which was thus completely emptied, and he died. Then Ahaziah, son of Joram, reigned over the tribe of Judah for one year; he lived 23 years. That year Jezabel died; she reigned for 36 years, including 15 years after the death of her husband. It is written that after the death of Ahaziah, son of Athalia, sister (daughter) of Ahab, Athalia seized all the royal princes of the tribe of Judah and killed them, except Joash, son of Ahaziah, whom Josabeth (Yahouchaba`), his aunt, had hidden with her nurse. The policy of Athalia and its goal throughout were to destroy the kingdom of the tribe of Judah and reduce it to just one, by joining it together with that of her brother Ahab, king of the ten tribes of Israel; then to tear off the sceptre with the tribe of Judah of which it was written that the Messiah was to come, as if she wanted of her own will to prevent the advent of the Messiah, while obeying the suggestions that Satan, revolted against God, had thrown in her heart; because Satan would have liked to make empty the revelations made by God to the prophets on the arrival of the Messiah, and this is why he made of Athalia his instrument and the place of his residence.

In year 7 of the reign of Athalia, Joiada the high priest gathered all the |175 tribe of Judah, and they proclaimed king Joash, son of Ahaziah, who was seven years old; he reigned over the tribe of Judah for 40 years and lived 47 years. At that time, Lycurgus the legislator flourished. At the same time, Elisha and Zachariah prophesied; this last was the son of the priest Joiada. Joash, king of Judah, ordered the prophet Zachariah, son of the priest Joiada, put to death, and the prophet was killed in the court of the temple. Joash also killed all the children of Joiada and attracted on himself the anger of God. In year 25 of the reign of Joash, son of Ahaziah, died the high priest Joiada. This same year, Joachaz, son of Jehu began to reign over the ten tribes of Israel and reigned for 17 years.

In year 30 of the reign of Joash, king of Judah, the prophet Elisha died, who had lived 50 years after the removal of Elijah to the sky and 67 years after annointing. Joash, king of Judah, was killed by his servants and died a miserable death. Amaziah his son reigned after him for 29 years; he lived 54 years. In year 2 of his reign, a king, whose name was also Joash, started |176 to reign over the ten tribes of Israel. But he drew his origin from these ten tribes and was not the Joash who had reigned over the tribe of Judah. He reigned over the ten tribes for 16 years. In year 13 of the reign of Amaziah, king of Judah, Joash, king of the tribes of Israel, made war on him. He drew up balistas against Jerusalem, destroyed the enclosing wall over a length of four hundreds cubits and entered the city; he then took all the vestments from the temple of the Lord, the sacred vessels, and the royal treasures and returned to Samaria, the capital of his kingdom.

In that time, prophesied the prophet Hosea of the tribe of Issachar, and the prophet Amos, of Thecue (Taqou`), who was killed by order of Amaziah. At that time, prophesied the prophet Younan, who is Jonah, son of the prophet Amathi (Matai). He prophesied against the town of Nineveh and its inhabitants. It is said that Jonah was the son of the widow, that like the prophet Elijah he was resuscitated after his death. In year 18 of the reign of Amaziah, king of Judah, Jeroboam began to reign over the ten tribes of Israel and reigned for 41 years. When Amaziah |177 had reigned 29 years over the tribe of Judah, his servants killed him, and he died a miserable death. His son Uzziah succeeded him and reigned for 52 years; he lived 68 years. The books of the Kings, according to which we have written and tell the history of the kings, indicate that Uzziah was son of Amaziah; Amaziah, son of Joash; Joash, son of Ahaziah; and Ahaziah, son of Joram. No-one among the learned is worried about this. But three of these kings are not mentioned in the genealogy of Christ, contained in the Gospel of the evangelist Matthew (on him be safety!) Matthew says, in fact, that Joram fathered Uzziah; and he omits these three kings, i.e. Amaziah, Joash and Ahaziah, father of Joash, and makes no mention of them in the genealogy of Christ.

The astonishing history of Amaziah, of his son Joash, of Ahaziah, son of Joash, kings of Judah, from whom Christ draws his origin. We will recount and indicate the reason why the evangelist Matthew did not mention these kings, when he drew up the genealogy of the Messiah |178 in the Gospel, and [we will say] why he omitted them, from Joram to Uzziah. Thus the Gospel begins where Matthew says: "History of the birth of Jesus-Christ, son of David, son of Abraham"; then he adds: "Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac fathered Jacob. Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers. Judah fathered by Thamar Pharez and Zarah. Pharez fathered Esrom (Hosroun). Esrom fathered Aram. Aram fathered Aminadab. Aminadab fathered Nahson. Nahson fathered Salmon. Salmon fathered by Rahab Boaz. Boaz fathered `Obed by Ruth. `Obed fathered Jesse. Jesse fathered king David. David fathered Solomon, by the wife of Uriah. Solomon fathered Roboam. Roboam fathered Abia. Abia fathered Asa. Asa fathered Josaphat. Josaphat fathered Joram. Joram fathered Uzziah." Matthew draws up a continuous genealogy of Christ to Joseph, promised in marriage to Mary; but he omits kings from Joram to Uzziah, as we said, i.e. three kings, from which Christ draws also his origin according to our calculation. Matthew does not insert them in the genealogy of Christ, and these are: Amaziah, Uzziah and Joash.

The Christian scholars and doctors say that Joram did a thing at which |179 the Lord was angry: he married Athalia, sister of Ahab, king of the tribes of Israel, who had married the Jezabel queen, murderess of the prophets. God was angry against Joram, because he had married the sister of the husband of the queen Jezabel, as if he had massacred the prophets and built temples and altars to idols. It is because of this that king Ahab had undertaken what he did. The Bible also says about this: After the death of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Joash, son of Ahaziah, alone remained by the care of Josabeth, his aunt, who had hidden him with her nurse. This is why God was angry against Joram, as we have already said, because he had married Athalia, sister of Ahab, the woman who would have liked to destroy the kingdom of Joram and that of the tribe of Judah and its posterity, from where Christ draws his origin; who would have liked to extirpate the descent of the tribe of Judah and his kingdom, to make it hers and that of Ahab her brother, and, if possible, to destroy the descent of Judah from where the Messiah was to come, to join together the two kingdoms, that of Judah and that of the ten tribes, in only one. Athalia, sister of Ahab, husband of Jezabel, also killed all the children of the high priest Joiada. Then Joram was not satisfied to have married Athalia, sister of Ahab: God was angry again against him because he massacred all his brothers, children of his father Josaphat. God thus brought down on him |180 his vengeance: he fell ill; his entrails escaped and his belly was entirely emptied; he died thus a miserable death.

Then his son Joash ascended the throneand killed the prophet Zachariah in the court of the temple of the Lord. He also killed all the family of the high priest Joiada. Then God delivered him into the hands of his servants who killed him; and he died a miserable death. When his son Amaziah ascended the throne of Judah, he killed the prophet Amos at the end of his reign. Then God was angry against him and delivered him into the hands of his servants who killed him; and he died a miserable death. It is because of these very striking facts that the evangelist Matthew excluded from his Gospel the names of these three kings, when he made the genealogy of Christ, out of horror of their actions. The most hideous of these stories is that of Athalia which had thought of exterminating the tribe of Judah, because Satan, who lived in this woman, had persuaded her to prevent the advent of the Messiah. We already explained this to you and we are showing it to you now, so that you can understand it. Ask (may God keep you!) who you like among the scholars, the wise ones and the people skilled in learning, about the history of these three kings who are the ancestors of Christ. I have set it forth to you and explained it. It is one of the mysteries of the Gospel which contains innumerable such. |181

We have said that Uzziah, son of Amaziah, reigned over the tribe of Judah for 52 years. It is written that in year 6 of his reign the dynasty of the kings of the Assyrians ended, i.e. of Mosul, and that their kingdom fell into the power of the Medes, with the country of Babylon (Babil). The first king of the Assyrians was Phoul, son of Sa(?) ; he reigned over them for 35 years. In that time, the repentance of the inhabitants of the town of Nineveh took place. At the same time, Hosea, Amos (`Amoun), Jonah, son of Amathi, and Isaiah who was from Jerusalem and which was sawn with a saw and put to death by order of Manasseh, then buried with the cemetery of Siloe, prophesied. After having prophesied for 35 years, he was deprived of the gift of prophecy for 28 years, i.e. for all the reign of the four kings in question; he lived 113 years. Here is the reason why the Isaiah prophet was deprived of the gift of prophecy for 28 years: Uzziah, king of Judah, was impudent, although he was not a priest, so far as entering (the temple) to offer incense to God. Deterred by fear, the prophet Isaiah did not inform him, |182 did not condemn him, he did not reprimand this audacity and impudence. Then Isaiah was deprived of the gift of prophecy for 28 years, until the death of Uzziah. His entire body was covered with leprosy and scales; his skin became white like snow; and all that, in a wink of an eye. After the death of Uzziah, Joatham, his son, succeeded him and reigned over the tribe of Judah for 16 years. God again inspired Isaiah who again prophesied for 61 years.

Here what is written in his prophecies, according to the Bible: "The year of king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting in the Temple on a throne that was high and lifted up. The chosen Seraphs stood before him, each them having six wings; with two wings they covered their faces, with two others they covered their feet and with the last two they flew, one toward another, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy are the Lord of the armies; heaven and earth are full of his glory and his majesty." The book of the prophet Isaiah has 3,926 verses. |183 In the year 29 of the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, Zachariah ascended the throne of the ten tribes of Israel and reigned for six months. After him Selloum, son of Jabez, reigned thirty days; then Manahem, son of Gadi, reigned 10 years. At that time, the first king of the Macedonians reigned, i.e. the Greeks (Roum). He was named Qaranos.

Porphyry, the commentator of the book of Aristotle, and deacon of a church in the town of Tyre (Sour), was arrogant before all the deacons, his equals. This is why they threw themselves on him one day in the temple and beat him. Then he revolted, gave up Christianity, disavowed Christ, apostasised and denied the Gospel. This Porphyry claims that the philosopher Homer, composer of the book of the poems of the Greeks at that time, recounted their wars. In that time flourished Zachariah, son of Barachiah, and Ananie (Anouniya) high priests of the Israelites. It is written that the Jews stoned Zachariah, son of Barachiah, in the temple; and he died. |184 A second time : Lycurgus, legislator of the Greeks, flourished at that time. In the year 23 of the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, Phoul, king of Babylon, made an expedition against Samaria, city of the kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel; he overcame it and captured it. Then the king of Samaria gave him a thousand talents of silver, which makes thousand purses, and Phoul returned into the East.

At that time, Phidon, of Argos, who manufactured measurements and weights, was made known. In year 40 of the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, Peqachya, son of Manahem, reigned over the tribes of Israel for four years. King Teglatphalasar reigned in Babylon and Nineveh for 35 years. At the same time, Ardysus (Ardashir) reigned as the first [king of the Lydians]; the kings of the Corinthians ceased; the first king of the Greeks reigned in the town of Athens or Cecrops, for 23 years. In year 5 of the reign of Uzziah, leap years began to be counted, one leap year every four years. |185 From that time dates the beginning of the war between the Prasini and Veneti, i.e. between the partisans of the green and the partisans of the blue. The colour was only a pretext which the kings used for themselves to make war break out between the parties. There fell in the fray 500,000 men, more or less, as we find in the books. Their kings employed this trick to prevent them multiplying and from revolting against them. Their history is astonishing, but a little long; if you are ready to hear it, you can hear it. We found that the majority of bishops of these ancient and former times had grasped this [principle] and stuck to it. I have heard one of them say: "If the flocks of a bishop live in peace and prosperity, the bishop will be unhappy, [and that will continue] until the day when the flocks are afflicted." I believe that the majority of them stuck to this principle; this is why they divided their flocks into two parties.

The total of the years from Adam and the origins of the world until the first olympiad are in total 4,725 years; from the flood to that year, 2,469 years; from the exodus of the Israelites of Egypt until the same year, 878 years; from the reign of Saul, the first king who reigned over the Israelites, 334 years. |186 In year 50 of the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, Peqach, son of Remalya (Roumalya), began to reign over the ten tribes of Israel and he occupied the throne for 20 years. In his time Teglatphalasar time, king of Babylon, made an incursion: he fought the Israelites and took into captivity to Babylon a great number of them. When Uzziah died, after a reign of 52 years, his son Joatham succeeded him and reigned over the tribe of Judah for 16 years; he lived 41 years. At that time, the prophets Joel, of the tribe of Ruben (Roubal), and Micaiah, of the tribe of Ephraim, prophesied.

Then also the town of Rhodes was built, which is an island of the sea. Ptolemy tells, in his book of the Canon, that it was in the middle of the fourth climate. It remained for 1,405 years. Then the Arabs destroyed it and took its inhabitants into captivity. After the death of Joatham, his son Ahaz succeeded him and reigned 16 years; he lived 36 years. He raised himself up against his Lord, served the gods of the gentiles, |187 and worshipped their idols. Then God brought against him Racin, king of Syria, and Peqach, son of Remalya (Roumalya), who massacred 120,000 combatants of the tribe of Judah and took captive a great number. Ahaz, king of Judah, sent presents to Teglatphalasar, king of Babylon, and asked him for his help and assistance. This prince lent him aid and, arrived at Damascus, he fought against Racin, king of Syria, in the country of Esch-Scham, overcame him and killed him; then he took into captivity a great number of the inhabitants of his kingdom.

In year 2 of the reign of Ahaz, Hosee, son of Ela, ascended the throne of the ten tribes of Israel and reigned for 9 years. The following year, he called to his aid Adramelek the Kushite, king of Egypt. At that time, the sage Thales, the first physician, made himself known. In year 8 of the reign of Ahaz, Salmanasar began his reign which lasted for 14 years.

This same year, the first king of the Romans (Roum) who were the Franks, not the Greeks of the East (Younaniyoun), ascended the throne. Remus |188 (Roumanaous) and Romulus reigned over the Roman-Franks; they built the marvellous city of Rome. The two brothers reigned together and they called the town of Rome from the name of Remus. (Romulus) reigned for 38 years; he attacked his brother and killed him. It is told that Remus and Romulus were born from a λύκαινα, i.e. a she-wolf. It is what their carved statues which are found to this day in the town of Rome portray. As for the learned, they tell that their grandfather Amulius, thinking that they had been born from an adultery, ordered them immediately thrown in the forest; they were thrown there. The name of their mother was Helen (Aelia, Ilia), who was a priestess of Ares, i.e. of Mars. Their grandfather thought that a rider of the Roman-Franks had commited adultery with her. The learned and the poets tell that Ares made her pregnant, and that she had by him Remus and Romulus; then that, when they had been thrown into the forest, a woman who fed the herds found them, and seized with pity, took them and nourished them with her milk. In the language of the people of this country those who kept the herds were called "Liqouniyous", which means in the Greek language "a wolf": so "Liqouniyous", i.e. "Pastor" belongs to the Frank language and means in the Greek language "a wolf". They were so called, because they always fed their herds in the deserts and the |189 wild places and that they lived there like the wild animals and beasts.

A scholar tells that the husband of Helen (Ilia) having spent the night with her, fathered them both then and that this same night he died, leaving her pregnant. Then when she had brought them into the world, their grandfather Amulius believed that they had been born from an adultery, and this is why he ordered them thrown into the forest, among the wild animals. There is nothing strange that Helen (Ilia) conceived them in one night, since we know already that Thamar conceived by Judah, after he had slept with her at a crossroads, and that she had by him Pharez and Zarah. We are not astonished, either, that the husband of Helen (Ilia) died the same night.

When (Remus and Romulus) had reigned together, as we said, for ten years, they changed to enmity and hatred and came to blows. Romulus threw himself on his brother Remus, killed him 3 and reigned alone. But after this murder, throughout the year, the town of Rome did not cease being shaken by earthquakes, nor its inhabitants from making war and committing suicide. Then Romulus addressed prayers to God |190 to ask him to put an end to the earthquakes. God said to him in a dream: "the earthquakes will cease in your capital only if you place your brother beside you on the royal throne; it is only on this condition that the city will cease being disturbed by war and earthquake and that its inhabitants will find shelter from the punishments." Then Romulus made a statue of gold om the image of his brother; he placed it beside him on the throne, and when he ordered or forbade, he spoke in the plural, saying: "We order, we forbid, we do," and so on, always expressing himself on his own behalf and in the name of his brother. This is why the kings of the Romans stick to this habit of speaking in the name of two people, when they order or forbid, from the time of Romulus until today, for example: "we order, we forbid, we do", and so on. Hardly had Romulus placed the statue of his brother at his side on the throne, when the earthquakes ceased in the city and that the people laid down their weapons.

When he had built the seven ramparts of the town of Rome, had laid out and decorated its streets with art, Romulus made a great festival. He called "March" the month which is the new moon of Nisan (April) and which always corresponds to the month of Adar (March), when the equinox takes place. This month was before called Primus, and |191 the translation (of Martius) is "month of Ares", i.e. of Mars; and Mars means in the frank language (Latin) the beauty of the flowers, because, in that month, the ground shows its beauty and is covered with a multitude of pretty flowers. The Romans celebrate this festival, that Romulus instituted, every year until today, and call it the kalends of Mars; on that day they offer presents to their king and to each other. (This festival) resembles that of the new year (Naurouz) among the inhabitants of the East.

After that, he made an (other) great festival where he distributed many largesses to the Romans. He established the ὕπατοι (consuls?) for them, i.e. the leaders of the public affairs. Since that time kings have adopted the practice of creating division, war and dissension among their subjects to distract them from themselves, by civil war, and to let them destroy each other. Romulus built a circus, i.e. a marvellous theatre in the town of Rome, to draw aside the opposition, dissatisfaction and resentment which were among the inhabitants of the town of Rome, angry against him because he had killed his brother. |192 Romulus made a festival in the honour of the sun and placed the (four) elements on a chariot drawn by four horses , on which he made war. He gave names to these four elements: (he called) the earth "Prasinus", i.e. green, because of its grass; he named the sea "Venetus", i.e. colour of the sky, because the colour of water resembles that of the sky; he made the colour of fire red and that of the air white. These four things have existed in the town of Rome until today. The inhabitants of the city were divided into two parties, and since then war and battles [between them] have continued ever since. This is one of the tricks which kings have invented so that their subjects will destroy each other and cease being dangerous, the king always inclining towards most powerful of the two parties.

In year 17 from the foundation of Rome, the king made a count of them and counted the inhabitants; and their number was 950,000 men . Eight years after, he counted them |193 for the second time, and their number was 7,000,000 men . Oenomaus, king of Pisa , also instituted and celebrated a festival in the honour of the sun on the 25th of the month of Adar (March); he organized the combat and fighting on land and sea and subordinated these four elements, i.e. fire, the air, water and earth, to the sun .

In year 9 of the reign of Hosea, king of the ten tribes of Israel, in year 8 of the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Salmanasar, king of Babylon, Salmanasar attacked the town of Samaria, capital of the kings of the ten tribes of Israel; he camped before it and, after having besieged it for three years, captured it; after which he took the inhabitants of the ten tribes of Israel into captivity in Babylon. Then Salmanasar, king of Babylon, sent a great number of inhabitants of the country of Mosul and other cities, to guard the countries where the Israelites had lived. These people were called Samaritans, which means in Hebrew guardians or guards. But the lions and the wild animals were going to attack them and kill them. This was reported to Salmanasar who said: "Perhaps this has happened, because the people that I have |194 sent don't know the worship of the god of this country?" And he sent them a certain number of Israelite priests, to teach only the Torah to them: the wild animals went away. It is for this reason that the Samaritans only accept among the prophets the Book of the Torah. They say that they are the true Israelites, but they are mistaken, because they are only the descendants of the people who came from the East .

After the death of Ahaz, king of Judah, his son Hezekiah reigned for 29 years; he lived 54 years. In year 6 of his reign, Sennacherib ascended the throne in Babylon and reigned for 9 years.Then he made a expedition against Jerusalem, and he had Bocht-Nassar as secretary. But the Lord, hearing the prayer and supplications which king Hezekiah had addressed to him, made 185,000 men of his army perish. Its history is written in the Book of the Kings of Israel . When Sennacherib had escaped, his son Asarhaddon, seeing that his troops had been exterminated, captured him and killed him; then he reigned after him for three years. |195 In year 15 of the reign of Hezekiah, Merodach-Baladan reigned for 48 years . History of king Hezekiah. It is written that king Hezekiah gave satisfaction to God in all his actions: he abolished from the middle of his people the idols and their worship, purified the Temple of the Lord of any stain and impurity, sanctified it and put priests there, in the way in which the prophet David had done.

In his time the prophets Isaiah and Micaiah lived. Isaiah prophesied on the advent of the Messiah. There was [also] the prophet Hosea who, for all his life, exhorted the Israelites, diverted them from the cult and worship of idols and set himself to prayer and supplication to obtain from His Lord to move Sennacherib away from his people: God heard his prayer and broke the anger of Sennacherib, king of Babylon. God wanted the prophet Hosea to know the hardness of the heart of the Israelites and their obstinacy towards Him. So He said to this prophet: "Go, marry a |196 repudiated woman who prostitutes herself publicly, and another woman who commits adultery in secret." The prophet Hosea was amazed at this order from God and he conceived an overpowering sorrow from it. But God wanted to make known to him his lack of patience compared to that of the Lord towards the Israelites. The truth indeed, according to the prophet Hosea, it is that several of them adored the idols in secret, and others publicly. This is why God ordered him to marry a repudiated woman who prostituted herself publicly, and another who committed adultery in secrecy, so that the prophet would not importune his Lord any more because of them.

It is written that king Hezekiah committed himself to dedicate himself exclusively to the service of God, without marrying, because he remembered the promise and the oath that God had made the prophet David, namely that the race and the posterity of David would not cease occupying his throne until the consummation of the centuries. King Hezekiah thought to himself and said: "The blessing that God gave to the prophet David and the promise that He made to him, namely that his race and posterity will not cease to occupy his throne until the consummation of the centuries, - is a perfect blessing by God, who could never withdraw His promises nor His gifts. As my fathers and my grandfathers married and had children, the blessing passed |197 from one to another, from father to son, who thus inherited the throne of the prophet David." And the prophet Hezekiah thought that, if he remained virgin and did not marry, he would reign and would occupy the throne of the prophet David until the consummation of the centuries. He had not understood that it was necessary to interpret differently than he thought, the word addressed by God to the prophet David. But on this God sent the prophet Isaiah to him saying to the latter: "Go and tell king Hezekiah to make his will in favour of his own, because he will die and will not live any more"; as if he said: "People will die and live again at the day of Resurrection; as for him, he will die and will not live again any more, because he thought that it would remain [alive] until the end of time."

And king Hezekiah fell sick, as soon as the prophet Isaiah had told him and reported the word of the Lord. On his bed, he started to weep hot tears, the prey of sadness. He spat against the wall, saying: "Pah for this earthly mud from which I draw my origin! and I believed that I could live until the consummation of the centuries!" Then he recalled to God his actions and what he had done to please his Lord. God approved his prayer and sent to him for the second time the prophet Isaiah saying to the latter: "Go to |198 king Hezekiah and say to him: The Lord has added fifteen years to your life; and here is the proof: ask at your pleasure that the sun, on the sundial of your father Ahaz, should advance by fifteen degrees, or that it go back by fifteen degrees." Then king Hezekiah said himself: "It would not be a wonder that the sun advanced, since it is the way of its course and the law of its movement. Let it rather go back by fifteen degrees!" He thus said to the prophet Isaiah: "I ask that the sun go back by fifteen degrees." However the sun, which was then in the middle of the sky, at midday, at the time when it goes down again, at the end of the sixth hour, retraced its steps towards the East as if it were at the time of its rising, at the hour of the morning prayer.

But for two reasons I do not see what king Hezekiah was thinking, when he asked that the sun go back: firstly, this is not the way of its movement nor the line of its route; in the second place, often people, in their work, their occupations or their discussions, spend several hours of the day without realizing it; but it is when the sun was in the middle of the sky, at the end of the sixth hour, that is when people needed to eat, the workmen, the managers and others, |199 and to rest, that the sun rereturned its steps, at similar hour, and returned to the time of its rising, to the hour of the morning prayer. Then all men had to notice this and note this; even the animals had to realize it, without speaking like men. It is not necessary however that somebody thinks that the sun returned from the degree of the middle of the sky to the place (litt. degree) of its rising without the return of the whole celestial sphere. Also we say that the whole celestial sphere retrogressed, returned with all its stars and its planets — the stars remaining in their places - and returned from the middle of the sky towards the East. And we add that, if the sun returned from the degree of the middle of the sky instead of its rising, the three signs of the zodiac also retraced their steps and the four seasons of the year were changed: if it were the season of spring, it changed into the season of summer; if it were the season of summer, it changed into the season of autumn; if it were the season of autumn, it changed into the season of winter, and if it were the season of winter, it changed into the season of spring; so that the four seasons changed.

You (may God keep you!) must have and indeed possess those things which belong to the depths of learning and the mysterious treasures of wisdom; it is necessary that you have an exact knowledge, when you question on this point |200 the learned and those who plunge into the reading of the books of learning or literature. You will see then if there is only one among them who knows similar mysteries and you will be delighted to have these hidden treasures of learning, that nobody, except you, knows, neither the wise ones, nor the patriarchs, nor the bishops, nor other men.

It is written that Merodach-Baladan, king of Babylon, sent to king Hezekiah presents, gifts and offerings, when he had noted that the sun had returned from the middle of the sky to the East. The Magi worship the sun, fire, water and all the luminous elements; therefore king Merodach, witnessing the return of the sun, said to his companions: "I see that our god has been put to rout; there must be another god more powerful who ran up against it, pushed back and made it move back." Then he informed himself on this. And when he knew what had happened to king Hezekiah and he learned of the prophecy of Balaam the magician who had said: "A star will come forth from Jacob and a leader from Israel," he was seized with fear and was afraid of king Hezekiah; this is why he sent gifts and present to him, in testimony of his veneration, to seek his favour because he feared him. When the ambassadors of |201 king Merodach arrived with king Hezekiah, with their offerings and their presents, he boasted; he spread out all the vases of the temple and all the wonders which it contained, to show them to the envoys. Then God was angry against him and said to him: "In truth, says the Lord: All that you showed and of which you have boasted, will be plundered and carried off into the regions of the East; your sons and your descendants will be led there in captivity ."

After this king Hezekiah married and fathered Manasseh, who, after the death of his Hezekiah father, ascended the throne at the age of 13. His reign lasted 55 years, and he lived 68 years. At that time, in the town of Rome, (Numa) Pompilius reigned for 43 years. He added to the months of the Romans Kanoun II (January) and Chebat (February); until that time the Romans had known only ten months; (imagine that!) and each month was of 36 days. He built and set up in the town of Rome the Capitol, the first of the seven wonders; he widened its hall and rooms, because they were narrow . |202 Manasseh, in year 18 of his reign, was taken into captivity in punishment for his great injustice, his impiety, his opposition to the Lord and the restoration of the worship of the idols; he remained imprisoned in Babylon for 39 years. He addressed to the Lord prayers and supplications and he returned to his kingdom where he removed the idol with four faces which he had made and placed in the temple of the Lord; he moved this idol from the temple and had it burned. The prayer of Manasseh is beautiful in its sadness and the humble supplication which the king addresses to his Lord; it is inscribed in the books of the Christians and Jews .

In year 39 of the reign of Manasseh, Sennacherib the Younger began his reign which lasted 31 years . In year 52 of the reign of Manasseh, king of Judah, Byzantium was built by king Byzos. It was previously called Nicomedia and had been absorbed. Then, 970 years after the foundation of the town of Byzantium by king Byzos, the emperor Constantine the Great, son of Helene, restored it, increased it, built there palaces, theatres and surrounding walls and gave it his name, Constantinople (Qastantiniya) . |203 After the death of Manasseh, his son Amon succeeded him and reigned 12 years; he lived 24 years. At that time, Alcman flourished, who is called Loqman among the Arabs . In year 5 of the reign of Amon, was born his son Josias. From that time, after 348 years, the prophecy on the Altar was carried out . After the death of Amon, his son Josias reigned in his place for 31 years.

In that year, the Magus ascended the throne of Babylon and reigned 33 years . In year 6 of the reign of Josias, the prophet Sophoniah, son of Kouchi, of the tribe of Simeon, prophesied. [At that time] there lived the priest Hilkiya, father of the prophet Jeremiah. In year 13 of the reign of Josias, the prophet Jeremiah started to prophesy . In year 31 of the reign of Josias, the lame Pharaoh (Nechao) ascended the throne of Egypt and reigned for 6 years. He killed Josias. The son of the latter, |204 Joachaz, reigned after him for three months. Then the Pharaoh, king of Egypt, returned, killed Joachaz also and established in his place his brother Joachim, called Eliakim, who reigned for 12 years and lived 18 years . In year 3 of the reign of Eliakim, Nabuchodonosor ascended the throne of Babylon and reigned for 45 years. In the first year of his reign, he attacked Jerusalem, took into captivity part of its inhabitants and carried off all the utensils and all the vases of the temple, according to the word that God had said to king Hezekiah, when this one was boasting about these [treasures] and had shown them to the envoys of king Merodach. Among these first prisoners that Nabuchodonosor took, that year, there were Daniel with his companions, Ananias, Azarias and Misael. Nabuchodonosor had them thrown into a burning furnace; but they remained healthy and safe, and their clothing was not even smoke-damaged.

In year 5 of the reign of Eliakim, Nabuchodonosor killed the lame Pharaoh (Nechao), king of Egypt, after whom Psammeticus (Samizis) reigned for 17 years. At that time the Pharaoh devastated the town of Menbidj located on the Euphrates. When it was rebuilt, it was called Hierapolis, i.e. the city of priests . |205 In year 8 of the reign of Eliakim and in year 5 of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosor attacked Jerusalem for the second time and imposed a tribute on its inhabitants; but Joachim continued to reign in his place. In year 8 of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Joachin died, and his son Joachin succeeded him; it is he who is named in the Gospel Jechoniah . He reigned for three months. When he had deviated from the obedience which he owed to his Lord, king Nabuchodonosor attacked him and took him captive to Babylon, where he remained prisoner for 37 years, until the time when Evilmerodach succeeded Nabuchodonosor. Evilmerodach took Jechoniah from his prison, made him sit at his table and eat with him; the son of Jechoniah married Suzanne, daughter of the priest Hilkia and sister of the prophet Jeremiah.

When Joachin was taken into captivity, Nabuchodonosor established in his place his uncle Zedekiah, called Mathanya ; he was called also Jechoniah. He reigned for 11 years and lived 32 years. In this same year, the prophet Ezechiel was taken captive to Babylon |206 with the Israelite prisoners. In year 5 of the reign of Zedekiah and in year 9 of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, the Prophet Ezechiel began to prophesy. In the same year, Astyages began to reign over the country of the Persians and occupied the throne for 38 years . The prophet Jeremiah, knowing by his prophecies that the temple was going to be burned and the people of the Israelites taken into captivity to Babylon, took the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant that Moses had drawn up in the desert, and hid them in a cave, of which nobody, to this day, knows the location.

At that time, Hophra reigned in Egypt for 25 years. In year 9 of the reign of Zedekiah, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nabuchodonosor undertook his fourth campaign [against Jerusalem] and besieged it until the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of the Jews. In this same year, which is the twenty-first of his reign, Nabuchodonosor captured Jerusalem and burned the Temple. The Temple, since the time when Solomon, son of David, had built it, until the day when it was set on fire, lasted 534 years. |207 22 kings of the tribe of Judah are counted until this date, and they reigned in total for a period of 518 years and six months . When the Israelites were taken captive to Babylon, Nebuzardan seized the high priest Sophoniah and other chiefs and big men of the people as well as Zedekiah, king of Judah, and he transported them to Babylon where he had them killed; he had the eyes of Zedekiah put out and the throats of his sons cut; then he made him turn a mill by hand. He was then 32 years old. After his death his corpse was thrown behind the curtain wall; and thus the prophecy was accomplished which the Lord had made over him by the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah .

As for the Jews who remained in Jerusalem, they took the prophet Jeremiah and went down to Hophra, king of Egypt. There, they killed the prophet Jeremiah who died and was buried. He had prophesied for 38 years. His book contains 4,252 verses; the book of Kings contains 1,113 and the book of Paralipomen 3,503. The Jews who were in captivity also seized the |208 prophet Ezechiel and killed him; he was buried over there, in the tomb of Shem, son of Noah. He had prophesied for 28 years. His book contains 4,376 verses. A little time afterwards, Nabuchodonosor attacked the town of Tyre. He ordered his troops to pile up stones in the sea to reach the city. But at this sight, the inhabitants of Tyre threw in the sea all that they had and fled on their vessels. Nabuchodonosor took Hiram, king of Tyre, and returned home. Hiram lived 50 years, during the reigns of the 21 kings of the tribe of Judah . When the troops of Nabuchodonosor had left the town of Tyre, the country of Egypt fell into their hands. Nabuchodonosor reigned 24 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple. It is from the year 22 of his reign that we start to count the 70 years of the captivity of the Israelites in Babylon.

In year 37 of the reign of Nabuchodonosor which is year 13 of the captivity, Nabuchodonosor made this great statue of gold, which was 60 cubits high. It is because of this idol that Ananias, Azarias and Misael were distinguished: they |209 were thrown into a burning furnace; but they remained healthy and safe, because God preserved them from the flame. From this time, among the Greeks, Joseph (Yousifous) was distinguished, i.e. Aesop (Yousfâs) the fabulist . After the death of Nabuchodonosor, his son Evilmerodach reigned for one year. In year 5 of the captivity, Balthasar ascended the throne; and it is in the first year of his reign that the prophet Daniel saw in a dream the beast which came up from the sea . In year 2 of his reign, Balthasar made a feast and while he was sitting on a raised seat, he had them bring in the sacred vessels which had been removed from the Temple of the Lord, and drank from them. But hardly he had drunk from these vessels, than a hand appeared on the wall opposite, writing the misfortune which would happen to him and the punishment which awaited him. Here what was written: "He who counts the hair of the head (God) has counted and |210 numbers his kingdom and torn its veil (has deprived it of defense)." The same night Darius the Mede and Persian, entered his place, killed him and annexed his kingdom to that of the Medes and Persians . . .

Darius, son of Assuerus (Ahchirach) , began to reign in year 28 of the captivity. In the first year of this reign, the prophet Daniel made a prayer, because he saw clearly that the years were approaching and that the 70 years that God had fixed for their slavery in Babylon was coming to an end. They had started, indeed, in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josias, the time when the prophet Jeremiah made his beginning as a prophet. Having heard the prayer and supplications of Daniel, the Lord sent the archangel Gabriel to him and announced to him concerning the weeks, the destruction of Jerusalem and the kings who reigned at that time and who are mentioned in the book of the prophet Daniel . In that time, Daniel was thrown in the lion's den. |211 Cyrus the Persian rose up. He killed Astyages, king of the Medes, and Darius, king of the Babylonians; then he established the empire of the Persians, in year 81 of the captivity of Israelites. He reigned 30 years. In the first year of his reign, he ordered that 50,000 Israelite prisoners should be released and set free and he sent them to Jerusalem. As of that moment he ordered them to rebuild the Temple of the Lord; but they were prevented from doing so by the people who surrounded them, until the end of the sixth year of Darius, son of Hystaspes, which is year 46 of their captivity, as it is written in the Gospel of John . Let no-one think in consequence that the Jews took 46 years to rebuild this Temple .

In year 2 of the reign of Darius, Daniel was thrown, a second time, into the lion's den because he had frustrated and confused the priests of the idols in their temple and revealed and published their artifices. Daniel killed the Dragon . In year 3 of the reign of Darius, the prophet Daniel fasted for three weeks, that is to say twenty-one days; he started to fast on the 4th of the first month |212 of Nisan (April). Then God sent the angel Gabriel to him. Daniel collapsed and fell down, seized with fear. This same year, the prophet Daniel died, while the Israelites were still captive, and he was buried in Babylon. Daniel was of the tribe of Judah. His book contains 1,550 verses. At that time prophesied the prophet Habakuk, of the tribe of Simeon. It was he whom the Angel took by the hair, when, mounted on an ass, he carried their meal to the harvesters. The Angel of the Lord carried him from the country of Jerusalem to Babylon, to the prophet Daniel, who was in the pit. Habakuk gave the prophet something to eat from the collation which he carried with him and which was hot. Then the Angel of the Lord brought him back to the country of Jerusalem .

At that time prophesied the prophet Haggai, of the tribe of Levi, and the prophet Zachariah, son of Barachyah. At the same time, the lived the Magus Zoroaster (Azeradhoucht), author of the doctrines of the Magi, which consisted of the worship of water, fire, of the elements, and other shameful practises, which it is not advisable to describe in this book. |213 At that time, the doctrines of Pythagoras appeared and Simonides and Anacreon were distinguished, inventors of lutes and guitars . In year 10 of the Persian Cyrus, the seventy years of the first captivity were accomplished, which had started in year 3 of Joachim (or Eliakim) . After the death of Cyrus, Cambyses, or, as the Hebrews say, Nabuchodonosor II ascended the throne. He reigned for 8 years . At that time, Judith distinguished herself who, by her stratagem, killed Holophernes, king of Babylon. The book of Judith contains 1,268 verses .

Among the Israelites there was the high priest Joshua, son of Josedek; and in Jerusalem, Joachim (Ilyaqim) . Cambyses, in year 6 of his reign, invaded Egypt, captured it and killed Amasis (Maqnousiyous), king of Egypt. After which the kingdom of Egypt ceased existing until year 15 of the reign of Darius. |214 At that time, Fansamous (?) cut up the stone which spoke, because he believed he would find the mysteries of magic inside. After Cambyses, the Magus reigned 3 years and 7 months; after this latter, Darius, son of Hystaspes, reigned 36 years. In year 2 of his reign, the seventy years were accomplished; and in year 6, the 3rd of the month of Adar (March), the construction of the Temple of the Lord was completed. At that time, the philosopher Democritus flourished. After the death of Darius, his son Xerxes , i.e. Assuerus (Akhchirach), reigned for 26 years .

At that time the painter Zeuxis was famous. At the same time, there lived the Jews Esther and Mordecai, nephew of the prophet Jeremiah, sons of the high priest Barachyah ; Mordecai was the uncle d' Esther. They were both prisoners in Babylon. |215 In that time, flourished the prophet Malachi, one of the twelve prophets; he prophesied in the country of Judah. After his death there were no more prophets known among the Israelites. The book of the Twelve Prophets contains in all 3,643 verses. The book of Esther contains 654 verses. In year 11 of his reign, Xerxes (Akhchirach) captured the town of Athens and many other cities . His son succeeded him for two years and half, and had himself as a successor Artaxerxes Longhand, called Ariyoukh , who reigned for 41 years At that time, a stone fell from the sky in the river of Aigos (Augoch); its name was Afsis (Αἴξ?) .

In year 7 of his reign, king Artaxerxes ordered the scribe Esdras to go up to the country of Judah and to rebuild Jerusalem; it was under the pontificate of the high priest Joshua, son of Josedek. This was explained and revealed to Esdras. Esdras wrote down all the Torah and the Prophets from memory, because he knew them by heart; he also set to describe and tell how the people |216 had left Babylon. He was the fourteenth high priest after Aaron. The book of Esdras contains 2,808 verses. At that time lived the wise Empedocles of Sicily. He went to see and examine the fire which spouted in swirls out of a cave. Not being able to understand this mystery, he threw himself into the cave; but he forgot his shoes, outside. Thus he betrayed himself and made known that he did not have the qualities that its contemporaries had allotted to him.

At the same time, Democritus and Hippocrates were famous, who were doctors; Zeno and Heraclites. It was then also that the Romans sent messengers to the town of Athens: [these messengers] copied [the laws of the Athenians] and wrote the XII Tables based on them. Artaxerxes, in year 20 of his reign, sent Nehemiah, his wine waiter, to rebuild Jerusalem; Nehemiah remained in Jerusalem until the end of year 25 of the reign |217 (1) ** of Artaxerxes. Then lived the minister of king Artaxerxes, Haman the Amalekite. He remembered the old enmity and the wars which had formerly separated the Israelites and Amalekites; he kept the resentment of it. And he asked the king to kill and exterminate the Jewish people. In this same year, the construction of Jerusalem was completed, with its streets, its palaces, its citadels: it was under the pontificate of the high priest Joiadah, son of Elisee. When Nehemiah had gone up to Jerusalem, the Jews did not have any sacred fire and they did not dare to offer sacrifices to God with a profane fire: at the time where they had been taken captive to Babylon, they had taken the sacred fire of the altar of the Lord and had thrown it in a well which was in one of the suburbs of the town of Apamea; this suburb was called Ashin (?). The wine waiter Nehemiah had a vase and bowl brought from this well, sixty-four years after the fire had been thrown there; he placed this vase and this bowl on the wood of the altar; and the fire ignited.

At that time, Plato was born and the sophist Socrates was famous in |218 (1) the town of Athens. As he perverted the young people, he was made to drink poison, and he died. But he left Plato who revealed his actions as well as his depraved and infamous doctrines. At the same time, while Haman, minister of the king, employed all the resources of his spirit to seek ruses to destroy and exterminate all the people of Israel, Esther and Mordecai covered themselves with sackcloth and addressed to God their prayers and their supplications. God made the artifices of the Amalekite Haman collapse on his own head: Artaxerxes had him killed and crucified. The history of Esther, niece of Mordecai, nephew of the prophet Jeremiah, and Haman the Amalekite, minister of king Artaxerxes.

It is written that king Artaxerxes prepared a great feast where he gathered all the delights; he gathered his notables there, his parents and the leaders of his |219 (1) army. The Amalekite Haman was his Prime Minister and his intendant. At this feast, when the king had enjoyed to satiety all the delights and all the kinds of pleasures that he could wish, he said to himself that there remained nothing any more but only one pleasure at his disposal; it was that the queen Vachti wear her most beautiful finery and present herself to give him things to drink, him and to his companions. Consequently, the king sent to tell the queen to leave the flowers and to hurry herself to come to his banquet and to that of his companions. But she made him a most unpleasant and most crushing answer. The king conceived such a sorrow at this that he forgot all the pleasures of that day and of the years of his reign. Witnessing his sorrow and his sadness, his companions and his friends left him. And it is said that he ordered that queen Vachti should be driven out from his realm, and to choose for him a thousand women, from among all those in his empire. This empire contained 127 cities subjected to his sceptre. So he sent his messengers to choose for him the women most remarkable, as far as possible, for their beauty, their grace and their spirit. When the choice of these women was done, Esther the Jew was among them. |220 (1)

The king then ordered that the hundred most beautiful and most intelligent women be chosen from among them. These hundred women were chosen, and Esther was among them. Among these hundred women, he ordered the ten most particularly remarkable for beauty, grace and spirit to be chosen. Ten of them were chosen, and Esther was among them. Again, he ordered three women to be chosen, from among these ten. Three of them were chosen, and Esther was still among them. Finally he ordered, from among these three, the one chosen who exceeded all the others by her beauty, grace and spirit. And, among these three, Esther, niece of Mordecai was chosen, because no woman exceeded her in beauty, grace and spirit. Then the king ordered Esther to embellish and prepare her ornaments for thirty days, at the end of which she would enter his house. From the day when she was presented and became queen in the place of Vachti, Mordecai remained at the door of the king and did not leave it. Haman, extremely annoyed and concerned about this attitude, employed a trick and a lie to gain the ascendancy over king Artaxerxes; he said to him: "In your empire, O king, there is a people or rather a small troop of Israelites. And he did not cease insisting until he had bought from the king, with the help of a predetermined amount of money, that he offered to him, [the heads] of |221 (1) all the Israelites who were in the towns of his empire.

The contract was signed between him and the king and the execution of the clauses were fixed by him for a specific date. Then the governors of all the cities of the empire received, by the messengers of Haman, the order to kill the Israelites who were there on the expiry of the fixed term, when they received the letter. He had a gibbet prepared, 120 cubits high, to hang Mordecai there; and he hid this gibbet in his house.

During that time, two eunuchs of Turkish origin, specially assigned to the bodyguard, one named Bagathan (Ba`thân) and other Tarech (Itnâh), devised a conspiracy and resolved to kill the king the same night. Mordecai, uncle of queen Esther, learned of this project and he discovered clear evidence of it, because he was assiduous and was attached to the palace. So he presented to Artaxerxes an honest report and gave him the evidence of the conspiracy of the two eunuchs. At nightfall, the king had them placed under surveillance. They did not know that the king knew about their actions. Therefore they were taken at the moment when Artaxerxes saw with his own eyes the evidence which had been presented to him. They acknowledged it; then they were put to death by order of the sovereign. |222 (1) That which concerns the report of Mordecai was written in the Book of the acts of the Kings. It is written that the king, during one sleepless night where he could not find sleep, had the history of the kings read to him. The secretary continued his reading until he came to the history of Mordecai and his report. Then the king said to the secretary: "What reward did we give this man?" - "The king did not reward him at all," he was told. So he ordered him to remind him of this business when morning came, in order to reward Mordecai; and at this moment sleep made heavy his eyelids and he fell asleep.

The day came, and Haman his minister, who was the first to enter to the king, was presented: "What would be, in your opinion, the right reward for a man whom the king wishes to distinguish and honour?" asked the sovereign. --- "Nobody, more than myself, has the favour of the king," Haman thought; and he said: "O king, this would his reward: this man must be mounted on the royal horse, your own crown placed on his head; then he who holds the bridle of his horse, having rolled up his clothing, will lead him around the city, shouting: |223 (1) This is the reward of the man whom the king wants to distinguish and honour!" - "So get up immediately," the king told him, "place Mordecai on the royal horse, place my royal crown on his head with a sign at his neck, take the bridle of his horse and do for him what you said!" Haman went out from the king and did for Mordecai what the king had ordered him. When he had returned home, sad and afflicted, his wife said to him: "What news? Why do I see you sad and sorry?" And he told her the story. "Of which people and which nation is this man?" asked the woman. "He is an Israelite," he answered. The woman remembered that formerly God had granted his help to Israelites against Amalekites; and she said to Haman: "Since this man is of the people of Israelites and you have already started to fall and to humiliate yourself before him, receive thus the humiliations which have happened to you." Then Mordecai remembered that the term fixed between the king and Haman approached, the term when the Israelites were to be massacred according to the clauses of the agreement. He then made a request to the queen Esther to speak to the king and he repeated several times his request on this subject.

The law of the Persian kings demanded that whoever presented themselves before the king |224 (1) without being called, had their the head cut off by the torturers, unless the king touched he who appeared before him with his sceptre . It was the sign of [royal] protection. Esther, who remembered this law of the (Persian) kings, feared for her life; but her uncle Mordecai insisted on it. Seeing her slownesses, he had said to her: "If you do not repurchase your life by saving the people of the Lord, i.e. the Israelites, the Lord who is their God will come graciously to their help. Otherwise you will be one of those who are sold by the king, one of those whom Haman must make die. So do not imagine you that you will be able to escape. Then the queen Esther had her uncle Mordecai asked to fast, pray and order all the virgins of Israel to fast at the same time as him, for three days and three nights. The queen Esther fasted and prayed for three days and three nights; then she was covered with sackcloth, prostrated herself on ashes and prayed, begging God with great cries to preserve her from the [anger] of the king and to save his people from the malice of Haman. On the fourth day, when her fast was finished, she dressed in her royal robes |225 (1) and presented herself before the king, while he was sitting on the throne. She was one of the prettiest and most gracious women.

The officers prepared to kill her. But the king extended his sceptre to her, which was with the kings of the Persians the sign of safety. He ran towards her, because she fell senseless to the ground. So the king arose from his throne, picked her up, put her head on his chest and started to stroke her face; and to support her, he placed her by his side on his throne.

"Ask of the king what you wish," he said to her. "I ask the king to come tomorrow to dine with me, with his minister Haman," she replied. He agreed to this and, the following day, he dined with her with his minister Haman. The meal finished, the king said to Esther: "Ask what you wish." --- "I ask the king and his minister Haman to return tomorrow to dine with me. The king accepted; and the following day he and his minister Haman dined with her. After dining the king said to her: "Ask what you wish. She answered: "I ask that the king and his minister Haman again dine with me tomorrow. The king accepted, and the following day he and his minister Haman dined with her once again. But a coolness and a feeling of jealousy towards his minister Haman slipped into |226 (1) the heart of the king. After dining he said to Esther: "Ask what you wish. The queen Esther answered: "What request could someone who is about to be put to death and to lose her life make, whose people will be exterminated? The king, filled with sadness and affliction, said to her: "But who has did this? She answered him: "It is he who is jealous of you because of me and who does not want you to have a wife like me, --- it is your minister Haman who is here. At that moment the sadness and affliction loosened the belly of the sovereign so much that it had to rush out.

Then he went out (of the latrines) and saw Haman prostrate himself before the queen Esther and kiss the end of her feet . Seized with jealousy, the king exclaimed: "What! you still want to dishonour us? Thus God heard the prayer of Mordecai, accepted his fast as well as the prayer of the queen Esther and all the Israelite women. The king gave orders that Haman was hanged; and somebody having reported to him that Haman had had made a gibbet, 120 cubits high, to hang Mordecai on, he |217 (2) ** ordered that his minister should be hanged on this gibbet. Thus God saved the Israelites and preserved them from the perfidy of Haman the Amalekite .

After Artaxerxes Longhand, Artaxerxes II reigned for two years ; after him, Sogdianos reigned for one year, and after him, Darius Nothos for 19 years. At that period lived Euclid the geometrician. In year 5 of the reign of Darius, the inhabitants of Egypt revolted against the Persians and, after having been under their yoke for 124 years, gave themselves a king. At the same period, flames coming from Mount Etna consumed a great number of cities. In that time, the Greeks acquired twenty-four letters; they had only sixteen before. Cadmus and Agenor, who were from Egypt, came to the town of Athens and brought there the sixteen characters, with which the Greeks wrote first of all. Here are these characters: |218 (2) Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ι Κ Λ Ν al-Alfa al-Bita al-Gama al-Delta Youta Qaba Lambd Nou Π Ρ C Τ Υ Φ Ω Bi Rau Sigma

Tau These characters are called Phoenician characters. Then Palamedes, of the town of Argos . . . , invented four other characters which are these: ΖΘΗΧ. Finally Simonides invented four other characters, i.e.: ΜΞΟΨ. It is said that the Egyptians invented the first the alphabet and that Phoenicians (learned it) from them. These were the letters that Cadmus had earlier brought into that country. Then the Greeks (learned the alphabet) following the Phoenicians. At that time, [the Greeks] had Socrates put to death: they made him drink poison and he died. After him his disciples Plato and Epicurus distinguished themselves, who taught various doctrines. |219 (2) In year 15 of king Artaxerxes, Africanus (Afriquiyons) invaded the country of Carthage (Carchedona) and captured it; after which this country was called Africa, from the name of Africanus. Then Artaxerxes II reigned for 27 years. At that period there took place the enumeration and census of the inhabitants of Rome; this census lasted for three years; and it was halted in consequence of the exhaustion of those who were doing it.

In that time, Nectanebo (Fastou), king of Egypt, fled to Ethiopia, because in the report of the omens, many armies were to founder on him. Some people say that he was the father of Alexander. The empire of the Egyptians was abolished for 42 years, until the time of Ptolemy, one of the servants of Alexander, son of Philip. In year 4 of the reign of king Artaxerxes, Aristotle, aged 17, was at the school of Plato. |220 (2) At that time, Philip, father of Alexander, began to reign in Macedonia; the name of his mother was Olympias. In year 13 of king Artaxerxes, Alexander, son of Philip was born, and Plato died. At the same period, Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, build a temple on Mount Garizim in imitation of that which was in Jerusalem. Then Darius, son of Arsaces, reigned for 6 years. In the first year of his reign, Alexander, son of Philip, the Macedonian, ascended the throne. He was 20 years old. He reigned initially over Hellas for 12 years and he lived 32 years. He subjected many regions and, after having made thirty-five kings perish, he captured their States; his army was made up of one hundred twenty thousand men; he had three horns on his head .

It was he who made the barrier to stop the invasions of Gog and of Magog. At that time, he gathered and assembled troops at the head of which |221 (2) he invaded [different] countries, making war with the kings of the whole world and seizing their States. So he arrived in the country of Sind and captured it; from there he prepared to invade India. So he sent part of his troops, and at their head one of his lieutenants named Seleucus, to call the Indians to obedience. Seleucus was ordered obtain their willing submission and, if they resisted, to fight them. Arriving at the border of India --- it was at the beginning of the winter --- Seleucus wrote to the Indians what Alexander had ordered him in their connection, and sent his letter by three notables from his army. The reading of this letter caused the Indians fear mixed with stupor; but they answered the proposals of Seleucus negatively, and let him know that he was not in a position to fight their troops. They retained his envoys, until they had arranged their troops; after which they started moving at the head of a multitude so numerous that no similar one has ever been seen. They brought a crowd |222 (2) of elephants, atop which they fought. They met Seleucus, who had not moved from his camp and who did not have time to arrange [his troops] in order of battle. He went out nevertheless with his army, and the two parties came to blows. But the cavalry of Seleucus, afraid at the sight of the elephants, dispersed and returned to the camp. Seleucus wrote then to Alexander to tell him about his situation and that of the Indians, their elephants which had put his cavalry to rout, and to ask him whether the battle should be begun again.

Alexander, having read the letter of Seleucus, convened his philosophers, communicated to them this letter and asked them their opinion in this respect. They said by mutual agreement that it was necessary to abstain from the war for the remainder of the winter, so as to undertake it then himself. Then he wrote to Seleucus, the head of his army, and ordered him to remain where he was, in the country of Sind, for the remainder of the winter. On this news, the Indians, who only asked the Greeks to leave them alone, moved away. Alexander profited from this delay and immediately made preparations: he gathered the workmen who could work bronze and ordered them to prepare forty hollow bronze elephants, resembling the elephants of |223 (2) the Indians, and to fill them with coal. The feet of these elephants were dismountable and could be assembled [at will]; below wheels were fitted on which they could advance. Alexander appointed guards to prevent anyone from approaching them and seeing them, because he had his reasons to hide them from the eyes of the people. He ordered the guards to follow one another without interruption in their activity and to the workmen to make the feet of the elephants solid and to arrange openings on their backs so that fire could be introduced.

The Indians, seeing that he for a long time did not concern himself with them, hoped to gain his friendship. They wrote to him without allowing anything of their fear appear and started talks by seeing that he had philosophers with him. The king of India made him a marvellous present and sent a letter to him in which he filled with praises the Indian philosophers who were with him. Then Alexander ordered his philosophers to answer. A correspondence began between them and differences of opinions were not slow in appearing in their ranks. The two kings entered into correspondence to organize a meeting of these philosophers. They discussed in their letters what the disagreement between Socrates, |224 (2) as we explained, and Hippocrates, Democritus, Aristotle and their followers, consisted of. The meeting of the philosophers was fixed for a day and an hour, to explain that which was disputed. And they met to this end.

Here is the letter of the king of India to Alexander on this subject: "To Alexander the greatest of kings, the king of India and all his subjects, greetings. May happiness, O king, enfold you; may your wisdom be perfect; may your health last a long time; may the whole earth belong to you; may your rank be high; may philosophy flower with you; may your people be submitted; may that be open for you what misfortune closes, and that for you be closed what misfortune opens; may all the desirable things of the world come to your hand; may the blows of fortune fall far from you; may you be sheltered from being surprised by evil; may the defense of your kingdom be well organized; may by you the hopes of your subjects increase; may noble children come to surround you; may your life be strengthened in the quietude of the heart as long as you enjoy life and by a plenitude of the intelligence until the end of the world; may your life be prolonged in health and may your troops be victorious to the borders of your empire; may you |225 (2) speak with glory about wisdom; may you enjoy this low world with all its goods; may your capabilities be strengthened by increase of your power; may God help you to find proven assistance; may you succeed in the rightness of your projects; may your worries be overcome by the experience of the government; may you be sheltered from the vicissitudes of fate! We and our subjects make these wishes for you and we inform you of this in our greetings because of our high opinion of you.

It is said that the earth has given you power over his countries; that all peoples obey you; that your power is greater than that of the kings of the earth, your contemporaries; that the result [of your enterprises] appeases the envy of your enemies; that your power cannot be abated; that you reign over the peoples of the four kings; and that you will reign thus until the end of time, [great] as the king who already rose among the Persians, and powerful like Nemrod, son of Chanaan, among all the other kings; so that your empire will shine with the splendour of the kings like a lamp; that its foundations will be solid like the mountains; that its sacrifices will burn like fire, and that its force will be as firm as iron; that it will live among the other kings, until the end of time, like the four elements: water, fire, earth and air."

Such was the content of this letter. |226 (2) By order of Alexander his philosophers answered, but they shortened part of the title of the king (of India), because their opinion on this subject was different. Here is the reply of Alexander: "On behalf of Alexander, the greatest king of the age and the earth, the support of the world, to the king of India. You have received a splendour without stain; you are adorned with the royal dignity and you have arrived at the utmost degree of virtue; you are famous for the greatness of your power. May there be a hand upon you to guard you; may your empire be durable; may the earth be subjected to you; may you get rid of the former kings, and may all power be given to you until the end of time!" The two kings, while they dealt with their correspondence and abstained from the war, did not scorn to make use of trickery, each against the other, being on their guard, and watching over the state of their business.

The king of India entered into correspondence with the king of China; he let him know that Alexander had attacked him, and told him what had occurred between them; he warned him to take care that Alexander did not attack him, once he had gained the victory over (himself); he asked him for help, assistance and |227 support, thus hoping to have strength and power to compensate for his weakness before the great force of Alexander, to overcome his resistance, to expel him out of his country and away if they fell out of agreement and understood each other. When the king of China had read his letter, as he knew his manner of thinking, as well as the accuracy of his intentions of which he wrote, and of his request, he sent a favourable answer to him; because he hoped to profit from all this; and he recognized, in his letter, the advantages of this enterprise. He let him know that he was beginning his preparations, that he was ready to start work at once and to employ all his power in this; [at the same time] he asked him to inform him of the moment when he would need his help.

Alexander learned this news, whereas he had already made his preparations and had completed all his work. A few days after announcing that he would set out, he left with his troops, arrived at the country of India and halted at the camp of Seleucus his lieutenant. He wrote to the king of India, to inform him and invite him |228 to make his submission; if not, he would declare war on him. He prepared couriers for the letter; and Alexander himself joined them secretly, because he wanted to see the place with his own eyes, to study it, so he could fight the Indians when he passed through their country, and to learn their position and to understand their situation.

The king of India received them with benevolence and filled them with favours; but he greeted them quickly, as opposed to what Alexander would have wished, and let him know in his answer that he would not await the arrival of Alexander, but that he would come to him with his troops. On this the king of India wrote and let the king of China know the intention that Alexander had conceived, and asked him to come more quickly with help, as he had written to him. Alexander chose an advantageous place for his army, at a distance of 30 parasangs from the residence of the king of India. As soon as he arrived in the camp of his army, he expedited the departure and started marching with a great quantity of provisions and food, camped in that place and forced the king of India to approach him, while he was still awaiting the help of the king of China. Learning this, the king of India |229 wrote a threatening letter to Alexander to intimidate him. Then he went out at the head of his troops and camped at a distance of a mile from the army of Alexander. The site of his camp was lower than that of the camp of Alexander, which was on a height.

Alexander let him know that he wanted to meet him in the morning. He arranged his bronze elephants in order, filled them with coal and, in the night, lit a fire in them. It was not yet day, when the fire produced a heat so intense that nobody could approach the elephants. The day having come, the king of India, who had arisen early in the morning with his troops, was surprised by the stratagem: he approached the camp of Alexander in an improvised way, having at the front of his army several elephants, ridden by warriors. When his elephants had approached and seen the elephants of Alexander, they started a combat with them, because the riders who were on the elephants believed that in fact the elephants of Sind were unaccustomed to combat; and the Indians attacked them imprudently. Then Alexander had his elephants pushed from behind straight against them; they were set moving and ran on their |230 wheels at high speed, because of the height and the slope of the ground. The elephants of the king of India did not delay in throwing themselves on them, as they were accustomed to doing during the engagements, and struck the elephants of Alexander with their horns, but they were burned and they escaped without looking behind them and without it being possible for their drivers to stop them; suffering terribly from their burns, they crushed all the Indian cavalry and foot whom they met; this threw the Indian cavalry into disorder, so that the king of India and his troops took flight. The troops of Alexander pursued them in all directions and killed a very great number of them.

After this the auxiliary troops of the king of China, agitated and drawn out, came to the king of India, with their tired beasts of burden. They halted in the camp of the Indians without movement or resources. Alexander, who was unaware of their situation, thought, after having seen their camp, that this was a trick on their part. So he gathered his philosophers |231 and said to them: "You have already seen with which speed their reinforcements arrived and what a state of exhaustion we are in; [you see] that we have fewer resources than they do. Yesterday, at nightfall, we had massacred them and made them perish. But hardly has the day begun, and their army has returned more numerous than before. What is your opinion on this, our situation and our position?" While they were reflecting, the oldest of their philosophers said: "I believe that we must attack them and fight them next Tuesday." However this opinion was pronounced on Wednesday, seven days before Tuesday.

The king of India was extremely sad for the Chinese help, because of their misery and the fatigue of their mounts. For this reason he gathered his astrologers who examined the same question as Alexander, concerning the suspension of the war and the request which he had made, to examine what was better and easier than war. Their letter and their request agreed with the desire which Alexander had for a suspension of the fighting, because he had seen their situation with his own eyes. Then he called his philosophers and said to them: "Let's go and visit the enemy, listen to them, enter into argument with them and try to learn their intentions; then we will act |232 as seems best." They carried out this order; and after listening to the Indians, they left, inviting them to come to see Alexander. Then the Indian philosophers accompanied them to hear the answer of Alexander on this subject. However he had prepared some of his notables and his cavalry for them, to which he had told his intentions and his words. The meeting took place under these conditions. [The Greeks] told the Indians that they were very sad at the march of Alexander, his arrival on their premises and that he had invaded their kingdom, because the two sides were in an obvious error and a manifest mistake, in massacring each other because of these two kings. They acted as Alexander had ordered them, and gave them his answer.

Hearing these words, the Indians fell into agreement with them and said that it was also their opinion. Other (companions of Alexander) said: "Your king is very powerful in his physical force and his art of drawing up horse; and our king is small in size and weak, and he does not know the art of drawing up horse. If you have the same intentions and the same desires, urge your king to fight in single combat with our king, we will do the same with ours, and one of them will be inevitably |233 victorious. Then we will rest, we and you, from this war and this calamity." The Indians went off after having accepted these conditions and not doubting the sincerity of the Greeks in any way; this confidence filled them with joy, and they said to the Greeks: "Let us set to work, both of us!" Having taken the answer that Alexander had made to their letter, they left, without having obtained an audience of the latter.

When they arrived in their camp, they informed their companions of this project, which had the general approval of the multitude. They did not doubt that the victory would be with the king of India, their Master, if the meeting took place. What led Alexander to this daring enterprise was his conviction that he would die only after his return and his arrival at Rome; he did not have any doubt in this respect: he thus entrusted to himself. The Indians did not cease to pester their king until he had agreed to fight in single combat with Alexander, provided that the empire would belong to the winner. They entered in correspondence on this subject, made their conventions and, by mutual agreement, set the meeting for the seventh day, which, according to their calculation, was a Tuesday. |234 Alexander ordered his companions to prepare a short lance for him, in the handling of which he was skilful so that he never missed. Then he went out with his troops, and the other arrived with his, and the two armies lined up in good order. The two kings came out from the ranks. Alexander, who spoke the language of the Indians, said to the king of India: "You are a giant, while I am small and weak; however you fear me and my position fills you with terror; you have asked others for help against me." The king of India, irritated by these words, said: "What need have I to beseech help against you?" Alexander answered him: "Of the rider which is behind you!" The king of India turning to look behind him, Alexander stabbed him in the nape of his neck with a blow of his lance: thus he struck him a mortal blow, when the former turned his head. He fell dead from his horse and his companions carried him away. The two armies returned to their camps.

Alexander then ordered the Indians to come to him and he gave this speech to them: "I have no intention of either remaining in your country, or taking your goods; I ask you only for obedience. If every year you bring to me, on the same day, a bag of earth from your country, that will be for me the sign |235 of your submission. Go, choose a king and let him reign over you." Then Alexander left them. The Indians, surprised at his language, encouraged and delighted by his speech, returned to their companions, and everyone was delighted by the news which they brought. Then they carried gifts to Alexander, piled up the rarest things of their country for him, sent many sumptuous processions to him and loaded him with presents. They indicated to him the place in their country where the Chinese were camped and asked Alexander to treat them in the same way. They asked him moreover to give them a king of their own sort. He agreed to this and gave them as king the one whom they had chosen. Then Alexander left them, traversed the country around them and behind them, as far as the borders. After which he left for Babylon.

During this march through the desert, Alexander felt weak and found himself ill with sunstroke: he got down from his horse. His companions put him at the shade of their gold-covered shields. But he did not improve. Towards the end of the day, he ordered them to lead him to the nearest village. They did as he ordered, and he spent the night there. At the dawn of the day, the illness had worsened: he asked for the name |236 of this village, and when it was reported to him that he was called Roumiya al-Madaïn (Rome), he lost any hope, persuaded that he was predestined that death was to strike him in Rome in a house of gold. Feeling overcome by the disease, he spoke to make his will; and as he did not have any heirs, he spoke in favour of Seleucus, his lieutenant, whom he indicated should succeed him in Babylon. Death struck Alexander in this place. He had lived 32 years in this world below and reigned for twelve years. It is told that one of his servants gave him poison to drink in this locality and thus killed him. Ptolemy, who reigned after him, carried him to Alexandria and buried him there .

When his officers (litt. his servants) learned the news of his death, each of them seized the region where he had established them as lieutenants: among them, there was Ptolemy, son of Lagos , who reigned over Egypt for 40 years; Philip who reigned over Macedonia and Antigonia; Demetrius who reigned over Syria and Asia; Seleucus which marched against Egypt in year 13 of Ptolemy, son of Lagos, who conquered Syria and, having pursued Demetrius to Asia, killed him. He was Master of Asia, Syria and Babylon where he reigned for 32 years. |237 At that time, Antiochus built Antioch and gave it his name. At that time, Seleucus built Apamea, Aleppo, Kinnesrin, Edessa (ar-Rohâ), Seleucia and Laodicea. The celebrated Simeon, son of Jechonias, was then the high priest of the Jews; he had as successor his brother Eleazar. In year 9 of the reign of Ptolemy, Antiochus the Great subjugated the Jews: having come to Judaea where they lived, he made them slaves. In year 11, Ptolemy Epiphanes sent Scopas, one of his generals, besieged the cities of Syria and Judaea and captured them. Antiochus the Great went to meet him, in year 11 of the reign of Ptolemy. Antiochus then made war on the Romans who overcame him and took his son Antiochus Epiphanes as a hostage, in the town of Rome. He was obliged to give them each year a thousand talents of silver. |238

Ptolemy, in year 13 of his reign, made a peace treaty with Antiochus which gave him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, and Ptolemy accepted from him Syria and Phoenicia as a dowry. In year 17 of Ptolemy, Antiochus the Great was killed in the country of Persia; he was stoned in the temple of a god. After him, his son reigned for 12 years. At that time, Simon or Simeon addressed a petition to Apollonius, head of the army in Phoenicia, promising to give him much gold. When Seleucus learned by the report from his general Apollonius that there was much gold in the Temple of Jerusalem, he sent an army. But God punished him, and he was put at death. In year 131 of the Greeks, Ptolemy Philometor ascended the throne and reigned 35 years. At that time, Aristobulus flourished, who translated the Torah [into Greek] for King Philometor. |239

In year 6 of Ptolemy and 137 of the Greeks, in the indiction when Antiochus, son of Antiochus, began to reign ---- the one who had been hostage in the town of Rome, ---- Antiochus marched to make war on Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Prevented from doing so by the Romans, he returned to Judaea and gave the sovereign pontificate to Jason (Sim`oun), brother of Onias, son of Jechonias. Then he removed it from him and gave it to Onias, called Menelaus. This dissension which broke out between them, was the cause of evils and afflictions for the Jews. In the year 14 of the reign of Ptolemy and 145 of the Greeks, in the second indiction, Antiochus Epiphanes ascended the throne and reigned for eight years. He sent a general from his companions with a strong army against Jerusalem. Capturing it by trickery, on the 25 of the month of Kanoun I (Dec.), he entered the Temple and defiled it; he set up on the altar of the Temple the desolation and ruin about which the prophet Daniel speaks. It was a statue of Olympian Zeus. He also placed an(other) statue of Zeus Xenios, on |240 Mt. Garizim. He had the Books of the Law burned. He oppressed all the Israelites until they followed the path [of the gentiles] and adhered to their errors.

But Mathathias, son of John, son of Simeon the priest, of the family of Jonadab, who lived in Mod`im, rose up. He had five son: John called Gaddis (Khafis), Simeon called Tarsi, Judas called Maccabeus, Eleazar Haurân and Jonathan called Hîfous (Apphus). They were seized with zeal and ardour to defend the Law of the Lord. They covered themselves with sack-cloth and were deeply grieved. One of them who was near this idol, --- taken there to make him sacrifice, --- he saw a Jew then approaching to offer a sacrifice to this idol. Inflamed with anger, he seized him and killed him. He killed the chief who was obliging them to sacrifice; after which he destroyed the idol and fled into the mountain with those which were zealous for the law of the Lord. Then an old man named Eleazar, chief of the doctors of the Law, was taken; after having endured cruel torments, he died; but he did not sacrifice, because he wanted to observe the law. |241

Also a woman, named Chamouni (Achmounith), and her seven sons were taken; they were brought into the presence of king Antiochus and were each of her sons subjected separately to the various torments: for the first one the extremities of all the members were cut off, then he was thrown into a boiling pot; for the second one they tore off the skin of his head; for the third one they cut off his tongue. As for the fourth, he said to the king: "For me death is good, because I hope to be reborn, and I will not sacrifice to the idols". After the death of these seven brothers, their mother Achmounith died in her turn. They were buried in Antioch. In their memory a great church was built; in their honour also every year a great fair was held, accompanied by a great festival. We have told here their history and their sufferings, because they were the first who suffered martyrdom to testify to their obedience to our Lord Christ.

At that time, the Jews were allowed to transgress the Sabbath, to fight [enemies] who wanted to attack them on that day. |242 In year 148 of the Greeks and 17 of Ptolemy, Mathathias died, and after him his son Judas Maccabeus became governor of the Jews for three years. He was strong and fought for the cause of the people of Israel. The same year, Judas purified the Temple of the impure idols and iniquities which defiled it. In year 149 of the Greeks and 18 of Ptolemy, Antiochus Epiphanes died, struck by a cruel disease, in the country of the Persians. Antiochus (Eupator) reigned after him for two years. The following year, Antiochus sent a large army of 120,000 men to Jerusalem to deport the people of the Jews. Eleazar, called Haurân, saw a large elephant; believing that it carried the king, he placed himself below it and pierced its belly with his sword; the disembowelled elephant fell on Eleazar who died. After the battle, the bodies were gathered and buried in Jerusalem. In collecting them, the gold of these idols was found in the clothing of a man. Then Judas Maccabeus sent three thousand |243 drachmas to the priests of Jerusalem, requesting them to offer a sacrifice for those who had died, and to intercede for them, because he hoped for the resurrection of the dead.

At that time, the Romans and the Jews were linked by a peace treaty. In year 151 of the Greeks, Demetrius Soter, son of Seleucus, having left Rome, came (to Syria) and occupied the throne of his ancestors for twelve years. Because of him (his soldiers) killed Antiochus and Lysias, his confidant. At that time, after the death of the high priest Menelaus, Alcimus the impious, who was not a Jew, became high priest by simony. At this spectacle Onias, son of Onias, fled to Egypt where he built a city and a temple in imitation of that of Jerusalem. But God struck Alcimus the impious and killed him. In his place Judas Maccabeus was established and, after the death of the latter, Jonathan his brother who was at the same time governor of the people and high priest. He fought against Bachides, general of Demetrius, and overcame him. |244

In year 160 of the Greeks, Demetrius left for Egypt and captured it. Then the king of Egypt gave him in marriage his daughter Cleopatra. Others say that it was the eldest daughter of Ptolemy Evergetes. Anastasius (?) bishop of Rome, says about this that it accomplished the word of the prophet Daniel who said: "The daughter of the city of the south will be given to the north." Theodoret, bishop of Cyr, said: "In her whom Ptolemy Epiphanes gave in marriage to Antiochus the Great, was accomplished [the prophetic word of Daniel "], etc. . In year 165 of Alexander, Ptolemy Evergetes ascended the throne and reigned 29 years. At that time, John (Younân) became high priest and governor of the Jews. In year 167 of the Greeks and 3 of Ptolemy, Demetrius, son of Demetrius, [called] Siderites , was killed, after having reigned for three years. Jonathan the high priest was killed, in year 170, by the perfidy of Tryphon, head of the army of Demetrius. His brother Simon succeeded him for three years. |245

At that time, Ptolemy gave his daughter in marriage to Demetrius, and [with her] the kingdom of Alexander. In year 174 [of the Greeks], Antiochus, brother of Demetrius, called Sidetes, ascended the throne of Syria and reigned for nine years. At that time, Simon sent to the king of Rome some gold tablets and made with him a treaty [of alliance] on a bronze tablet. At the same time, the high priest Simon sent John, his son, against Cendebeus (Qandoubyous), head of the army of Antiochus. When he had overcome him and destroyed his army, he freed the Jews from a slavery which had lasted for 28 years; they were also freed from the tribute. It is certain indeed that since the reign of Seleucus Nicator and the beginning of the Greek era, the Jews had paid the tribute to the kings of Syria. In this year the second history of the Maccabees finishes. |246

In year 177 of the Greeks and 21 of Ptolemy, Simon, son of Onias, was killed in the month of chebat (February), and his son John succeeded him; but Ptolemy killed him. John was the one called Hyrcanus; he was high priest for 28 years. From this time date the rulers of Edessa; they fulfilled their functions until the time of the other kings who were of the family of Abgar, king of Edessa. In year 182 of the Greeks and 17 of Ptolemy, Arsaces, the Parthian, killed Antiochus Sidetes. Demetrius, son of Demetrius, his brother, succeeded him for four years. After the latter [Antiochus] Grypos (ὁ Γρυπός) reigned for 12 years. After this Antiochus laid seige to Jerusalem, with which he reduced the inhabitants to an extreme embarrassment. Seeing their lassitude, John Hyrcanus opened the tomb of the prophet David, who was richest of all the kings, and took 3,000 talents of gold from it; he gave 300 of the talents to Antiochus who moved away from Jerusalem. |247

At that time, Hyrcanus devastated the town of Samaria; then he rebuilt it and called it Sebastia. In this year which is year 186 of the Greeks, during which Antiochus ascended the throne and besieged Jerusalem, begins the dating of the Tyrians. In year 194, Ptolemy Soter ascended the throne and reigned for 17 years. After this Hyrcanus, ruler of the Jews, went with Antiochus to the war, and they killed Indates, the general of the king of the Parthians. In year 198, Antiochus Cyzicenus ascended the throne of Syria and reigned for 18 years. At that time, there was a shock and an earthquake in the town of Rhodes; and the Colossus fell. In year 205, John Hyrcanus died, and his son Aristobulus succeeded him for one year. He was high priest; he was also the first king of the Jews, in the 484 years since the temple had been set afire and their kingdom destroyed. But |248 Aristobulus had a brother called John or Alexander and another called Antigonus; he killed this one by trickery and jealousy. And in the very place where it had shed the blood of his brother, his own blood was shed. John, their father, had prophesied, indeed, that they would not be very good in government. Their father was a veracious man, who spoke with inspiration about God .

In year 207, after the death of Aristobulus, John-Alexander reigned for 27 years. He governed the people of Israel with harshness, severity and roughness. At that time, Ptolemy Soter was driven out by his mother, the queen Cleopatra, who deprived him of power. Ptolemy Alexander succeeded him for 10 years. In year 211 of the Greeks, the dating of the Ascalonites starts, from the 208th year of the Greeks . In year 216 of the Greeks and 5 of Ptolemy, Epiphanes, head of the troops, killed Antiochus Cyzicenus, after he had burned his presents. Philip reigned after him over Syria for two years . |249 After that, in year 217, the kingdom of Syria ceased to exist. In year 222 of their era, Ptolemy ascended the throne. This is he who lived eight more years. From his time, a census was taken of the inhabitants of Rome. 470,300 of them (460,300) were counted .

Ptolemy, who was over there also, was burned by the Thracians . In year 230, Ptolemy Dionysius ascended the throne of Egypt and reigned for 30 years. In year 5 of his reign and 234 of the Greeks, John-Alexander died, and Alexandra, called Salina, ruled for 9 years. She observed the precepts of the Law carefully and punished those who transgressed it. Then she made her son Hyrcanus high priest. But when he was raised [to this dignity], rivalries broke out among the Jews. After many disturbances, it was agreed concerning both (sons of Alexandra), that Hyrcanus would be high priest and Aristobulus king. Pompey, general of the Romans, came then, |250 seized Aristobulus and deported him in chains to Rome. He established the high priest Hyrcanus in his place. In the year 14 of Ptolemy and 243 of the Greeks, Hyrcanus started to rule and ruled for 33 years as high priest.

At that time, the Romans devastated Antioch, the city of Syria, made the Jews subject again and imposed a tribute on them; they refounded several cities. Then they gave governors to the Jews, of which the first was called Antipater. This Antipater, who belonged to the gentiles, was the son of a hegemon named Herod. The Idumeans, i.e. the children of Edom, descendants of Lot, during one of their expeditions, had attacked a temple of Apollo which was close to the ramparts of the town of Ascalon, and had made Antipater captive. And as his father did not have the money to repurchase him and deliver him, Antipater his son remained in their hands and departed with them. This young man, having recovered his freedom, took as his wife the daughter of Arethas, king of the Arabs, whose name was |251 Aritâh; his name for her was Cypris. He then became the friend of Hyrcanus, the high priest of the Jews, fought vigorously in his favour and supported him in his contentions with his brother. Then on behalf of Hyrcanus, he went to find Pompey, the general of the Romans. And this is why he also became the friend of the Romans, who liked him and established him in their name as procurator of the Jews. Antipater had [four] sons by Cypris the Jewess (the Arab): Joseph, Pherorah, Phasaël and Herod, and a girl who was called Salome. As for Phasaël and Joseph, they became, a little time afterwards, procurators of the Jews. As for Antipater their father, he died, poisoned by one of his wine waiters. His son Herod went to Rome and after receiving there the royal power over the Jews, he returned. It is this Herod who lived at the time of Christ Our Saviour; we will speak soon about him and his family.

In year 259 of the Greeks and 30 of Ptolemy, those who are called ὕπατοι (consuls) took up their duties; they were named Caius Julius and Marcus Antonius. This same year, after the death of Ptolemy, Cleopatra in Egypt reigned for 22 years. |252 In the 2nd year of the reign of Cleopatra, Pompey, general of the Roman army, was killed in battle. Then the deeds of the Maccabees finished. The Jews concluded a treaty with the Romans and made them an act of submission. The first book of the Maccabees includes 2,766 verses, the second 5,600. From the beginning of the Maccabees, i.e from the 93 Greek year, until the end of their history, 168 years are counted. In year 5 of the reign of Cleopatra and 264 of the Greeks, the dating of the Antiochians starts. This year began on the Monday after the leap year. From Adam to that year there were 5,461 years

In this same year, the Romans considered it convenient to convene their senate (σύγκλητος) which numbered 320 men, and whose meeting |253 was called βουλή. They made one of these consuls of which we spoke, emperor: this was Caius Julius; [he reigned] for four years. He was also called Caesar, in the language of the Romans, because his mother died while he was still moving in the womb; the entrails of the mother were opened and he was taken out; then he was raised until his majority. He reigned over the Romans, in Rome, and he rose above the kings, by saying that he had not been born as they had been born, and that he had not come out where they had left, wanting to imply that he had not come out by the way that modesty hides. The month Quintilis, which is the month mesori (?) i.e. tammouz, was also called since that time, Julius (July), because it was in this month that the emperor Julius started to reign.

After the death of Julius, in year 268 of the Greeks, Augustus Caesar succeeded him for 56 years and six months. Concerning the two days which are missing in the month chebat , it is written |254 that at the time of [Manlius] Capitolinus (Qabiton), general of the Roman army, a troop of cavalry having invaded his country, he made war on it and overcame it. But one of the Roman Generals who was called Februarius (Frourious) and other depraved men made opposition to Qabiton and removed the power which he had over the Romans from him. The enemy cavalry, having heard and learned that Qabiton had been just removed, advanced and seized Rome during the night. The generals fled with Februarius and took refuge in the Capitol, the temple of the idols; then they sent to Qabiton: "We have done wrong and we are guilty. Gather the Romans on the side where they will be able to seize the Capitol. Deliver us, and we will make you king." He then gathered an army of Romans and, during the night, (attacked) the town of Rome on three sides and confined the attackers in the middle; then having killed them, as well as the head of their troop, he reigned over the Romans. Februarius, who wanted to deliver the city to the enemy, was seized; he was put in a net, made to ride an ass, and struck with blows of sticks and rods, while saying to him: "Agba, Frourié!" which means: "Get out, O Chebât (February)!" Then he was thrown in the sea. The king ordered that |255 this month should bear the name of Februarius, so that, each year, his evil memory would be an object of contempt.

As for these two days during which the unexpected attack of the enemy expedition had taken place, which had gone against Rome, they were rejected, because this event had taken place on the 28th of the month; but one of these two days was added to the month of phibin (?) , which is Temmouz (July), and the other to the month of Kanoun II (January), so that each of these two months had thirty one days. After some time, another king reigned over the Romans and said: "It is not appropriate that the month of chebat, i.e. February, is in the middle of the year." He thus removed it and placed it at the end of the year before March, which is Adhar. It was he who called one month Julius, after his name, and the other Augustus, after the name of his uncle. For this reason Chebat has two days less. Since this time, the Romans have not ceased to believe in bad omens in the month of Chebat and to believe that the demon appears in this month and that the malignant spirits dominate then.

In year 8 of the reign of Augustus Caesar and 275 of the Greeks, in the 146th Olympiad, the kingdom and the priesthood of the Jews were abolished. |256 Herod, son of Antipater, who, as we have reported, was of the race of the gentiles, reigned over the Jews for 37 years. As for Hyrcanus the high priest of the Jews, he was taken into captivity in the country of the Parthians; on his return, Herod had him killed with his son Jonathan. Then the word of Jacob was accomplished, the chief of the Patriarchs, who had said: "(The sceptre) will not be removed from Judah, nor the legislator from among his feet, until he comes to whom the kingdom belongs and whom the people await." And in truth, it is at that time, after a short delay, that the advent of Christ took place. And in the same way the prophecy of Daniel was accomplished which the archangel Gabriel had revealed to him about the seven and the sixty two weeks which make 433 (483) years and which were completed [in that time; the first year was] the sixth of the reign of Darius, son of Hystaspes, in which the Temple of the Lord was finished, in the 6th Olympiad. From that time until Herod started to reign, all the rulers of the Jews were called Messiahs (anointeds), i.e. high priests. Then the existing priesthood ceased to exist and also the government formerly which they chose themselves in their own land . |257

When Herod had accepted the kingship from the Romans and had arrived in the country of the Jews, they opposed him. Then he made war on them without mercy, destroyed all the walls of Jerusalem and made a great number of Jews in the city perish; he seized the sacerdotal insignia which the high priest alone could wear. Herod took them to his own house and put them under seals; and he did not allow anybody to be high priest for more than one year. A little time afterwards, he established Aristobulus, son of Hyrcanus, brother of his wife, as high priest; then he had him killed and established Hananiel in his place. In the year 14 of the reign of Augustus Caesar and 7 of the reign of Herod, the emperor Augustus marched against Antony , the general of his army, who had risen against him and who was under the domination of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Augustus vigorously made war on both of them, overcame them, seized the two sons of Cleopatra who were called Sun and Moon and put them to death. It is said that these two sons, being unable to escape him, killed themselves with their own hands. The kingdom of Egypt then ceased to exist and fell under the domination of the Romans . |258

At that time, there was a census in the town of Rome; the inhabitants were counted and four million hundred sixty-four thousand were found. Augustus, in year 18 of his reign, sent Tiberius, general of the Romans, into Armenia, who also subjected the Parthians and gave freedom to the inhabitants of Samos. At that time, the Romans started to call the day which arrived every four years 'bissextile'; i.e.: idus πρὸ ἕξ καλανδῶν Μαρτιῶν. As for the Greeks, they call it Βίσεξτον. In year 28 of the reign of Augustus, Herod built cities, walls, many fortresses; he also built a city and called it Caesarea, in honour of Caesar. Previously this city bore the name of "Strato's Tower". At that time, Sextus the Pythagorean philosopher was illustrious. [Judas] the Galilean and Sadoc, of the town of Gamala, were impostors. They revolted, and said: "In truth, it is not allowed to pay the poll-tax and to give us mortal masters." |259

In year 42 of the reign of Augustus Caesar, 35 of the reign of Herod, 46 of Antiochenians, 309 of the Greeks, in the first indiction, the 2nd year of the 19th Olympiad, Our Lord and Saver Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, town of Judaea, προ ̀ ὀκτω ̀ καλανδῶν̓Ιανουαριῶν, on the twenty-fifth day of Kanoun I (December). From Adam to that year there were in total 5,566 years. The beginning of this year fell on a Monday. According to the calculation of the Greeks, it was the twelfth day of the moon, and according to the calculation of the Romans it was the sixteenth day. The previous year in which Christ was conceived, the 25th day of the month of Adhar (March), had begun on a Sunday. According to the lunar calculation of the Greeks, it was the first day of the year, and according to the calculation of the Romans, the fifth day. In this year, the moon was intercalated.

The year before the birth of Christ, Cyrinus, ἡγεμω τῆς συγκλέτου (president of the senate), an assembly which governed the empire, was sent to count the population of Judaea subjected to the capitation tax. In fact he was ὕπατος (consul) |260 and belonged to those who gathered in the βουλή (senate). However, when everyone was going to enroll in his city, Joseph, husband of Mary, also went up to register in the town of Bethlehem; and at this point in time Christ was born. The Greek scholar Longinus, who also reports [the events of] this time in the third part of his book, where he treats of the war and victory of the Romans over Antioch, a town of Syria, wrote to Caesar: "Some Persians who have come from the East entered your States and offered presents to a little child born in Bethlehem; we have not yet learned who he is, and whose son." Then Augustus sent to Longinus the following letter: "Herod, the satrap (governor), whom we set up over there, over the Jews, will write to us and will make everything known to us."

As for the king of the Persians who had sent the Magi, he was called Pharansoun. In year 44 of Augustus, these Magi came to the Christ who, |261 according to some, was then two years old. But Cyril and Africanus along with others tell that Christ was seven days old at the time of the arrival of the Magi. This opinion is more probable, because in the images and the effigies of many churches, we have found the Magi and the pastors represented beside Christ and of her mother Mary . We have also showed that Christ was born in year 35 of the reign of Herod who reigned for 37 years. If Christ had been two years old, Herod would have been dead. Then the Gospel tells of the escape of Joseph with Christ into Egypt and his two years stay in Egypt, until the death of Herod and the advent of his son Archelaus, who succeeded him.

Herod, seeing that the Magi had not kept their word, then sent to kill all the children of Bethlehem and the surrounding region, who were two years old and below, according to the indications provided by the Magi . |262 When pure Mary gave birth to Christ Our Saviour, she was thirteen years old; she died aged 51 years and five years after the Ascension of Christ. In year 307 of the Greeks, the 24th of the month of Eloul (September), John, son of Zachariah, was conceived; he was born on the 24 of the month of Haziran (June), in the year 308 of the Greeks. Mary received the message on the 25th of the month of Adhar (March), six months after the conception of John. Nine months after, in year 309 of the Greeks and the 25th of Kanoun I (December), Christ was born in Bethlehem and he was circumcised there, at the age of eight days. At the end of forty days he was carried to the temple, and it is there that the old man Simeon took him in his arms. It is from there [also] that Joseph fled with him into Egypt.

We already told that at the time of the death of Herod, Christ was two years old; we stated that Christ was born in year 35 of the reign of Herod who reigned thirty-seven years. So if, at the time of the arrival |263 of the Magi, Christ had been two years old, Herod would have been dead. It is said that the year when the Magi had their vision, [Christ] withdrew into Egypt, where he remained for two years; that after this Joseph, learning of the death of Herod, left Egypt when Christ was already four years old: this is the opinion of a certain number. But here the truth: Christ withdrew into Egypt, at the age of forty days, because we have already showed that Herod died two years after the birth of Christ; and that proves that he remained in Egypt only for the two last years of the life of Herod, because the Gospel says: "Joseph, having learned that Herod had died, left Egypt and went to Nazareth, where Christ was raised." The Gospel says [also] that the Magi came to Jerusalem and learned about the birth of Christ; that the Jewish scholars told Herod, when he questioned them on the same subject, that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem; that Herod sent the Magi to obtain information on Christ. The Gospel says [finally] that the Magi returned to their country by another way and did not return again to Herod. That proves that the Magi did not come to Christ in Jerusalem.

So we say that Christ was born in year 35 of the reign of Herod, two years before the end of his reign; that the same year when Christ |264 was born, Joseph and his Mary mother took him and went away into Egypt, where he remained for two years until the death of Herod; that Herod, after having lived 70 years and reigned 37 years, died in year 44 of the reign of Augustus Caesar, which is the 311th year of the Greeks. This is one of the proofs that Christ remained in Egypt for two years and that Joseph took him there immediately after he had been carried in the arms of the old man Simeon, who had said by an inspiration of the Holy Spirit that he would not taste death before he had seen the Christ Our Lord. At the temple he thus took Christ in his arms and requested the Lord to let him die, saying: "It is now, Lord, that You may let Your servant die in peace, because my eyes have seen the salvation that You have prepared for all the people, like the light which will illuminate the nations, and for the glory of Your people of Israel."

There are other accounts about which the Gospel says nothing. Simeon, being upright, with the Christ in his arms, rendered up his spirit. The people who saw this wonder, Simeon dead and standing with Christ in his arms, told that of which they had been the eyewitnesses. |265 The news came to Herod after the departure of the Magi for Bethlehem. If Christ had been two years old before his escape into Egypt, Herod would be dead and could not have said to the Magi: "Go and inform yourselves about the child; and when you find him, return here and let me know it, so that I may worship him." Consequently the account of those which believe that the Magi saw Christ in Jerusalem is lacking in truth. The Gospel did not need to tell the stories about which we spoke. From these considerations and other similar ones, it results that the Magi and the shepherds arrived at the time of the birth of Christ, as our ancestors represented it in the churches .

Herod died of a bitter and cruel disease. It is said that first he killed his wife, following an argument which he had with her in the bed where they slept together; finally his wife quarrelled with him so much, that Herod arose, took her pillow, placed it on the face of his wife and remained sitting until she died. He then killed his daughter and several of |266 his close relations, because he was in the grip of a strong access of madness. His entrails were covered with ulcers which caused him violent pains; his feet were swollen with gout; his pubis and his testicles broke up and swarmed with worms; terrible and persistent ulcers covered his body. Tortured by the pain and the suffering, Herod took a knife and an apple; he started to cut apple, hoping to benefit from the carelessness of those who surrounded him, to strike himself in the heart with a blow of the knife. But they realized it and did not let him do it. Then he also said to his sister Salome and to her husband: "I know that the Jews will make a great festival after my death and that they will be delighted much by it. So let us gather all those who are joined together here, put them in prison and kill them, so that the Jews, when they gather, weep for me, out of liking or perforce." It was thus that Herod died in atrocious suffering, and that God punished him to avenge the massacre of the innocent children, [a massacre committed] in spite and bold enmity against God, who is powerful and great .

We have written this according to what the scholars say who lived at that time. But [others] say that all these trials struck him before the massacre of these children, before his unjust and daring acts against God. |267 Herod had nine wives and [eight] sons: by Doris, he had Antipater who killed his brothers and was finally killed by his father; by Mary, daughter of the high priest Hyrcanus, whom Herod had killed, Aristobulus and Alexander, who lost their lives by the intrigues of their brother Antipater, and another Herod, called Antipas , who married Herodias, the wife of his brother, and killed John the Baptist, because the latter exhorted him and condemned him for marrying the wife of his brother. Herodias hated him and did not cease inventing tricks to make him die. On the anniversary day of his birth, Herod made a feast for all the important people of his court and Herodias sent her daughter, who danced before king Herod. He with all the guests were charmed at her dance. He had agreed beforehand with her that she would ask for the death of John, promising to give her his head in a dish. Herod thus promised to give her anything she asked, be it half of his kingdom; and when Herodias asked for the head of John from him, he sent |268 into the prison one of his torturers, who cut off the head of John the Baptist and brought it. Herod then gave it to the girl, who took it and carried it to her mother.

Herod Antipas had by Malkous the Samaritan Archelaus, who reigned after him; by Cleopatra the Jerusalemite another Herod who lived as a private man and Philip who was put to death by his brother, the kidnapper of his wife; by Pallas, he had Phasaël . (Herod) had then three grandsons: Aristobulus, brother of Alexander; Herod who was king of Chalcis ; Agrippa called Herod, who had James, the brother of Christ Our Lord, killed with a sword, and who was eaten by worms; it is also he who seized and took away the kingdom of his uncle Herod. His children were Agrippa, who succeeded him, and two girls: Berenice and Drusilla. Drusilla married the procurator (ἡγεμών) Felix of whom the Acts of the Apostles (αἱ Πράξεις) speak. Now we go back to tell that, after the death |269 of Herod, who was struck by the punishments which we have described, his son Archelaus succeeded him in the 45th year of the reign of Augustus Caesar, which is the 312th year of the Greeks. At the same time, Augustus named also Herod, called Antipas, brother of Archelaus, tetrarch of the Jews; he named Felix governor of Trachonitis and Lysanias governor of Abilene.

At that time, a census was made in the town of Rome; the inhabitants were counted and four million hundred one thousand of them were found. It was then also that, for several reasons and for his failures, Archelaus was sent in exile to Vienne, a town of Galatia (of Gaul). After him Herod the tetrarch reigned over the Jews for twenty-eight years. Augustus Caesar died in year 54 of his reign, at the age of 75 years. Tiberius Caesar was his successor for 23 years and lived 78 years. |270 At that time, there was a great panic and many earthquakes, during which 13 cities were overturned . In year 7 of the reign of Tiberius, Philip the tetrarch built a city, which he called Caesarea Philippi. Herod also built Tiberias, to which he gave the name of Tiberius Caesar. In the year 14 of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, which is the 357th year of the Greeks, Pilate who from the town of Pontus (Bontos), in the country of Euxine , was sent [to Judaea] and started to drive out the Jews from the country of Tiberius Caesar.

The following year, which is the year 5,535 from Adam and the origins of the world, year 75 of the Antiochians, at the end of the 201th Olympiad, in the 15th indiction, which is year 15 of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Christ Our Lord, thirty years old, was baptized by John the Baptist, son of Zachariah, in the river of the Jordan, on the 6th of the month of Kanoun II (January), a Sunday. Christ was born on a Tuesday. |271 Christ, Our Lord and Master, starting from his baptism and after having fasted for forty days and forty nights in the desert where He was tempted by the impostor, started to work wonders and miracles, for three and a half years. The first miracle of Our Lord Christ took place at the wedding at Cana in Galilee, when He changed water into an exquisite wine. Then He gave the ten Beatitudes; He taught the prayer to His disciples; He purified the leper; He cures the sick, delivered the possessed, opened the eyes of the blind, returned speech to the dumb and revived the dead.

With the assistance and the help of Christ, the stories, the accounts and the tales of the Old Testament are finished; finished is the first part of the book of the origins of the world, which tells the stories, the tales and the accounts of the world for the first centuries and the ages passed, age by age; [which tells] of the happy or unhappy events of all the times, i.e. the news, facts and descriptions from the beginning of the world and Adam to the end of the Old Testament, until the accomplishment by Christ of all the figures which relate to Him in the |272 Books of Prophets and finally until the time, the month and the day, where Christ Our Lord went up to heaven: which took place on Thursday, 3rd (2nd) of the month of Iyar (May), because the Passover had fallen, that year, on Saturday, the 24th of the month of Adhar (March), and the day of Resurrection Sunday 25 of same month .

From here we will begin the second part of the History of the New Testament, from the time of the Rise of Christ Our Lord; we will recount and set forth all the accounts of the New Testament; we will report the opposing opinions, the events and the facts which took place in the whole world from this time until our own days. Then we will recount, point out and describe certain things which exist and which must happen; we will continue our account until the end of the world and until the consummation of the centuries, according to what the Prophets and the revealed Books of God say on this subject, because that gives satisfaction to the reason and allows it to follow the rules of the analogy, --- if God so wills! Selected footnotes 1. This seems to mean the Venerable Bede, "Bedae cui tribuitur septem miraculorum ordo". H. Schott, De septem orbis spectaculis quaestiones, Onoldi, 1891, p.5; see appendix, p. ii-iv.

1a. Compare this to a passage from Eusebius Ecclesiastical History concerning a statue at Panneas / Caesarea Phillippi :"But since I have come to mention this city, I do not think it right to omit a story that is worthy to be recorded also from those that come after us. For they say that the woman who had a haemorrhage, and who, as we learn from the sacred Gospels, found at the hands of our Saviour relief from her affliction, came to this place, and that her house was pointed out in the city, and that marvelous memorials of the good deed, which the Savior wrought upon her, still remained. For that there stood on a lofty stone at the gates of her house a bronze figure of a woman, bending on her knee and stretching forth her hands like a suppliant, while opposite to this there was another of the same material, an upright figure of a man, clothed in comely fashion in a double cloak and stretching out his hand to the woman; at his feet on the monument itself a strange species of herb was growing, which climbed up to the double cloak of bronze, and acted as an antidote to all kinds of diseases. This statue, they said, bore the likeness of the Lord Jesus. And it was in existence even to our day, so that we saw it with out own eyes when we stayed in the city." (Note contributed to the online text by David Blocker).

2. Cf. Josephus, Antiq. Jud. I. iii. 5. 3. George Syncellus, I. 54-5. Ksis = Ζίσουθρος. Michael the Syrian, I, 14. 4. George Sync., I, 83: ἕως Γαδείρων. 5. G. Sync., I, 82-83. Mich. the Syr., I, 15. Bar-Hebr., Ch. Syr., p. 7. 6. Luke, iv, 37. 7. Eratosthenes lived before Ptolemy. Perhaps he means Timosthenes? See de Goeje, VIII, 30. 8. The scorched earth or the scorched way is the space located between the 19th degree of Libra and the 3rd degree of Scorpio. See for example Geography of Aboulféda, vol. II, 1st part. Paris, 1847, p. 6, n. 1. 9. For the description of these terms see Van Vloten, Liber Mafâtih al-Otûm, p. 235, 7-9. 10. Instead of Qinnesrîn the manuscript gives Salamiyyah and Hamat. 11. Instead of these two names which are in A, mss BC give Afrathi. 12. Mich. the Syr., I, 22-23. 13. This is Serendib (Taprobane, Ceylon). See Masûdi, Kitâb at-Tanbîh, p. 26, trans. Carra de Vaux, p. 43.

14. Instead of these two names ms. A gives Haleb and Salamiyah. 15. Here the Mss. again add the country of Al-Djezîreh. 16. Cf. Georg. Sync., p. 98 et 170; also p. 100. Michael the Syrian, I, 20: Panouphis. 17. Son of Haber. Genesis, X, 25 (= Yokthan). 18. Cf. Mich. the Syr., I, 23-24. 19. I Macchab., i, 7-9. 20. Here the explanation of the copyist is: (the author) understands what is not known to the majority of men, because it was so long ago. 21. According to ms. A it was Helene who went to Jerusalem and asked for the relics. Instead of the passage of ms. B. starting from the words "The Jews gave him", we find in ms A: "The Jews gave to Helen all the books; among the books which were given to her, there was the book of the mutilated Torah. The queen Helen carried them to king Constantine, her son. Then a certain number of Jews were sent to the king to teach him all that the Jews had mutilated in the Torah and the books of the Prophets."

22. Comp. Daniel, ix. Jerem., xxv, 11 sq.; xxix, 10. 23. Jerem., lxv, 11 sq.; xxix, 10. 24. II Esdras, ii. 25. Cf Michel the Syrian, I, 25. 26. Αἰγιαλεύς. See G.Sync, I, 183. 27. See Gen., xxvi, 34. 28. See Gen., xxxvi, 33-34. 29. See Gen., x, 29. 30. Genesis, xxviii, 10 sq.; xxxii, 24 sq. 31. Here our author is mistaken; cf. Genesis, xxx, 3 sq.; xlvi. 32. See George Sync, I, 237. 33. See G. Sync. I, 280 and 132. 34. See Michael the Syrian, I, 37. 35. Compare the same, I, 38. 36. Comp. Michael the Syrian, I, 39. 37. Cf. Josephus, Antiq. Jud., II, x, 2 (ed.Niese, I, p.134-136). 38. Comp. Numbers, xii, 14. 39. See Numbers, xii, 1. 40. See G. Sync. I, 283. 41. Literally "the owner of two right hands " 42. See Exodus, xxxi, 2. 43. Numbers, xiii, 24. 44. Numbers, xxii, 1-6.

45. Leviticus, X, 1-2; Numbers, iii, 4. 46. Exodus, VI, 25 and comp. vi, 23. 47. Numbers, xxv, 1-8. 48. Joshua, X, 12-13. 49. Judges, III, 8. 50. Judges, III, 9-11. 51. Plato, Timaeus, 22. 52. Cf. Georg. Sync, II, 288: Ἐφύρα. 53. This passage is obscure to me. 54. George Sync. I, 305. 55. B.l.msin = Βασιλεῖς? Cf. G. Sync., I, p. 294-295. [56. Note to the online edition. At this point the first fascicle of the Patrologia Orientalis edition ends. This was published in PO 5.4. The remainder of part 1 was published last in PO 11.1. Unfortunately the page numbering in the latter is confused, because the printer numbered introductory pages in the fascicle with the [] numbers. The table of contents on pages 7-8 (numbered as 145-6) indicates the correct numbering; that page 9 of the fascicle should be p. 137 of the text. It is, instead, p.147. Since the purpose of placing the page numbers in this translation is to allow ready reference to the pages of the PO edition, I have followed the erroneous numbers printed, not the numbers in the table of contents.]

57. The preceding fascicle (P. O., t. V, fasc. 4) ends with: "The Midianites devastated all their country"; the manuscripts then continue: "with their many troops". 58. These are the terribly disfigured names of the Heliades: Merope, Helie, Aegle, Lampetia, Phoebe, Aetheria, Dioxippa. Ex Perseide, Oceani filia, Circe, Pasiphaë. 59. Perhaps is necessary to see here "at Thebes"? 60. Perhaps "Jonah"? 61. The author confuses Hanon, son of Nahach (II Sam, X, 2), with Amnon, son of David (ibid., xiii). 62. For these names cf. the passage of Maçoudi, Al-Masûdi, Kitâb at-Tanbîb, Bibl. geogr. arab. ed. de Goeje, VIII, 1894, 11218-1132. Macoudi, Le livre de l'avertissement, trad. Carra de Vaux, Paris, 1896, 159. P. Kokovzoff drew my attention to this passage of Maçoudi. Cf. P.O., VII, 599, the Jewish sects of the Achma`at and Anâïat (Caraïtes?). 63. Two words which I do not understand. 64. Phoul = Poul (Pul) = Tiglathpileser IV = Βῆλος in the Greek chronicles. See II Kings, xv, 19; I Chron., v, 26. Perhaps is necessary it to read "Phoul father of Ninus"? Cf. Mich. the Syr., I, 77: Belus, father of Ninus.

65. See earlier. 66. This is about a race of the quadrigae. 67. A adds: "without counting the women". On all this legendary history of Rome, see John Malalas, 171-180. Chronicon Paschale, coll. 289-300 (Migne, t. 92). Cedrenus I, 257-259. Michael the Syrian, I, 79-85. Pseudo-Dioclis Fragmentum, ed. J. Guidi (Corpus scriptores christianorum orientalium, Scriptores Syri. Versio, Chronica Minora, III, Parisiis, 1903, p. 288-291). 68. A adds: "without counting the women". 69. Ms.: "king of Persia". 70. See J. Mal., 173: Chr. Pasch., col. 292. Mich. the Syr., I, 84. 71. Mich. the Syr., I, 85-86. See II Kings, xvii. 72. See II Kings, xviii-xix. 73. See II Kings, xx, 12. 74. II Sam., vii, 11-13. 75. Mss.: of his father. 76. Numbers, xxiv, 17. 77. II Kings, xx, 17-18. 78. See G. Sync, I, 398: 1-8 (Eus. Chr., II, 82 Hs). Mich. the Syr., I, 86. 79. The prayer of Manasseh is one of the Apocryphal books of the Old Testament. See G. Sync., I, 403-404. Mich. the Syr., I, 86, 87, 88.

80. Mich. the Syr., I, 88. 81. Mich. the Syr., I, 88. 82. G. Sync., I, 403,14 (Eus. Chr., II, 90 Hs). Mich. the Syr., I, 92. See the Koran, Surah xxxi, 11-19. 83. This is about the prophecy of Jeremiah. 84. Under the name of "Magus" we must see Cyaxares here. See Mich. the Syr., I, 90. 85. Mich. the Syr., I, 90. G. Sync., I. 405. 86. Mich. the Syr., I, 91-92. 87. Mich. the Syr., I, 93. 88. Matthew, 1: 11. 89. II Kings, xxiv, 17. 90. Mich. the Syr., I, 96. 91. Ibidem, I, 97. 92. Cf. Mich. the Syr., I, 97. 93. See Jeremiah, xxii, 24-28; cf. 18-19. 94. Cf. Josephi Flavii Contra Apionem, I, 21 (Hiram = Εἴρωμος). Eusebii Chronicon, I, 51-54. M. the Syr., I, 99. 95. G. Sync, I, 454: 7 (Eus. Chr., II, 94 Hp). Mich. the Syr., I, 100. 96. Cf. Dan., vii, 1-3.

97. The text of the end of this sentence is obscure. Perhaps is necessary to translate: "because, in origin, he belonged to these two families" (= to the Medes and Persians)? 98. G. Sync, I, 438: 16: Δαρεῖος Ἀσσουήρου. See Mich. the Syr., I, 105: Darius, i.e. Assuerus. 99. Dan., viii, 17-27; ix, 21-27. 100. John, ii, 20. 101. Mich. the Syr., I, 102. 102. Mich. the Syr., I, 101. 103. Daniel, xiv, 33-39 (according to the LXX and the Latin Vulgate). This episode belongs to the deuterocanonical part of the book of Daniel. 104. Mich. the Syr., I, 105. 105. Cf. Mich. the Syr., I, 103-104. 106. G. Sync, I, 457: 14-15 (Eus. Chr., II, 98 IIi). Mich. the Syr., I, 102-103. 107. See Mich. the Syr., I, 103. 108. lbid., I, 105. 109. Ms. B: Qasmous? 110. G. Sync, I, 471: 44 (Eus. Ch., II, 100 Hi). Mich. the Syr., I, 106.

111. In the text, rather "Chosroes". 112. See Mich. the Syr., I, 105. 113. G. Sync, I, 470: 6 (Eus. Chr., II, 102 Hd). Mich. the Syr., I, 105. 114. Cf. Zachariah, i, 1: Zachariah, son of Barachya. Isaiah, viii, 2. See above. 115. G. Sync, I, 4761C. Mich. the Syr., I, 105. 116. Cf. Mich. the Syr., I, 107: Arovik. 117. G. Sync, I, 483 (Eus. Chr., II, 104 Hc). 118. See Jos. Flav. Antiq. Jud., XI, 226. 119. The text adds once again: "The king saw this, when he came out". ** Note to the online edition. Here the page numbers in the printed text suddenly go from 226 to 217 -- i.e 10 is subtracted. 120. For the history of Esther and Mordecai cf. Jos. Flav. Ant. Jud., XI, 184-268. See also the Book of Esther. 121. We must read "two months". 122. I omit [ arabic phrase] that I do not understand

123. This is Nectanebo II. 124. On the legendary history of Alexander the Great see Pseudo-Callisthenes, III, 1-4; ed. C. Mäller, p. 94-99 (Arriani Anabasis et Indica, Parisiis, 1846. Scriptorum Graecorum Bibliotheca, t. XXVI). H. Meusel, Pseudo-Callisthenes. Nach der Leidener Handschrift herausgegeben von H. M. Jahrbächer fur classische Philologie. V. Supplementband. Leipzig, 1864-1872, p. 769-772 (the correspondence of Alexander with Porus which differs from that of Agapius; the anecdote of the elephants; the single combat; there is no mention of the help sent by the Chinese). See also the texts of the Russian chronographers, Moscow, 1893, p. 194-198; 309-313. Examples drawn from the Arab authors in T. Noeldeke, Beitrage zur Geschichte des Alexanderromans. Denkschriften der K. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, T. 38 (1890), p. 38, 40 (episode with China). The Syriac version in W.Budge, The History of Alexander the Great, Cambridge, 1889, p. 87-92; 109-112 (episode with China). The Ethiopian version in W. Budge, The life and exploits of Alexander the Great, London, 1896, p. 107-125; 172-180 (relations with China); 367-371.

125. Mich. the Syr., I. 115. 126. In the text: "son of a hare" i.e. "son of Lagos". 127. See Theodoreti Explanatio ad Danielem, cap. xi, 6. Migne, Patr. Gr., t. LXXXI, coll. 1505-1508. 128. Mich. le. Syr. I, 129-130. 129. In the ms, probably the mutilated name of "Alexander". See G. Sync., 1, 552 .13. 130. Mich. the Syr., I, 127-128 and 132. 131. M. the Syr., I, 128. 132. On this passage, cf. Jos. Flav., Ant., XIII, 366-369 (Eus. Chr., II, 132-133 Hl et 1920-1923). G. Sync., I, 553.18-19. Mich. le Syr., I, 134. 133. Mich. the Syr., 1, 130 or rather 134. 134. I believe that it is necessary to read "by the inhabitants of Alexandria". This is all about Ptolemy-Alexander II, who was killed by them. See Bouché-Leclercq, Histoire des Lagides, II, p. 119-120. 135. On this legend see J. Malalae Chronographia, 183-187 (ed. Bonn.). Georgii Monachi Chronicon, ed. de Boor, 1904, Lipsiae, I, 23-24. Cedr., I, 263-264. Mich. the Syr., I, 141-143.

136. Perhaps the coptic month "epiphi"? Cf. supra, p. [253]. 137. From here on the events are also described in the beginning of the second part of Agapius; but the editing of the Florence ms. is different. 138. Agapius, II (1), p. 3-4 (P. O., t. VII, p. 459-460); the corresponding texts are indicated. [Note to the online edition; I have not troubled to transcribe all these; the reader may find them easily enough in the PO edition] 139. In the ms. "Antiochus". 140. See Agapius, II (1), p. 4-5 (P. O., t. VII, p. 460-461). 141. The Ms A says : People say that Christ was two years old. As for the scholars, philosophers and the author of this book, they say that at the time of the arrival of the Magi, Christ was seven days old. It is the obvious truth, because we have found and seen in the images, i.e. the icons, and the effigies which are in the holy churches, etc.

142. Agapius, II (1), p. 9 (P. O., t. VII, p. 465). 143. Here there begins a gap in the ms. C. 144. A adds : "two years old". 145. Here the gap in ms. C finishes. 146. Agapius, II (1), p. 11-12 (P. O., t. VII, p. 467-468). 147. The ms. says "Antigone" 148. In the mss. "Antigone". 149. Μαλθάκη,. See, for example, genealogy of Herod at Jos. Flav. Ant. Jud., XVII, 19-22; De bello Judaico, I, 562. Mich. the Syr., I, 140. Chr. Min., 46. 150. It seems to me that the litteral translation of this passage is this: "Phasaël gave him by Pallas three [grand]sons who were in truth Aristobulus," etc. 151. In the mss. is the disfigured name "Qabdhâfrâ"? 152. See Agapius, II (1), p. 13 (P. O., t. VII, p. 469). 153. In the ms. the name is very mutilated. 154. Here the ms. A finishes; it is probably missing some leaves.

155. Compare the calculation of Severus ibn al-Moqaffa`, P. O., t. III, p. 222-225.

[Translated by Alexander Vasiliev]

THE SECOND PART OF THE HISTORY OF MAHBOUB, SON OF CONSTANTINE, OF MENBIDJ, BISHOP OF THE CITY OF MENBIDJ,Copied for himself by Sa`id, son of Abu-l-Bedri John, son of `Abd al-Mesih - may God have mercy on him, his parents, his ancestors and on all Christians. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God. Julius Caesar reigned for four years and four months, and Caesar Augustus reigned for fifty-six years and six months. In the year 8 of his reign the kingdom of the Jews was destroyed, which had belonged to them, and which became a |4 dependency of the Romans and their priesthood was abolished. Herod, son of Antipater, who, as we reported, was of gentile race, ruled them for thirty-four years, he imposed a poll tax on them and had Hyrcanus, the high priest, and Jonathan, his son killed. All the high priests of the Jews, before Herod ruled them, were called Messiahs (anointed ones), but from the time when Herod reigned over them, their prophecy and kingship ceased at the same time. Then was fulfilled the word of Jacob, [the chief of the Patriarchs], who said: "Kings and prophecy will not be removed from Judah, until he comes to whom everything belongs and it is he who is expected by the people." And likewise was fulfilled what Daniel said, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him, about the seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks , the total of which is four hundred and eighty-three years and which were completed at that time, the first year of which was the sixth of Darius, son of Hystaspes, in which the Temple of the Lord was completed.

Shortly afterwards, when Herod had received from the Romans sovereignty over [the Jews], the Jews revolted against him and would not have him rule them. He completely destroyed the two walls of Jerusalem and killed many of its inhabitants, he took the priestly insignia |5 and would not permit anyone to be high priest for more than one year. The same measure was taken by those who ruled the Jews after him. Then he brought from Babylon and set up Hananiel as high priest over them for a year; after one year he instituted Aristobulus, son of Hyrcanus, the brother of his wife, for one year. Then he killed Aristobulus, son of Hyrcan, and restored Hananiel over them. In the fourteenth year of Augustus Caesar and the fourth year of Herod, Augustus marched against Antonius, his lieutenant, who had revolted, had resisted, had refused obedience to him and had protested against Caesar, because he was in love with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Augustus fought the people of Egypt, seized the two sons of Cleopatra, who were called Sun and Moon, and killed them and he captured (also) Cleopatra and Anthony, who killed themselves overnight. From that day the kingdom of Egypt ceased to exist and it fell under the dominion of the Romans.

In the eighteenth year of his reign, Augustus sent Tiberius his general in Armenia who subjected it and captured it. |6 It was on this day that the Romans instituted the leap month, which was every four years, ie: idus πρὸ ἓξ καλανδῶν Μαρτιῶν. As for the Greeks, they called it βίσεξτον. The twenty-eighth year of Augustus, Herod built a city called Caesarea, after Caesar. At that time the scholar Sextus, Pythagorean philosopher, and Judah the Galilean were distinguished. In the thirty-second year of Herod and the three hundred and ninth year of Alexander, was born our Lord the Messiah, may He be glorified on Wednesday (Tuesday), the twenty-fifth day of Kanoun I; according to the calculation of Greeks, today was the twelfth day of the month. From Adam until then there is a space of 5,506 years.

Prior to that year, the Romans had sent the judge (legate) Cyrinus to count the population subject to tax. Everyone [went to register] in his hometown, and now Joseph, husband of Mary, went up |7 to register . . . then. After the birth of Our Lord the Messiah, may He be glorified, the Magi came from the East with their presents, they offered to Our Lord the Messiah, may He be glorified, --- gold, myrrh and incense. The learned Greek Longinus introduces this event in the third part of his book, which [treats] of the Roman wars against Antioch, a city of Syria, i.e. as-Schâm, when he said to Caesar: "The Persians from the East have entered your empire and they have offered presents to a child born in Palestine; who he is and whose son he is, we have not yet learned." He wrote about this to Augustus and sent him a letter. And Augustus wrote to Longinus in response to his letter: "I have read your letter and the information you have given about the child born in Palestine among the Jews, and about the Mages, who have come from the East and have given him presents; and you do not know who he is or whose son he is. I will learn the truth and act according to justice: Herod, our governor in Judea, will let us know who he is, his condition and history."

And Augustus wrote to Herod, his governor in Judea, the following letter: "From the king of kings Augustus to Herod, the son of Antipater, governor of Judea, greeting. Longinus, the scholar, has let me know that |8 among you is born a child to whom the Persians made gifts and presents; inform yourself carefully about him and about the Magi, who came to him --- what is the cause of their coming, who sent them and what were the presents they offered him? Hide nothing about this, so I may obtain knowledge, if great God wills it. " Herod had an interview with the Magi and said to them: "What are you doing?" The Magi said: "The giant (Nimrod) composed books for us in which he prophesies as follows: A child will be born in Palestine in a few centuries, he will be great and the whole universe will be subject to him, and as a sign of this, you will find, as we know, a star of such and such aspect; you will look for it, and when you have seen, carry myrrh, gold and incense, go and find the child, give him all this, love him and come back; if you do not do this, a great misfortune will happen to you. And we have not ceased to keep this prophecy in our memory, we and our forefathers, until this star appeared to us. When we found there the signs that our great leader had given us, we obeyed him: we brought these things and have come to see him and adore him." |9

And Herod said: "Your approach is correct. Go and find exactly where the child is, and when you have found him, please let me know so that I may also worship him. " The Magi, departing, saw a star that went before them and led them to the cave where the child was; when it arrived with them at this place, it stopped and did not move. When the Magi had seen this, they entered the cave, found the child and his mother, felt a great joy, opened their travel bags, offered him the presents and worshipped and then they went another way and did not return to Herod. Herod, having seen that the Magi did not pay attention to him, went into a great rage and sent to kill all the children of Bethlehem two years old and below, because the Messiah was at that time the age of two years.

But by inspiration of God, Joseph and Mary took the child and left Bethlehem. His mother Mary was thirteen years old; the duration of her whole life was fifty-one years, she lived six years after the Ascension of Our Lord Christ. It was the forty-fourth year of Augustus Caesar. |10

Caesar wrote to Herod, king of the Romans, in response to the letter he had received from him: "To Caesar, King of the Romans, from his servant Herod, greeting. The King of Kings required me to inform myself about the child of whose birth in Judea he had learned, and of the Magi who came to him with gifts. I stopped the Magi and forced them to confess to their affair, and they made me know that in ancient times Nemrod (the giant, the Great) gave them and left a will in which he said: After some time, in the land of Judea, will be born a child, who will reign over all the earth, and the sign of this is that you see in the sky a star, which differs from ordinary stars, and he indicated the signs; he ordered them, when they saw this star with these signs, to take myrrh, gold and incense, to go to the child, to worship him and to offer these presents; he also told them that if they did not, they would fall into a great misfortune. And their ancestors have not ceased, nor they themselves, to inquire into this matter, until the star appeared to them today, and they did what Nemrod ordered them: they took gold, myrrh and frankincense and went to him to adore him. I sent envoys with them to ascertain where the child was, and to return the Magi to me, so that I could send them to the king of kings, Caesar. But they gave my envoys money and escaped. So I have sent to Bethlehem to kill all the children aged two and |11 below, and with them I have killed the child. May the emperor be informed. Greeting."

Augustus Caesar read the letter of Herod and was content and . . . of his thought. Elizabeth, whom we have already discussed, became pregnant before this, and gave birth in the month of Haziran. The Annunciation of Mary took place on 25th of the month of Adar, six months after the conception of Elizabeth, and Mary gave birth on Wednesday (Tuesday), 25 of Kanoun I. After eight days, (Our Lord) was brought to the place of circumcision, and forty days after his birth, was presented to the Temple and the old man Simeon carried Our Lord Christ in his arms. Two years after his birth, he was transported to Egypt at night when the Magi came to him, and he stayed in Egypt; He was then aged four; then he returned to his hometown of Nazareth and lived there. Then Herod died, having lived in his city seventy years, he reigned thirty-four, in the year 44 of Caesar. Before his death, he killed his wife and children. His intestines were swollen and his feet were too; his intestines swarmed with worms and his breathing was difficult. Prey to the disease and tortured by pain, Herod, who had |12 an apple in his hand and a knife with which he cut and ate, tried to kill himself with the knife because of the sorrow and grief that tormented him; then he lay down on his side, his stomach burst and he died. (Before that) he said to Salome, his sister and to her husband: "I know that the Jews will be have a big party because of my death and will rejoice at it greatly. So let us take those who are gathered here and put them to death so that when the Jews come together, they will beat their hands and shout laments at my death against their will. " Herod had nine wives and thirteen children.

After the death of Herod, Archelaus succeeded him in the year 45 of Augustus Caesar in the year 312 of Alexander; and Archelaus ruled for 9 years. Then Augustus handed their affairs over to Herod, brother of Archelaus, and appointed Philippe governor of Filan, Trakhuma and. . . . Augustus then banished Athroudis to exile in Alania, within Armenia, and gave him Herod as successor who reigned twenty-eight years. |13 Augustus lived seventy-five years and died after having reigned for fifty-six years and six months. Tiberius Caesar reigned for twenty-three years and lived seventy-eight years. The first year of his reign, there was a great earthquake, and several cities were knocked down and many men and animals killed. In the year 7 of his reign, Herod built a city and called it Tabariye (Tiberias) in honor of the Emperor Tiberius. In the year 14 the procurator (ἡγεμών, ἐπίτροπος) Pilate was sent to the Jews (in Judaea).

In the year 15 (of Tiberius), Our Lord Christ, may He be glorified, was baptized by John, son of Zechariah. He had returned . . . our Lord Christ, may He be glorified, was thirty years old, and his baptism took place on [6 of Kanoun II] . . . . [The first miracle was that] of the water changed into wine at Cana ; he healed the paralysed, opened the eyes of the blind, expelled spirits . . . , forgave sins and worked other (miracles) that the Holy Gospel relates. |14 In the year 19 of Tiberius Caesar, and in the year 342 of Alexander, Our Lord Christ was crucified . . . On the same day that Adam had been driven out of Paradise, Our Lord Christ died, may He be glorified, and he was buried, then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. That year the Passover took place on 21 Adar, on Thursday, and the Passover of the Christians, the people of our Lord Christ, may He be glorified, took place on Sunday, 24 of Adar; the Ascension on Thursday, 3 of Iyar, and Pentecost on the Sunday, the 13 of Iyar.

From Adam until that time there were 5,539 years, according to what is H.r.l . . . s (?) says. [But writers do not agree] on this subject, and each of them says whatever [does not] exceed the limits of his knowledge. The first of them, Eusebius, says that from Adam [to the Passion of Our Lord], may He be glorified, there are five . . . years . . . [2 lines illegible] . . . 5,350 years. As for the Hebrews, they count only 4,000 years, the Samaritans, 4,365. The philosophers in their books tell that the days of the Passion of Christ, |15 may He be glorified, . . . in the volume . . . [three lines illegible] . . . kings, that, during the reign of Caesar, the sun was darkened, and it became night at the ninth hour and the stars appeared: there was a strong earthquake at Nicaea and in all the surrounding cities, and extraordinary things happened. The philosopher Ursinus says in the fifth chapter of his book on the wars and expeditions of the kings: "We were in great grief and long anguish. The sun was darkened and the earth shook, and we learned that extraordinary and terrifying things were happening in the country of the Hebrews, and we know the cause of this from the letters which the Governor Pilate wrote from Palestine to Tiberius Caesar, when he said that from the death of a man whom the Jews had crucified, these things happened." On learning this, Caesar sent orders to Pilate and dismissed the government of Judea, because he had surrendered to the Jews, and he threatened and intimidated the Jews who had crucified Christ.

Josephus the Hebrew spoke of this also in his books which he wrote about the wars of the Jews: "At that time there was a wise man named Jesus, whose life was perfect, his virtues were recognized, and many Jews and Gentiles became his disciples. And Pilate condemned him to death on a cross, and those who had become his disciples, preached his doctrine. They claimed |16 that he appeared to them alive three days after his passion. Maybe he was the Messiah, about whom the prophets had spoken of miracles." This is the story of Josephus and his coreligionists concerning our Lord Christ, may He be glorified. It is also said that the life of our Lord Christ, may He be glorified, and his preaching (or pilgrimage) happened in the pontificate of Hannan and Caiaphas, because they were high priests in those years , i.e. from the pontificate of Hannan to the beginning of the pontificate of Caiaphas; as for the time between them, there was no time for four years because, when Herod was appointed governor, he burned the books of the tribes of the Hebrews, because they knew only that he belonged to a race which was little valued by them; and he took the priestly vestment, put it under seal and allowed each high priest to serve only for a year. Because of this there were four priests from the pontificate of Hannan to that of Caiaphas: Hannan was removed and Ishmael, son of Yachya, succeeded him; a year later, Eleazar, son of Hannan, succeeded him as high priest; when his year was over, Simeon, son of Qamihoud, succeeded him. He was succeeded by Caiaphas, at which time and under whose pontificate Our Lord Christ, may He be glorified, |17 was crucified. There were between Hannan and Caiphas less than four years, according to Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea.

In the year 17 of Tiberius Caesar, and in the year 341 of Alexander, one year before the crucifixion of our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, Abgar the Black, king of Edessa, sent messengers to some towns on business. On the way back they entered Jerusalem and there were eye-witnesses of certain actions of the Jews towards our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, and of their preparations to crucify him. They preserved an account of the actions of our Lord the Christ and of that which they learned of his miracles and the cures of incurable illnesses carried out by him. When they arrived at Edessa, they told their master all that they had seen and that they had learned of the actions of our Lord the Christ, may be he glorified, and of the injustice of the Jews towards him, and how they were plotting against him. When Abgar learned this, he was filled with admiration and wanted to go to Him and see himself His divine miracles; but he could not go outside his kingdom for fear of enemies. So he sent Hannan the painters and charged him with a letter, where he said: |18

"From Abgar the Black to Jesus the physician, who has appeared at Jerusalem. I have heard of you, of your knowledge of medicine, of your spiritual knowledge and that you heal pain and illnesses without drugs or remedies. My astonishment at this was great, and my joy at it extreme. And I am telling myself that you must certainly be God, or the son of God, since you do such things. I ask you and invite you to come to me. Perhaps you may heal the painful illness from which I suffer. I have heard that the Jews want to kill you and crucify you. I have a town, pleasant and pretty, which would be enough for me and for you to live there. There you would be in tranquillity, good health and safety; and if you pleased to grant my wish, do so, and you will fill me with joy because you have."

Our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, received his letter, read it, and wrote to him. "Be blessed, because you have believed in me before you have seen me. It is written of me that those who see me will not believe in me. As for your request for me to come to you, it is necessary that I complete the work for which I was sent; and when I have completed it and ascended (to heaven), I will send one of my disciples who will heal your pains and illnesses and will convert those with you to eternal life." Hannan, who was a painter, after receiving the response of our Lord the Christ, |19 may he be glorified, took a square board and painted our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, on it in bright and attractive colours. He set himself to look at Him and to paint his image on this board. Then he went with it to Edessa and gave it to his master, Abgar the Black. Abgar received it with great honours and placed it in one of his treasuries, and it can be found there to this day.

When our Lord the Christ had ascended to his Father, he sent the apostle thomas, one of the Seventy (disciples) to Edessa. When he arrived there and Abgar the Black saw him, he prostrated himself before him, because a divine light shone from his face. And the apostle Thomas said to him, "If you believe in He that sent me, you will find what you need and obtain what you ask." And Abgar the Black said to him, "I have already believed in Him. And if it were not for the treaties that exist between the Romans and myself, and the confidence they have in me which I cannot break, I, because of my admiration and my love for Him, would leave with a great number of my men, make war against the Jews who crucified Him, and destroy them." Then (Thomas) approached him and healed him of his illness: and in this place he worked many miracles, so that Mousa, king of Athour heard about him and wanted to see him. |20

Then Abgar wrote to Tiberius Caesar, emperor of the Romans, a letter where he said: "From Abgar, sovereign of Edessa, to Tiberius Caesar, sovereign of the Romans. Know, o king, that the Jews that are in your empire have crucified the messiah, although he did not deserve this, and had done nothing that they could condemn. When they had crucified him, the sun was darkened, the earth shook, many of the dead came back to life and rose up (from their tombs) and extraordinary things happened which have never before been seen." Tiberius Caesar wrote to him, in response to his letter, a letter where he says: "From Tiberius, master of the Romans, to Abgar, master of Edessa. Know that I have already learned all that the Jews have done to the man of whom you speak; and I want to punish them; but I cannot, because of the wars that I was undertaking against the inhabitants of Spain, who have risen up and revolted against me, and I was busy fighting against them; but when I am a little more free, I will carry out my vengeance against them and will inflict on them an exemplary chastisement. As for Pilate whom I named as their judge, I have already deposed him with great humiliation and scorn, because he gave way to them and did what they wanted; and I have sent another in his place."

After reading this letter, Abgar rejoiced at it and was content. A little time later, he learned that Caesar had put to death the chiefs of the Jews: and he rejoiced greatly at this. |21 After the death of Thomas the apostle happened on the 14th May, (the apostles) sent in his place Addai, the silk-maker. After the ascension of our Lord the Christ, may be he glorified, the eleven apostles chose Matthias in the place of Judas Iscariot. Fifty days after the resurrection and ten days after the ascension, they received the Holy Spirit in the assembly: they laid hands on James, son of Joseph, who had fathered James by another wife, and made him bishop of Jerusalem, where he ruled for thirty years. They established the seven deacons. One of them was Stephen, whom the Jews stones; Philip, who preached to the inhabitants of Samaria; Nicanor; Timon; Prochoros; Parmenas; and Nicholas of Antioch.

At this period the emir of Ethiopia, the eunuch, was baptised by the apostle Philip. The apostle Paul was converted in the year that Stephen was stoned, at the end of the reign of Tiberius and at the same time that Cornelius was converted in the town of Caesarea by Simon Cephas (Peter). The names of the thirteen apostles, including Matthias, the place (of their apostolate) and of the death. |22 Simon Cephas (Peter), originally from Bethsaida, of the tribe of Nephthli; he went first to Antioch, where he built a chapel in the first year of the reign of Claudius. Then he passed to Rome, where he was bishop for 25 years, until the 13th year of Nero Caesar. Nero had him killed, and Paul with him. Peter was crucified with his head at the bottom. Andrew, his brother, went to the land of the anthrophages, and preached there. Then he went to Nicaea, to Nicomedia, and into Achaia which he entirely converted. He was the first to be enthroned at Constantinople, made proselytes there and baptised them.

James, son of Zebedee, of the tribe of Zabulon, of Bethsaida, whom Herod Agrippa had killed. John, his brother, went to Ephesus and to the land of Asia. Domitian exiled him in one of the islands of the sea in the year 9 of his reign, but at the end of his reign he called him back to Ephesus, where he died and was buried. Philip, the apostle, of the tribe of Aschir (Asher), of Bethsaida, went to Carthage and preached to its inhabitants. Then he went to Phrygia where he died and was buried. Bartholemew, of the tribe of Issachar, went to Armenia Major, where he was crucified and died. |23 Thomas, of the tribe of Judah, went to Sind and to India, where he died. His embalmed body was carried to Edessa. Matthew the evangelist, of the tribe of Issachar, of Nazareth, went to the land of the anthropophages and preached there. Then he returned to preach to the Hebrews and composed the gospel for them. Then he went to India, where he died and was buried. This ...

Simeon the Chananean, the Galilean, the Zealot (Ζηλωτής) of the tribe of Ephraim, died at Hemath. Judas, son of James, called Thaddeus, of the tribe of Simeon. He was called Labbai, because he was wise. He died at Beirut, where he was buried. James, son of Alphaeus, of the tribe of Manasseh, was stoned at Jerusalem. Judas, son of Simeon, the Iscariot, of the tribe of Dan. When he realised the price and horror of his perfidy, by which he sold our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, he strangled himself; all his intestines fell out. Matthias was chosen in his place. Matthias was of the tribe of Reuben. The disciples chose him in the place of Judas Iscariot. |24 The names of the Seventy (disciples) and their origin. Here is the list of the Seventy (disciples).

Addai of Phamas (Paneas); Severos son of Abgar killed him. Ananias was killed at Damascus. Milia (Malea, Ἀμπλίας) was stoned at Alexandria. Capha (Κηφᾶς) was stoned at Antioch. Barnabas (Βαρνάβας, Βαῤῥαβᾶς) died on the island of Cyprus. Sontanis (Σωσθένης) was thrown into the sea. Qeisqous (Κρήσκης, Κρισκής) died of hunger at Alexandria and was buried there. Joseph of Arimathea, who was converted to Christ and died in the prison of Jerusalem. Nicodemus the Welcome; this was he who was converted to Christ after he came to find Him and spoke with Him. Nathaniel, chief of the scribes. Justus, whom Paul mentions. Judas, brother of James, brother of Christ. Silas (Σιλᾶς), of whom Paul also speaks. Judas, son of Barsabas. Marcus, whome Luke mentions in the Πράξεις with the others. John, called the Black (?). Jason, Manaël, Herod, Rufus, Alexander, Simon the Cyrenean, Cleophas, brother of |25 Joseph the husband of Mary, Simeon, his son, whom became bishop of Jerusalem and was crucified. Joses, son of Joseph, James, son of Joseph, James the elder, Judah, called Simeon. Those who were with Cleophas on his voyage: Tourmis and Fastourius [Termus and Castorius?], the slaves whom the apostles ordained. Those of whom Paul speaks: Andronicus, Titus, Hermas, Phlegon, Patroba, Asyneritus . Hermas called the Pastor. The six people with Peter at Caesarea; Crescens, Milichas, Kiriton (Crito), Simeon, Gaius, Apollos (Ἀπολλώς). The two who did not believe in the divinity of Christ; Cerinthus and Cleon (?), who were heretics. They were replaced with Luke the evangelist and Urbanus. Istichaus (Στάχυς), Aristobulus, Stephen, Herodion, Mark, Rufus, Olympas, Maris (?), S.m..lu...s (?) M.rula. (?) Hymenaeus, Alexander, ... rus...laoun.

The false apostles: Simon r. k. r. bn d. la.. Now the apostles gathered together and established canon directed against those men who appeared in their times and did not agree with them. The apostles were men who did not allow them to ... nor to proclaim |26 as the truth what each of them had invented themselves. When they gathered, they baptised a great number of men in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, taking them from impiety and error to make them ready for the true worship of God. Matthew wrote the gospel in Hebrew for the Hebrews; Mark wrote the gospel in Latin (Frankish) for the inhabitants of mighty Rome. Like wrote (the gospel) in Greek for the inhabitants of Alexandria. John wrote his gospel in Greek for the inhabitants of Ephesus. Then Luke wrote the Πράξεις, that is the Acts of the Apostles. Paul wrote fourteen letters.

In the year 22 of Tiberius Caesar, Herod Agrippa went to Rome to intrigue against Herod the tetrarch and he remained there until the reign of Caius. Tiberius died at 78, and Caius reigned four years, from the year 347 of Alexander. In the first year of his reign, Flaccus the Prefect of Egypt made an expedition against (the Jews) and oppressed them for 7 years. He filled their synagogues with statues and offerings to idols. Ambassadors were |27 sent to Caius to let him know. One of them was Philo, the Hebrew philosopher, who composed many treatises on the calamities which were happening to the Jews in his time. He wrote a satire against the emperor Caius where he criticised his ignorance and his folly. He wrote a eulogy of the faithful who were living in Ehypt. He interpreted the first book of the Torah. He records that ... when he was waking up and surrounded. He composed 5 treatises on the Exodus of the Israelites and 4 on the things which are told in the Law. His treatises were read in the assemblies of the Romans in the time of Claudius and were borrowed; and (his treatises) were placed in the library of the emperors at Rome.

In the first year of the reign of Caius, Herod Agrippa was made king of the Jews and reigned for seven years. In that year Pilate committed suicide. This was Pontius Pilate, mentioned in the Creed of the faith. In the 4th year of his reign, Caius ordered the Prefect of Syria to erect idols in the synagogues of the Jews and in all their temples. And he erected the statue of Zeus, which the Romans worshipped at Jerusalem. Then |28 the word of the prophet Daniel was fulfilled, who said, "the sign of the abomination is found where it should not be." At this time the Jews were enduring great misfortunes. Petronius, who was governor of Judaea, wanted to set up idols in the synagogues and their chiefs gathered and asked him not to do this, saying that, if he did, all the Jews would perish. Petronius wrote to the emperor Caius to tell him that all their tribes were prepared for death and that they would not violate the laws of their ancestors. Caius sent a letter to the governor Petronius in which he ordered him, with menaces, to carry out his order concerning the Jews. Petronius informed them of this, and was using violence against them, when the news arrived that the slaves of Caius had attacked him and put him to death. At the same time the messengers bearing the menacing letters arrived. Then the Jews threw themselves on the idols and removed them from their synagogues.

Claudius reigned for fourteen years, In the first year of his reign Agrippa, governor of the Jews, put to death James, son of Zebedee, and put Simon Cephas in prison. But then the angel delivered him from prison and he went to Antioch, where he laid the foundations of the church which is named |29 after Cassian and established a shrine there. In year 3 of Claudius, Simon Cephas arrived at Rome. He became bishop there and governed this church for 23 years. A woman of the imperial family named Protonice, a patrician lady, went up to Jerusalem and discovered the cross of our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, which was found in the hands of the Jews, who would not let the Christians near it. Then Protonice went to them and took the cross from them, and the position of the Christians to it was reaffirmed. She left the cross in Jerusalem and departed.

The apostles revealed the wicked actions of Simon the magician, unmasked him, and made his imposture known to the whole population of Samaria. He went to Rome, and Nicaea. He presented himself to the Jews as being God the Father; to the Samaritans as being God the Son; and to the gentiles as the spirit of God. When he had arrived at Rome, that city gave him a good reception; and the inhabitants of Rome erected his statue, because he had led them astray with his sorceries, and they wrote on it, "this is the statue of Simon the holy god." Simon Cephas had arrived in Rome in year 3 of Claudius, and he went to the house where Simon was living and found a dog lying at his door. News of |30 the arrival of Simon Cephas at Rome had already come to Simon. Simon Cephas ordered the dog to go in and announce to Simon that Simon Cephas was at the door, and "that he was calling him." The dog went in and said to Simon, in front of all the company that was with him, "Simon, Cephas the Hebrew, who is at the door, is calling you." Seeing the dog speak, the population of the town was seized with astonishment. Then Simon the magician said to them, "Don't be astonished; I myself also ordered this dog to talk." He then commanded it in these terms, "Go and say to Simon to come in." The dog went out and said to him, "The man says 'enter'." And he went in.

Then Simon had a living bull brought, went up to its ear and said something; and the bull burst. Everyone was seized with astonishment at this. While they were admiring this, Peter approached the bull, prayed, pressed it with his foot; and the bull got up, alive and well. Then Simon flew in the air, by the power of the demons that were with him. Peter chased them away, and Simon fell to the ground and broke his limbs. Then Simon (Cephas) brought dead men back to life before the whole population of Rome. Then he healed illnesses and worked miracles publicly. When the population of Rome had seen this, they doubted the work of Simon and moved away from him: and many of the inhabitants of Rome were baptised and believed |31 in Christ, the Son of God. The first of these was Cyprian, father of the dead man brought back to life by Simon Cephas: he was baptised, became a Christian, received Peter into his house, treated him as his guest, and honoured him.

The wife of Claudius, the lady patrician, of whom we have already spoken, was converted, was baptised, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and enquired after the cross of our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified. It is said that James, the brother of Christ, was bishop of Jerusalem, and that the Jews were involved in these matters. She ordered the chief Jews to come and see her; among them was the High Priest, Onias , Gedaliah, son of Caiaphas, and many others as well as those two. She said to them, "Deliver over to the bishop James (the land of) Calvary, the tomb, and the crosses on which the Christ and the two robbers were crucified." When she had given this order, she went to the tomb of Christ; but when she went in, her daughter fell down before her and died. She was profoundly sorrowful and afflicted at this. Then one of her slaves said to her, "This matter is no accident, nor without importance; it will demonstrate the power of Christ, God our Saviour." Listening to the slave speak thus, the woman |32 was comforted a little, accepted her words, and gave orders for the crosses to be brought to her. Then she placed the first and the second crosses on her daughter, but she did not stir. But when she placed the third cross on her, her daughter stirred, revived and got up. The woman confided this cross to bishop James, built a church there, returned to Rome, and told this story to her husband, and to the people there.

Then the emperor Claudius set himself to oppress and persecute the Jews, especially after they stoned the martyr Stephen. Other apostles went to Antioch and there converted many people. It is there that the supporters of Christ were called Christians. At that time there was a famine. And the disciples bought a great quantity of food and distributed it to the faithful, men and women. Agrippa, governor of the Jews, died, and his son Agrippa succeeded him, and reigned fro 26 years. He had no successor in the government, because Jerusalem was destroyed and its inhabitants were deported. At this time Herod Agrippa took a census of the Jews whom he found in his realm. They were counted, and their number was 6,944,000. |33 At this time a man named Cerinthus appeared. He said that the kingdom of God would appear on earth, and that there men would eat, drink, and cohabit with women.

At this time the Egyptian mentioned in the Πράξεις also appeared; he led many people astray and wanted to overrun Jerusalem by force. Then Felix, a Roman patrician, marched against him and killed many of those who had accepted his teaching. This happened in year 8 of Claudius Caesar. In that time, the Jews were divided into seven sects. The 1st sect was the scribes, who were called scribes and doctors of the Law. The 2nd was that of the Levites, who followed the tradition of the ancient priests. The 3rd included those who believed in the resurrection and said that there were angels and spirits; they took their name from a priest named Sadoc, who was of their party. The 4th was that of the baptised, who purified themselves daily and said that no-one would live unless they washed themselves with water every day. The 5th was that of the Nazoreans, who ate no animal food and did not accept the books of Moses nor of any of the |34 prophets but invented strange books for themselves. The 6th was that of the Jews who believed in God, observed the Law, and received the books of Moses and the Prophets. The 7th was that of the Samaritans who, out of the sacred books, only received the Torah of Moses and followed an allegorical commentary of Holy Scripture.

One day the apostles gathered together at Rome and composed canons about divine things which, thanks to Clement, are at the disposal of the faithful. And there they fixed the number of the divine books that must be received and read in the churches, and they prescribed that no others should be admitted. Among the ancient books which must be received, they listed those which we call Torah, i.e. the 5 books of Moses; the book of Joshua son of Nun; the book of Judges; the story of Ruth; the story of Judith; the 4 books of Kings; the 2 books of Chronicles (Paralipomena); the 3 books of Maccabees; the book of Esdras; the story of Esther; the book of Job, the truthful; the book of Psalms of the prophet David; the 5 books of Solomon, son of David; the 16 books of the prophets: one book of the son of Sirach. The new books were the gospel, composed of 4 books; the 2 letters of the apostle Peter; the 14 letters of Paul; |35 1 book of the Acts of the Apostles (Πράξεις); the 3 letters of John, son of Zebedee; 1 letter of James, son of Zebedee; the one of Juda; the 2 letters of Clement; the 8 books of Clement. Then Clement also described in 8 books all the story and the acts of the apostles, what they had allowed and what they had forbidden. The apostles ordered that all his books should be received.

At this time the apostle Andrew died, who was bishop of Byzantium, after 2 years of episcopate. Stychus was bishop there for 15 years. After him Onesimus for 13 years. Then Claudius Caesar fell ill and died, after living for sixty-five years, of which he reigned for fourteen. Nero, son of Claudius, reigned after him for fourteen years. In the year 2 of the reign of Nero, Felix, governor of Judaea, died. He had as successor Festus, under whom Paul baptised and who brought him before his tribunal. At this time there was a great earthquake at Rome and an eclipse of the sun. The Jews revolted at Jerusalem and Caesarea, and the High Priest of the Jews, Jonathan, was killed. |36 In the year 5 of Nero, Festus governor of Judaea died; he had for successor Albinus.

In the year 8 of Nero, the Jews at Jerusalem threw themselves on James, the brother of Christ, and killed him. He was a pious man, living in poverty, obedient to God. The Jews took him, placed him at the highest point of the temple, and said to him, "Speak to the people. Renounce the faith of Christ." When he would not agree to their demand, they threw him down. He fell face down, and said, "God, don't punish them for this sin, because they don't know what they are doing." Then they stoned him. One of them, who was a fuller, took the stick with which he beat the fabric, and struck him with it. He died, and was buried near the temple. Then they destroyed the church, seized the cross of Christ and the two crosses of the robbers, and hide them underground. Then they went back to the Torah and shortened the years of Adam, Noah, Abraham and others, by two thousand years, cutting a hundred years from period from the birth of each of them to the birth of their son, in such a way that they didn't shorten the total life of each. In this way they sought to prove, against the Christians, that the Messiah had not yet come. They likewise changed the names of towns and places signalled, according to tradition, by each action of the Lord the Christ, as well as the name of the place of crucifixion and other places. |37

At this time Nero violently persecuted the Christians. After the death of James, his successor was Simon, son of Cleophas, who was his cousin, and he governed the people for forty-two years; ten years before the destruction of Jerusalem and thirty-two years after the destruction, from the ninth year of Tiberius Caesar until the second year after the death of John the evangelist. It is recorded that John the evangelist did not die, but, being pursued by the inhabitants of a certain town, he went up on the mountain, and hid from their sight, and no-one knew what happened to him. Then Nero cut off the heads of Simon Cephas and Paul. As for Simon, there are those who claim that his head was not cut off, but that his beard was cut off, and that he was crucified head down. Paul had his head cut off at the same time as Simon, who is the same as Peter, was crucified head down, in the year 13 of his reign.

At the moment when the Jews killed James, brother of the Christ, may he be glorified, Albinus, prefect of the Jews, was absent and at Rome. When on his arrival he heard what the Jews had done to James, he deposed Anianus (Ananos), the High Priest, who belonged to the Sadducees, and established Jesus son of Danai in his place. |38 Peter Cephas sent Mark the evangelist to Alexandria and made him bishop of that city. He lived there for 2 years and died. He had as successor Anianus, whose episcopate lasted twenty-two years. In the time of Nero the philosophers Musonius and Plutarchus flourished. Then madness struck Nero, and his reason was disturbed. He had his mother killed, his aunt and many of his relatives. He had Peter and Paul killed by crucifixion, head down, as we have related. This happened on Thursday the 28th of Temouz, in the year 377 of Alexander.

At Rome, Peter had as his successor Linus, of whom Paul speaks in his second letter to Timothy, and he governed the people for eleven years. Paul established Timothy as his successor at Ephesus, and ordained Titus in Crete. Like, who was then a physician at Antioch, was a companion of the apostles. In this year Nero Caesar sent Vespasian, chief of his soldiers, with Titus his son, to make war on the Jews of Palestine, who were revolting and had risen up. He went (to Jerusalem), stopped there, and besieged it for a long time. When he was on the point of capturing it, he learned the news of the |39 death of Nero, who, in the course of his madness, had killed himself. The Jews wanted to fight Vespasian, but he returned to Rome. Earlier he captured the town of Aeliya (Yotapata) because he heard it said that Joseph son of the priest Matthai was there. Some scholars claim that this Joseph was the same as Caiaphas, who had prophesied about the death of Christ, may he be glorified, and in whose pontificate He was crucified. The town was taken and he made Joseph prisoner, but did not kill him, because he was the general, and he had predicted to him that he would be emperor after Nero.

At Antioch, Evodius was bishop for twenty-five years. After his death Ignatius succeeded him and his episcopate lasted thirty-eight years, until the tenth year of Trajan. The beasts devoured him at Rome. Vespasian reigned for nine and a half years in the year 381 of Alexander. The 1st year of his reign, he invaded Egypt and captured it. Then he returned by sea to Rome. He sent Titus his son with numerous soldiers to Jerusalem, in year 3 of his reign. The latter besieged it, make 60,000 men perish, and made prisoners of more than 100,000. A great number of people died of hunger. He destroyed Jerusalem, set fire to its temple, burned the books of the Jews and dispersed them to the four corners of the world. |40 Thus all the Laws of Israel were abolished, and the prophecy of Jacob was fulfilled, who said, "The sceptre shall never pass from the tribe of Judah, nor the prophecy from its race, until he comes, to whom belongs the victory, and the peoples will obey him." On the other hand see what Daniel says at Babylon, "After the death of Christ, may he be glorified, Jerusalem will be destroyed and its laws abolished." Our Lord the Christ, may he be glorified, says in the gospel, "The days will come when your enemies will besiege you, and the children at your breast will be killed and die." He says also, "There will be great anguish and a great calamity on the people".

All this was fulfilled thirty-nine years after His crucifixion and death. The people were reduced to such misery that women ate their children. It is said that those who perished in the battles in Jerusalem and died of hunger during the invasion of Vespasian and the siege of that city for 3 years were counted; and the number of dead was about 1,200,000; 110,000 were made prisoners, according to what Josephus says. The cause of such an agglomeration of people in Jerusalem was that, when Vespasian had sent his son Titus to battle the Jews, the latter had |41 arrived at Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover; and people were gathered there from every city because of the feast. And what happened, happened. From Adam to the year in which Jerusalem was destroyed there were 5,570 years. From Adam to the year 50 of Abraham, when Jerusalem was built, 3,376 years. From its first construction to its final destruction in the time of Vespasian Caesar, 1,191 years.

Josephus the Jew tells in his book on the destruction of Jerusalem that before the ruin of this town, there appeared signs and prodigies, various and extraordinary, which presaged the destruction. For example, there was seen above the town a long star, resembling a sword of fire, which shone. -- While (the Jews) were celebrating the feast of the Passover, a cow was brought for the sacrifice, and it gave birth to a lamb in the middle of the temple. -- The doors of the Temple which were of solid iron and that 20 men together could hardly close and open, opened of themselves at midnight. During the whole year, in the temple various voices were heard, saying "Let's get out of here." -- There happened many things like these, which announced the destruction of Jerusalem. |42 Those who want to know how many men perished have made a calculation according to various books. One of them reports that at the festival of the Passover which fell on the 12th of Nisan (April), the Jews offered 240,000 sheep; for each sheep there were 10 men purified, ignoring unpurified men and the children among them.

When the Romans possessed themselves of Jerusalem, -- Josephus had warned his countrymen before the destruction of Jerusalem and said to them, "Obey the Romans and submit to their emperors and you will praise yourselves for the result of your conduct." -- but they treated him with contempt and insulted him so much that they struck him several times and stoned him. He came to the Romans who, having made him prisoner, obliged him to remain at the court of the emperor. He composed 20 books on the organisation of the Jews, their emigration, their High Priests, the wars against the Romans and the siege of Jerusalem. Agrippa wrote 62 letters in which he praised the books of Josephus and the understanding and depth of his knowledge. After his death, the Romans erected a statue of him at Rome in his honour. At that time Vespasian persecuted the Jews and ordered that all the descendants of David should be killed. |43

There was a great plague at Rome. Vespasian died after having lived seventy years, of which he reigned ten. (After him) reigned Titus, son of Vespasian, for two years and three months, in year 389 of Alexander. In year 2 of his reign, Anencletus (Anacletus) succeeded Linus on the throne of Rome, and his episcopate lasted 12 years. In that year a mountain split into two and a great flame came out of it, which set fire to several cities. At Rome, there was a great fire. Titus fell ill and died at the age of forty. (After him) reigned Domitian, son of Vespasian, for sixteen years, in year 391 of Alexander. In year 4 of his reign, at Alexandria, after Anianus, Aemilius sat for thirteen years. The emperor Domitian built a temple, without any part of it of wood. He ordered that all the philosophers and magicians should be expelled from the city, and he completely forbade anyone to plant vines at Rome. |44

In year 9 of his reign, he carried out a great persecution against the Christians and banished John the evangelist to an island of the sea, which is called Yafa (Patmos). Irenaeus, Bouttius, and Hippolytus record that great prodigies happened, which John attests in his book which he composed after the gospel. In that time, Dionysius the Areopagite, who was the disciple of Paul, became bishop of Athens, the city of the philosophers. He wrote a letter to John the evangelist in which he says, "May anguish and sorrow not overcome you, because your stay there (at Patmos) will not be very long, and Christ will hasten your deliverance. Learn patience in your heart, and praise Christ." In that time a great number of Christians who believed in Christ were put to death. |45 At that time Apollonius, master of talismans, became celebrated. He opposed the disciples of Christ by his works, which thwarted those of Christ, and he said, "What a misfortune for me, that I was preceded by the son of Mary!"

At the same time, the philosopher Patrophilus said to his master Ursinus, "I have intended to speak, master, of this man in whom all the peoples and the nations of different languages believe. According to what is said of him, he was crucified, died; then he came back to life and went up to heaven, according to the testimony of his companions, who believe in him. And we see that Theodore, chief of the sages of Athens, with Africanus of Alexandria, Martianus (Martinus) of drourousah (?) and Mark (?) gave up their gods in order to worship Him and call upon Him. They were freed from the business of this vile world, they have neither riches nor goods, and they are powerful in word and work." Ursinus responded to his disciple, "All the people have become his disciples and worship the Galilean of Nazareth. We quote the names of eminent scholars who after seeing him renounced their gods and worshipped Him. As for me, I think that all the peoples and their posterity will become his disciples. You say that his |46 disciples live a good life; what is also good, is that they do not abandon themselves to the evil hidden in the flesh."

In year 12 of Domitian, at Rome Clement became (bishop) and his pontificate lasted 9 years. We have found that the apostle Paul says, "Clement and my helpers." He wrote many books and letters, and he wrote a letter to the Corinthians, because of the enmities that had broken out among them, and this letter is received among all the books (of the church). In that time Domitian Caesar was killed on his carpet in his palace. Nero (Nerva) the Little reigned for a year, in the year 407 of Alexander. He ordered the recall of all those who had been exiled, and John the evangelist returned to Ephesus after sixteen years of exile. In that time Justus of Tiberias, a Jewish scholar, was illustrious.

Then Nerva died and in year 408 of Alexander Trajan Caesar began to reign, whose reign lasted nineteen years. The first year of his reign, the episcopal seat of Alexandria fell to Cerdon, who occupied it for eleven years. |47 In year 4 of his reign, Rome had Evaristus as bishop, who sat for eight years. At Byzantium, Als.midis (Polycarp?) having been bishop for seventeen years, had at that time for successor Plutarchus, who sat for fifteen years; and then Cedekion for eight years. In the sixth year of the emperor Trajan bishop Mar-Diogenes was established whose episcopate lasted fourteen years. In that year John the evangelist died at Ephesus. He had lived seventy-one years after the ascension of Our Lord Christ, may he be glorified... He wrote the gospel after those of Matthewm Mark abd Luke. When their copies were brought to him and he had them read, he said, "What they have written is good; but they have shortened the account of the acts of our Lord Christ, may he be glorified, before the imprisonment of John, son of Zachariah." This is why, the people having asked him to write a gospel which told the acts which had taken place before the imprisonment of John, he says that this was the first miracle worked by our Lord Christ, may he be glorified, and that John had not yet been placed in prison.

In year 9 of Trajan, Simon, son of Cleophas, bishop of Jerusalem, suffered martyrdom at the age of 120. He fulfilled the functions of bishop |48 for forty-two years; ten years before the destruction of Jerusalem and thirty-two years after the destruction. Then he had Justus as successor for five years; after him Zachaeus for two years; after him Tobias for three years; after him Benjamin for one year; after him John, for three years; after him Matthew, for two years. In year 10 Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, suffered martyrdom at Rome. He was devoured by the beasts. Then Heron (Eros) occupied the seat of Antioch for 18 years. In year 12 of Trajan, Alexander was bishop of Rome for 9 years, and at Alexandria, Primus for 12 years. At this time there lived at Menbidj (Hierapolis) an eminent scholar (Papias), author of several treatises. He composed 5 treatises on the gospel. He records the following in a treatise which he composed on the gospel of John: In the book of John the evangelist there is an issue about a woman who was an adultress. The Jews brought her to our Lord Christ, may he be glorified, and he said to the Jews that had brought her, "Whoever among you is certain of being innocent of the sin of which she is accused, bear witness against her with the |49 proofs that he has!" When he said that to them, no-one among them answered him, and they went away.

In year 15 of his reign, Trajan expelled all the foreigners from Rome, because they were the cause of an increase in prices (of food) for the inhabitants. He also expelled the foreign Christians who were there, and these decided to leave and asked the emperor to allow them to take the bones of Peter and Paul with them, as they too were foreigners in Rome. He allowed them this, and they tried to carry them away. But the earth was rocked by an earthquake, the whole city was shaken, and darkness covered it, until the foreigners were called backed. And (the earth) calmed down. At that time Menander the magicians made himself known. He was from a city in the land of Samaria, a disciple of Simon the magician. He baptised people and said that those who received baptism at his hands would be greater than the angels. Until that time the church of our Lord Christ, may he be glorified, was free of impure knowledge and the stains, the weeds of the demons and the follies of the heresies.

At that time a certain Saturninus appeared at Antioch and Basilides at Alexandria. |50 Saturninus said, "Seven angels gathered together and created the world; and it is to them that God addressed his word, 'Let us make man with our resemblance and in our image'. It is these which gave the Law." He said, "Marriage is the work of Satan; the demons ensnare the bad men and lead them to evil, and the Saviour came to save the good." Basilides said, "We must honour and venerate the serpent, because he commanded Eve to sleep with her husband; if he had not existed, the world would no longer exist." He also said that there are 360 heavens, so that every day a new heaven appears, and affirmed many other proposals which he had invented. But an account of all this will not be given because of its hideous character. Then another man of the name of Cerinthus appeared, of the city of Corinth. He said that the world is the work of angels, and that the Messiah came from the union of the flesh. The scholar Irenaeus said, "Two years before his death, John the evangelist went into the bath; but on finding Cerinthus the heretic there, he went out without washing himself and said that the building and himself were in danger because of Cerinthus the heretic."

In the last year of the reign of Trajan, the Jews of Egypt, Syria, |51 Palestine and Mesopotamia (al-Djezireh) revolted and set up a king named Lucua. Trajan sent soldiers against them, pursued them everywhere and killed several thousands of them. Then the emperor Trajan died, aged sixty-six. In year 4 of Hadrian (?), in year 427 of Alexander, Adrian reigned for twenty-one years. In year 3 of his reign, Xystus occupied the seat of Rome for 10 years; at Alexandria Justus sat for 11 years; at Jerusalem Philip for 4 years; Seneca succeeded him and sat for 2 years; Justus succeeded him for 1 year; then Ephraim sat for 1 year. At Antioch Cornelius sat for 17 years. At Byzantium, Eleutherius sat for 6 years: he had Polycarp as successor whose episcopate lasted 6 years. Then at Rome, Telesphorus sat for 11 years; at Alexandria Eumenius sat for 13 years. At Ephesus, after Timothy, Onesimus sat; after him, Gaius; after him, Philologus; after him, Lucius; after him, Apollonius; after him, Posidus. |52

In year 4 of Adrian, the kingdom of Edessa was abolished and Roman governors administered the country. Adrian built a house called Bas.lul in the city of Athens. He gathered there many scholars and gave them the laws of Solon and Draco. At that time, Sophia and her 3 daughters underwent martyrdom. In year 18 of his reign, Adrian was infected with elephantiasis. He sought throughout his empire for someone who could heal him, but he was unable to find anyone; and he went to Egypt to find such a man there. He took with him his companion Aquila the astrologer, magician, prognosticator, and diviner, a pacific man. Adrian left Antioch, passed into Syria, and arrived at Jerusalem 47 years after its destruction. After examining the location of the city, and how much of it had been destroyed, he saw that nothing was inhabited except a church of the apostles, and he commanded his companion to rebuild the city. When Aquila undertook this, he believed in the miracles that the disciples (of Christ) had worked, wished to embrace the Christian religion, was baptised and was made a Christian. But he |53 did not renounce magic, astrology and superstitious practices. His disciples prohibited him doing this several times, but he did not obey. Then they excommunicated him and separated him from the church. Then anger, fury and shame led him to copy the (sacred) books which Bartholomew and Judas had composed; he wrote carefully some Syriac and Hebrew books and introduced errors into them in order to show the futility of the advent of our Lord Christ, may he be glorified. These books that he wrote are found in the hands of the Jews even today.

In that year the Jews of Jerusalem revolted. A man called Bar-Kuba came among them and led them astray; he claimed to be descended from heaven, like a star, to deliver them. Many among them followed him, and, as for those who did not, he made war on them and put them to death. At this news, Adrian sent soldiers against him; they attacked Jerusalem, destroyed all the Jews and demolished Jerusalem for the last time. Then another city was built there, called Aelia, in honour of the emperor Adrian, and foreigners were established there. Those of the Jews who remained and had not been killed in the battle had their ears cut off; and were forbidden irrevocably to turn their eyes towards the richness of their mother country. |54 The bishop Mark sat at Jerusalem for four years. Then Adrian fell ill of dropsy and died, aged sixty-five. (After his death) Titus Antoninus, surnamed the Pious (?), reigned for twenty-two years and three months, in the year 448 of Alexander.

In the first year of his reign, bishop Hyginus sat at Rome for four years; after him, Pius for fourteen years. At Alexandria, Marcianus sat for ten years; after him, Celadion for fourteen years. At Antioch, Orthus (Orus, Eros) occupied the episcopal seat for sixteen years; after him Theophilus for fifteen years. At Byzantium Athenodorus sat for thirteen years. At Jerusalem, after Marcus, sat Cassianus, first of the gentile bishops, for three years; then Publius sat for four years; then he had for successor Maximus who sat for five years; then Julianus, for six years; then Gaius had an episcopate of two years, and his successor Matousous (? Symmachus) sat for four years. At Rome Anicetus also sat for ten years. |55 At that time, there appeared at Rome a man named Valentinus, and another named Cerdon, who were the teachers of Marcion. Valentinus said that the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, brought a body with him from heaven, and that it was found in Mary the virgin like water in a river-bed, taking nothing from her.

Cerdon said that several divinities gathered together and created the world; and he denied the resurrection. Then at Rome there appeared a man named Marcus who said that 360 gods existed from all eternity; they all gathered together and created the world, and each of them governed it in turn; power belonged to each of them for one day a year during which he was the sole master of it; among them, some loved good, the others evil. But united they had the ability to do good and evil, and they could choose in this regard. The chief of the gods sent the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, who was a part of his nature, in order to get men to worship him alone and obey him. Learning of this, the gods stirred up mankind against him, and these crucified him. |56 The history of Marcion Then there appeared a man named Marcion, who was the son of a certain bishop of the land of Pontus. He found there a pious girl who stayed day and night at the church; she was a virgin. Marcion seduced her and corrupted her. When his father learned this, he excommunicated him and expelled him from the church. He went to Rome; but the faithful of that church would not receive him and scorned him. Returning to Asia, he attached to himself a bishop of that land named Aristinus. Marcion went out in public, proselytised, and discoursed on religion. When the bishop died, Marcion was not there. When he arrived, he was given the testament which bishop Aristinus had written, and where he was given (his last wishes). Marcion took it and read it, but, seeing nothing favourable to himself, he left in anger and corrupted all the people that he had captured for his purposes by his teaching.

The Lord Christ, may he be glorified, he said, was not the son of the Creator, as I told you until now; on the contrary, he is a stranger to him. There are 3 divine beings; one the Good, which is on high; the other the Evil, which is below; the third the Just, which is in the middle. The just god |57 formed the matter which was in the depths and called the wicked being, there manifested his acts, and created the sky, the four elements, paradise and the stars of heaven. Then he took from the mud of paradise, fashioned from it [the body] of man, placed a soul of his own substance and nature in him and ... like him. Then he created from the dregs of matter Tartarus, the earth and its larger inanimate objects; he created all the animals of the earth and placed in them a created soul. Then he finished by creating Adam; and he married him off; they multiplied and their descendants were numerous. While the earth was being filled with men, he gave them the books of the Torah and all the ancient books which contained his commandments, his prohibitions, his promises and his threats. Then, as the good God watched this, he stirred from his inertia and was jealous of the Just Being, the creator, and was envious of him;

and he sent his son, who was of his nature and substance, to be with the creatures of the Just to recall them to the worship of his Father and to redeem them by his blood. He traversed his regions and passed, with the Just being knowing it, until he came down on to the earth where the fundament of matter was found. He saw the corruption of the creatures and their estrangement from religion and he led them to worship his Father. When the Creator learned this, he stirred up his servitors against him, and the Son himself gave to companions of the Creator the power to kill him and redeemed them by his power and his blood; then he returned from death and converted them to the worship of his Father. Embracing the worship of the good God, |58 they reduced the Just being, the Creator, to impotence. The Good God gave them new books which did not agree with those that the Just Creator had given them with his commandments, his prohibitions, his promises and his threats. He took paradise from the Creator; he established there those who were obedient to his order; but those who disobeyed him. He threw them into hell and made them remain there for ever. Of the evangelists he only accepted Luke.

Marcion published this impure teaching and the bishops exhorted him for a long time to return to the truth; but as he persisted in his error, they excommunicated him and expelled him from the church. All this took place in the time of Titus Antoninus, the first year of his reign, which is the year 449 of Alexander. In year 470 of Alexander Marcus began to reign, with his two sons Antoninus and Lucius, for 19 years. In year 8 of his reign at Rome bishop Soter sat for 8 years; his successor Eleutherius sat for 30 years. At Alexandria Agrippinus sat for 12 years; after him, Julianus for 10 years. |59 At Antioch Maximus sat for 18 years. At Byzantium Protonicus (Pertinax) sat for 10 years; after him Olympianus for 12 years. At Jerusalem Gaius sat for 3 years; after him another Gaius for 4 years; then Symmachus for 3 years.

In year 12 of the reign of Marcus, Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, was illustrious, who composed several books. In year 16 of Marcus, there was agitation against the Christians, and they were persecuted extremely; many bishops underwent martyrdom and Justus the philosopher was also crowned with martyrdom at Rome. At this time appeared a man named Tatian, who was a disciple of Justus, the philosopher of whom we have spoken as being crowned with martyrdom. After leaving his teacher he abandoned orthodoxy and was the author of a great heresy. There exists, he said, several divine beings and several invisible aeons; everything is a mixture of good and evil, because everything lives in pairs (Syzygy). He altered and reversed the order of the tribes (genealogies) which had been fixed; he said that the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, |60 [is of the race of] David . He composed a gospel which differed from that ... He said that after death, eating... his errors (produced) several difficulties.

Then there appeared [a man] named Montanus who claimed to be the Paraclete. The Lord Christ, may he be glorified, [he said], sent him into the world; some disciples gathered to follow him, and he set himself to teach a doctrine of impiety and error. Then he was excommunicated and expelled; but he made some proselytes and had some followers who remained attached to him until his death. Then at Rome appeared another heresiarch named Florinus, who was a priest. He was the object of public indignation and was deposed from the priesthood. Then he left the church, full of anger, and attracted some disciples.

He said that there were three divine beings who agreed among themselves: one of them was established on high, the second below him, in the middle, and the third below the latter, at the bottom. Each of the last two honours, respects and considers as superior to himself those above him. The god which is in the middle calls the god who is above him the Father; and the god at the bottom likewise gives the name of |61 Father to him who is above him, so that each of them is like the Son to him that is above him. Together they created the world. (In the beginning) they formed and created a subtle substance; then they created man and placed him in the region located between heaven and earth; they embellished this location with fires and lights, making for him a paradise where they planted different species of pleasant trees, and established him in the newly created world. A certain angel, seeing this, envied the man; without the permission of the gods he came down and established himself with a certain number of his companions. He set himself to oppose the man and wanted to expel him from paradise; and he didn't stop opposing him and fighting him until he was expelled from it; then he possessed himself of Paradise. The man multiplied and his descendants were numerous; but they were unable to return to Paradise.

When the gods saw this, they sent to him someone to get him to return to his place, and so that the man and his posterity might reenter Paradise; but (the angel) refused to do it. Then the gods were annoyed with the angel and his companions. Then the bottom god was himself entrusted with it. By a ruse he transformed himself into a man and appeared before Satan who was disobedient and before his companions; he didn't stop fighting against them until he expelled them from Paradise and had restored the first man to his place. Florinus denied the resurrection of the dead. Apart from that, he advanced some impious propositions which he had put forward. |62

At this time at Menbidj (Hierapolis) there lived a wise man, Apollinarius, who was bishop of Menbidj. He battled against the sectaries of this heresy, refuted their opinions and composed several books on this subject. History of the damned Ibn-Daisan (Bardesanes) In year 15 of Souhouq son of Narses, king of Persia, which is the year 465 of Alexander, a certain number of the inhabitants of his empire conspired against Souhouq, king of Persia, and wanted to kill him. He was informed of this, and had them arrested. There he found a man named Nouhama with his wife who was called Nahsiram. Learning what the king had ordered in this matter — he lived in the middle of the people — he and his wife left the city of the king and went to Edessa, where they settled. His wife Nahsiram was then pregnant. Then Nouhama was afraid that one of the Persian merchants who came from time to time to Edessa would notice him and have him arrested with his wife.

So he left Edessa and travelled towards the Euphrates, while his wife was |63 already on the point of giving birth. When he had left Edessa and come to the river, just below the town which is called Daisan, on the bank of the river his wife Nahsiram gave birth to a son, to whom they gave the name of Ibn Daisan, from the name of this river where she gave birth. They fled again, he and his wife, into a cave close to the road, where they settled and stayed for 25 days. Then he left that place, crossed the Euphrates and came to Menbidj (Hierapolis), where he settled. He found himself at Menbidj an old pagan priest, who had no children at all. The priest ... Nouhama and lived with him; his son became attached to the priest and the latter adopted him. When the child began to walk and was larger, he set himself to learn from the priest the teachings of the pagans and their mysteries, and he so arrived at the age of puberty. Then the priest who was instructing him sent him one day to Edessa so that he could bring back certain objects and certain things that he needed for the cult of the gods whom he worshipped. In walking in the streets of Edessa, he passed a church built by the apostle Addai; he heard the voice of thebishop of Edessa, who was preaching to the people from the sacred books. Ibn Daisan reflected in his heart and decided to learn the mysteries of Christianity. He went into the church, frequented it, and made known to the Christians that which had struck him. Then (the bishop) explained to him the truth of Christianity, baptised him, made him a deacon, and gave him a job at the church. |64

The young man bowed, went out, abandoned his family and his mother and began to make some treatises in which he refuted the false opinions that were current in that place; and he didn't stop doing this until the pagans had had a particular conference with him. So they corrupted him and sowed their weeds into his heart. He took up again the mysteries of paganism that the priest of Menbidj had taught him, adopted the teaching of Anathousois (or Scuthinus?) and became the author of a heresy in which he had no predecessor. There are, he said, seven elements of which three are the principal ones, and the other four are less important. The three principal elements are: Intellect, Force and Spirit; the other four are Fire, Water, Light and Air. These seven elements are associated with one another, and from this union come 360 worlds. Man is likewise created from these seven elements: his soul is formed from the three principal and spiritual (elements); in another book, he admits that the body of man is composed of the four inferior elements. He affirms also the existence of seven and twelve (principles); he says: the brain of man comes from the sun; his bones from Saturn; his veins from Mercury; his blood from Mars; his flesh from Jupiter; his hair from Venus, his skin from the moon. |65

According to this teaching, man consists in these seven things. (Ibn Daisan) says: As the moon increases and then diminishes through thirty days, so the Mother of life removes her clothes each month and goes into the Father of life; he is united to her, and she gives birth to seven children. So, each year, her children number 84. (Ibn Daisan) denied the resurrection of the body. He said that carnal copulation with women is a purification for them and a dimunition of the sin which is in them, and that in this way they may become better. This happened in the time of Marcus and his two sons, Lucius and Antoninus. Commodus, son of Antoninus, reigned for thirteen years, in the year 489 of Alexander. The first year of his reign, at Alexandria the bishop Julianus sat for ten years; his successor was Demetrius who sat for forty-two years.

In the year 10 of Commodus, at Rome sat the bishop Victor for ten years. At Antioch sat the bishop Serapion for twenty-one years. At Byzantium sat the bishop Pertinax for eighteen years. |66 At Jerusalem sat the bishop Maximus for four years; after him, Antoninus for three years; after him Valens for four years; after him Dolichianus for four years. The emperor Commodus died and Pertinax succeeded him and reigned six months, and he was killed in his palace. In the year 502 of Alexander, Severus reigned for eighteen years. In the year 9 of his reign, at Rome sat the bishop Narcissus. In the year 10 of his reign there appeared at Rome two men, one called Artemon and the other Theodotus. They said that Christ was an ordinary created man and that he wasn't God at all; but that the Holy Spirit was of the substance of God and of his naturtem and that he had created the Son from nothing.

In the same year Severus stirred up a great persecution against the Christians and forced them to embrace paganism and to sacrifice to idols. At this period the philosopher Origen was famous, who was a learned man of Alexandria where he was a professor. He had many disciples among whom |67 were: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Theodore bishop of Tarsus, Heracleas who became bishop of Alexandria and others. In the year 13 some difficulties arose between the Jews and Samaritans: they went to war and a great number were killed on both sides. In the year 520 of Alexander Antoninus Q.ntus began to reign (Caracalla); his reign lasted seven years. In the first year of his reign at Antioch the bishop Asclepiades sat, whose episcopate lasted 12 years. At Byzantium the bishop Marcus sat for 3 years. At Ephesus sat Onesimus for 10 years; after him, Lucius; after him, Proclus. Narcissus occupied the episcopal seat of Jerusalem. He left his seat and retired to the desert. His successor Dius sat for 3 years; after him Germanus for 7 years; after him Gordius for 2 years. Then after 12 years Narcissus reappeared. (The bishops) asked him to return to his see (seat) and take up his ministry again, but he refused because he could not move because of his great age and his very advanced years. So they established Alexander in his place. |68

Macrinus reigned for one year. At this period at Rome sat the bishop Calixtus for 5 years. In the year 528 of Alexander Antoninus (Heliogabalus) began to reign; he reigned four years. In the first year of his reign the city of Nicopolis was constructed in the land of Palestine, which the Holy Scripture calls Emmaus. In the year 532 of Alexander, Alexander son of Mamma began to reign; his reign lasted 13 years. In the first year of his reign, bishop Urbanus occupied the seat of Rome for 8 years; after him Pontianus for 6 years. In the year 8 of his reign, at Alexandria after Demtrius sat Heracles for 16 years. At Antioch sat Philetus for 9 years; his successor Zebina (Zebennus) sat for 12 years. At Byzantium Cyrillianus sat for 15 years. |69 In the year 9 of the reign of Alexander Severus, Ardashir, son of Babek, the first king of Persia of the line of the Sassanids, came to the position of king and reigned for 14 years; this year was the 541st of Alexander.

Then reigned Maximianus (Maximinus) for 3 years. The inhabitants of his empire (the soldiers) attacked and killed him. He stirred up a persecution against the Christians and killed Sergius and Bacchus, the martyrs, and many other martyrs. In the year 548 of Alexander Gordianus came to empire and reigned for 6 years. In the first year of his reign, at Rome there sat the bishop Anterus for a month; after him, Fabius (Fabianus) for 14 years. At Byzantium sat Constantine (Castinus, Kistinus) for 6 years. At this period appeared at Caesarea of Pontus (Neocaesarea) Gregory Thaumaturgus. At Antioch sat the bishop Babylas. He opposed the governor of Antioch in his time, and forbade him to enter the churches and mock them. So the governor killed him with three young folk, his disciples. |70 At this period Africanus was famous, author of chronicles who composed many books on the eras and the dates of kings and others.

At that time Africanus was illustrious, author of the chronicles, who composed several books on the times and the lives of the kings and others. In the year 554 of Alexander, Philip became emperor and reigned for seven years; he professed the doctrines of Christianity. When he wanted to go into the church, the bishop forbade him and said to him: "You cannot go in there, so long as you will persist in your sins; you are a sinner; you must confess your sins to God for a definite and given time; then you will go into (the church) with the believers." And (the emperor) remained outside with the penitents. In the first year of his reign, there reigned over the Persians Sabour, son of Ardashir, for thirty one years In year 3 of his reign, there sat in Alexandria the bishop Dionysius for eighteen years; he was one of the disciples of Origen.

In this year, a sect of heretics appeared which said: "He who apostasises with his mouth, refuses to recognize God and hides his faith in his heart, is not an infidel, because his faith is in the thoughts of his heart and his desire; it is the same for incredulity." They put about on this subject a book where they tell that he who reads it and listens to it, receives the forgiveness of his sins. They did not accept any of the prophets and apostles. |71 At this time, the convents and the communities of monks were founded; they were established by Antonius, an Egyptian monk, and Paul the monk, the first of whom instituted the use of woollen clothing (the cilice) and the solitary life in the desert. In the year 561 of Alexander, Decius became emperor and reigned for one year and three months. He conspired against the life of the emperor Philip, and he killed him because of his inclination for Christianity. Decius was an enemy of the Christians and he persecuted them cruelly; many of them suffered martyrdom, and Fabianus, bishop of Rome, was put at death; his successor Cornelius, in Rome, had a pontificate of three years.

In Antioch, after Babylas, Flavianus (Fabius) sat for four years. Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, was also put to death; Mazabanus succeeded him and sat for fifteen years At that time, there appeared in Rome a priest called Novatus the heretic. He said that there is no forgiveness for those who sin after baptism, because those who are baptized must resemble Christ, may he be glorified, and be pure like him. He was excommunicated and driven out. Dionysius, bishop |72 of Alexandria, wrote letters to him, where he informed him and requested him to give up his personal opinion and to return to the catholic doctrines; otherwise he would be in revolt and would leave the Church. But he did not accept his remonstrances. Then sixty bishops met in council to deal with him and they excommunicated him. At the time of Decius, the story of the young men happened, i.e. the sleepers of the cave. Here is what happened to them: Decius made a search for them, and they fled and hid in a cave. Having learned this, he ordered the entrance of the cave to be stopped up. It was done. But God sent a sleep on them which lasted until the day of their awakening.

In the year 562 of Alexander, Gallus and Valusius (Valusianus) reigned for two years. In the first year of their reign, Origen the philosopher died. In this year, in Rome, the bishop Lucius sat for eight years; after him, Stephanus for two years. In Antioch, Demetrianus sat for two years. In Byzantium, Titus the bishop sat for thirty years. At that time, in Egypt, a man named Sabellius appeared. He said |73 that the Father and the Son, may he be praised, are the names of only one essence and of several qualities with which it is provided; Our lord Christ, may he be glorified, appeared in the Old Testament with the attributes of the Father; then he took (?) a body in which he appeared in the world; he instituted the New Testament, where he was given as the Son, and he spoke to the Apostles as the Holy Spirit; but nevertheless, he is only one essence, only one person, only one God, who appeared under three aspects. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, refuted him. The fathers excommunicated him and drove him out.

In the year 564 of Alexander, Valerian with Gallienus, his son, became emperor and reigned for fifteen years. He acted against the Christians and excited a great persecution against them; and holy Cyprian underwent martyrdom. In the year 9 of his reign, Sabour, son of Ardashir, son of Babek, king of Persia, made war against Valerian. Sabour fought him, put him to flight, took him captive and took him back to Babylon. His son succeeded him as emperor. When Gallienus saw what had happened to Valerian, he put an end to the persecution against the Christians, had confidence in them and asked them to help him in matters of government. At that time, in Rome, Xystus (Sixtus) the bishop sat, who governed for four years; (after him), Dionysius, disciple of Xystus, for nine years. |74 In Antioch, sat Paul of Samosata for fifteen years. In Jerusalem, Hymenaeus sat for twenty-four years.

Paul of Samosata said that God, alone and solitary, did not generate and was not born; one speaks about the Father and the Son only as a parable; Christ, may he be glorified, did not exist before Mary; he was an ordinary man, and not God. Several bishops met in council about him and excommunicated him. In the year 2 of Gallienus, Gar...ous was converted. In this year, in Alexandria, Maximus sat for eight years. At the same time, the heretic Nepos the wicked made himself known, and this Nepos taught... In the year 579 of Alexander, Claudius came to the empire and reigned for one year and nine months. In the first year (of his reign), in the sky four stars appeared which formed a crown of fire. In the year 580 of Alexander, Aurelian became emperor and had a reign of six years. At that time, Paul of Samosata was excommunicated. A synod had been convened against him previously. He had made a show of repentance and of |75 conversion (to God). But when the synod had broken up, he returned to his first opinion. Then in this year, (the bishops) met (again) against him and excommunicated him; but he refused to leave the Church and had recourse to the emperor. The Christians also sought the help of the emperor Aurelian, who ordered him driven out of the Church. He was expelled in spite of himself and he remained in exile until his death.

The history of Mani (Manes) the damned. The father of Mani was a man of Susa, named Foutbaq, from Al-Ahwaz; his wife was called Yousit; she gave him a son whom he called Qourbiqous. When he had grown and reached seven years of age, he was |76 taken into captivity and was led into Egypt. A woman of Africa, named Susannah, bought him. Her husband was called Sakousi. The doctors of Egypt attended him, and he shared the ideas of Pythagoras and of Empedocles and he had a disciple named B.rdourous, who was previously called Terbintos. Sakousi the woman's husband having died, his disciple, of whom we spoke and whose name was Bardourous, married her. He took along the woman and the young man whom she had bought, and, after having travelled, he arrived at Babylon. He said to the Persians that he had been born from a virgin and that he had been raised up in the mountains.

He composed four books; he called one the "Book of the Mysteries", another the "Gospel", the third the "Book of the Treasury," and the fourth the "Book of the chapters". He did not cease misleading people by his magic, insolence and perfidiousness, until he had amassed much money and had died in a miserable way. Susannah, his wife, after burying him, dealt with the young man; she was given to him; and she gave him the money of her husband, |77 about which I spoke above, and the books which her second husband had made; and she was united to him, i.e. to the young man Qourbiqous, who was her third husband. The young man informed himself from these books and applied himself for a long time to the study of the letters. Then the woman died and left the money and the books to the young man. He carried off the money and the books and arrived at Susa, his city and the place of his birth. He gave himself the name Mani and claimed to be the author of these books.

As he professed Christianity, the bishop of al-Ahwaz made him a priest; he taught at the church and explained the Scriptures and started to talk against the pagans, the Jews, the Magi and all the followers of the heretical doctrines in contradiction with Christianity. He chose disciples, of which one was called Addai, another Thomas, the third Hermeas (M.radi). He sent his disciple Addai to Yemen to invite people to embrace his doctrines; and he sent Thomas to India. Hermeas remained near him in Susa. The two disciples returned and let him know that (the people) had not complied with their word and had not received them. He was extremely irritated at this, abandoned the doctrines of the Christians which he had seemingly professed, and became the author of an absurd heresy. He represented himself as the Paraclete whom the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, promised to send to his disciples. He gathered twelve disciples; and he blew on them, |78 as the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, did to his disciples. They separated, he and they, to lead the world astray.

He said: "I did not speak seriously when I said that the one God subsists in three person." Here in addition is what he wrote and did not cease inculcating: There were always two Beings of which one is God, source of Good and source of the Light and Kindness; the other is Matter, the substance of Evil and source of Ignorance, Darkness and Corruption. God is sublime and without limit; as for the two substances of the middle, they are limited, palpable and corporeal. One fine day, the Evil substance, having been disturbed, stirred up its children against each other; its children are the devils, demons, fire and water. They did not cease to make war against each other until they came to the place of the Good, and they stole its Light. They came then and said: "Let us attack it; if it is something edible, we will eat it; and if Good is a drink, we will drink it." And they resolved to attack it. When God, who is the principle of Good, had seen this, he took a piece of himself and threw it to them. The Evil Being absorbed this piece of God, whodrank him, was involved in him and was merged with him. And from this mixture the world was created. The most high God placed his two beloveds at the end (of the reign) of the principle of the Evil. |79 And God recover this piece, which passed to the Evil principle, and will join it little by little to his substance; and he will be secure against the principle of the Evil so much so that the latter will not be able to fight against him a second time.

He denied the resurrection of the dead and he said that the Lord Christ is by essence and by nature, the Son of God; God sent him to the pieces which had passed from his substance to the principle of the Evil, to announce to them that they would be delivered from the Evil Being and that they would return to him with those who were on the side of Evil and did not know it. (Mani said:) All the substance of Christ is only a phantom. He said that he had not been really crucified and had not died; but that his crucifixion and death were only an appearance, because the Evil Being stirred up against him its demons, which killed him and crucified him seemingly; but actually that did not take place. He was saved and reunited with the divine whole. He said that souls are transmitted. He said that he was the Apostle of Christ, that he is of the pure essence of God and that the body in which he appeared, is only a phantom.

Sabour, son of Ardashir, king of the Persians, had him killed, skinned his body, impaled him and thus crucified him. In the year 6 of Aurelian, Hormizd reigned in Persia for one year. In this same year, was born the emperor Constantine. |80 (At that time) Eusebius, bishop of Laodicea, was known among the learned. Then Aurelian wanted to stir up in all his empire a persecution against the Christians; but while he was thinking of it, lightning fell..., and struck him. Tacitus reigned for six months and was killed. Florianus reigned for six years and was killed in Tarsus. Probus reigned for seven years, in the year 586 of Alexander. In the first year of his reign, Varahran, son of Varahran, reigned in Persia and occupied the throne for three years; he had as a successor his son Varahran who reigned for seventeen years. In the year 4 of his reign, sat in Rome, after Felix who had governed for six years, Eutychianus for one year; Gaius succeeded him and had a fifteen year pontificate.

In Alexandria, Theonas sat for nineteen years. In Antioch, Timaeus sat for fifteen years. In Byzantium, Domitius (Domitianus) sat for twenty-three years. |81 In Jerusalem, Hermanus sat. Then the emperor Probus was killed in a war. After him, Carus, with his sons Carinus and Numerian, reigned for three years, in year 593 of Alexander; they were killed, all three, in a war. In the year 2 of his reign, the martyrs Cosmas and Damianus were put to death. Diocletian reigned for twenty years, in the year 596 of Alexander; the era of Diocletian starts from that year. In the first year of his reign, the bishop Marcellinus occupied the see of Rome for fifteen years; after him, Eusebius for five years. In Antioch, Cyrillus sat for eleven years; his successor (in Rome) Marthis (Maltiades) had a five year pontificate In Alexandria, Peter sat for eleven years After him (in Antioch), Tyrannus sat for ten years

In Byzantium, Probus sat. Peter (of Alexandria) was succeeded by Archelaus (Achillas), according to what is in the diptych; it was a pontificate of eleven years. |82 In Jerusalem, after Hermanus who governed for twenty-four years, sat (Vitalius (?)) for eight years, and his successor Heraclius for nine years. At that time there were four co-emperors: Diocletian; Maximianus, son-in-law of Diocletian; Maxentius, son of Diocletian (Maximianus), and Constantine. Diocletian and Maximianus governed the East, i.e. Armenia, Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia as far as Palestine; and their administration was separate. As for Maxentius, son of Diocletian (Maximianus), he only reigned in Rome and over the neighbouring countries and the regions. Constantine reigned over Constantinople, which is Byzantium. At that time, the inhabitants of Egypt and Alexandria revolted; and Diocletian sent against them many troops of soldiers who destroyed them. In the year 11 of Diocletian, there reigned in Persia Narses for seven years; after him, Hormizd reigned for five years.

In the year 19 of his reign, Diocletian ordered the churches of the Christians to be destroyed, and they were ruined, totally, from floor to roof; and he started to persecute the Christians violently; that lasted for eight years, and a great number of them were put to death. |83 In this same year, Peter, bishop of Alexandria, suffered martyrdom. He was the first to uncover the heresy of Arius, and he anathematised him, because Arius disturbed his time and claimed that the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, is only a man and is not God. Peter died, without lifting (the anathema). After Peter had been put to death, Archelaus (Achillas) succeeded to him for one year; after him, the patriarch Alexander occupied the seat for twenty-three years. There was, that year, a terrible famine, so much so that a modius of wheat was sold for 2500 dirhams. Then Diocletian abdicated power, withdrew to his house and remained insane all the time until the moment of his death. His son-in-law Maximianus did the same. They had as successors one Severus and the other Maximianus, who persecuted the Christians and killed a great number of them.

After a reign of one year, Severus was killed. Constantine the Great reigned for thirty-three years, in the year 627 of Alexander. He was the first of the sovereigns of the Romans and the Greeks who accepted baptism and converted to Christianity. In the year 3 of his reign, he ordered the walls of Byzantium to be built, called it Constantinople and made it the capital. |84 (At that time), the bishop Mitrophanus occupied the see for thirteen years; after him, Alexander for twenty-three years. In Antioch, Vitalius sat for six years; after him, Philogonius for five years; after him, Eustathius for eight years; after him, Paulinus for one year; after him, Eulalius for six years. In Jerusalem, Macarius sat for twenty-four years; after him, Maximus for fifteen years At that time, Father Pachomius, a monk of Egypt, started to found the communities and convents in Egypt. In the year 5 of Constantine, Sabour, son of Hormizd, reigned in Persia for seventy years.

In the year 7 of his reign, Maximianus was killed. In this same year, Constantine prepared to make war against Maxentius, son of Maximianus, son-in-law of Diocletian, because he had revolted (against him), had seized Rome and the neighbouring countries and had started to maltreat and persecute the inhabitants. Constantine reflected and thought that, if God helped him in this combat, he would worship him. While he was thinking about this, he raised his eyes to heaven in the middle of the day and saw there the image of a luminous cross on which was written: "In this sign and this image you will conquer." All those who were with him were also witnesses of this extraordinary |85 vision. The following night, he saw the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, who said to him: "Go to a goldsmith and say to him to make you (an image) of gold in the resemblance of that which you saw in the sky; and with this sign you will conquer and overcome your enemy and you will triumph over all those who are opposed to you." When morning came, (he did what the vision prescribed). It is because of this wonder that the emperors of the Romans were from now on preceded by the cross in their armies and their wars.

Then Constantine marched against Rome. Maxentius, son of Maximianus, went out to meet him; but he was put to flight, fell into the river and drowned... Rome for twelve years. On this day the emperor Constantine captured Rome and entered there. The Christians who were there, were fleeing in fear of him. Bishop Eusebius (Silvester) had also fled. Constantine had married a daughter of Diocletian, who was called Maximi.

Constantine being leprous in his body, certain pagans came near him and said to him: "If you want, O emperor, to be purified of your leprosy, kill the children who are in this city and wash yourself in their blood." He ordered that the children should be taken to kill them. Then great clamours were heard in the city and its surroundings. When he had heard this, he had pity on them and ordered them let go and returned them to their parents. During the night |86 he saw in a dream two men who said to him: "If you want to be purified of your leprosy, send to seek out the bishop of Rome, Silvester, who, to hide from you, is in flight in the mountains, and make him come here; it is he who will cure your leprosy." In the morning he sent to seek out the bishop; he was found and brought back. When he came to the emperor, the latter said to him: "Explain to me, O man of God, who are the two pious men whom I saw this night in a dream." The bishop said to him: "O emperor! Those whom you saw, are not gods, but men like you: it is Peter and Paul, disciples of the Lord Christ, may he be glorified." And the bishop sent to seek out their image from the church. Seeing them, the emperor said: "In truth, these are those that I saw in dream." Then the bishop preached to the emperor and explained the principles of Christianity to him. The emperor believed and accepted baptism. At the moment of his baptism his leprosy disappeared and fell like scales from a fish.

Having received baptism, he ordered that the churches of the Christians destroyed throughout the country should be rebuilt; and they were restored. He established for them good and useful laws. At that time, approximately 12,000 pagans and Jews accepted baptism, without counting women and children. They praised the Great God and prayed for the emperor and the bishop. |87 That took place in the year 11 of Constantine, which was the year 628 of Alexander. When the Jews who did not accept baptism saw this, envy misled them, and they said that it was not Christ who had cured the emperor of his leprosy, but the God alone whom the Jews worshipped. Having heard this, the emperor was disturbed by it, because of his desire to know the truth; he gathered twelve heads of the Jews and twelve bishops and ordered to them to discuss in front of him; and he did not cease listening to them greedily and acting as referee between them until they had finished their discussion. He made them go home and stuck to Christianity.

Then his mother Helena converted to Christianity, accepted baptism and went to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to beseech the protection of the Lord Christ, may he be glorified. She built churches of Great God in Jerusalem and in all the country. That was done with the assistance of Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem. She took the nails with which the hands and the feet of the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, had been nailed, carried them to her son Constantine, who made some into a bit for his horse. He also took half of the cross, according to what certain people claim, and brought it to Constantinople. The other half remained in Apamea. She covered with gold the half that she had brought, and placed it at Constantinople in a church. There are some |88 people who believe that she did not leave anything of it at Apamea and that she brought the complete cross to Constantinople.

The history of the damned Arius.

In the time of the emperor Constantine, there was in Alexandria a man named Arius. Peter, bishop of Alexandria, ordained him deacon; but having learned that Arius moved away from the truth, he excommunicated him. Then Peter was put to death and had as a successor Archelaous (Achillas) as bishop. Arius interceded with the latter and had recourse to the intervention of people close to him. Then Achillas lifted the excommunication that Peter the martyr, had pronounced against him, and made him a priest. But after a little time, he showed his hypocrisy and expressed what had been hidden in his heart. Arius envied Alexander because of his knowledge, his high culture and his influence. Alexander ordered in another message: Alexander was mistaken, because Achillas, who was after Peter... Achillas the year... (Alexander allowed? Arius one day to preach at the time of a festival. When he had gone up into the pulpit, he began his sermon by quoting the passage where Solomon, son of David, says in his Book: "The Lord created me |89 before his creatures. One of those present asked him to interpret this passage. Arius answered him: "I understand only (by this passage) that the Lord Christ, the Son, was created before all the creatures. Then, one day, Arius went up into the pulpit and preached for the second time; he treated in his sermon the same idea and asserted that the Son is created. After that day he was forbidden by the priests to preach in the pulpits of Alexandria.

The people wanted to know his opinion, so he taught them his doctrines and taught that the Lord Christ, may he be glorified, according to his opinion, is a created man, that the Son has a beginning and that he created the Holy Spirit. When Alexander had been informed about his doctrines, he assembled nearly one hundred bishops of Egypt, who anathematised him and all those who shared his ideas. Then bishop Alexander bishop informed the Patriarch of Constantinople about this. Arius also wrote to Eusebius, bishop of Nicomédie, requesting his help, and he let him know that several bishops shared his doctrines; among them: Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine; Theodotus, bishop of Laodicea; Paulinus, bishop of Tyre; A.m.s, bishop of Menbidj (Hierapolis); Athanasius, bishop of Anazarbe, and others. Then Arius went to Rome, was presented to the emperor |90 Constantine and complained to him about the way in which Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, had treated him and his followers; and he explained to him why his doctrines were the truth.

Then the emperor Constantine wrote to Alexander, requesting him to lift the anathema on Arius. But Alexander refused to do it. Then the emperor, wanting to know the truth, to inform himself and to understand, sent to all the bishops the following letter: "On behalf of the emperor Constantine to the bishops and monks who receive our present message, greeting! You know already what I expressed in an absolute way, that I have nothing more at heart and that there is nothing better in my eyes than the fear of God and the veneration which is due to him, with that brings us closer to God. The first synod had already gathered in Ancyra, town of Galatia. Now we have judged it good to convene another synod in the town of Nicaea for several reasons: the first is the convenient situation (of this city) for the bishops of Antioch and other cities; the second, the stability and softness of the climate; the third, that I will be in the vicinity of the Synod and that I will attend the meetings which will take place there. This is why I let you know, my brothers, and I order you to prepare yourselves and to arrange to travel to |91 the said town of Nicaea; — so that each one of you reflects on my order and regards it as his duty; arrange to arrive quickly, without sloth or negligence. Let each one of you attend the council of Nicaea as we have said. May God keep you and his grace be fulfilled in you. Greeting!"

The meeting of the council required a long time. Constantine charged those around him to organise the council and the bishops and the metropolitans who arrived successively at Nicaea, so that each got the residence which was appropriate for his rank and dignity until all the bishops of all the cities were brought together. And (those close to the emperor) carried this out. When the council was assembled, they wrote to the emperor to notify their meeting to him. The emperor entered, placed himself in the middle of the company and assisted at the actions from beginning to end. Their first session took place on the 9 of Haziran (June) in the year 636 of Alexander, which is the year 19 of Constantine. Here are the names of the most famous prelates at this council: Viton and Vicentius, two priests, representatives of the pope of Rome. |92 Alexander, bishop of Alexandria. Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem. Germanus, bishop of Samaria (Schamrin, Neapolis). Eusebius, bishop of Damascus. Anatolius, bishop of Hims (Emesa). Eustathius, bishop of Antioch. Zinabius, bishop of Seleucia. James, bishop of Nisibis and with him holy Ephraim the doctor. Theodore, bishop of Tarsus, and others. They anathematised Arius and formulated the symbol (of Nicaea) received by all (the members). They said:

"We believe in one God only, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, (of all things) visible and invisible; and in one Lord only, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, alone, begotten of the Father before time, light of light, true God of true God; begotten, not created, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven, became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, was made man, was crucified for us in the time of Pontius Pilate, suffered, died, was buried, rose again on the third day, as is written, went up to heaven, sat on the right of the Father; and he will return in glory to judge the living and the dead; and his reign will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. |93

"As for those who say: He was and he died; he did not exist before being begotten; he was made of nothing or another substance or essence or another οὐσία; he is changeable or mutable; or that who represents the Son of God by one of these qualities, — that one is anathematised, excommunicated and wicked." They also settled several questions about the Easter calculation, which was changed, and they wrote 20 canons. Some of these bishops had met before in Ancyra of Galatia, had written 24 canons, then they had gone to Nicaea. Then they met in Caesarea, after their meeting at Ancyra and before that of Nicaea, and also wrote 20 canons. Then 90 bishops gathered in Antioch and wrote 25 canons. Then (bishops) met (in Gangres) and wrote 20 canons. Then they gathered in Laodicea and wrote 19 canons. All these events took place in the time of the emperor Constantine and of his house.

When Arius was anathematised at the council of the 318 bishops, who wrote his excommunication, there were there a certain number of bishops and other personnages who shared the doctrines of Arius and who refused to sign the excommunication of Arius. As the council inspired them |94 with fear, some of them repented and returned (to God); as for those who did not return, they were excommunicated, anathematised and banished. Among those who were anathematised and banished, were Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia; Theognis, bishop of Nicaea; Mari, bishop of Chalcedon, and Secundus, bishop of Akka (Ptolemaïs). Then some of the bishops rose and presented to the emperor a letter wherein there were recriminations against other bishops. When the emperor had read it, he ordered that it should be burned and said: "If I find a certain priest suspected and afflicted, I will cover him with my clothing." Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, was charged to formulate what had been halted by these synods.

The emperor sent a letter to all the provinces wherein he said that all the questions of this synod were finished and completed with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, his inspiration and his power, and that the question of the Easter Festival was appropriately settled. He ordered all the bishops to be zealous in the construction of churches; he ordered Eusebius to write to him the titles of the books that were read, and he ordered the books of Arius burned. He also sent another letter to all his governors in which he said: "On behalf of the emperor Constantine to the bishops, the metropolitans, the priests, |95 the governors and all the people who will receive our letter, greeting! Arius the liar resembles the devil, wicked and malicious, and he has separated himself from the faith; this is why he contradicted the people and became the author of a heresy without precedent. Thus misfortune has seized him and the testing happened to him. It is necessary to burn his books, so that there remains no memory of him and nothing of his words; and I order those who have something of his, to burn and destroy it all; if not, they will be tainted with the misfortune which happened to Arius; and none of them will find for his soul the way of salvation, God willing!"

Then, after these matters, the emperor made war with certain enemies who surrounded him, overcame them and made captive a great number of them. Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, died 5 months after the meeting of the council of Nicaea; and he had as successor Athanasius, who sat for 46 years Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, Théognis and those who shared their doctrines did not give up their opinions, their revolt and their error and they persisted in their impiety; they went, convened a council at Antioch and drove out Eustathius, bishop of Antioch; they stripped him of everything and defamed him. They hid at his house a woman who was pregnant by a certain blacksmith; and she started to shout and say: "I am pregnant by a man who is called Eustathius." They deposed Eustathius and wanted |96 to establish in his place Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea; but the latter did not accept it from them. Then the people were divided into parties; discord reigned and the see of Antioch remained vacant for eight years.

Then, after that, sat the bishop Eulalius for one year; Euphronius succeeded to him and sat for six years. When the inhabitants of Antioch had driven out Eustathius, they acclaimed Arius and declared in his favour. At the court of the emperor there was a follower of Arius, like a secret agent; he was attached to their doctrines, helped them and protected them. He requested the emperor to write to Arius and to enable him to come to him. The emperor acceded to this and ordered Arius to come to him. When he received the letter, he went to the emperor with a deacon, who had been anathematised with him. The emperor ordered them to explain their faith in a report and to present it to him. When he had examined it, he found there nothing which deviated from the truth. The emperor wrote to Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and asked him to receive them and to restore them in their rank. But Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, refused to receive them. On this the followers of Arius gathered and, in their deliberations, they resolved to calumniate Athanasius to the emperor and to bring the most serious charges against him. And they acted accordingly. |97

But at the court of the emperor, there was one of the disciples of Athanasius, who apprised the emperor of the trickery of Arius and his followers, their jealousy for Athanasius, the falseness of their calumnies and their charges. Then the emperor ordered that Arius and his followers should be separated and he wrote to Athanasius to come and find him. When he arrived, the emperor questioned him on several points that Arius and his followers had taught, and he explained all that to him. Then the emperor restored him to his place with great honor. These events took place in the year 30 of Constantine. And we have judged it good to give here the order of the kings who reigned from Adam to this time, according to what the authors of annals report, who wrote and laid out clearly the times and the years. We will join together (information) on the kings of various peoples and various nations as far as we are able, to show what difference exists between them about the increase and of the reduction in the years (of the reign of such or such king), if God the Almighty allows it.

Africanus says in the book that he composed on the times: Adam governed the world from the beginning for 930 years. Seth, his son, governed the world for 128 years. After him, Alak.r.dis.(Alasparus) |98 for 920 years and 7 months; after him, Amelun for 128 years and 3 months; Alorus king of Medes (?) for 98 years, 9 months and 20 days; after him, Amenon for 168 years and 7 months and half; after him, Metalarus for 157 years and 6 months; after him, Daonus for 98 years and 7 months and half; Evedorachus for 117 years and 6 months and half; Amphis for 98 years and 7 months and half; after him, Otiartes for 28 years and 7 months and half; after him, Xisuthrus for 157 years and 6 months and half. The total number of years from Adam to the flood is 2,242 years In the detailed calculation he misses out 3 months and 10 days.

That agrees with the true Torah, according to the translation of the Seventy which was translated under Ptolemy, king of Egypt, in an irreproachable manner.

After the flood: Noah governed the world for 310 years; Sem, his son, for 130 years; Arphaxad, Khamite, for 33 ans;... hraus |99 (Evechius) for 21 years; Akoumasthous (Chosmasbolus) for 35 years; Kourous (Porus) for 30 years; Nachoubous (Nachoubes) for 33 years; Nabius for 40 years; Osanous (Oniballus) for 35 years; Findirous (Zinzirus) for 41 years; Mardocentes for (44) years; Mardafbus (Mardacus) for 40 years; M.r.d (Sisimordacus), his son, for 45 years; thius (Nabius) for 37 years; Parannus for 40 years; Samouanbous (Nabonnabus) for 28 years; Belus the Assyrian for 15 years; Nabius for 52 years; Semiramis for 42 years; Ninyas, called Zames, for 38 years; Arius for 30 years; Aralius for 40 years; Xerxes for 30 years; Armamithris for 30 years; Malaeus (Balaeus) for 52 years; Athadaus (Sehos) for 32 years; Mamythus for 30 years; Machalaous (Aschalius) for 28 years; Sphaerus for 22 years; Mamylus for 32 years; Asthatharas (Sparthaeus) for 28 years; Amyntes for 45 years; Ochsous (Belochus) for 25 years; Balatoris for 30 years; Lamprides for 32 years; Sosares for 20 years; Saqadataous (Ascadates) |100 for 40 years; Saphranous (Saqranous) for 40 years; .faris (Lampraïs) for 30 years; Phanyas (Panyas) for 45 years; Sousarmous (Sosarmus) for 22 years; Snaraous (Mithraeus) for 27 years; Toutoumaous (Teutamus) for 32 years; Teutaeus for 40 years; Arabilus for 42 years; Kalaous (Chalaus) for 45 years; Anabus for 38 years; Babius for 37 years; Thinaeus for 30 years; Darqoulous (Dercylus) for 40 years; Eupacmis for 38 years; Laosthanis (Laosthenes) for 45 years; Pertiades for 30 years; Arphiathous (Ophrataeus) for 21 years;

Ephouthais (Ephecheres) for 50 years; Acraganis for 42 years; Kounthoulaous (Concolerus) for 20 years; 2 Arbacus for 28 years; Mandaous (Mandauces) for 20 years; Sousarmous for 30 years; A.tha.s (Artycas) for 30 years; Deioces for 54 years; Aphraartis for 24 years; Cyaxares for 32 years; Astyages for 28 years; Cyrus Perse for 32 years; Cambyses for 8 years; Darius for 36 years; Xerxes for 21 years; Artaxerxes for 41 years; Darius II for 19 years; Artaxerxes |101 for 46 years; Ochus for 21 years; Arses for two years; Darius III for 6 years; Alexander the Great for 6 years; Ptolemy, son of Lagos, for 39 years; Ptolemy called Philadelphus for 38 years; Ptolemy Evergetes for 25 years; Ptolemy Philopator for 29 years; Ptolemy (Epiphanes) for 24 years; Ptolemy Philometor for 35 years; Ptolemy (Evergetes II) Physcon for 16 years; (Ptolemy) Auletes for 9 years; Ptolemy Alexander for 3 years; Ptolemy Philadelphus II for 8 years; Ptolemy Dionysius for 29 years; Cleopatra for 22 years; Augustus the Romain for 43 years; Tiberius for 22 years; Gaius (Caligula) for 4 years; Claudius for 14 years; Nero for 14 years; Vespasian for 10 years; Titus for 3 years; Domitian for 15 years; Nerva for one year; Trajan for 20 years; Hadrian for 21 years; Titus Antoninus for 23 years; Marcus for 19 years; Commodus for 13 years; Severus for 18 years; Antoninus (Caracalla) for 7 years; Antoninus II (Heliogabalus) for 4 years; Alexander for 13 years; Maximianus (Maximinus) for 3 years; Gordianus for 6 years; Philippus for 6 years; Decius for 2 years;

Gallienus for 3 years; Valerian, son of..., for 14 years; Claudius for 2 years; Aurelian for |102 6 years; Probus for 9 years; Carus for 2 years; Diocletian for 19 years; Constantine for 20 years: That made 5,816 years.

Chrysostom says in his treatise that he wrote for Acacius, bishop of Melitene: "You have asked me to explain to you the chronology of the kings who reigned from Adam to Constantine the Great, the pious emperor; and I will explain it to you. "Adam, at the birth of Seth, was 230 years old; Seth, at the birth of Enos, was 205 years old; Enos, at the birth of Kaïnan, 290 years; Kaïnan, at the birth of Mahalalaïl, was 170 years old; Mahalalaïl lived, before the birth of Jared, 165 years; Jared, before the birth of Hénokh, 122 years; Hénokh, before the birth of Mathusaleh, 165 years; Mathusaleh, before the birth of Lamec, 107 years; Lamec, before the birth of Noah, 88 years; Noah, before |103 the birth of Sem, 105 years; Sem, before the birth of Arphaxad, 102 years; Arphaxad, before the birth of Sçaleh, 135 years; Sçaleh, before the birth of Haber, 130 years; Haber, before the birth of Phaleg, 134 years; Phaleg, before the birth of Ar`û (Rahu), 130 years; Ar`û, before the birth of Sarûg, 132 years; Sarûg, before the birth of Nachor, 130 years; Nachor, before the birth of Tarih, 79 years; Tarih, before the birth of Abraham, 70 years; Abraham, before the birth of Isaac, 100 years; Isaac, before the birth of Jacob, 60 years; Jacob, before the birth of Lévi, 86 years; Lévi, before the birth of Kahath, 46 years; Kahath, before the birth of Amran, 60 years; Amran, before the birth of Moïse the prophet, 73 years. The prophet Moses governed the Israelites in the desert, for 40 years.

"Joshua son of Nun governed the people for 27 years. Othoniel and Eglon the Moabite, for 40 years. The Moabites and Ahod, for 80 years. The Cananites, Debora and Baraq, for 40 years. The Madianites and Gideon, for 40 years. Thola, for 23 years. Abimelek, for 3 years. Jaïr, for 22 years. Jephthah (Jephte) and the Ammonites, for 6 years. Hesbon, for 7 years. Abdon, for 8 years. The Philistines and Samson, for 20 years. Heli, |104 the high priest, for 40 years. Samuel and Saul, for 40 years. David the prophet, for 40 years. Solomon, for 40 years. Roboam, son of Solomon, for 17 years. Abia, for 3 years. Asa, for 41 years. Josaphat, for 25 years. Joram, for 8 years. Ochozia, for one year. Athalia, for 7 years. Joas, for 40 years. Amasia, for 29 years. Azaria, called Ozia, for 52 years. Joatham, for 16 years. Achaz, for 16 years. Hezechiah, for 29 years. Manasseh, for 55 years. Amon, for 12 years. Josiah, for 31 years. Joachaz, for 3 months. Joachim, for 12 years. Jechoniah, for 3 months. Zedekiah, for 11 years. The Israelites remained in Babylon for 70 years.

"Darius (reigned) for 36 years. Xerxes, son of Darius, for 20 years. Artabanus, for 7 months. Artaxerxes Longhand, for 41 years. Xerxes II, for two months. Sogdianus, for 7 months. Darius, son of his mother (?), for 19 years. Artaxerxes Mnemon, for 40 years. Artaxerxes Ochus, for 27 years. Arses, son of Ochus, for 4 years. Darius, son of San (Arsam), for 6 years. Alexander, son of Philip, for 6 years and 7 months. Alexander tells in his book that he reigned for 16 years. |105 "Ptolemy Lagos, for 40 years. Ptolemy Philadelphus, for 38 years. Ptolemy Evergetes, for 26 years. Ptolemy Philopator, for 17 years. Ptolemy (Epiphanes), for 26 years. Ptolemy Philometor (mother-lover), for 35 years. Ptolemy Physcon, for 27 years and two months. Ptolemy Alexander, for 10 years. Ptolemy, who was driven out of the kingdom, for 8 years. Ptolemy, for 30 years. Cleopatra, for 22 years.

"Gaius Caesar, for 4 years and 4 months. Augustus Caesar, for 56 years and 6 months. Tiberius, for 22 years and 3 months. Gaius, for 3 years and 10 months. Claudius, for 13 years and 3 months. Nero, for 13 years and 7 months. Vespasian, for 9 years and 11 months. Titus, for 2 years and 2 months. Domitian, for 15 years and 5 months. Nerva, for one year and 4 months. Trajan, for 19 years and 6 months. Hadrian, for 20 years. Titus Antoninus, for 22 years and 3 months. Marcus, for 19 years. Commodus, for 13 years. Pertinax, for 6 months. Severus, for 18 years. Antoninus Caracalla, for 7 years. Marcianus (Macrinus), for one year. Antoninus (Heliogabalus), for 4 years. Alexander, son of Mammea, for 13 years. Maximinus, |106 for 3 years. Gordianus, for 6 years. Philip, for 7 years. Decius, for one year and 3 months. Aurelian, for 5 years and 3 months. Tacitus, for 6 months. Probus, for 6 years and 4 months. Carus and Carinus, for 2 years. Diocletian and Maximian, for 18 years. Constantine, for 20 years. All that made 5,460 years."

Jachya, son of Adiya, the grammarian, says in his chronicle which he made on... of Constantius (?); he begins and says: Adam governed the world for 230 years; Seth governed the world for 205 years. History of Oudhi and his work. In year 30 of the reign of the emperor Constantine a man named Oudhi of Edessa appeared; he was a Syrian and archpriest and had always aspired to the episcopal see. Seeing that he would not reach it, he attacked the truth |107 and fought it so as to obtain by this means the dignity (of bishop) outside the Church; he was the author of a great heresy in contradiction to Christianity, and he invented nonsense in which he had no predecessor. He affirmed that there were several gods: the father of life, the mother of life, several different sons and several Spirits. He said: Life is linked with the mother of life, and several gods were born from it. The father of life created an angel; then he ordered him to create all the angels. He believed that the father of life had an enemy; and the father of life created Eve. Then he said to her: "Conceive by me before the god who is below me makes you pregnant." She conceived by him, gave birth, and the race resulting from her multiplied. The body is made from matter, the soul from the substance of the father of life.

When the malicious adversary had seen the father of life, he envied him and wanted to usurp its rank. He detached a piece from him, called it Christ and created a body for him. Having crossed the region of the gods, he went down without any of the gods or spirits seeing him, to call men to the worship of his Master. While he preached to them, he violated the order of his Master; and the father of life set himself in anger against his Christ, killed him and crucified him. Oudhi told that the angels committed adultery with the daughters of men, and some of them had children. Evil is natural to men. The father of life will disappear and vanish, and the gods who are below him will also disappear; the mother of life will be also destroyed with the whole world, and there will remain nothing any more. |108

We cannot report many things about which he speaks, because our book would become too long thereby. Many bishops united against him, anathematised him and drove him out of the Church. Then the emperor Constantine concluded an agreement with his three sons and shared his empire between them before his death; he made each of them Caesar and started with his eldest son: he called him by his name Constantine and established him in Constantinople and the neighbouring countries on the side of the Occident. He established the other, who was called Constantine (Constantius), in the East, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Armenia and the neighbouring countries. He established the third, who was called Constans, in Rome and the neighbouring countries. This took place in the year 30 of his reign. When he was about to die, none of his sons being present, he gave his will into the hands of the bishop Eusebius, who was attached to the person of the emperor, and ordered him to give it to his son Constantine.

The emperor Constantine died in the year 642 of Alexander, on Sunday, the 22nd of ab (August); he lived 65 years of which he reigned 33 years. His three sons reigned after him for 25 years. Then Constantius went to Nicomedia, |109 took the body of his father, embalmed it, put it in a coffin of gold and transported it to Constantinople. In this year, Sabour, king of the Persians, rose up and moved against Nisibis, when he learned that Constantine the Great had died; he besieged it for 30 days, but, not having managed to seize anything, he returned to his empire. Then he persecuted harshly the Christians who were in his empire, and he did not cease treating them this way until his death. In this year, James, bishop of Nisibis died; Babou succeeded him and Vologeses succeeded him. In Rome, after S.t.r.s (Silvester) who had governed it for 24 years, sat the bishop Marcus for 3 years; Julius succeeded him for 15 years; and after him, Liberius for 8 years

Athanasius occupied the pulpit of Alexandria. In Antioch sat Mr.ris (Euphronius?) for 4 years; Stephanus succeeded him for 5 years; his successor Leontius sat for 6 years; Lucius succeeded him for 3 years. They professed the doctrines of Arius. |110 Then Meletius sat for 2 years, his successor Dorotheus (?) sat for one year; Paul (Paulinus) succeeded him and his episcopate lasted 6 years. Then, in Constantinople, Alexander had as a successor Paul; then he was driven out, and Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, occupied the see for 5 years; the heretic Macedonius succeeded him and sat for 5 years. In Jerusalem, Cyril succeeded Maximus, sat for 12 years and was driven out. At that time, several learned Christians were illustrious: Athanasius, Mar Ephrem and Eusebius of Emesa (Homs). At that time, in Mesopotamia, lived great men, virtuous, pure and strong: the old man Julian, Abraham Qidounaya and others. At the same time, the Persian Sage was known who composed several books and various histories.

At the beginning of his reign, Constantius sent to seek out the bishop Athanasius whom his father had exiled, made him return and restored him in his dignity, having granted a rescript to him that nobody had obtained. |111 In the year 3 of the reign of these three (brothers), Constantine the Younger was killed. When the followers of Arius saw that Athanasius had been restored to his rank, they were disturbed and excited. A priest, attached to the person of the emperor Constantius the Great, started to tell impure things (?) and to say that the doctrine of he who says that the Son is the substance of his Father, is the cause of misfortune, discord, the corruption of the people and their doubt; that there is nothing in this respect in the Holy Scriptures and that none of this is known according to the authentic sources; there is only Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, who affirms it.

Then Constantius, son of Constantine, emperor of the East, having a certain inclination for the followers of Arius, allowed himself to be led astray by their words and he sent some of his satellites to Egypt to drive out the bishop Athanasius from the city and to depose him. When Athanasius learned this, he fled, went to Julius, bishop of Rome, and let him know all these matters. Julius, bishop of Rome, ordered the followers of Arius to come to him to discuss with them and to deliver their opinions. They did not do so at all and did not reply; but they assembled in Antioch, to the number of 70 bishops, and anathematised any who say that the Son is substance of the Father; they confirmed that he had been created before the world and that God created the world. They wrote 25 canons. At that time, at Antioch, sat the bishop Meletius. |112

This took place in the year 653 of Alexander. Then the Arians raised up in Alexandria, in the place of Athanasius, Eusebius of Emesa, originally from Edessa. But the people refused to receive him, because he shared the ideas of Sabellius; and he returned to Emesa. Then the Arian Gregory was put in his place as bishop. Alexander, bishop of Constantinople, died and had as a successor a man named Paul, who sat for 2 years. Constantine the Younger having learned this, drove him out, because he had been instituted without his permission, and put in his place Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia. In the year 4 of Constantine the Younger, Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, died and he had as successor Acacius, his disciple. In the year 5 of his reign, Eusebius, his disciple, bishop of Nicomedia, died, who had been put on the seat of Constantinople, and Paul returned to his place.

Then the Arians met and established a bishop, in Constantinople, a man named Macedonius. A violent dispute burst out between them and the opposite party, and many people on both sides were killed. |113 In the year 6 of Constantine the Younger, there was in Antioch a violent earthquake; and the earth did not cease trembling and being agitated for all the year; but this continued without causing damage. Then the Arians who were in Alexandria attacked Gregory, bishop of Alexandria, drove him out and put another in his place. They drove out (also) Paul of Constantinople and established another in his place. Then Paul and Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, went to Julius, bishop of Rome, and let him know the misfortune which had happened to them, and the conduct of the Arians. He wrote letters to them and restored them to their places. Having learned this, the emperor sent to Paul and drove him out; and Macedonius was put into his place by violence and constraint. Athanasius, having learned of their threats against him, fled and hid for two years. The Orientals who supported the doctrines of Arius wrote to Julius, patriarch of Rome, and deluged him with injuries and insults, because he had restored these two exiled bishops — Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and Paul, bishop of Constantinople. Then Julius, bishop of Rome, ordered (the Arians) to assemble in Rome, and 400 bishops gathered.

But when they learned that Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and Paul, bishop of Constantinople, were in Rome, they moved to another city, opposed the patriarch and anathematised |114 whoever said that the Son was of the same substance as the Father. In this manner, the bishops of the East who supported the doctrines of Arius overrode the bishops who supported the opposite doctrines, made themselves masters of the council and made their thesis that the Son is created by the Father before all ages prevail. All the Western bishops learned this and did not go to this council; they anathematised and condemned the Eastern bishops, assembled in their turn, established that the Son was of the substance and the nature of the Father, excommunicated those who said that the Son had been created, and restored their rank to Paul and Athanasius. Then Constans, emperor of Rome, sent a letter to his brother Constantine by the intermediary of one of his patricians; he requested him to receive Athanasius and Paul and to restore them in their places; if not he would declare war on him. Having read the letter of his brother, Constantine convened a certain number of bishops and consulted them on what his brother had written to him on either the re-establishment of the two bishops in their places or the declaration of war. They advised to him to restore them in their places and declared to him that their re-establishment was more expedient than war. This decision lessened the calamities. Constantius accepted them and ordered that they be restored in their rank.

Then Constantius required Athanasius to concede a church to him in Alexandria. Athanasius said to him: "I myself have something to ask of you." The emperor said to him: "Ask!" Athanasius said: "Give me |115 in each city where the Arians are in possession of the churches, a church to belong to our followers." In the year 15 of the reign of the children of Constantine, Constans, emperor of Rome was killed, in the year 663 of Alexander. This was the cause of his death: He marched against an enemy who had revolted against him, and was killed during the campaign. Then Constantine the Younger proclaimed Gallicus (Gallus), brother of Julian, his brother-in-law, emperor of the East in the place of his brother Constantius, and marched against the enemy who had killed his brother. The emperor Constans, master of Rome, having been killed, the Arians gathered, accusing Athanasius and Paul to the emperor Constantius after his return from the war and led him into error on their subject. The emperor ordered Athanasius killed and Paul exiled. Athanasius, having learned this news, fled and hid. Paul was taken and given to those which were to accompany him in exile in Armenia interior. When he arrived at the border of Armenia, the messenger sent with him to exile him, strangled him; he had sat in Constantinople for two years. Macedonius II succeeded him. In Alexandria George (Gregory) and in Antioch Leontius sat.

In the year 18 of Constantius and year 3 of Gallus, the Jews of Palestine |116 revolted, attacked various cities and there captured and killed many people. Then Constantius sent Gallus against them, who destroyed them and demolished their cities and their residences. When Gallus had seized these cities, pride, vanity and the pride seized him, and he became arrogant. He seized two of the principal patricians among his companions, and killed them without the permission of the emperor. Constantius learned this and sent troops against him, killed him and established his brother in his place; the name of his brother who was substituted for him, was Julian. At that time Julius, patriarch of Rome, died after having sat for fifteen years; and Liberius succeeded him. In the year 20 of Constantius, at Nicomedia a great earthquake took place, and the city was engulfed. In this same year, the discords between the Arians and the other party burst out. Cyrillus, bishop of Jerusalem, were deposed; it was the same for S.r.n.s (Ursinus), bishop of Rome. In their place M.ttis was set up. But the people did not accept him, deposed him and put Eudoxius in his place (in Constantinople), after he had sat at Antioch for three years. In Antioch, after Eudoxius, sat Meletius of Sebaste, who had been bishop of Haleb. The Arians took him from Haleb and set him up in Antioch. Going up (into the pulpit) |117 to preach, Meletius showed them, during his sermon, his three fingers; and he said to them: "All three are one." Arians, seeing that he did not agree with them, deposed him, after he had governed (the Church) for two years, and established in his place Euzoius, who was an Arian from Egypt.

Then the people of Antioch were divided: among them there was one party with the priest Marina, the other with Euzoius. In Jerusalem Arranius sat for nine years; after him Heraclius. Macedonius, who had been driven out of Constantinople, said that the Son is different from his Father by his substance, and that he does not have any link (with him). After teaching this, he was exiled to the country of Pontus, and he had Eudoxius as his successor, who used hypocrisy near the emperor and gave himself a deceptive appearance. He was driven out (?). It was he who had driven out of Cyzicus Eleusius, bishop (of that place), and had established in his place Eunomius de Cilicia. Eudoxius ordered him not to let his doctrines appear immediately. He began by seizing all the churches, because the Orientals contradicted the doctrines that he preached to them. Then they sent |118 someone to Constantius to speak for them. The emperor ordered Eudoxius to punish him; but he agreed with Eunomius and had sympathy with him, which was reciprocated, and they carried on the business at length. But Eudoxius started to blame Eunomius for making their doctrines known so quickly. Having learned that, the emperor ordered Eunomius to give up his seat. He left after an obstinate resistance, went to Eudoxius (and said): "You've acted badly towards me and my master Aetius."

Then he assembled a party, and they were called Eunomians. Eunomius and his followers said: God, eternal, alone, is unbegotten and does not beget. He is the creator of the Son and he created him like a spiritual soul; then he sent him into the world, and the Son took a body without linking himself with it, this body remaining the location of the soul. The Holy Spirit is created by the Son. Those who receive baptism are baptized only in the death of Christ; they baptize only the head of the child to the chest, and they do not baptize the lower parts of its body, saying that it is impure. In their baptism, they do not soak the child in water; but when they want to baptize a man, they move towards him and wrap the lower part of his body, from the feet to the chest; then they put him on a table, take water and pour some on his hands, chest and his head. |119

This Eunomius believed that he had resolved all questions and that he had from the substance of God the same knowledge as God himself. He was anathematised and exiled in the time of Constantius, son of Constantine, in the year 20 of his reign, which is the year 668 of Alexander. The History of Apollinarius. Then a man named Apollinarius appeared , from Alexandria, where he had studied the knowledge of the pagans. From Egypt he came to Beirut and was ordained priest there under Theodotus, bishop of the place. His son learned there (Greek) literature, and the father astronomy; and they both went to see the philosopher Epiphanes from time to time. When the bishop Theootus saw this, he prohibited them doing this, so that they did not deviate from the truth or lean towards paganism. They obeyed him and were obedient until the death of the bishop Theodotus. The latter had George as successor. They then started again to visit the philosopher and made (pagan) sacrifices with him. Bishop George endeavoured to lead them away from him, |120 and discord burst out between them and him (bishop George); but he could not succeed. As they refused to give up their practices, he excommunicated them and drove them out. As for Apollinarius, he invented, with his knowledge of philosophy, a new heresy and founded a sect. He went to find excommunicated bishops, who ordained him bishop. He and his son agreed to create a perverse doctrine and they imagined a trinity of degrees and ranks.

Apollinarius said that the Father is immense, that the Son is great and that the rank of the Holy Ghost is less than either (of the Father and the Son). He reports that the Son borrowed our animal soul and body, that he did not take the reasoning soul, but that the Divinity takes its place. Apollinarius wrote several books: in one, he said that the body of Christ comes from heaven; in another, that he took a false body for us; in the third (book), he said, like Sabellius, that God is only one substance and only one hypostasis. He only said: (the expressions should be understood) "the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost" according to the actions of God in creation. He made a great error, in saying that in the future life one would eat, one would drink and one would join oneself with women; that Christ is only a form made up of the divine elements and the animal body; and that the substance of the Son is created. He said that his psalms, that he had composed himself, were better than |121 those of the prophet David. The bishops of Constantinople met against him, excommunicated him and exiled him.

Then the emperor Constantius, who was at Antioch, learned that Caesar Julian, having fought the Barbarians, had put them to flight and that his subjects had proclaimed him emperor. Constantius was baptized by the bishop of Antioch, raised troops among the Romans and went against the rebel. While he was on the way, he was seized by sorrow and concern and died of apoplexy, after having reigned with his father for thirteen years and alone for twenty-five years. Julian the Apostate succeeded him, and reigned for two years; he was the cousin of Constantine. When he began to reign, he ordered that everyone should make public profession of their doctrine and practise their religion. Then the pagans attacked the Christians because of the hatred which was between them, and about which has been spoken previously; this hostility caused a great misfortune. This took place in Alexandria, and many people there were killed. They were thus punished for what they had done, as we reported above. They seized Gregory the Theologian, struck him and dragged him face down through all the city. |122

Then Julian prohibited the Christians from studying the knowledge (of the pagans) and said: (Otherwise) they would fight us with our own weapons. He ordered that the sacred vessels be taken from the churches, the convents and the oratories and his treasure stored in them. Julian the Apostate had an uncle who was called Thouphili; the latter came to Antioch to take the vessels of the churches which were there. He entered the church, lifted his clothing and urinated on the altar. Euzoius sought to prevent him, but did not succeed. Then the emperor ordered that food and drink should be sprinkled with magical and impure water; and the Christians refused to do so. Then he made search for those who did not obey him; and the Christians, in their turn, made use of stratagems. He laid out money on a table, also filled with meats coming from the sacrifices of the pagans; then he declared: "Here: whoever wants money, must throw incense on fire, enter and eat the pagan offerings; after which he will receive that which he needs." Many Romans refused the invitation and said: "We are Christian, and we will not obey you in what you want!" Then he ordered a great number to undergo martyrdom. |123

John the Great addressed a command to the cantons of.... And he said to them that the idols of the peoples were merely silver and gold, the work of human hands. That those who make them and all who have confidence in them are no better. The emperor, having learned this, ordered them to be beaten and imprisoned. But the lightning burst out and set fire to their god Pythius, and his temple sank into the earth. The people attached to the oracle of Apollo and the priests, guardians of the temple, said to the emperor: "We saw our own eyes fire coming down from heaven and setting fire to the idol and the temple." Then when Julian conceived the project to make the war against the Persians, he wanted to know whether or not his expedition would succeed. So he went into the (temple) of the oracle of Apollo with Valentinian the Christian; they found a priest who was sprinkling the idols with impure water; and some of this impure water fell on the clothing of Valentinian. Then he struck the priest with his whip and said to him: "You soiled me, O impure one!" That day, the oracle answered him nothing; but it said to him: "The bones, deposited in my vicinity, prevents me from saying anything to you. They are those of Babylas the Martyr." Then the emperor ordered them removed from the place where they were; and the people of Antioch went out, took the bones and, having put them in a |124 coffin, transported them into the city. Then the oracle declared in his favour and said to him: "You will come down and overcome your enemy on the Tigris."

When the oracle had decided in his favour in this way, the emperor became arrogant, entered an extreme fury and wanted to imitate Alexander the Macedonian; he reprised the same plan and went against the Persians. Arriving at Harran, he visited the oracle which was there and again asked him what he would say; and the oracle predicted victory for him. At the time when he was prepared to leave Harran, his head was disturbed, and he worshipped Sin, god of the Harranians; his crown fell from his head, and his horse, on which he was mounted, fell on the ground and died. The oracle said to him: "It is the Christians who are with you, who have attracted this misfortune to you." He then dismissed 20,000 men (of his troops). He did not raise the cross which was carried before him; he hid it and said: "If we obtain victory, we will say that we overcame not by the cross, but by our force; if we are overcome, we will say that we are overcome because of the cross which was with us."

Before arriving at Harran, he remained a few days at Tarsus. The Jews which were there, came to him and presented him with a crown of gold of seven mithqals for the idols which they adored. Julian said to them: "Why |125 do you not sacrifice according to your law?" They answered him: "We cannot sacrifice outside Jerusalem." Then they threw in front of him incense, spread perfume in front of the idols and offered sacrifices to them. The emperor made them presents and sent them home; he ordered them to rebuild their temples and to sacrifice according to their customs. When they had prepared materials for the construction which they needed, Cyrillus, bishop of Jerusalem, said: It is the time of which Our Lord Christ prophesied, saying: "The days will come, where there will not remain one stone on another which is not overturned." During the night, a violent wind rose and destroyed all that they had built; then a great earthquake occurred, and 22 cities were engulfed.

In the same year, Julian was killed in the war, after a reign of two years and four months; he had lived thirty-one years. Here is how he was killed: During the war which he made against the Persians, at the moment when he was marching in the ranks of his soldiers to stir them to combat, a Persian launched a spear at him and struck him in the side; and the emperor fell from his horse. While he suffered, he filled the hollow of his hand with his blood and threw it in the air |126 towards heaven, saying: "You have overcome me, Son of Mary!" and he died. He was transported to Tarsus and buried there. The Roman army remained without an emperor; and (soldiers), according to the council of Sabour, elected Jovian who was the head of Julian's vanguard. But Jovian refused, saying that he was a Christian. They said to him that they were also Christians and that the fear of Julian had prevented them from expressing their faith. Jovian drew the cross from the treasure and drew up it in front of them in the camp; and everyone worshipped it, except the pagan priests. Peace was restored between him and Sabour. Sabour conducted him back to Nisibis, and Jovian ceded it to him, after having transplanted the Romans who lived there to Amida.

From his time, Basil the great, Julian the elder and Didymus were illustrious. Jovian reigned for one year, in the year 675 of Alexander. It is said that, while he commanded the vanguard of Julian, he went to Nisibis and left his troops to seek out the monks there. Mar Eugenios appeared to him then and ordered him to return to his troops and told him that his Master had been killed; that he would achieve empire; that king Sabour would come, at a time that he would reveal to him, in the camp of Julian to get informed about the situation; |127 that he was to go there to find him at this time, and that after having seized him, he should treat him with honour and respect and to let him leave. Jovian left, as Mar Eugene had ordered him. Sabour came into (the camp) at the time that Mar Eugenios had indicated to him; and Jovian found him during the night in the camp, though Sabour had disguised himself and put on the clothing of a merchant. Jovian took him, brought him into his tent and, finding himself alone with him, told him that he had already recognized him, and that no trick threatened him neither personally nor on behalf of all his entourage. He ordered that food be brought, and they both ate. Then they sailed on the river at night, and Jovian did not leave him before he had led him to his camp; after which Jovian withdrew. For this reason Sabour advised that he should be invested with the imperial power.

Hardly had he started to reign than he sent a delegation to Sabour, king of the Persians, made peace with him and gave him Nisibis. Since that time Nisibis, with the surrounding area, has belonged to the Persians. In leaving the East, Jovian recalled all the bishops from exile. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, reappeared and took again possession of his see. Then the emperor wrote to the patriarch Athanasius, asking him to write out for him the true creed of the faith in its real sense, to explain it to him in a letter and to send this to him. Athanasius gathered some |128 bishops, who wrote to the emperor that he should follow the symbol of the law of the 318 bishops who had met in the town of Nicaea. Then Jovian died at that time after having reigned for one year. After him, Valentinian and Valens reigned for 15 years. It was this Valentinian who had struck the priest and had said: "You soiled me with this water!" He fixed himself in Rome and made his brother Valens emperor of the East. That took place in the year 676 of Alexander.

Valentinian adhered to the true faith and approved the symbol of the 318. As for Valens, he leaned towards the doctrines of Arius, because he had been baptized by Eudoxius, bishop of Constantinople, who was an Arian. It is told that Valens, having been baptized by Eudoxius the Arian, wanted to take communion; but the latter refused him and did not give him the Eucharist until he had sworn to him to communicate only according to the doctrines of Arius and to be opposed to those which opposed these doctrines. When he began to reign, he fulfilled his oath: he exiled all the bishops who did not agree with the doctrines of Arius, acted against all the bishops who did not adhere to his ideas, and persecuted them. |129 Eusebius bishop of Samosata pretended that he was of the party of the Romans; he occupied his see all his life and, dressed in a (bournous) for fear of the Romans, he travelled and traversed the cities and ordained in secrecy priests and deacons (of the Orthodox party).

In this same year, a rebel named Procopius revolted against Valens, in Constantinople; and Valens put him to death because of his treason. The same year, hail as big as stones fell: there were earthquakes in Constantinople, where several districts were engulfed; and part of the town of Nicaea was also overthrown. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, hid in a tomb, without seeing anything for four months, by fear of Valens. When this difficult situation ended, he came out and remained in his rank until his death. At that time, in Edessa, there appeared a man named Eusebius and surnamed Euchites (?), who had five disciples. Here is his doctrine: God is alone, but he has manifested himself in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He said that the body of Christ was only an appearance, because God had created it from a fine and spiritual substance, and that his crucifixion was also only an appearance. He prohibited common prayer; he claimed that all his visions came |130 from the Holy Spirit: that communion is useless and unprofitable; that the Holy Spirit lived in whoever was attached to his doctrine; that adultery is a permissable thing; that after Christ there is neither sin nor error. He said that that which is thrown to the ground in an epileptic fit is thrown by a movement of the Holy Spirit. They were designated by the name of Messalians. They said: "Whoever has prayed and fasted for 12 years can order the mountain to transport itself from the place where it is; and it will be transported." Then all those who adhered to his doctrines after this time, left and said to the mountain: "O mountain! I order you to be transported from the place where you are." As it was not transported, they renounced his doctrine of which they thus knew the corruption.

At that time, Diodorus (of Tarsus) and Theodore (of Mopsuestia) were known. Among the doctors Athanasius and Mar Ephrem the Syrian and another (?) with Zenobius, priest of Edessa; Basil the Great; Gregory, his brother; Malchus; and Arsisius were illustrious. In same time, Macarius the Pious the Egyptian and Macarius of Alexandria who was transported to paradise were known, as is reported. Valens exiled them to an island of the sea. |131 Likewise known were r.ou.s (Evagrius?) the monk, a disciple of Basil. In the year 7 of Valens, Abraham, bishop of Nisibis died. In this year Julian the Old died at Tour-Sina (Sinai). In this same year, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria died, to whom succeeded Peter... who had been his companion in all his tribulations. Then Euzoius, bishop of Antioch, who belonged to the sect of Arius, asked Valens for permission to go to Alexandria. He allowed him. Euzoius there went and took along with him a certain number of Greeks. He seized Peter, imprisoned him and set up in his place Lucius de Samosata. A few days later Peter escaped from the prison, went to Rome to Damasus, patriarch of Rome, and advised him how Valens had treated the people.

Then Valens carried out a great persecution against the followers of Sabour (?); he made many perish and exiled a certain number. Then a group of priests, 80 in number, and other personnages met, went to Valens and asked him to grant them peace, the safety of their lives and freedom from persecution. Valens ordered one of his chiefs to put them in |132 a boat at sea, like exiling them to an island; and they rejoiced. While they were in the middle of the sea, the Patrician sent with them, with his companions, passed in another separate boat; then he set fire to the boat where the priests were, and burned them with the boat. Then Valens went to Edessa to see the church of the apostle Mar Thomas and found that the population did not agree with him; then he ordered that the recalcitrant ones and Barsê, bishop of Edessa, be sent to the island of Roudis (Aradus); and he banished eighty inhabitants of Edessa, the chiefs and all the bishops who did not adhere to the doctrines of Arius, except Basil and Gregory the Theologian whom he could not proscribe.

Then Valens sent for Basil and had him brought to Antioch to reprove him. His son being sick, Valens said to him: "If your doctrine and belief are true, pray for this child, so that he recovers from his disease." Basil said: "If the child is baptized by those who adhere to the truth, it will heal and be in good health." When the emperor was told what Basil required of him, Eudoxius, the Arian bishop, ordered the Arians to baptize the boy. Hardly they had baptized him, than he died. The afflicted emperor entered |133 the church to pray; and he called Basil and said to him: "What proof do have you that the truth is with you and your followers?" Basil explained the true faith to him and conversed with him a long time. Then the emperor treated Basil well and dismissed him safe and sound. A few days later, the emperor changed his mind and ordered Basil into exile; then he again changed his mind on what he had ordered in his connection, and left him alone.

The emperor Valentinianus, having lived as emperor for 13 years, died. Valens reigned, and his anger only became more violent against those who did not agree with him; and he persecuted them. Then a philosopher came and said to him: "O emperor! you should not fret to see several sects among the Christians. The pagans are divided into eighty beliefs. God allows this to glorify him and likes to be praised and described (in his qualities). This is why he is represented in various ways." On these entreaties Valens calmed himself a little and renounced his cruel conduct. In the year 14 of Valens, Euzoius, Arian bishop of Antioch, died, after having governed for 17 years; he was the seventh bishop of the Arians. |134 Then Peter, bishop of Alexandria, returned from Rome to his city; after 6 years of episcopate, he died. His brother Timothy succeeded him and sat for 7 years

Then Valens prepared to make war against the Goths. When he was preparing to leave, a monk who was a hermit, named James the monk, said to him: "O enemy of God! if you wish to have success and to succeed, order that the bishops whom you exiled return to their seats; if you do not do it, you will not overcome and will not succeed." Valens said: "I will overcome, I will return and will kill you." James said to him: "If you return, does not leave me alive." And all the monks who were there said him the same thing. But Valens paid no attention to their words and left for his expedition. He met the enemy. While he was in the battle against them, he entered a nearby village, where he hid with his companions. His enemies learned that he was there under a disguise. One of his enemies also disguised himself; he traversed the troops, entered the village where Valens was hidden, and set it on fire. So Valens with his companions, was burned to death, after having reigned for 15 years; he was 50 years old. |135

Gratian reigned with his brother Valentinian for one year, in the year 690 of Alexander. In this year died Sabour, king of the Persians, after having reigned for 70 years; and he had as a successor his brother Ardashir who reigned for 4 years. Gratian ordered all the bishops and other people that Valens had exiled to return home. He ordered that each man should stay in the religion that God let him profess, except Eunomians and Manicheans. Then Gratian associated a man named Theodosius in the empire; and he was baptized in Constantinople. Gratian died; and after him reigned Theodosius the Great for 17 years, — others say for 19 years, — in the year 691 of Alexander. He ordered that everyone might practise his own religion, and allowed all the exiles to return home. ** |139 When the bishops, (the followers) of Macedonius, saw this, they gave up their business, wrote several letters to Damasus, bishop of Rome, and stuck to their religion.

This is why Meletius, after his return to Antioch, said to Paulinus, bishop of that town: "All the people are favourably disposed to neither you or me: one is for you, another for me. Here is how we could arrange things: reunite my followers with yours: if the (episcopal) power stirs up hate between us, we will place the Gospel in the centre of the room; you would put yourself on one side, me on the other, and whichever of us two survives, will occupy the see." But Paulinus refused. At this period Meletius took notice of Diodorus and learned that he well understood how to oppose heretics and refute them solidly; and he made him bishop of Tarsus. Then Meletius and several bishops undertook to transfer |140 Gregory the Theologian from his place at Constantinople, because of his great spirit and abundance of learning, and they did that. Many people began to assemble near him, in the poor and small house that he was living in, with a man named Anastasius; and he instructed them. Two years later they abandoned him, disliking him for his merits, and he left the place.

Timothy, bishop of Alexandria, ordained in his place Maximus the cynic, who was a man who was conceited in his heart and proud and one who shared the ideas of Apollinarius. Then Theodosius started to persecute the Arians, who had been masters of the country and the churches for forty years; and he stirred up a violent persecution. Then he convened a council at Constantinople, and 150 bishops met there. This took place in the second year of his reign, which is the year 692 of Alexander, on the third of the month of Ab (=August). At this period Damasus was patriarch of Rome, Timothy of Alexandria, Meletius of Antioch, Cyril of Jerusalem. With these were united |141 Basil, Gregory the Theologian, (Diodorus) bishop of Tarsus, who said that the Holy Spirit had been created, Maximus, bishop of Constantinople, and Nectarius. They supplemented and confirmed the creed (of Nicaea) and added that the Son is of the substance of the Father and that the Holy Spirit is God and Lord, the giver of life, proceeding from the substance of the Father and the Son. They anathematised Eustathius, who shared the ideas of Macedonius.

They drew up four canons. In the first they pronounced an anathema against the Eunomians, Arians, Sabellians, Apollinarians (?), Photinians and Macedonians. In the other three canons they defined that bishops should not pass from one place to another and that each should occupy his see until his death or until he was exiled after committing some misdeed. They ordained that the see of Constantinople was first after that of Rome, and that an accusation of a heretical bishop against an orthodox bishop would not be received. In the fifth year of Theodosius, Vahran (Fahran), son of Sabour, mounted the throne of Persia and reigned eleven years. |142 In that year a rebel named Maximus revolted at Rome. Theodosius sent his troops against him and he was killed. In the sixth year of his reign, a son was born to Theodosius, who named him Honorius. In the same year, Timothy, bishop of Alexandria, died. Theophilus succeeded him, for twenty-eight years.

Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, died and John succeeded him, for twenty-two years. John, priest of Antioch, was one of the famous scholars of this time. In this year, Theodosius ordered that the wise people should define and profess their religious ideas in writing and present that to him. When they had done so and had presented it to him, he arose and prayed. Then he ordered that these (written) opinions be put on the altar; and God inspired him that only one was true, the statement of those which said that the Son is of the substance and essence of the Father. |143 Then he ordered all these opinions to be burned, and exiled their followers from the city; he expelled from holding command in his army, his council and his entourage all those who shared the ideas of Arius. He ordered that the churches of the Arians and the temples of the idols throughout the country be destroyed; and he had many pagans killed in Alexandria.

In that year, a column of fire appeared in the sky and remained for thirty days. In the same year, a terrible darkness took place at midday. Then Theodosius fell sick and sent for Honorius, his son. When he arrived, Theodosius had him proclaimed (emperor) and sent him into the west; he had Arcadius, his other son, proclaimed and sent him into the east. Theodosius died in these circumstances, after reigning seventeen years and living sixty years Arcadius, son of Theodosius, reigned thirteen years, in the year 708 of Alexander. In his time, among the scholars, Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, and Acacius, bishop of Aleppo were illustrious. |144 At Rome, after Damasus, who occupied his see for eighteen years, came Siricius. In that year, after Nectarius, John Chrysostom became bishop of Constantinople. He was originally from Antioch and, at the age of twenty-eight, he had composed the Commentary on the Gospel as well as the Commentary on the Epistles of Paul.

When he became bishop of Constantinople, he prohibited the priests from many acts of corruption. They envied him and set out to find some fault against him with which to accuse him. At that time, he read the books of Origen. Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, sent to Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, and to all his bishops, and they anathematised the books of Origen. John paid no attention to this. Then everyone became hostile to him; among his enemies was Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, and Antiochus, bishop of Acre. The empress, wife of the emperor Arcadius, also was resentful against him, because he took down her statue, which was close to the church, and because he had insulted her, one day, in a sermon and had compared her to Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, who had taken the vineyard of Naboth the Israelite. This is why she departed one day with twenty-nine bishops, to which were joined seven other bishops who were stirred up against John, and they came to where Theophilus was. |145 Being in agreement about John, they sent an order to him to come to them; but he did not come. Then they excommunicated him and deposed him.

After the excommunication of John Chrysostom, the population of the city was disturbed and divided. The emperor, witnessing their division, sent for John and restored him in his dignity. After his return, he composed some sermons on his exile. In one of his speeches, he designated, one day, the empress under the name of "Herodias." Outraged, she sent for Theophilus, Epiphanius and other bishops, whom she gathered in Constantinople; they excommunicated John and exiled him. This took place in the year 8 of Arcadius, which is the year 716 of Alexander. He was exiled in an island of the Euxine Sea, where he died, at the age of forty-six years; he had been a bishop for four years. A little time after him, the empress died. Arsacius, brother of Nectarius, succeeded John, for fourteen months; after him, Atticus, originating in Sebastia in Armenia came. Flavianus, bishop of Antioch, died, and Porphyrius succeeded him. |146

Then disorders broke out among the Greeks, in Egypt and the East concerning the remains of John Chrysostom; they were brought back thirty-three years after his death; they were buried in Constantinople, and his name was consigned for always in the book of life (in the diptychs). In the year 5 of Arcadius, Yezdegerd, son of Sabour, started to reign in Persia and reigned for twenty one years Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, died. Jewish by origin, he had become a Christian and received baptism. It was he who baptized Arcadius and Honorius, both the sons of Theodosius. Then Arcadius died, at the age of thirty. He left the throne to his son Theodosius, eight years old, who reigned for forty-two years, as from the year 721 of Alexander. In the year 3 of his reign, Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, died; and Cyril, his nephew, succeeded him for thirty-three years. In Rome, Anastasius was bishop for four years; after him, Bonifacius for three years, and after him, Celestinus for nine years. |147

At Antioch, after Porphyrius, who occupied the see for five years, Alexander was bishop for ten years. He restored the peace between the Easterners and Westerners, which had been disturbed in consequence of their discord about Paulinus, who had been bishop of Antioch at the time of Novatius(?) the impious. After a ten year episcopate, he had Theodotus as successor for thirteen years, and the latter had John as successor for thirteen years At that time, the Christians were multiplying in the empire of Persia and Christianity became very strong, thanks to Maroutha, bishop of Mayafariqin, who, by the order of Theodosius, went among the Persians. Then Yezdegerd reigned; he was unjust and an oppressor; and his subjects revolted against him, feared him and reviled him. But on a certain day, a nimble horse (ran), of beautiful colour and so beautiful to see that the like had never been seen; it started to run and stopped close to the door of the palace of Yezdegerd. All those who saw it, were amazed at it. The servants entered and told Yezdegerd, their Master. He went out in haste to see the horse, found it beautiful and halted to stroke it with his hand. When he walked behind the horse to stroke its back, the horse struck him with its two (back) feet and killed him; then it started to run and disappeared; and no-one knew from where the horse had come. |148 Thus the people were delivered from his persecutions.

Then Varahran (Bahram), his son, who succeeded him, persecuted and oppressed the Christians. In that year, there was an eclipse of the sun. In the same year there was a battle between the Greeks and Persians, and many were killed on both sides; the Persians were put to rout, and the persecution against the Christians ceased. In that time, among the scholars there flourished Mar Isaac, disciple of Mar Ephrem; he lived in Antioch and composed several sermons on the festivals, the martyrs, the wars and the invasions which took place at that time; he was originally from Edessa. In the same time, there were many Jews living in Alexandria. One fine day, several of them were baptized; so they took a statue, crucified it and said: "This is the Messiah!" A great discord broke out between them and the Christians and many people were killed. |149 In the year 6 of Theodosius the Younger, there were found, in Jerusalem, the bones of Stephen the martyr, and a church under his name was built there.

In the year 10 of Theodosius, in Antioch, Simeon Stylites was illustrious, who did miracles and wonders. Among the scholars were Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyr, and Acacius of Aleppo. Having sat for twenty-two years, John, bishop of Jerusalem, died, and Praylius succeeded him for five years; the latter had as successor Juvenal for forty years In the East there was a man called Nestorius; he was educated and studied the books of Theodore (of Mopsuestia) and Theodoret. Then he came to Antioch in the time of Theodotus, bishop of the city, and settled in a convent. As he was assiduous in reading of the Sacred Books, Theodotus ordained him priest. Then Theodosius made him come to him and made him patriarch in Constantinople. He made many sermons to the people. |150 Once, while he was giving a sermon, instead of saying that Saint Mary is the Mother of God, he said that she was the mother of a man. (The people) did not hear any mention of his divinity. Anastasius, his disciple, who had come with him from Antioch, said also the same thing. When the people were disturbed and agitated by this, he went up in pulpit and said the same still more. The people listened, were irritated and disturbed.

This business spread, and news of it came to the bishop of Rome. He sent letters to Nestorius in which he exhorted him and told him not to give more sermons like this. Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, also sent letters to him in which he prohibited him from repeating what he had done. John, bishop of Antioch, wrote the same thing to him. Three years passed in the hope that he would recant and would return to the truth. When they saw him persevering in his business, they submitted a report on this to the patriarch of Rome. Then the patriarch wrote to Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, asking him to be his representative and to gather an assembly of bishops who would excommunicate Nestorius, if he did not retract his opinions. He wrote this (also) to the emperor. Theodosius the Younger convened at Ephesus a council of 200 bishops, who excommunicated Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople. In this synod were Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, John, bishop of Antioch, |151 Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem, Memnon, bishop of Ephesus, and Acacius, bishop of Meitene. After studying his books and epistles carefully, they excommunicated him and found that he had moved away from the faith of God and deviated from the way of truth.

After his excommunication, Nestorius said to them: "Myself, I will not call that God which was two or three months old, and I will not adore it as God." Then Nestorius gathered the bishops who were of his opinion, and these excommunicated Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, and Memnon, bishop of Ephesus. None of the bishops of the East had attended the council. When John, bishop of Antioch, and, with him, the bishops of the East arrived, they found Nestorius already excommunicated, and they waited. Cyril several times sent his companions to them; but they did not come to him. Then Cyril excommunicated them, and they, they excommunicated him (likewise). When Nestorius saw that, he understood that the business would lead them into serious dissension; and he started to proclaim and to say: "No! Let it be said that Mary is the Mother of God!" The disorder calmed, and Nestorius returned to his convent to Antioch. |152

Then eight bishops from the followers of Cyril and eight bishops from the followers of John went, because of this business, to the emperor Theodosius. When they arrived there, he ordered them to say nothing of the business of Nestorius before him. Then each of them returned to his country. The hostilities between the Easterners and the population of Egypt did not stop. Theodoret, bishop of Cyr, and Andrew, bishop of Samosata, were sent the decisions established by Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, defined in his third epistle to Nestorius. In Constantinople, a priest of good conduct called Maximianus succeeded Nestorius. Theodosius the Younger wrote to the patriarch Cyril about the hostility which reigned between the population of Egypt and the population of the East. When the letter reached Cyril, he wrote to the bishop of Aleppo and requested him to restore peace and security. Acacius, bishop of Aleppo, had gathered a council of many bishops, who sent a letter to Cyril in which they expounded the true faith; they sent this letter via Paul, bishop of Emesa, |153 after saying to each other that "peace between us and him had already existed before this".

Coming to Cyril, they gave the letter to him. He read it and approved their proposal. Then he ordered Paul, bishop of Emesa, to deliver a sermon to the people in the church; and the people listened to his speech. Then Cyril sent a letter to the Easterners in which he recognized the truth of the faith about which they had written to him; he thanked them and excused past errors to them. He gave the letter to Paul and dismissed him. Thus, peace was made between them From the convocation of the council of Nicaea to the day of the council of the 150 bishops in Constantinople, there were fifty-six years; from this council to that of the 200 bishops at Ephesus -- fifty years; from the council of Ephesus to the council of Chalcedon - twenty one years. In the year 763 of Alexander, James the Mutilated underwent martyrdom.

Maximianus, patriarch of Constantinople, died, and Proclus was instituted in his place. |154 When this peace was restored between the peoples, they started to dispute about the bones of John Chrysostom; and Proclus brought back his bones, which were deposed in the great church of Constantinople. In that time, among the Jews, a man appeared who was called Moses and who said to them: "I am come down from heaven to deliver you like Moses, son of Amran". This took place in an island of the sea which is called Crete. One fine day those who went with him, as well as their wives and their children in great number, at the sea-side, arrived in a place which overhung the sea; then he said to them: "I will make you able to cross the sea, and I will go first." Several of them threw themselves into the sea and drowned. When the others had watched the spectacle given by their companions who had drowned, they did not throw themselves in and wanted to seize Moses; but he fled (far) away from them, and certain impure spirits (devils) accepted him. (Because of this) many of them became Christians.

In that time, in Edessa, Rabboulâ was bishop. After his death, Hiba succeeded him. |155 In the year 29 of his reign, the emperor Theodosius the Younger remembered Nestorius and ordered that he be exiled in Egypt where he remained until his death. Then the emperor sent to Antioch to seize all those which would not excommunicate Nestorius, and to exile them. Then eighteen metropolitans with many of the bishops, priests, monks and laymen were sent into exile. The emperor ordered that the corpse of Odris (Diodorus? Theodore?) should be burned. There were in the East many people who were resigned to die, but none of them were burned; the population was unhappy and said: "It is not necessary to burn a man who is already dead." In that year, the companions of the cave awoke from the sleep which had overcome them in the reign of the emperor Decius, 182 years ago. The emperor Theodosius went out with bishops, priests, metropolitans and the leaders of the city; they saw them, and (the confessors) spoke to them. Then they died in their own countries. |156

In this year, there was a great earthquake at Constantinople. Many people fled out of the city, and several places were levelled. Celestinus, patriarch of Rome, sat for nine years and died; Xystus succeeded him for eight years and had Leo for successor. Cyril of Alexandria sat for thirty-three years and died; Dioscorus succeeded him. In Antioch, after John who sat there for thirteen years, came Domnus. In the year 33 of the emperor Theodosius, Varahran (Bahrâm), king of Persians, died, after having reigned for twenty (twenty one) years; after him Yezdegerd reigned for eight years That year, some people of Edessa arrived at Constantinople with their bishop (Hiba) and said that on a certain day he had given a sermon in which he had said: "I am not envious of what the Messiah did, because in all that happened to him, I am like him." In the same year, some people went to Alexandria and said in front of Dioscorus about their bishop that, when he gave sermons, |157 he did not say that Mary had given birth to God, but that she was the mother of a man and that she had given birth to a perfect man, which resembled God, according to the doctrines of Nestorius.

At the same time, a man appeared who was called Eutyches. He said that the eternal Son did not take anything from Mary, but that he was changed, transformed, became flesh and blood and passed through Mary without having taken anything from her. A council was gathered against him, and (the bishops) excommunicated him and sent him into exile. 130 bishops met because of him at Ephesus, Dioscorus, bishop of Alexandria, was head of the council; he drove out several bishops from their sees at the same time as him (Eutyches). In the year 41 of the emperor Theodosius, the head of John the Baptist was found at Emesa. Theodosius died at the age of fifty. (After him) Marcian reigned for seven years, in the year 762 of Alexander. He married Pulcheria (Qloudhiqiyah), sister of Theodosius the Younger, who felt resentment towards Dioscorus because he had exiled the bishop of Constantinople along with all the bishops and others whom he had excommunicated at this council; she started to press the emperor to be avenged for them. |158

Then the emperor and the empress wrote a letter to Leo, bishop of Rome, and to all the bishops, where they ordered them to meet to examine the theological questions and the conduct of Dioscorus at the second council of Ephesus. They expressed the desire that the council should take place at Nicaea, so the emperor ordered that the council met at Chalcedon because of the distance to Nicaea and in the vicinity of Chalcedon. It was in the year 2 of the emperor Marcian, the 25th of the month of Tichrin I (October), in the year 763 of Alexander, that the council met there. There were 630 bishops there. They excommunicated Dioscorus and wrote many canons. They declared that the Son took a nature without hypostasis, because nature differs from the hypostases; that there was one hypostasis and two natures; that he is endowed with two substances, two actions and two wills; but that the hypostasis is single and that the substance of God does not have three hypostases.

After having reigned for seven years, Marcian died at the age of sixty five and named Leo emperor, who reigned for sixteen years, in the year 769 of Alexander. In this first year, Peroz, son of Yezdegerd, started to reign over the Persians and he reigned for twenty-seven years. |159 In the same year, in Antioch, a town of Syria, there was an earthquake, and several places there were levelled. After having governed for twenty-two years, Leo, (bishop) of Rome, died. Hilarius (Ilarous) succeeded him for seven years; after him was Simplicius (Simblous) for sixteen years In Antioch, after Paulinus (? Basil) who sat for three years, there was Acacius for five years; after him Martyrius came. At Constantinople, Anatolius which sat for twenty and one years, Gennadius succeeded him for fifteen years. At Jerusalem, to Juvenal who sat for forty years, Anastasius succeeded. In the year 9 of the reign of Leo, there was an eclipse of the sun and the stars appeared (in broad daylight). In the year 10, in the East, a great food shortage happened and there were many locusts.

In the year 12 of his reign, the Persians moved against Amida, besieged it and devastated it. |160 In this same year, Balas started to reign over the Persians and reigned for four years. In the year 16 of the reign of Leo, Qabad, son of Peroz, started to reign over the Persians and reigned for twenty one years Martyrius, bishop of Antioch, sat for thirteen years and had Julianus as successor for four years; Peter the Fuller succeeded him, who was later excommunicated and exiled. In the days of Leo, Simeon the Stylite died; he was the first who went up on a column. Zeno reigned for seventeen years, in the year 785 of Alexander. We will tell the history of Peter the Fuller. This Peter had retired from Chalcedon into a convent, and he was the superior of it. Zeno made war against the emperor Leo; he attached Peter to his person, made him his companion and went with him to Tarsus, a town of Cilicia. When Peter had entered there, he said to the bishops of the country: "Leo sent to me to you with Zeno so that you can make me bishop of Antioch; if you want to attract his favour, make me bishop before Leo orders you to." The population approved his words and made him bishop without the knowledge of the emperor. On this news, Leo excommunicated him and sent him into exile. |161

Then, in Antioch a rebel appeared who was called Basiliscus. He restored Peter to his rank by force, without asking the assent of the bishops who were in the country; he wrote a letter in which he confirmed him in his episcopal dignity, ordered the bishops to receive it and to countersign the letter with their hands. As the bishops did not agree to this, he ordered them put to death. Then part of the bishops and many of the monks fled and hid in the church of Mar Thomas which was in Antioch. Peter sought for them; he found them and killed them all. After the rebel had been killed and Zeno had become emperor, he wrote to the bishop of Rome and to all the bishops and informed them of the business of Peter and his crime. Learning this, the bishop of Rome excommunicated him, he and all the bishops who shared his ideas.

Then Zeno sent him into exile to Euchaita. This Peter altered the Sacred Books by interpolations; he rejected the word of John the Evangelist, where he said: "Everything is in his power and without him there is nothing." he also rejected the word of he that said: "He was crucified for us." After the excommunication of Peter, at Antioch, John succeeded him for six years; then Calandion was (bishop) in Antioch for three years. |162 Then the emperor Zeno wrote to all the bishops to consult them: "Is it permissible to restore Peter to his rank; if you believe it possible, do it." When Peter had learned that the emperor had written about this business, he returned, without any permission, to his see and occupied it again for five years. At Jerusalem, Anastasius, who occupied the episcopate for eighteen years, had Martyrius as successor for eighteen years. After him Sallustius governed for eight years.

Zeno died at the age of sixty one, and Anastasius reigned for twenty-seven years, in the year 806 of Alexander. In the year 6 of his reign, the sixth millenium since Adam came to an end. After nine years of episcopate, Felix, (bishop) of Rome, died, and Gelasius succeeded him for five years; after him came Anastasius for one year, then Symmachus for fourteen years. At Alexandria, to Peter Mongus who occupied the seat for nine years, Athanasius succeeded for four years; after him, came John the monk for six years; after him, John the hermit for seven years; after him, Dioscorus the younger for two years; |163 after him Timothy for fourteen years After the sixteen years of the episcopate of Acacius, Euphemius was bishop of Constantinople for seven years. The emperor exiled him into an island of Pontus. Macedonius succeeded him for fourteen years, and the emperor Anastasius sent him into exile, because he had criticised him and had said to him: "You are a Manichaean and you share the ideas of the Manichaeans." Timothy succeeded him for six years; and after him John was (bishop) for two years.

At Jerusalem, to Saul (Sallustius) who occupied the seat for eight years, succeeded Elias for twenty years; after him John governed for fourteen years. In the first year of his reign, Anastasius killed the children of several women as well as some boys, who were studying reading and the writing. In year 3 of his reign, the town of Dara was built, which was above Nisibis, at the place where Darius, (king) of Persians, had been killed. |164 Then the emperor Anastasius wanted to remove from the creed and the church the phrase: "You were crucified for us." All the population of the city rose up and took up rocks to stone him. This business frightened him; and, being afraid of them, he removed the crown from his head and said to them: "I will act according to your order in all that you wish." Then the people left him alone.

In year 11 of the reign of Anastasius, in the country of the Greeks there was a cruel famine and it came from many locusts which devastated all their harvests. The same year, there was a violent earthquake. In this year, James, bishop of Batnan was famous, who composed some treatises on the famine, which happened in the country of the Greeks at that time. Then Marinus the monk, who came from Apamea also flourished, who composed many works at Emesa. |165 In the year 22 of Anastasius, in the month of Hazirân (June), at midday, there was an eclipse of the sun. At that time, Severus, bishop of Antioch appeared who wrote several books against his adversaries; and he shared the ideas of Dioscorus, patriarch of Alexandria. Then Justinus reigned for nine years, in year 829 of Alexander; he was originally from Rome. He reconciled all the churches, drove out the gentiles and freed the bishops of the East.

In the year 7 of his reign, the Greeks and Persians fought a battle on the bank of the Euphrates, and many Greeks drowned. In this year, there was heavy snow and a hard frost, which destroyed the trees and the vines. In year 8 of this reign, the rains become rare, the harvest was small, and water lacking in the brooks. Then many locusts came and a terrible plague which lasted for six years. The same year, the emperor sent a delegation to Mondhar, king of the Arabs, to make peace with him, because he had raided the Greeks, destroyed their houses and taken the population into captivity. |166 In this year, the Persian, i.e. Chosroes the Persian, made an expedition against Edessa where he killed many people. A comet appeared in the sky and remained for forty one nights. The emperor Justinianus (Justinus) associated with himself in the empire a man who was also called Justinianus; he was the son of his brother and he reigned for thirty nine years.

There was a violent earthquake, and several places were levelled. A disagreement broke out between the followers of Severus and the followers of Julian, (bishop of Halicarnassus). Julian said that the body of Christ is corruptible. The followers of Severus said that this is impossible and can never be. In year 3 of the reign of Justinianus (Justin) and his associate, the Arabs attacked the Greeks. At this same time, some causes of great misfortunes occurred between the Greeks and Persians; many Greeks perished and a great number of them |167 drowned in the Euphrates. The war between them lasted for four years. The head of the Greek forces was called Basilides (Belisarius). The Jews of Palestine revolted and rose against the Greeks, and chose a king for themselves. The Greeks marched against them and killed both them and their leader. Then the emperor Justinianus ordered that pagans should no longer be allowed in the Greek empire; they should be made to be baptized and convert to Christianity; if they refused, they would be killed and their goods confiscated. Many of them converted.

In the fifth year of his reign, he ordered that the bishops in favour of Severus and of Dioscorus should hold a council in Constantinople. When they were gathered, he exhorted them with authority and requested them to accept the doctrines of Leo, bishop of Rome, and the council of Chalcedon, namely that the Lord Christ has one person and two natures. But they did not accept his proposal. Severus, patriarch of Antioch, who was present, and all the Eastern bishops shared the same doctrines, said that the Divinity is identical with the hypostases and that the Lord Christ is only one person and only one nature of formed two persons and two natures, --- one divine, the other human. |168 So the bishops of Severus did not accept the proposal of the emperor, who returned them to their sees laden with honours. In year 6 (of his reign), the Persians attacked (the Greeks) and conquered (their country). The same year, Qawad (Qabad), king of the Persians, died, and the Greeks made peace with the Persians.

The same year, the Samaritans revolted. Justinianus sent against them soldiers who fought against them and killed a very great number of them. In year 8 of his reign, there was an eclipse of the sun, the 29 of Nisân (April), at two o'clock in the afternoon. In this year the barbarians captured Rome. John, patriarch of Rome, died, after having governed the Church for three years, and Agapetus succeeded him. At that time, Epiphanius, patriarch of Constantinople, died, after having occupied the see for seven years; Anthimus succeeded him for ten years In Alexandria, Timothy who had sat for seventeen years, was succeeded by Gaianus for three months, to whom Theodosius succeeded. |169 In this year, there was an eclipse of the sun which lasted for one year and two months, in all fourteen months. This was in the year 846 of Alexander. The sun only gave a weak light; the astronomers and all the people said that an accident had happened to it which would never cease, and that the sun would never return to its first state.

In this year, locusts appeared throughout the country. In the same year, the winter was rigorous and with much snow, and many people died in it. In the year 10 of Justinianus, an extraordinary sign appeared in the sky; the heat of the sun was cooled, and the fruits did not mature that year. In this year, Sergius of Ras`ayn was celebrated, who was a philosopher, translator and interpreter of books, author of many works, and moreover a doctor. He came to Ephrem, patriarch of Antioch, and remained (some time) with him. Then Ephrem sent him to Agapetus, bishop of Rome, about the matters which had happened to him over there. Sergius died in Constantinople. |170 The same year, on the order (of the emperor), 72 bishops met in Constantinople and condemned Petrus and Origen and their books. The same year, a sign, similar to a lance of double size, appeared in the sky and remained for forty days.

In this year, Chosroes, son of Qawad (Qabad), marched against Antioch, took it and took its inhabitants into captivity whom he led to Babylon, for them built a city that he named Antioch, known today under the name of Al-Makhuz Al-Djedid, and settled them there. Thereafter he treated them with benevolence and protected them. They paid him tax so that he would leave them alone. After that he marched on Rakkah and captured it. However the Greeks had business with the Barbarians (Berbers) and the Slavs (Saqalibah), located on the borders of the empire. When they had finished fighting with them, they turned against the Persians, and this war lasted without stopping for four years. |171 In the year 16 (of his reign), a great plague occurred throughout the earth, which lasted three years. Ulcers appeared on people in the armpits, buttocks and kidneys, and a very great number of them died suddenly.

In this same year, Belisarius, commander of Justinianus, made an expedition against the Persians. The same year, an Arab, Harith-ibn-Gabala, marched against the Persians. While Chosroes was struck with these ulcers, Harith attacked the Persians with his forces and put them to rout, destroyed several of their cities and took many prisoners. But one of the satraps of Chosroes then went out against the Arabs, defeated them and recaptured all the prisoners. At that time, a sign of fire, the shape of a sword, appeared in the sky and was transported from the East towards the West; it remained (visible) for all the winter. In the year 17 of Justinianus, Chosroes, son of Qawad, went up against Kafartoutha and Ras`ayn. But Basilius (Belisarius) went out with some Greek forces against the Persians and pushed back Chosroes before he had captured these cities. |172 In year 18 of Justinianus, Chosroes went up against Edessa, besieged it for two months and, unable to take it, returned home.

In the year 20 of Justinianus, a great famine prevailed in the East, so much so that the bushel (modius) was sold for 13 dirhams. In the year 26 of Justinianus, a great plague occurred which killed many people. The oxen were also affected, so that men plowed with asses or horses. War was declared between men, who did not cease to kill one another, and many left their native land. In this year Justinianus ordered Theodore and his books to be condemned; also the chapters composed by Theodoret and that the chapters composed by Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, should be accepted. 164 bishops met and condemned Theodore, Theodoret, their books and their doctrines, and Hiba, bishop of Edessa, and his doctrines. But Vigilius, bishop of Rome, refused to affix his signature to this judgment and said: "Anyone who died without being excommunicated cannot properly be excommunicated after their death." But Justinianus insisted; then Vigilius excommunicated them and signed their condemnation with all the other bishops. |173

In the same year, there was a violent earthquake, which destroyed several localities. In the year 28 of Justinianus, the Greeks made peace with the Persians, and peace between them lasted until the sixth year of Justinus the Younger. The same year, there was an earthquake in Constantinople, in the month of Kanun I (December), and a great plague occurred in Rome and in the surrounding countries. In the year 35 of his reign, Justinian wrote to all the bishops ordering them to celebrate Christmas on the 24th of Kanun I (December) and Epiphany on the 6th of Kanun II (January), because many people had celebrated Christmas and the Epiphany together, on the same day, i.e. on the day of Epiphany, 6th of Kanun II. In the year 39 of Justinianus, a sign, like a lance of fire, appeared in the sky and remained for four months and started to move from one place to another.

At that time John the grammarian was illustrious in Alexandria. He was a philosopher and wrote many books on grammar, philosophy, logic, religion, etc. |174 He shared the ideas of James and Severus; he then abandoned them and claimed that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are three hypostases and three natures but only one substance. In that time, the followers of Julian of Halicarnassus announced themselves. Some said that the body of Christ had not been created, but that it was descended from heaven with him; others said: "On the contrary, the body was created, but it is subtle and spiritual. Christ could not undergo sufferings unless he was associated with sin; but Christ was never involved with sin; he was thus not really crucified, he did not suffer, he did not die; all that was only seemingly." Then the emperor Justinianus died, after reigning alone for nine years and with Justinus, his associate, for thirty-nine years. After these thirty-nine years, Justinus, his associate, reigned alone, in the year 788 of Alexander. |175

In the first year of his reign, there was an eclipse of the sun, on Sunday the first Ab (August). In year 8 of his reign, a sign of fire was seen in the sky, which began in the north and remained in all the sky. A darkness occurred which wrapped the whole world for nine hours of the day until the night, so that nothing could be seen; and it fell from the air like wisps of straw and ash. In this year, the emperor sent one of his lieutenants to Apamea to take from there the cross of Our Lord Christ that Helena had placed there. The population rose and refused to let him take it. The lieutenant wrote to the emperor to inform him of the events; then the emperor ordered the cross divided into two, to bring half to him and to leave the other in the city; the lieutenant did so.

In year 3 of Justinus the Younger, the rains became rare, and the winter was similar to the summer. There was a violent earthquake and a great plague. In the year 6 of his reign, a column of fire appeared in the sky, in the area of the West, and remained for the whole year. |176 In the year 7 of his reign, the king of Persians marched against (the fortress) of Abaran, plundered it, set fire to Apamea, captured the wood of the Cross which was there, and sent it to Persia. The same year, a sedition broke out in Constantinople, and there was discord between the Armenian patricians. They wrote to the emperor Justinus to request him to send somebody to them who would put them in agreement. The emperor sent (somebody) who reconciled them. In year 8 (of the reign of Justinus), Chosroes, king of Persians, made a expedition against Dara, besieged it for a few months, but could not take it. Then he sent (one of his generals) to Antioch, who invaded its neighbourhood and returned to Apamea. The population of Apamea, relying on the peace which reigned between the Greeks and Persians, opened the gates of the city. The Persians entered and spread out. Then their leader ordered them to put the inhabitants to the sword; and they plundered the city and killed a very great number of its inhabitants. It was while he besieged Dara that Chosroes sent one of his marzbans (satraps) to capture these places; the latter returned to him with many prisoners, riches and horses. Chosroes besieged Dara for six months and captured it on the 11 of Tichrin (II) (November). |177

Then Justinus prepared to make the war on the Persians, but he became dangerously sick, fell into insanity, and the campaign did not take place. In this year, there was a violent and great plague in all the country and particularly in Constantinople. A strong disease struck the people, and many of them became blind. Justinus recovered from his illness; he was cured, and his reason returned to him. He gathered his patricians and the leaders of his forces and proclaimed as Caesar to reign after him a man named Tiberius, who belonged to the notables of the empire and was always close to the emperor. In year 11 of Justinus, the Samaritans revolted. The emperor sent (an army) against them which fought them, plundered their country and killed a very great number of them. Tiberius reigned for four years, (from) year 889 of Alexander; he was heir apparent to the empire for six years. |178

During his reign, the truce which had been concluded between the Greeks and Persians expired, and a violent war broke out between them. Tiberius, emperor of the Greeks, wrote to the king of Persians to ask for peace or tell him to declare war. The king of Persians refused to make peace with the Greeks and promised Tiberius to come to fight him in a place that he indicated to him. The Greeks gathered for the battle and arrived in this place, where they awaited the Persians. But Chosroes tricked them and did not come to the agreed place. The Persians attacked Ras`ayn, Al-Khanurin (?) and Kitharizon (?). Then Tiberius sent against them forces under the command of one of his patricians named Maurice, who met Persians and put them to rout. Then Tiberius rejoined Maurice and his troops, made 40,000 prisoners whom he deported and settled in the island of Cyprus.

In this year, there was a violent earthquake in Antioch which overthrew two towers on the walls. In the same year, the summer was very rainy and very cold. The atmosphere tarnished and was darkened; many locusts appeared which devoured the harvest of grain, grasses and vegetables. There was a great plague. |179 At that time there were found some people who worshipped idols; and they were killed. The 4th year of his reign, Tiberius gave his daughter in marriage to Maurice, the most remarkable of his generals, and proclaimed him (Caesar) to succeed in future. Tiberius died and Maurice reigned for twenty years, (from) year 894 of Alexander. Maurice was a good man, with a gracious manner, and very charitable; he gave food sixty times a year to the indigent and poor; ignoring their status, he and his wife served them food and drink and gave them abundant alms.

In year 4 of Maurice, a great plague prevailed at Constantinople and carried off 400,000 of its inhabitants. In year 11 of his reign, Maurice ordered the banishment of the Jews who were in Antioch, and they were driven out of the city. This is why: a Christian had rented a house to live there. When he left it, an image of Mary was left behind there; after him, a Jew rented this house, |180 and when he entered there, he found this image and urinated on it. This matter came to the emperor, who ordered the expulsion of the Jews of Antioch and made them shave the middle of their heads so that they could be recognized by this mark. In year 6 of Maurice on the 29th of Tichrin I (October), there was an earthquake at Antioch which devastated the whole city; the great temples, most of the walls and markets and all the houses were toppled.

It is said that it was there a merchant originating in Apamea, who, for all its life, had helped the indigent and the poor and was very charitable. The night of the earthquake, he went out to seek in the streets and the markets of the city someone to help; but he did not find anybody. He then went out to look outside of the city and saw two angels. When he saw them, they told him that they would overturn the city, and warned him to leave there, he and his family. He did so in all haste and escaped safe and sound with his fortune. In this year, the Persians attacked Mayafariqin and captured it. The same year, the Greeks of Syria revolted and put at their head one of their own. Maurice then wrote to Gregory, patriarch of Antioch, to request him to pacify the Greeks. The patriarch succeeded in this, and all the Greeks accepted the governor whom the emperor had sent to them, |181 and departed for Mayafariqin; but they found that the Persians had already captured it; being unable to retake the city, they built a village close to it which they called Maurice, and camped there, while waiting to capture the other, and killed the Persians who were there.

At that time Qourya (Qoura) the philosopher, author of many works, was illustrious. In the year 8 of Maurice, the Persians attacked Hormizd (Hormiz), their king, put out his eyes and then killed him. They divided into two parties: one was for his son Chosroes, the other for a marzban (satrap) named Bahram. The party which was for Chosroes, son of Hormizd, took the initiative and proclaimed him king. But Bahram the marzban was conducting a war with the Deilemites and was absent when Chrosroes was proclaimed. The war with the Deilemites finished, and he wrote to Chosroes: "I do not know you. Give up power or take this as a declaration of war!" Bahram had many soldiers. Chosroes, son of Hormizd, was young; he was afraid to enter into combat with Bahram and thought of asking help from the emperor of the Greeks. |182 Then he called one of his private servants and announced his resolution to him. When the latter heard the words of the king, he left in secrecy and set out for the camp of the Greeks; he entered, met an Arab chief named Djafnah, who had asked protection of the Greeks, and informed him. Djafnah went along to Constantinople and acted so that he came to the emperor.

The emperor exclaimed and said to him: "What do you want?" Djafnah answered: "I want to communicate to the emperor a secret that I possess, and I will thus share with him something extraordinary." The emperor feared that Djafnah might wish to do him harm, and ordered his clothing removed. Djafnah was thus presented in front of the emperor in trousers only and said: "O emperor! I want to be sent to the king of the Persians so that he submits and obeys you." The emperor said: "I believe that you are insane." Then Djafnah brought out the letter that Chosroes had written. The emperor read it, understood it and was delighted at it. Then the emperor ordered him to make Chosroes come to him so that he could give him all he needed, and help him against his enemies. (At the same time) Maurice wrote a reply to the letter of Chosroes. Djafnah took it and returned with the servant to Chosroes; he gave the letter to him and told him of the good disposition of the emperor towards him. |183

When Chosroes read the letter, he left his kingdom, disguised as a beggar and so traversed the empire of the Persians; he passed by Nisibis and arrived at Edessa, where he entered. He presented himself before the governor and told him who he was. The governor embraced him, treated him with distinction, provided him all the necessaries and wrote to the emperor about him. Then the emperor wrote to Chosroes to tell him to go to Menbidj and to await there the arrival of the troops with all the necessaries. There, he would be close to his empire and could strike at his enemy, before he had captured his kingdom. Chosroes felt great joy on reading this letter by Maurice.

Then he sent a letter to him thus: "To the blessed father, Master of the victorious sword, Maurice, son of the Master, on behalf of Chosroes, son of Hormizd, his son, greeting. I inform the emperor that Bahram and his followers, slaves of my father, did not recognize my authority, united against me, their Master, forgot the benefits from my father, revolted against me their lord, and wanted to kill me. Then I decided to have recourse to you, to seek protection near your grace and to submit myself to you, because to submit oneself to a king like myself, although he is an enemy, is better for me than to fall into the hands of rebellious slaves; to die at the hand of kings is nobler for me than to die by the hand of another; I regard that as less ignominious. I take refuge with you, trustful in your kindness, in the generosity that |184 God has inspired in you, and in your clemency. I ask you to have pity on me, to show me mercy, to treat me with kindness, since I have recourse to you and humbly I beseech your help. I am come into your empire to place my fate between your hands. Hasten to help me and to help me; be not insensitive to the fate of a king like yourself, whom slaves overcame and drove out of his kingdom. If you have acted thus in my connection, I will be to you a docile and obedient son, with all my family, my entourage and the subjects of my kingdom, if this pleases God Almighty."

Having read this letter, Maurice gathered the commanders of the Greeks, the patricians, the warriors and the leaders of the city and had it read to them. The reading finished, each one required his opinion of his neighbour. The emperor took note of their answers, and he found himself alone in his opinion. He decided to answer favourably him that had taken refuge with him, and to help him who had beseeched his help. He ordered the troops to prepare to go on campaign and to take with them the money necessary (to Chosroes). The army, to the number of 40,000 soldiers, departed to Chosroes with the materials of war and much money.

Maurice wrote the following answer to him: "From Maurice, servant of Jesus Christ, may he be glorified! to Chosroes, king of the Persians, my son and my brother, greeting. I have read your letter and I learned from it the conduct |185 of the slaves who raised themselves against you, their disobedience, the contempt which they made of the benefits of your fathers and your ancestors, and their rebellion against you whom they have driven out of your kingdom. I have felt more sorrow at this than I can express, and sympathy leads me to feel sorry for your fate and to help you, as you ask. Since you say that it is preferable to hide under the wings of an enemy king and to be put in the shade of his protection, than to fall into the hands of rebellious slaves; that to die at the hand of the kings is better than to die at the hand of the slaves; but that you prefer a very noble friendship and that you beseech it from us, we believe your words and approve your language; we will strengthen your power, will achieve your desire and will satisfy your needs; we support and approve your finer feelings. We thus send troops and money to you, because you are thrown down and dispossessed of your rank and your dignity. I make you my son and I will be your father. I will not be niggardly of my money nor my troops and I will not refuse to send them to your help. Take the money, may it profit you, and go with the blessing and the help of God. Also take the troops, and feel neither distress nor fear! Quickly run to your enemy, without negligence or slowness! Hope that God will give you the victory over your enemy, will throw him |186 at your feet, will make his tricks useless and will restore you in your rank, if God so wishes."

When the troops and the letter of the emperor had reached Chosroes, son of Hormizd, and he had accepted the money, he marched against the enemy. Bahram, learning of Chosroes' flight to the Greeks, had allied to Al-Makhuzah, had seized the riches contained in the treasury, the weapons and effects, had burned the whole city, destroyed the palaces of Chosroes and had prepared for war. Chosroes, son of Hormizd, went to their encounter with the Greek troops and met him between Al-Madain and Wasit. Bahram was put to flight; all his men were killed and his riches and his camp delivered over to plunder. Chosroes returned to his kingdom where he went up (on the throne), and all the people gave oath to him. After a short rest, he called the Greeks, loaded them with presents, returned them to their Master and turned over to the emperor Maurice twice the money and gifts that he had received. He started then by restoring Dara to the Greeks, taken seventeen years before by the Persians, and similarly Mayafariqin from which he transported all the Persians elsewhere. Chosroes |187 kept with him a troop of Greeks and charged them with keeping his treasures, built two churches for the Christians, one, at Al-Madain, dedicated to St. Mary, and the other to St. Sergius the martyr; then he arranged for Anastasius, patriarch of Antioch, to come who dedicated them and established priests and deacons there. Chosroes rewarded him largely, and he (Anastasius) returned from there. That occurred at the end of the 902 year of Alexander.

In this year, there was a great plague among men; then a powerful disease struck them. The following year, which was the 903rd year of Alexander, in the month of Adhar (March), in the middle of the day, there was an eclipse of the sun, and the same day an earthquake occurred. In the year 14 of Maurice, excessive heat burned the trees, grapes, vines and all the greenery. In the year 16 of his reign, the rains were so abundant that many cities with their population and their cattle were drowned in water. Then there was a swarm of locusts such as had never been seen and which remained all year to devour and to destroy (the harvest). In year 17 of his reign, there was a strong earthquake and much snow fell. At the end of the 20th year of Maurice, the magnates and patricians of the Greeks |188 were assembled in the town of Heraclea. Among them was a patrician named Phocas whom they wanted to proclaim emperor. But they had previously intended to proclaim Petrus, brother of Maurice, when Maurice, after concluding peace with the Persians, had removed them from leading the troops and had removed their (names) from the role. They let Petrus, brother of Maurice, know that they wanted to make him king, but he fled from them and left for Constantinople.

Then Maurice fled to Chalcedon. The Greeks caught up with him, as he was dressed in rags like a beggar, and killed both him, his sons and his followers, and proclaimed Phocas emperor. Phocas reigned for eight years, from the year 914 of Alexander; he did not belong in any way to the imperial family. Chosroes, on the news of the murder of Maurice, cancelled the treaty concluded between him and the Greeks, broke the peace which linked them, marched on Dara and captured it. In year 8 of Phocas, a sign appeared in the sky similar to a large resplendent star of which the rays looked like blood which was coloured the major part of the sky and the air; and this sign remained (visible) from the month of Tichrin I (October) to the month of Nisan (April). |189 In the same year, a great misfortune occurred in Syria. Here is the cause: the Jews which were there and in Mesopotamia, intended to kill the Christians in all the cities and to ruin their churches. While they were preoccupied with this, they were denounced to the authorities. Then the Christians threw themselves on them and killed a great number of them. Learning this, Phocas was annoyed with the Christians and laid heavy taxes on them at Antioch, Laodicea and in all of Syria and Mesopotamia.

The same year, the Persians went up against Amid and captured it; then they turned against Qinnesrin and returned to Edessa. In this same year, two rebels rose against Phocas, emperor of the Greeks: one of them was Heraclius, other Gregory in Africa; they sent troops with two of their followers and ordered them, i.e. Heraclius, son of Heraclius, and Nicetas, son of Gregory, their followers, to kill Phocas. They agreed between them that the empire would belong to the first to arrive in Constantinople and kill Phocas. Heraclius, son of Heraclius, went by sea and found it favorable and calm, and Nicetas went by land. Heraclius preceded Nicetas, entered the city and killed Phocas. Heraclius reigned thirty and one years and five months, from the 922nd year of Alexander. |190 In the first year of his reign, Heraclius sent ambassadors to the king of the Persians to make peace with him; but he refused completely. When the Persians learned that Heraclius had ascended the throne, they attacked Antioch, killed its patriarch and took along his population into captivity. Then Nicetas, son of Gregory, left for Alexandria and captured it. The Persians went up against the Greeks and took Antioch; then they turned against Apamea and captured it; then they went to Emesa (Hims) and captured it. All this took place in the month of Tichrin I (October). The Greeks assembled and fought the Persians close to (the river) of Halys; but the Greeks were put to flight and many of them drowned in the river. Then the Persians captured Caesarea.

In this year, among the Greeks, there was a great famine, so that men ate corpses and the skins of animals. Then Nicetas, son of Gregory, went out against the satrap (marzban) called Kesrou`an, who had captured these cities, fought him and put him to flight; and on the two sides there were 20,000 dead. In this year, many locusts appeared. |191 In year 4 of Heraclius, the Arabs began their conquests, i.e. in year 935 of Alexander. In year 5 of Heraclius, the Persians left Caesarea, set out to march on Jerusalem and captured it. In year 8 of Heraclius, the Persians took Alexandria and the surrounding countries, striking as far as Nubia, attacked Chalcedon and captured it. In year 10 of Heraclius, the Arabs set out to move on Jathrib, in year 931 of Alexander. In year 15 (of Heraclius), the Persians made a raid against Rhodes and captured it. In this year, Chosroes, son of Hormizd, ordered the marble of the churches in all the cities which it had captured to be taken, and carried to al-Madain and al-Makhuzah; and this caused great suffering to men and animals. |192

In this year, Heraclius made war on the Persians, captured the town of Kisri, took many prisoners and departed. Three years afterwards, he made peace with the Persians, i.e. in year 17 of Heraclius. At that time, there was an eclipse of the sun, and this eclipse lasted from Tichrin I (October) until Haziran (June), i.e. for nine months; half of the disc was eclipsed and the other was not; and only a little of its light was visible. In the year 18 of the emperor Heraclius, Chosroes, son of Hormizd, king of Persians, was killed, after reigning thirty-eight years; then Qawad (Qabad), his son, succeeded him; he made peace with the Greeks and restored the cities to them which his father had taken. In year 19 of Heraclius, Qawad, sons of Chosroes, died, after having reigned one year, and Ardechir, his son, succeeded him. Then the satrap Chahrabaz who had made all these conquests, killed him, made peace with the Greeks and restored to them the cities that he and the others had taken, as far as Dara, which was located beyond Nisibis.

In this year in the sky a comet appeared, in the area of the west. Then Heraclius ordered the Greeks to leave the country (of the Persians) |193 and to come into the country of the Greeks, because the Greeks and Persians had made peace. Chahrabaz ordered all Persians to return to their countries, each one to his city and family, and not to sow disorder in the country. But they did not accept his words. At the end of year 20 of Heraclius, the Persians made a raid on the banks of the Euphrates, and Chahrabaz made captive many troops of Greeks; a great number of the leaders of the Persians (of the Greeks?) and their followers were killed. In the year 21 of Heraclius, Chahrabaz, who had usurped power over the Persians, died, and Bouran, his daughter, began to reign and made peace with the Greeks; then she died, and her sister succeeded her.

In this year, the fame of the Arabs spread and terrified many among the Greeks and Persians. In the year 22 of Heraclius, the Greeks met with the Arabs on the banks of the Yarmuk; and the Arabs killed such a quantity of Greeks that (their bodies) formed a bridge on which to pass. That took place in year 943 of Alexander. (In that time), Abou-Bekr-`Atiq, son of Abou-Qouhafah, was recognized as their leader; he remained in Yathrib in the country of Farous (Qarous?) and he sent troops in all directions under the command of four generals: |194 one (was sent) into the country of the Persians, another to Aleppo and Damascus. A Greek patrician, whose name was Sergius, resided at Caesarea and was governor for the Greeks. He met the Arabs who put him to flight and killed his men. In this same year, there was a violent earthquake and a sign appeared in the sky, in the shape of a column of fire, which started to move from the East to the West and from North to South and then disappeared.

Heraclius sent his brother, who was at Edessa, against the Arabs; but he did not dare to oppose them; then Heraclius went to Constantinople, left Syria and sent against the Arabs some troops which put them to flight and plundered their camp. In this same year, Omar, son of Khattab, moved towards Syria and arrived at Jerusalem. The patriarch went out before him and admitted him into the city. Omar looked at the city and the temple which was there, and prayed there. After remaining there for forty days, he arose and went to Damascus where he remained a long time; then he returned to Yathrib. Heraclius, emperor of the Greeks, died, after reigning thirty one years and five months. In this same year, the Arabs captured the town of Caesarea, and Palestine. |195 Then Constantine, son of Heraclius reigned for four months, in the year 953 of Alexander, and was killed. (After him) Heraclius, son of Heraclius, and his son reigned together for eight month; then they were dethroned. Then Constans reigned for twenty-seven years from the year 954 of Alexander.

In year 6 of his reign, the Arabs took Cyprus and conquered it. In year 7 of his reign, the Arabs and the Greeks divided the island of Cyprus into two halves. At the end of the twenty-seventh year of his reign, the Greeks killed him, i.e. Constans, in the bath, in Sicily. From Adam to the flood there were 2,242 years; from the flood to the construction of the tower, the confusion of languages in Babel and the time of Ar`u, 650 years; from the confusion of languages until the birth of Abraham, 413 years; from the birth of Abraham to the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, 506 years; from the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt until the first king, Saul, reigned over them, 696 years; from the reign of Saul until Nabuchodonosor took them into captivity, set fire to the Temple and destroyed the city, 505 years; from Zahab (Zedekiah), |196 king of the Israelites, lieutenant of king Nabuchodonosor, and the kings of the Persians to Alexander, 2,239 years; from Alexander until the kings of the Greeks started to reign, 280 years and five months; from (the beginning) of the empire of the Arabs until now, i.e. until the 1,273 year of Alexander, there are 330 years and eight months .

We will report the years of the Arabs and their kings, king by king, and how long each of them reigned, as far as possible, if Great God wills. History of the Arabs. In the year 933 of Alexander and year 11 of Heraclius, king of the Greeks, and at the end of the 30th year of Chosroes, son of Hormizd, the Arabs were stirred up in Yathrib and established as their leader a man who was called Mohammed, son of `Abdallah. He became their leader and their king and governed them for ten years. His family, his parents and his tribe gathered around him, |197 and he made them believe in only one God who has no associate; he made them reject the worship of the idols and to worship only one God. He ordered to them to practise circumcision, not to drink wine, not to eat pig, nor animals that have been strangled, nor blood; to pray and to pay the tax (zakat). He who accepted this was safe and sound; and if somebody refused and made opposition, he made war on him. He killed several Arab chiefs of his tribe and others and captured many cities of the neighbouring peoples.

The Arab Christians and the others came to him, and he protected them and gave them safe conduct. All the people who did not agree with him, i.e. the Jews, the Magi, the Sabaeans and the others, did the same thing; they gave oath to him and accepted his protection, with responsibility to pay a poll-tax and a tax on land. He ordered his people to accept the prophets and the apostles and what God had revealed to them; to believe in Christ, son of Mary, and to say that he is the messenger of God and his Word, his servant and his spirit; (to believe) in the Gospel, paradise, hell and the day of the last judgement. He said that in paradise there is food and drink, marriage and rivers of wine, milk and honey, and black-eyed girls (houris), untouched by men or genii. He prescribed the fast and the five prayers and other things of which I will say nothing for fear of being too long . |198

In the first year of his reign, Chahrabaz, satrap of the Persians, went against the Greeks, besieged Ancyra, and captured, killed or made captive all the inhabitants. He also captured, at the end of this year, the island of Rhodes and took its inhabitants into captivity. In year 2 of his reign, Chosroes, son of Hormizd, tyrannized the populations of his kingdom who did not share his religion, because he was seized by pride and vanity because of the many conquests which he had made, and because of the extension of his power. He imposed heavy taxes on them, doubled their contributions and ordered the demolition of the churches of Syria and Mesopotamia and the marble from them to be carried off into his kingdom, as we already mentioned above, with all the vessels of gold, money and wood. In year 3 of Mohammed, son of `Abdallah, in the year 14 of Heraclius and year 35 of Chosroes, son of Hormizd, Chahrabaz directed a expedition against Constantinople with a numerous army of Persians and besieged it; then he made an assault on the city, but could not take it and withdrew, after a long siege.

This same year, Chosroes persecuted those of the inhabitants of Edessa who held to the doctrines of the Melkites, and ordered them to follow the doctrines of the Jacobites. |199 This is why: There was a Jacobite man called Younan, who was a doctor for Chosroes, son of Hormizd. He was a relative of an inhabitant of Edessa named Qourrah, who was a Jacobite. Chosroes, son of Hormizd, had charged Qourrah of levy the land tax in Edessa. The inhabitants of Edessa hated him, denounced him to Chosroes and calumniated him to him, so that he was relieved. When Chosroes' doctor had seen the conduct of the inhabitants of Edessa towards Qourrah his relative, he felt anger at it. One day when he was alone with the king, he said to him: "O king! The inhabitants of Edessa should not be allowed to keep their religion, because they are bad people. But oppress them, as long as they remain in your empire, because their faith is that of Heraclius and of his followers and their doctrine on God is similar to his doctrine. They are in correspondence with him and they are sent messages. Order them to embrace the doctrines of the Jacobites or Nestorians: if they embrace one of the two doctrines, enmity will ignite between them and the Greeks; but if they believe as the Greeks, they will be always in favour of the Greeks."

Chosroes approved his words and wrote to the satrap, the governor of Mesopotamia, and ordered him to go to Edessa with his troops, to force the population to embrace the doctrines of the Jacobites or Nestorians and to put to death whoever refused. When the letter of Chosroes |200 reached the satrap, he set out to march and arrived at Edessa; he assembled the inhabitants in a church and said to them: "You are the enemies of God and enemies of Chosroes. You are spies who keep his enemies informed of his business. Now choose one of these two things: make yourselves Jacobites or Nestorians. If you embrace one of the two doctrines, (you will remain) in your native land with your manner of living; if you refuse, I will put to you to death and I will send you to the court of the king with your families, your goods and all your fortune. I grant to you for this a delay of a few days: reflect on this subject, before misfortune comes to assail you."

Then they said among themselves: "Let us choose one of these two things: to either eat the strangled ox or the swollen ass." They meant by the strangled ox Nestorianism and by the swollen ass Jacobitism. The people chose Jacobitism and did not leave their homes and native land. All the inhabitants of Edessa became Jacobites and took for leader a man called Isaiah. A few months afterwards, Chosroes ordered the inhabitants of Edessa transported into Persia and wrote on this subject to the governor of the city. The governor, who was a merciful man, gentle and benevolent, |201 delayed in carrying out (this order) and did not deport them all in one go; but he sent them little by little; he hoped that the heart of the king would in the end have pity on them, and he hid their wrongdoings. On these events the emperor of the Greeks attacked the Persians and invaded Iraq. Chosroes forgot the inhabitants of Edessa, and the remainder of the inhabitants escaped captivity. Nobody appeared to resist Heraclius; he killed, took into captivity and returned to Syria.

In year 7 of Mohammed, son of `Abdallah, there was an eclipse of the sun, and the stars appeared in full daylight. Chahrabaz camped before Constantinople up to that moment; then he recognized emperor Heraclius of the Greeks, and made obeissance to him. The cause of this was that certain people had denounced Chahrabaz to Chosroes and had said to him that he was little by little decreasing the royal power and said: "It is I who made all these conquests;"; (it was said) that he attacked the king, scorned him, he and all his men, and that he affirmed that, without him, the empire of Chosroes would not exist. Chosroes was irritated and wrote to the satrap — there was a man called Mardif which was with Chahrabaz — and ordered him to seek to cut the head of Chahrabaz and to send it to him; and he charged him to take command of the troops and to continue the war. |202

When the envoy of Chosroes was travelling to the army of Chahrabaz, the Greeks captured him, when he arrived at their borders, and presented him to the emperor Heraclius. That took place after the return of Heraclius from Persia. The emperor took the letter and imprisoned the envoy. When he had read the letter, he sent a message to Chahrabaz and requested him to come to him; he said to him to fear nothing for his person, goods and family and let him know that he wished him well. Chahrabaz entered Constantinople and presented himself at the court of the emperor Heraclius. The latter had the letter of Chosroes read to the satrap and brought the envoy to him, whom was put before him. Chahrabaz recognized him, spoke to him and questioned him about this business, and the envoy told him. When he understood the business clearly, he immediately took an oath to Heraclius. Then he composed a letter on behalf of the emperor, gave it to Mardif and ordered him to read it to all his chiefs and satraps; and he wrote to the satrap: "Do you believe it possible to do this?" Then the satraps and the nobles were full of irritation and anger against Chosroes; they thus came to Heraclius, took an oath to him and made obeisance to him. Heraclius ordered that those who were in their troops should be allowed to depart freely into Persia, without causing them any nuisance. And they left with their Master.

Then Heraclius prepared for war against Persia and sent to |203 Khagan, king of the Khazars, a letter where he asked him to send auxiliary troops to him to the number of 40,000 riders, and that he would take him as his son-in-law and would give him his daughter. Heraclius left for Syria, and started to take, one after the other, the cities which belonged to the Persians, and established governors in them. When Chosroes learned of the conduct of Chahrabaz and his companions, their submission to Heraclius and the preparations for an expedition that Heraclius made against him; when his situation and the conquests of Heraclius were confirmed to him, he was frightened and disturbed and repented of what he had done. All the troops of the Persians were dispersed in Syria and Mesopotamia, and Heraclius, in his triumph, destroyed them, one after the other. Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Armenia belonged to the Persians. Then Chosroes ordered one of his satraps, called Rouzbahan, to take some Persian troops and to go against Heraclius, emperor of the Greeks. Rouzbahan left and arrived in the area of Mosul. Heraclius had already conquered Armenia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria; he had beaten all the Persian troops which were in these countries, and the majority of the inhabitants and majority of the Armenians had given oath to him.

Heraclius set out on the march with 300,000 soldiers, and 40,000 men |204 arrived from the Khazars. When they had advanced as far as Azerbaidjan, Heraclius sent a letter to them in which he ordered them to remain there until he came to join them. After capturing Armenia, Heraclius continued his march, arrived at Nineveh and halted on the great Zab. Rouzbahan went before him; the two armies met and fought a tough battle in which Persians were put to flight; they lost there more than 50,000 men, and Rouzbahan their leader was numbered among the dead. Heraclius delivered their camp to plunder. Chosroes, at the news of the disaster to Rouzbahan and his troops, fled to al-Makhuzah and al-Madain. Heraclius arrived there, captured him, seized the treasures of the king and carried off everything there. Then he set fire to al-Madain, destroyed the surrounding villages and took the inhabitants into captivity.

Chirouyah, son of Chosroes, had been imprisoned by his father. He came out of the prison, sought his father and, when he found him, put him to death and reigned after him. Chosroes had reigned thirty-eight years. His son Chirouyah started to reign in year 7 of Mohammed, son of `Abdallah, year 18 of Heraclius and the 940th year of Alexander. |205 Then Heraclius retraced his steps and camped at a village which was called Thamanin. This is the village where the ark stopped at the time of the flood, in the time of Noah. He climbed the mountain which is called al-Djoudi, examined the place of the ark, looked at the world, while turning to the four cardinal points, and went then over to Amid where he remained for all the winter. Chirouyah, son of Chosroes, sent messengers to Heraclius to ask for peace. Heraclius accepted his proposals, provided that he restored all the cities to him and all the villages his father (Chosroes) had captured and which had belonged to the Greeks; and Heraclius would return to Persia all the Persians who were in his empire.

In that time, among the philosophers Stephanus was illustrious, a sage of Egypt and of Alexandria, who was the disciple of the philosopher Olympiodorus and of Theodore, a philosopher of Constantinople. Then Heraclius resolved to leave for Mesopotamia and Syria; he ordered his brother Theodore to come to him and ordered him to allow the Persians who were anywhere in Mesopotamia and Syria, to leave his |206 empire and go to Persia. Theodore left with the vanguard, and Heraclius visited successively each city, established his governors there, omitting none and returned then into his kingdom to Constantinople. Concerning Theodore, brother of Heraclius, he arrived at Edessa and ordered the Persians who were there, to leave there and go into Persia. But they refused to obey this order and said: "We do not know Chirouyah, son of Chosroes, and will not leave our fatherland." Then he drew up against them machines of war, put stones in them and launched them on them; he launched thus on them more than 40 stones and killed many of the inhabitants. Seeing themselves too weak to resist, they made submission; he granted mercy to them, and they left the city and went away into Persia.

Theodore ordered that the Jews who were in Edessa should be killed, because they had helped the Persians to persecute the Christians. When he started to massacre them, one of them left, came to Heraclius, told him what occurred, and requested him to forgive them and to be benevolent towards them. Heraclius agreed to this request and sent to Theodore a letter where he ordered him to save the Jews and to close his eyes to their faults. When the letter came to him, he did not trouble them any more. Then, Heraclius arrived at Edessa and ordered the Christians who were there, to embrace the Melkite doctrines again. |207 Then they abjured Jacobitism, except for some families, who have remained faithful to the Jacobite doctrines to this day. Heraclius passed a whole year at Edessa and exiled Qourrah, bishop of Edessa, to the island of Cyprus, because he realized that Qourrah could not read the Gospel very well. Then he said to him: "O man, how did you become a bishop, if you cannot read the Gospel very well! Go now to this island, fix yourself over there and learn to read and the other questions of the church."

Chirouyah, son of Chosroes, died, and Ardashir succeeded him. But Chahrabaz killed him. Here is how: After the death of Chosroes, Chahrabaz and several satraps employed a ruse, escaped from the camp of Heraclius and arrived in Persia because of the letter that Chirouyah, son of Chosroes, had sent to them. Then Chirouyah died, and his son Ardechir succeeded him. But Chahrabaz killed him and gathered troops of the Persians. Mardigan (Mardif) also gathered many troops, and the Persians were divided in two parties. We have already reported that after the conversion of the emperor Constantine with his mother Helena to Christianity, the latter marched on pilgrimage to seek out the tree of the Cross in Jerusalem. She gathered the Jews and oppressed them until they produced the Cross; and she found it broken into two halves. |208 She took one half which she placed at Apamea, and brought the other to Constantinople. The Greek emperors wanted to take the other half which was in Apamea. But the inhabitants opposed this and only gave them part of their part . . . At the time of Justinianus, the Persians made war against the Greeks, plundered . . . to Apamea, took [the remainder] of the tree of the Cross and carried it [into Persia]. Heraclius requested Chahrabaz to return it, and [Chahrabaz] agreed to his request and sent the Cross to him. Heraclius took it and carried it to Constantinople, [added it] to the remainder of the Cross and covered it with gold. The Cross has been there until the present day.

In this year there was a violent earthquake, and the sun was darkened . . . [Mohammed being dead, Abu-Bekr] succeeded [him and reigned for two years. . . He sent] four generals . . . with troops: [one in Palestine, another] in Egypt, the third in Persia and the fourth against the Christian Arabs. |209 As for the one that Abu-Bekr sent to Palestine, he met a Greek patrician named Sergius, killed him with all his companions and plundered their camp. The other three (generals) were victorious and returned to Yathrib. In year 3 of Abu-Bekr, there was a violent earthquake in Palestine; for thirty days the ground trembled. In the same year, there was a strong epidemic in various places. Abu-Bekr died; and after him reigned Omar, son of Khattab, for twelve years, from the 946 year of Alexander and the thirteenth year of the Arabs. In the first year of his reign, he sent troops against al-Balqa, captured Basra, many cities and large fortresses and then returned to Yathrib.

In year 2 [of his reign], Khalid, son of al-Walid, [went] with many troops on al-Balqa and . . . in Persia. Khalid encountered . . . troops of the Greeks and destroyed them. . . . (Heraclius) went out from Menbidj and |210 sent . . . against Khalid and he killed . . . Arabs. . . Damascus. Then Heraclius left Menbidj .. . . Souriyah, which is Syria (ach-Cham), and learned with certainty that the Arabs had conquered it. In the year . . . of Omar, the Arabs left Damascus with Khalid, son of al-Walid. The Greek patrician, who was at Antioch, learned of the sortie of Khalid with the Arab troops. Fear and disquiet seized him, and he gathered many troops and marched on Damascus with 70,000 warriors. Then Khalid moved towards Damascus and captured it by granting quarter to the inhabitants, and he went against all the cities of Syria which he took and to which he showed mercy.

Sa`d-ibn-Abu-Waqqas left Yathrib, marched into the desert of Qadas and arrived [at Qadisiyah (Kadisiyah). . . ..] Koufah at the distance of five parasangs and remained there. When [Yezdegerd learned] of the invasion of the Arabs, he gathered many troops and sent. . . . (The Persians) camped on the Euphrates opposite Koufah. Then they met and [engaged in combat to] Qadisiyah (Kâdisîyah); and the Arabs put the Persians to rout and pursued them [to al-Madain], the town of Chosroes, which is on the Tigris. Then Yezdegerd left with his satraps and his warriors, took position |211 on the Eastern bank of the Tigris and engaged in combat with the Arabs there. The Arabs threw themselves in the water, passed through with their horses, charged the Persians and put them to flight; then they captured al-Madain, [the town of Chosroes], and its surroundings and they removed the treasures of the king and other things. . . . Yezdegerd [fled to] Holwan where he gathered many troops. The Arabs [pursued him, caught up with him] at Holwan, put him to rout and killed all his soldiers. [Yezdegerd] fled and arrived at Nihavend; but the Arabs pursued him and put him to flight. (After that) Yezdegerd fled to Khorasan.

When Heraclius, who was [at Antioch], saw the rout of the Greeks and learned what the Arabs had done to the Persians, he was seized with anger and indignation and was very upset. He wrote to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and Armenia, ordering them not to engage in more combat with the Arabs or to oppose more the will of God; he informed them that Great God had sent this misfortune on men, that he was not opposing himself to the will of God, [who had promised] Ishmael, son of Ibrahim (Abraham), that several kings would come from him. Sa`id and Amrou, son of al-`Asi, marched on Egypt and entered there. Cyrus (Qourrah), bishop of Alexandria, [went out to meet them] and made peace |212 with them on condition that he paid [each year] 200,000 dinars; their troops would not enter [Egypt and] would not pass its borders; he was preparing the money and would send it to them. . . (Sa`id and Amrou) made a pact with him on these conditions. And Cyrus, bishop [of Alexandria], did not cease to govern firmly for three years, and none of the Arabs entered there.

[Then], a certain number of inhabitants of Egypt [went] to the emperor Heraclius and accused Cyrus [of taking] the money of Egypt and giving it to the Arabs. . . and giving them the tax on land from Egypt that he [should give to the emperor]. Heraclius [was irritated] at this and sent to Egypt a patrician [named Manuel], ordered him to relieve Cyrus of the administration of Egypt, to invest himself (Manuel) with the administration and to defend its inhabitants. The following year, when the Arabs, according to custom, [came] to Egypt to ask for gold, they found Manuel encamped in Egypt with Greek troops. They were captured and brought before him. Manuel asked them for the purpose of their mission, and they made it known to him. When he heard that they were asking for gold, he drove out them with great anger and sent them back with scorn, saying: |213 "I am not the bishop Cyrus who gave you gold from fear of you, because he is a monk dedicated to the worship of God, but I am a man of arms and war and courage; you must understand that by seeing me. I have only contempt and scorn for you. Leave the country and do not return here any more; if you do, I will kill you. What has happened previously is considered excused."

The envoys returned to their Master, and told him this. Then Amrou-ibn-al-`Asi arose, advanced and arrived in Egypt where he met Manuel. Amrou put him to rout and killed almost all his soldiers; (after that), Manuel arrived at Alexandria with the remainder of his troops. Then the Arabs captured Egypt. At this news, Heraclius wrote Cyrus, bishop of Alexandria: "Some people calumniated and wrongfully accused you to me. Hurry to agree to the request of these Arabs and grant to them what they ask. You know already that they are sent like a plague on men; that God promised Abraham concerning Ishmael that several kings would come from him; that the promises of God are true and that one cannot be opposed to them nor to evade them. If you can pacify the Arabs and get them away from Egypt by any possible means, do so; if you can make them accept the first conditions that you dictated to them, and make them accept, do so. |214 I put you at the head of Egypt and confide to you its government. Do as well as possible for its interests!"

The letter of the emperor Heraclius came to Cyrus, and he said: "How can I move the Arabs away? I already pass for a liar among them; and above all, they have already captured Egypt. However I will do all that I can and then I will await events." Cyrus went out from Alexandria and went to the camp of the Arabs. He was presented to Amrou-ibn-al-`Asi and, after having made excuses before him, made known him that he was not the cause of the transgression of the treaty which existed between them, but that the emperor Heraclius had treated him with violence and had made him change direction on this subject; he thus requested him to make peace again on the terms of the first treaty. Amrou-ibn-al-`Asi answered him that under no circumstances would he accede to his request. "I do not have confidence in you," he added, "because you have misled me once; moreover, you request an impossible thing, because we conquered Egypt by our weapons and we will never give up it." Cyrus thus returned to Alexandria, without having obtained anything.

Then Omar-ibn-al-Khattab removed the command of Syria from Khalid-ibn-al-Walid and named in his place Abu-`Obeidah-ibn-al-Djarrah. This was in year 15 of the Arabs and 26 of Heraclius. |215 Omar started from Yathrib, arrived in Palestine and camped there. Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, went out to meet him and obtained from him safety for Jerusalem and all the towns of Palestine. Omar gave him safety and passed an act for him, and in this act it was specified: every Jew that we find in Jerusalem will be deprived of the protection of the laws, as from this day; the Jew that we find there will be punished for it in his hair, his appearance and his money. Then Omar entered Jerusalem and prayed there; then he entered the very large temple that Solomon, son of David, had built, and ordered a mosque built there where the Moslems would make their prayers. Then the patriarch, having seen that the woollen clothing of Omar was dirty, requested him to accept of him (other) clothing. But Omar refused. The patriarch persisted. Then Omar said to him: "Do me the honour, please, to take these clothes, give them to the launderer and lend me these clothes that you brought to me, so that I can wear them until my clothes are washed; then I will return them to you." The patriarch did so, took Omar's clothes and gave them to the launderer; after washing, he brought them back to him. Omar put them on and returned his clothing to the patriarch. |216

Then Omar left Jerusalem, went to Yathrib, and invested Abu-`Obeidah with the command of Egypt and Syria. Abu-`Obeidah sent `Abbad-ibn-`Asim with many troops to go through all the towns of Syria; and he gave them safety and occupied them all. Then he returned to Mesopotamia, captured all the cities and gave them safety, after they had treated with him, stipulating that they would pay him each year 100,000 dinars, and that no Arab would pass the Euphrates, for whatever reason, so long as the treaty was closely adhered to. Then the inhabitants of Mesopotamia brought to `Abbad-ibn-`Asim the annual tribute. This (treaty) was concluded by the patrician Paul who was the governor of Heraclius, emperor of the Greeks, over Mesopotamia. On this news, Heraclius, emperor of the Greeks, relieved Paul, sent him into exile in Africa and named (in his place) in Mesopotamia a man named Ptolemy, one of the patricians.

Then the Arabs captured Antioch and took the inhabitants of its suburbs and fields into captivity. |217 Then Omar removed the command in Syria from Abu-`Obeidah and named Mo`awia-ibn-Abu-Sofyan in his place. That took place in the year 6 of Omar, year 18 of the Arabs and year 29 of Heraclius. `Abbad crossed the Euphrates and marched on Edessa, because the Edessans had not brought in the second year what they had promised to him. When he arrived there, the inhabitants went out to meet him and asked him for mercy for them and for Ptolemy, their governor and patrician. `Abbad entered Edessa, made Ptolemy leave and returned him to Greece; in a few days, he then made them pay 100,000 dinars. `Abbad then left Edessa and arrived at Mawzan, because this city had not capitulated yet like all the other towns of Mesopotamia. When he arrived there, the Greeks who were there, resisted him. He was irritated at this, drew up balistas against the city and remained at this city with the (besieged) Greeks, until he had captured it; and he killed the Greeks who were there. `Abbad made the towns of Mesopotamia capitulate, to which he gave the aman, except for Dara; he took it by storm and killed the Greeks who were there, named governors over all the towns of Mesopotamia and returned Mo`awia-ibn-Abu-Sofyan who was in Syria. |218

Then Omar ordered his governor to hit all the regions of his empire with a tribute. The rolls were drawn up and the tribute was imposed on each area, each province, each city and each village; this tribute consisted of corn and money. Heraclius, emperor of the Greeks, died, after reigning thirty one years. He died Sunday, February 7, year 952 of Alexander, 19 of the Arabs and the 7 of Omar. Constantine, son of Heraclius, reigned after him for four months. One of the women of his father killed him, and Heraclius, son of Heraclius, reigned for eight months. In this year, Mo`awia captured Caesarea, a town of Palestine, and massacred 7,000 Greeks there. The Greeks augured ill for the reign of Heraclius, son of Heraclius; they deposed him. Then Constans, son of Constantine, grandson of Heraclius, reigned twenty-seven years, from the year 954 of Alexander. In year 10 of Omar-ibn-al-Khattab, the Arabs attacked a town of Cilicia, captured it and took many prisoners from there into captivity. |219

In year 11 of Omar, the sun was darkened, on Friday 1, Tichrin II (November). In year 12 of Omar-ibn-al-Khattab, a man named Abu-Loulouah went to Omar and did not cease observing him with attention, while he prayed; and when Omar bowed deeply, he struck him several times with a knife and killed him. Omar died after reigning twelve years. Othman-ibn-`Affan reigned (after him) eleven years, from the 958 year of Alexander and the fifth year of Constans. In this year Gregory, the Greek patrician who was in Africa, revolted. The Arabs attacked Alexandria where Manuel, the Greek patrician, was. He fled with his soldiers; they left by sea and arrived in Greece. The Arabs captured Alexandria and destroyed its walls; they occupied this city and the coast between Alexandria and al-Farama (Pelusium). Then, the same year, they invaded Africa and fought a battle there with Gregory, the Greek patrician; they put him to flight and massacred his troops. Gregory arrived in Greece and made peace with the emperor. |220

In this year there was a violent wind: large trees were uprooted; harvests and vines were destroyed, and many towers (of the stylites) collapsed. In year 3 of Othman, Mo`awia took to sea, arrived at Cyprus and captured it. He was accompanied by 1,700 ships full of weapons and riches. He took a great number of people from this island and neighbouring islands into captivity. Then when he learned that Greek troops had been sent against him, he returned to Syria and besieged Aroud (Aradus), employed all his efforts there, but could not take it. He then sent a bishop called Thomas who asked the inhabitants of the town to leave the island and to go away to Greece, so that the Arabs could settle there. When the bishop arrived there, they imprisoned him, did not let him return to Mo`awia and did not pay any attention to his message. Then Mo`awia returned to Damascus, because winter was arriving and that it was to the sea.

After the winter and at the beginning of spring, Mo`awia returned to the island of Aroud with troops stronger and more numerous than the first. He besieged it and treated the inhabitants with harshness. |221 When the inhabitants of Aroud saw the difficult situation in which they were, and the troops that were pressing them, they asked for mercy on condition of leaving for Syria and of establishing themselves where they liked. Mo`awia-ibn-Abu-Sofyan agreed to their request, and they left the city. After they left, Mo`awia ordered the destruction of its walls. They were destroyed, set on fire, and burned. In this year, Othman-ibn-`Affan sent his son Sa`id with many troops to the pursuit of Yezdegerd, king of the Persians, who was in that time in Sedjestan. Having learned that Sa`id was coming to seek him, Yezdegerd fled from Sedjestan to Merv where he remained for two years. Sa`id took all the towns of Khorasan, and giving the aman, established there his governors and arrived at Merv where Yezdegerd was. When Yezdegerd learned of his arrival, he feared that the population, i.e. the population of the city, might hand him over; he thus left in the night and hid in a mill which was on the river, to the gate of the city. The owner of the mill recognized him, cut off his head and carried it to Sa`id. Sa`id captured Merv; he took the crown and the head of Chosroes, who was called Yezdegerd, and carried them to his father. Othman-ibn-`Affan put (the head) on a pillar and placed the crown in the Kaabah where it is to this day.

Constans, king of the Greeks, sent ambassadors to Mo`awia to ask peace of him. Mo`awia was in Damascus and the envoy Manuel, |222 who was in Egypt, was sent with a certain number of Greeks. Mo`awia agreed to his request provided that a certain number of the members of his house would be left with him as hostages. In year 4 of Othman, the inhabitants of Armenia revolted against Constans, emperor of the Greeks, and submitted themselves to the Moslems. Their governor, one of the Greek patricians named Pasagnathes, wrote to Mo`awia and sent his son as a hostage to him. Learning that the Armenians had revolted and risen up, Constans left with Greek troops and went to Caesarea in Cappadocia to go into Armenia. While he was on the way, this news came to him and saddened him; he had intended to recover Armenia, but then he returned from there, despairing of recovering it.

Then Mo`awia sent troops to the island of Rhodes, who captured it, reorganized the administration there and made it an observation post for the Arabs. In this island, there was a statue which had been standing for approximately three hundred and sixty years. Its height was fifty cubits. The Arabs removed it and threw it into the sea. That took place in year 8 of Othman. |223 In this year, the (Arab) leader entered Armenia with many troops, captured it and killed all the Greeks who were there. In this year, Othman-ibn-`Affan directed the pilgrimage. It is necessary that you know, for the reading of our book, that the years of the Arabs do not agree with the non-Arab years, because there is a difference between them: thirty-two non-Arab years make thrity-three Arab years; but I will not omit to make the agreement; I will give this (33rd) additional year, as the Arabs count it; I will add it to the Arab years to keep their calendar in line with that which was already in use before their reign.

Then, in year 9 of Othman, 34 of the Arabs and 13 of Constans, emperor of the Greeks, Mo`awia-ibn-Abu-Sofyan prepared a expedition by sea against Constantinople. Mo`awia equipped many ships in the town of Trabulus (Tripoli) located at the seaside and embarked a great quantity of weapons there. When the ships were ready and that he was thinking of going on campaign, there were two brothers in Tripoli, (sons) of a man named Boukinator, who were in the service of the Arabs. Having seen the preparations of Mo`awia, they were seized with irritation and anger; they came to the prison, opened it and released all the Greeks who were there; they threw themselves on the governor of the city and killed him; |224 then they set fire to the ships and to the military equipment, went on a vessel and arrived in the country of the Greeks. Learning this, Mo`awia equipped many troops against the Greeks, who captured the country of Bazantiyah and of Malatia, pushed to Hisn-al-Mourrah near the gate of Malatia and made 100,000 of its population prisoners. (At the same time Mo`awia) sent a man named Abu'l-`Oud with many troops; he entered Phoenix which is on the coast of Lycia, and entirely devastated it.

Then Constans marched against him with Greek troops and sent his brother Yaqout (Theodosius?) by sea with many ships. (The Greeks and Arabs) met and came to battle. In the first shock the Greeks were put to rout, and Constans was about to drown; he was saved because so many people died that the sea was turned bloody. Then the Arabs returned victorious and Constans returned to Sicily. In that year, the inhabitants of Egypt and Iraq went to Othman-ibn-`Affan, surrounded him on all sides and killed him on Friday 19th of the month of Zou'l-qa`dah. |225 The same year, `Abdallah-ibn-al-Abbas directed the pilgrimage. In that year, Talhah and az-Zobair went out from Mecca in the month of Rab'i II and agreed to march against Basra. Then `Ali-ibn-Abu-Talib went out from Medina to fight them, moved towards Feid and left Sahl-ibn-Hanifah in Medina as his lieutenant. He wrote to him then ordering him to rejoin him and conferred the administration of Medina on Abu-Hasan-al-Mazani. (The two forces) met and engaged in combat, and, near Basra, `Ali gained the victory. He prevented his troops from massacring the fleeing or maltreating the casualties; even he who had closed his gates, would be in safety. After remaining at Basra for fifteen days, `Ali went to Koufah and left `Abdallah-ibn-al-Abbas in Basra as lieutenant.

`Ali conferred the administration of Egypt on Qais-ibn-Sa`id (Sa`d) who resided there and governed it, but Mo`awia intrigued against him and had him relieved. Then Mo`awia and Amrou-ibn-al-`Asi went to Mohammed-ibn-Hazifah (Houzeifah) who was in Egypt and whom `Ali had made governor. They deceived him and made him go out to `Arich. Then `Ali named Hakam-ibn-as-Salt in Egypt. Mo`awia and Amrou went against him and drew up balistas against him; then he went out against them with thirty of his companions, and they killed him. |226 After that `Ali sent Qais-ibn-Sa`id to Egypt (as governor) (for the second time). Hasan-ibn-`Ali took the oath in the year 41 of the Arabs. Then Mo`awia went to Iraq, and Hasan-ibn-`Ali [followed him there]. They met at Meskin in Sawad, a province [of Koufah], and made peace in writing, on certain conditions and in front of eyewitnesses. Mo`awia went into [the mosque and] preached there, and the population took oath to him. Then, he left as lieutenant at Koufah [Mogair-ibn-Chou'bah and left for] Syria where he established Fadalah-ibn-`Abd as judge. Hasan-ibn-`Ali went to Medina. It was said to him: "What have you done?" He answered: "I have . . . taken in hate the inhabitants of Koufah, in which nobody can have confidence: my father had met . . . but he had not been able to get any profit at all from them, and they are good for nothing. . . . . `Atabah-ibn-Abu-Sofyan."

The power of Mo`awia was reaffirmed; he dominated from Yathrib to Damascus and captured the whole world, after being sole ruler for twenty years. That took place in year 972 of Alexander, 41 of the Arabs and 19 of Constans, emperor of the Greeks. |227 (In that time) was born the sect of the Harourites . . . ; (they claimed that they were the best) of all the Moslems, that their adversaries were in error and that they were entitled more to the empire than anybody. The master of the power, Mo`awia preferred the inhabitants of the West to those of the East because of the submission which the inhabitants of the west showed and because of the antagonism of these . . . In year 8 (of his reign), a raid of Alans came out of Armenia, where the Greeks had suffered a terrible defeat. The leader of this campaign was Bechr-ibn-Artat who killed a great number of patricians. The Moslems made captive and plundered. . . . They were the first prisoners that they took. . . .

Mo`awia gave the government of the sea to . . . - ibn-Marwan . . . . ibn. . . . and he invested him with power over all . . . and was called Bechr-ibn-Artat. In this year, he named . . . and conferred the role of judge on `Abdallah-ibn . . . In this year, Bechr-ibn-Artat went . . . Rahman and Qathim, sons of `Abdallah-ibn-al-Abbas-ibn-`Abd-al-Mouttalib . . . Abu-Laila the rebel in the . . . suburb of Koufah. In that year, `Outbah-ibn-Sofyan directed the pilgrimage. |228 In year 3 of Mo`awia, Bechr-ibn-Artat made for the second time a raid against the Greeks and took many prisoners. The Greeks fled to Constantinople. In this year, Mo`awia ordered Marwan-ibn-al-Hakam to take the direction of the pilgrimage. The festival arrived, and he directed it. In this year, [Amrou-ibn-]al-`Asi died in Egypt the day of the ending of the Fast, after ruling Egypt [under the caliphate of Omar-ibn]-al-Khattab for four years, under the caliphate of Othman for three . . . years and ten months ... two and a half years. (After his death) Mo`awia named (in . . . Egypt) his son `Abdallah-ibn-Amrou-ibn-fal-`Asi]. . . God. . . to Mo`awia . . . `Abdarrahman-ibn[- Khalid-ibn-al-Walid . . . he pushed as far as] Aklouniyah . . . (Koloneia) in the country of the Greeks and returned. . . . Marwan-ibn-al-Hakam. . .

. . . The eunuch (Andreas) cut off the testicles of (Sergius) and ordered them attached to the end of a lance with this inscription: "This is the revenge of Andreas, the eunuch of the emperor, on the envoy of Sabour the rebel." |229 Learning how the eunuch had treated the rebel envoy and that the troops of Mo`awia went to his help, Constans sent a patrician named Nicephorus with Greek troops to make war on Sabour, who was at Awdina. Sabour learned of the approach of these troops and each day went out to practise for the combat. One day he went out as usual and arrived at the door of the city, and he gave a blow of the whip to his horse which bucked and was carried off. Sabour ran his head against the gate of the city and fell down unconscious; he remained ill for a few days and died. Mo`awia had sent many numerous forces to him. When they arrived at Malatia and they learned of his death, (their leader Fadalah) stopped in Malatia and told Mo`awia, requesting him to send reinforcements to him so that he could attack the Greeks. Mo`awia ordered his son Yazid to take the Arab cavalry and to join the army. Yazid hurried there; thus increased, the Arab troops arrived at Chalcedon which they plundered and from where they took many prisoners and much spoil.

In this year, there was a strong rising of the waters of the Tiger, the Nile and Euphrates; all these rivers overflowed and ruined several places; the rising of the river of Edessa especially was such as to flood the city, demolish its walls and drown many people and innumerable animals. |230 In year 9 of Mo`awia, Constans, emperor of the Greeks, was killed after his return from the expedition against the Slavs. He had gone to the bath in Sicily where he had his residence. This is why he had fixed himself in Sicily: he had transferred the seat of the empire from Constantinople to Rome, after the murder of his brother, because he feared the fury of people indignant against him because of this crime. So he had transported himself to Rome and from there to Antakiyah (?); then he had established himself in Sicily, an island of the sea, and resided there with his generals and soldiers. He then sent to bring his family to him. But the inhabitants of Constantinople did not allow them to go to join him and said: "They are our emperors; and we will not allow our emperors to leave us." When Constans entered the bath, one of his servants took a vase with a handle in which he mixed mush with soap, and then poured it over his head. The emperor had the eyes full of mush and soap and he could not open them. Then the servant took the vase, struck him on the head and killed him; he left the bath in all haste and fled, without anybody seeing him.

However the servants waited for the emperor to come out; they waited a long time; time passed and (the emperor) did not leave; then they entered to the bath, found him unconscious and carried him out; he was still alive that day and died, after reigning twenty-seven years. |231 Then the Greeks met and made Mizizi(us), emperor an Armenian by origin. He was wise, robust and courageous. When the son of Constans learned at Constantinople of the death of his father, he embarked and left for Sicily. He arrived, captured Mizizius and slaughtered him; then he seized those who had taken part in the murder of his father and had proclaimed another emperor; he killed the first, imprisoned the others and sent others of them into exile. Then he returned to Constantinople. Constantine and his brothers reigned for sixteen years, from the year 981 of Alexander and year 50 of the Arabs.

In that year, the Arabs made an expedition against the Greeks in Africa and took 100,000 prisoners. In that year, much snow fell and there was a rigorous frost; and many people and animals perished. In year 12 of Mo`awia, Bechr-ibn-Artat made a campaign against the Greeks; he killed (many) of them and took a great number of them into captivity. In year 13 of Mo`awia, there appeared in the clouds a complete rainbow. Fear and credulity overcame the people, and many (of them) said that the hour of the end of the world had come. |232 Mo`awia took several ships, attacked the Greeks, and killed them and took prisoners. In this year, the plague prevailed among the populations of Egypt and Palestine In the year 14 of Mo`awia, the Arabs made a campaign by sea against the Greeks and arrived in Lycia. Three patricians went to meet them and caught up with them, and the Greeks killed 30,000 Arabs; the survivors embarked there. When they were on the open sea, a Greek found them with his ship, threw fire on their fleet which was completely burned. That year the Greeks were favoured with victory. They were the first to make use of (Greek) fire, and they usually made use of it.

In this same year, rats were numerous in Syria, and a great famine resulted from this. In year 17 of Mo`awia, the Greeks equipped a fleet, took to the sea, arrived at the shore of Tyre and Sidon and unloaded there; then they captured the mountain of Lebanon where they established themselves. The people called them al-Kharaniqah. The Greeks, masters of the mountain of Lebanon, |233 stretched from the holy mountain to the black mountain. Constantine had stationed them there to divert the Arabs from their raids. In this same year, there was an earthquake in Beisan, and Qatnan, one of the villages of Seroudj, subsided and its walls and all the houses collapsed. A similar thing occurred in Edessa where several localities were damaged. Mo`awia ordered that they should be restored and the churches of Edessa which had fallen rebuilt. He acted thus because he had remained in Edessa while going to fight `Ali-ibn-Abu-Talib.

Then Mo`awia died, after reigning for twenty years and being before that emir for twenty more years. He died Sunday 6th of the month of Iyar (May) (the year) 991 of Alexander and was buried in Damascus. After him Yazid-ibn-Mo`awia reigned three years and five months. In the first year of his reign, a council of bishops, 189 in number, met by order of Constantine, in Constantinople. This is what is called the sixth council. Agathon, bishop of Rome, wrote to expound the agreement of his doctrines with that of 120 bishops who did not attend the council. |234 Canons were written which the Melkites alone accepted, to the exclusion of all the other Christian communities. Then Constantine dispossessed his brothers of the empire and reigned alone. The Greek patricians gave him their approval, because he had satisfied them. However a patrician named Leo did not approve of him, showed dissatisfaction and said: "It is wrong that the people who reigned over us for so long have been dispossessed." Then Constantine ordered that his tongue, hands and feet be cut off, and exiled his brothers to an island of the sea.

Then Yazid-ibn-Mo`awia died. Already before the death of Yazid, Mouhtar the deceiver had appeared in Koufah; he claimed that he was a prophet, and he gathered (around him) many people. Yazid died without having an adult son to succeed him, and disorders broke out and the Arabs divided themselves into many parties. Those who were in Yathrib, in Iraq and in Mesopotamia proclaimed `Abdallah-ibn-az-Zobeir; those of Syria and Palestine remained faithful, by spirit of party, to the family of Mo`awia and spoke for them. Then Dhahhak-ibn-Qais gathered many troops, arrived at Damascus and declared that he would make war on `Abdallah-ibn-az-Zobeir. However the Arabs of Mesopotamia had already spoken for `Abdallah-ibn-az-Zobeir; |235 each one thus started to have a province which he was defending and for which he made war. Mouhtar was victorious at Koufah.

Then Marwan-ibn-al-Hakam left Yathrib, took his children with him and marched on Damascus. On the news of his arrival, the children of Yazid-ibn-Mo`awia were assembled, with their followers and those of the Arabs and the freed (maoulah) who wanted to subject themselves to his rule. Marwan said to them: "O people! I am an old man; my body is weak and shrivelled; my bones are broken; but when I learned your discord, my heart engaged me to expose my life and to use my credit to make peace between you. I thought that it would be neither worthy nor right before me, nor before God to abandon my people, when I see them divided, not to pacify him, not to calm their discords, not to engage to recognize as leader one of them, to obey him and to subject ourselves to him. If you approve of me, do what I say to you: Go and seek three arrows, write the names of three men among you; then give them to a foreign man at this assembly and order to him to scramble them well. Then draw one of them and give it to the assembly; he whose name comes out, will reign over us."

The people, hearing these words, approved them; they accepted his counsel and consented to his judgement. Thus Hasan-ibn-Malik was chosen, of the family of Mo`awia, one of their leaders, who was a governor of Palestine and the Jordan. |236 He agreed to this and accepted. Then Marwan-ibn-al-Hakam, Amrou-ibn-Sa`id-ibn-al-`Asi and other Qoreichites met and wrote their names on three arrows which were given to Hasan-ibn-Malik. He took them in his hand and stirred them up much; then he took one of them and launched it into the middle of the assembly. On inspection it bore the name of Marwan-ibn-al-Malik. Then the empire was given to him When Dhahhak-ibn-Qais had learned that Marwan-ibn-al-Hakam was king, he went in disguise with a troop of his tribe and his followers and entered the army of Marwan to inform himself about him. When he was in the middle of the troops, one of the companions of Hasan-ibn-Malik recognized him and made him come to Marwan, to whom he gave oath unwillingly. When night fell, he fled and rejoined his troops. In the morning he was pursued, but it was impossible to catch him. Then Marwan left with his troops against Dhahhak and met him in a meadow (mardj) called Mardj-Rahit. The combat began, and Marwan killed Dhahhak with a very great number of his companions; the remainder took an oath to Marwan.

Then he returned to Damascus where he was based; he married a wife of Yazid-ibn-Mo`awia and lived in his room. Then Marwan resolved to go to Egypt to the inhabitants take an oath to him. |237 But a disease seized him, and he died, after reigning nine months. His son `Abd-al-Malik-ibn-Marwan reigned after him for twenty-two years, from the year 65 of the Arabs, year 996 of Alexander. In this year, the people were struck by a great famine and plague. The same year, `Abd-al-Malik made peace with the Greeks. The same year still, Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, died, and Justinianus reigned after him for ten years. Then `Abd-al-Malik wrote a letter to ask peace. Justinianus agreed to make a ten years truce: he engaged to recall the Greeks who were in the mountains of Lebanon and make them return to the Greek country; on his side, `Abd-al-Malik would pay every day to Justinianus a thousand dinars, a horse and a slave in exchange for the recall of the Greeks who were in the mountains of Lebanon; the island of Cyprus would be divided in half between the Greeks and the Arabs. . .

. . . to Khagan, king of Khazars, and all were drowned. Khagan, on this news, sent to Justinianus a letter where he said: |238 "O dimwit! If you had sent a person in your confidence to me, I would have sent your wife to you and the son that she gave you. That would have been better than to make all these people who drowned perish. Or could you have believed that I send them only after a war or a battle, that I would be miserly towards you and would deprive to you of her? If you want your wife and your son, sends a messenger, and we will give them to him." Justinianus read the letter and sent a servant who brought back his wife and his son for him. He called his son Tiberius and made him reign with him. This was in the year 22 of `Abd-al-Malik-ibn-Marwan. Tiberius reigned for seven years.

In this same year, `Abd-al-Malik-ibn-Marwan died, and Walid his son reigned after him for nine years and six months, from the year 1018 of Alexander. The first year of his reign, he started to destroy the churches of Damascus, and especially the great church; he demolished it and built in its place a great mosque. He ordered that Greek should no longer be used in correspondence in his offices, but Arabic, because all the Arabs who were in Syria (ach-Cham and Souriyah) were writing in Greek. In the second year of Walid, Maslamah-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik made a raid against the Greeks and entered the town of Tyana where he remained nine months. |239 A Greek patrician went out against him and fought him. The Greeks were put to rout and lost 40,000 dead. The Arabs ruined the town of Tyana, took the inhabitants captive and burned them. This same year, Abbas-ibn-al-Walid made a expedition and brought back many prisoners from there. The same year, Othman-ibn-Hayan made a raid into Cilicia, forced many fortresses there to capitulate and took the inhabitants into captivity in Syria.

This same year, a Greek patrician named Philippicus, who was on an island of the sea, revolted. Justinianus then sent a certain of his patricians to fight him; but when he had arrived there, the latter took an oath to him and joined with him. The emperor, learning the news, went towards the coast of the sea of Pontus. The rebel Philippicus and his followers arrived at Constantinople where the Greeks accepted him and proclaimed him emperor. Tiberius, son of Justinianus, and his patricians were killed. Then Philippicus made the troops march to pursue Justinianus; they caught up with him. Justinianus was killed and his head was brought to Philippicus. That took place in year 93 of the Arabs, year 7 of Walid. In this same year, Maslamah-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik made a raid against the Greeks and captured the town of Amasea and many other fortresses. |240 In this same year, Philippicus, emperor of the Greeks, ordered that all the Armenians be driven out of his empire into Armenia. They left and ventured themselves among the Arabs. Walid installed them in Malatia and Samosata.

In this same year, Abbas-ibn-al-Walid made a raid against the Greeks, captured Antioch (of Pisidia) and took the inhabitants into captivity. In that year, there was a violent earthquake, during which many dwellings were destroyed in Antioch. Then the Greeks threw themselves on Philippicus their emperor, put out his eyes, dethroned him and proclaimed Anastasius emperor. Philippicus had reigned for three years. In year 7 of Walid, Maslamah made a raid against the Greeks and took many prisoners. Walid died and Soleiman reigned after him for two years and four months. In the first year of his reign, Maslamah made a raid against the Greeks, penetrated into Galatia, captured many fortresses and took the population into captivity. In this same year, Anastasius, emperor of the Greeks, sent troops |241 against the enemies who surrounded him. The Greeks threw themselves on his patrician, killed him, and proclaimed another emperor. Anastasius, on this news, feared that he would be attacked by the population of Constantinople and went away to Nicaea. Then he sent messengers to Maslamah, requesting him to ask Soleiman to help him with Arab troops. The rebel learned that the emperor Anastasius was in Nicaea, and marched against him. On his arrival, Anastasius left in his place a patrician to bar the way to him. But the rebel entered Constantinople where the inhabitants accepted him and proclaimed him king. . . . Then the emperor ordered him sent into exile on an island of the sea, after one year and seven months of his reign.

In year 2 of Soleiman, Maslamah directed a expedition against Constantinople; he established Soleiman-ibn-Ma`adh and Bakhtari-ibn-al-Hasan as commanders of its vanguard with many troops, which went by land. He (also) sent `Amr-ibn-Houbairah with many ships; he himself came then and took many prisoners at Nicaea. Then a patrician, named Leo, went to Soleiman-ibn-Ma`adh and promised him to help him to enter Constantinople. |242 Soleiman introduced him to Maslamah, who made many promises to him. Leo went out and went to Nicomedia. Theodosius, emperor of the Greeks, sent troops against him; Leo put them to rout and killed the son of the emperor Theodosius. Then the Greeks consulted to make the rebel Leo ascend the throne and proclaimed him king. He gathered troops, attacked Constantinople and captured the empire, after Theodosius had reigned for one year and seven months. Leo began to reign over the Greeks, and Maslamah awaited the accomplishment of his promises throughout the summer. Learning that Leo had already become emperor of the Greeks and that he had tricked him, he moved towards Constantinople and besieged it for a whole year. When he learned of the death of Soleiman, he ceased making war and remained in his place.

On the death of Soleiman, Omar-ibn-`Abd-al-`Aziz succeeded him and reigned for one year, four months and six days. He wrote ... to Maslamah-ibn-Mohammed. . . In this same year, there was a violent earthquake, and many places were damaged. Omar-ibn-`Abd-al-`Aziz showed his devotion and fear of God; he drove out of his empire corrupt people, forbade the Moslems . . . (wine?) and fermented drinks and showed exemplary conduct. |243 He wrote to the emperor Leo in order to get him to become a Moslem; and in his letter he attacked the Christian religion. Leo answered him by refuting his arguments; he proved to him the perversity of his doctrines and showed to him the light of Christianity by the evidence drawn from the revealed Books, of the laws of reason and the testimonies of the Koran.

Then a certain Greek patrician sent to the exiled emperor Anastasius a letter where he disparaged the emperor Leo and said that the empire should not belong to him; "the empire should belong to you more." He said that this letter expressed the unanimous feeling of the inhabitants of the empire on the advent of Leo and the exile of his rival; that Anastasius should act accordingly and look for ways to return. Anastasius read this letter and was seduced. Then (the patrician) wrote to him in the name of other patricians, requesting him to come back. Then Anastasius fled during the night, arrived at the king of the Bulgarians, claimed his protection and asked his help. The Bulgarian (Nubian) helped him with many troops. (Then Anastasius) left and arrived at Constantinople. But the Greeks would not accept him at all. When the Negros (= the Bulgarians) saw that the Greeks did not accept him, they delivered him to the Greeks and to Leo their emperor, who put him in irons and imprisoned him in perpetuity. After that, the Nubian (= Bulgarian) troops returned to their king. Then Leo killed Anastasius and the patricians. |244

. . . Omar-ibn-al-`Aziz died in the seventh month of the second year. Yazid-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik started to reign, in the year 1025 of Alexander. In the first year of his reign, a man named Yazid-ibn-al-Mohallab, revolted in Iraq, and the Eastern Arabs gathered around him; Maslamah-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik then went out against him, put him to rout and killed him with his followers. In this same year, there appeared a man from the inhabitants of Mardin. He said to the Jews that he was the Messiah. (This man) had been a Christian and then had converted to Judaism. He claimed to have come to deliver them and he collected much money. He had learned many juggleries and magic tricks; and he arranged for them to see them and to fascinate them. Yazid-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik learned this and killed him. In this same year, Leo, emperor of the Greeks, started to convert to Christianity the tribes of his empire which were of a different religion and opposed to Christianity. He made the Jews embrace the Christian religion and the . . . and they were called new Christians. |245

In this same year, Abbas-ibn-al-Walid made a raid against the Greeks; he entered Paphlagonia, devastated it, took into captivity 20,000 inhabitants and captured there a fortress which is called . . . Then Yazid-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik died, after reigning four years. After him, Hicham, his brother, reigned for nineteen years, from the year 105 of the Arabs. He inventoried the great revenues of the majority of the towns of his empire, caravanserais, cabarets, small houses, villages and hamlets. He was the first to appropriate the goods of the Arabs. He diverted the water from many abundant rivers into canals and diverted the course of the river which was above al-Raqqah. He made plantations of every kind in Mesopotamia and Syria. And his revenues exceeded the land tax in his empire. In this year, Kethir-ibn-Rabi`ah made a raid against the Greeks. But the Greeks massacred his soldiers, and Kethir was only able to save himself together with a few people. |246

In this same year, Leo ordered the images of the martyrs to be removed from the churches, houses and convents. Gregory, patriarch of Rome, learning this, was irritated and forbade the inhabitants of Rome and Italy to to pay tax to him. In year 3 of Hicham, Maslamah made a raid against the Greeks; he captured the town of Neocaesarea and took its inhabitants into captivity. At that time there was a violent plague in Syria, and people were struck with various buboes and ulcers. In this same year, Mo`awia-ibn-Hicham made a raid against the Greeks, but he did not succeed. In year 4 of Hicham, Mo`awia-ibn-Hicham made a raid against the Greeks; he captured many fortresses and took many prisoners. In this same year, the son of Kagan, king of Khazars, went out against Azerbaijan and invaded many provinces. Djarrah, governor of Armenia, met him. (The son of Khagan) fought him, put the Arabs to rout, killed approximately 20,000 souls and made twice that prisoners. |247

In year 5 of Hicham, Maslamah made a raid against the Khazars. But they put him to rout, killed a very great number of his soldiers, and Maslamah sought safety in flight. Then Mo`awia-ibn-Hicham went against the Greeks, captured many fortresses and took many prisoners. In year 8 of Hicham-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik, Maslamah went against the Turks and arrived at the Gate (= defile of Derbend), which was between them and the Arabs; being unable to cross it, he agreed a peace and moved away. In this same year, Leo, emperor of the Greeks, made alliance with the king of Khazars of whom he asked the daughter for his son, and the marriage was concluded the same year. In this year, Mo`awia went against the Greeks; he entered Paphlagonia, captured the city of ... took its inhabitants into captivity and . . . set fire to it. In this year, Hicham-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik sent Marwan-ibn-Mohammed as governor of Armenia.

In year 10 (of Hicham), Mo`awia made a raid against the Greeks and captured a great number of fortresses. |248 In this same year, there was a violent plague in Palestine and Egypt. In this same year, at the month of Tichrin I (October), in the sky there appeared the figure of a sword on fire. In year 11 of Hicham, Mo`awia made a raid into Asia (Minor) where he took many prisoners. Then he made a second expedition and took more prisoners; but he went out one day, fell from his horse and killed himself. In this same year, Marwan-ibn-Mohammed went against the Khazars and in their lands took many prisoners. In year 12 of Hicham, Soleiman-ibn-Hicham went against the Greeks; he arrived in Asia, captured a fortress called Soudour and took the inhabitants into captivity. In year 13 of his reign, Maslamah-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik made a raid against the Greeks. When he besieged Ancyra, Hicham went to Malatia and, after remaining there for a few days, returned to Damascus. Maslamah captured Ancyra and took many prisoners there. |249

In this same year, Zeid-ibn-`Ali-ibn-al-Housein-ibn-`Ali-ibn-Abu-Talib revolted in Koufah; he attacked people, killed them and took prisoners in many places. In this same year, the inhabitants of Africa revolted and massacred their governor and all the Moslems who were there. The same year, Soleiman-ibn-Hicham went against the Greeks. The Greeks put him to rout, massacred his troops and took more than 20,000 Arabs into captivity. In this same year, in Constantinople, there was a violent earthquake; most of its houses collapsed, and water started to run off the mountains. In this same year, Leo, emperor of the Greeks, died, after reigning twenty-three years and three months and half. Constantine his son reigned after him for thirty-four years, from the year 1042 of Alexander. In year 12 of Hicham, Soleiman-ibn-Hicham made a raid and besieged one of the fortresses of Asia. The plague broke out in his ranks, and many soldiers died; the famine prevailed; the Greeks massacred a great number of them; most of their horses perished; a very great number of them took refuge with the Greeks and became Christians because of the misfortune which had happened to them. (After that) Soleiman returned, fleeing. |250

In this same year, the Greeks marched against Malatia, plundered and devastated all the surrounding country. The Greeks took those who were there, and brought them into the country of the Greeks. In this same year, a rebel named Artabaz (Artavasde) revolted against Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, entered Constantinople and assumed the imperial power. Constantine was absent. Constantine, on this news, returned to punish him; and they came to blows. While they fought, Soleiman made a raid against the Greeks and entered Paphlagonia. Nobody resisted him, because the Greeks were occupied with making war on each other; and Soleiman massacred 50,000 men. Then Hicham-ibn-`Abd-al-Malik died and Walid-ibn-Yazid succeeded him and reigned for one year and two months. In the first year of his reign, he greatly maltreated the people of the family of Hicham. Then Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, dispatched an envoy to Walid with many presents. Artabaz the rebel also dispatched (an envoy) to him.

Then, in that year, the rains failed and the springs and rivers were lowered. There was a great famine and many and frequent earthquakes. |251 In that year, in Yemen, the monkeys attacked men, who were leaving their houses; and they killed several of them. In this same year, the rebel Artabaz left Constantinople to find the emperor Constantine. They met, and the rebel was put to rout, and all his followers perished. In this same year, Omar-ibn-`Abd-al-`Aziz made a raid against the Greeks; he killed and took prisoners. In the month of Haziran (June), a large sign appeared in the sky, under the aspect of columns of fire which burned and remained motionless. This was a first sign. Then, in the month of Eloul (September), another appeared, similar to a tongue of fire, and it extended from the East to the west. Walid-ibn-Yazid deported the Cypriots from their hearths and their country in order to install them at al-Mahour (?) which is located at the seaside, between Tyr and Sidon.

The same year, in the month of Kanoun II (January), there appeared another sign in the shape of the moon; and the atmosphere was dull and dark. Walid-ibn-Yazid was killed at Tadmor. The cause of his murder was this: Yazid, nicknamed the Simple, from the tribe of Bedr, went in secrecy to Damascus. He gathered his followers of the tribe of Bedr, and they captured the city and plundered the royal treasures. |252 Then he sent many troops against Walid under the command of `Abd-al-`Aziz-ibn-al-Hadjadj, and the latter killed Walid, who made war on an Arab tribe and had arrived at Tadmor. After the murder of Walid-ibn-Yazid, Yazid the Simple captured Othman and Yazid, son of Walid-ibn-Yazid, and imprisoned them. When `Abd-al-`Aziz-ibn-al-Hadjadj returned, carrying the head of Walid, Yazid ordered it put on a lance, sprinkled with wine and paraded in the city with this inscription: "Here is a head which likes wine!" The Arabs, on the news of the murder of Walid, were thrown into great disorder; their opinions divided them and they split into groups; discord and division broke out among them; the roads were cut, consternation dominated everywhere and misfortune took up residence among men. Soleiman-ibn-Hicham, who was in prison, went out and arrived at Damascus, where his soldiers took an oath to Yazid-ibn-al-Walid.

Marwan-ibn-Mohammed, who, as we said, was in Armenia, did not recognize Yazid. He left Armenia to go into Mesopotamia; he moved towards the Arabs of this country who took an oath to him. Then he resolved to pass the Euphrates and to go against Yazid the Simple, to fight him and avenge on him the blood of Walid. Then Yazid the Simple returned home the Cypriotes that Walid had deported from their country. |253 There appeared in the sky a fire which flamed. Yazid died, after reigning five months, and his brother Ibrahim succeeded him. The people took an oath to him, except Marwan-ibn-Mohammed and the inhabitants of Emesa who were in favour of Marwan. Then Marwan passed the Euphrates with many troops and made people believe that he was going to deliver the two sons of Walid who were imprisoned at Damascus, and to make them reign in the place of their father. When `Ibrahim learned of the arrival of Marwan, he sent `Abd-al-`Aziz-ibn-al-Hadjadj with many troops against the inhabitants of Emesa, because they had not given oath to him; and (at the same time) he sent Masrour his brother with many troops to Haleb (Aleppo) to Bichr, who lived there. `Abd-al-`Aziz arrived at Emesa, besieged it and engaged in combat against its inhabitants who awaited their rescue in the arrival of Marwan. However Marwan had marched on Damascus and, capturing Haleb, had made captive Bichr and Masrour, sons of Hadjadj. `Abd-al-`Aziz, learning that Marwan had captured Haleb and had made captive his two sons, started from Emesa during the night and returned to Damascus.

Then Marwan went to Emesa, and the inhabitants of this city went out to meet him and took an oath to him. Then he marched on Damascus against Ibrahim. Ibrahim, learning that he was approaching, sent Soleiman-ibn-Hicham with an army to the encounter. Soleiman left Damascus and arrived in a village between Loubnan and Tell-Gara. |254 Marwan marched against him and met him; but he pretended then to move towards the Jordan and prepared for his enemy a ambush on his rear. He thus pretended to move away and Soleiman with his soldiers went in pursuit. When his army was divided and its order broken, the ambush came out behind and massacred them. (The soldiers of Marwan) threw themselves on the troops and the riches which they plundered, and they killed all they could. Soleiman and his troops, having learned the news, were discouraged and took flight. Marwan and his soldiers threw themselves on them and killed them. That day about 12,000 men perished. Soleiman-ibn-Hicham escaped with a small number of his followers. Ibrahim took the riches of Damascus and fled from this city with Soleiman-ibn-Hicham. `Abd-al-`Aziz-ibn-al-Hadjadj entered the prison and killed the two sons of Walid-ibn-Yazid; then he returned home, but the inhabitants of the city attacked him and set fire to its house which was burned.

Then Marwan marched on Damascus; its inhabitants opened the gates to him, and he entered there. The Arabs were assembled and took an oath to him. Then he camped at the distance of three miles of Damascus, (in a village) called `Aliyah. He removed Yazid the Simple from his tomb and hanged him. |255 Then he made the Arabs of the tribe of Bedr appear and inflicted on them an exemplary punishment: he cut off the hands and feet of some, hanged others; he massacred some and sent others into exile. Marwan ordered the royal treasures brought into his treasury, which was carried out. Ibrahim presented himself to him and obtained pardon of him. As for Soleiman, he went into the desert of Phoenicia and hid there for some time. In this same year, Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, entered Constantinople, captured the rebel who had revolted against him and put him to death; after that he occupied the throne. That occurred in the year 1040 (?) of Alexander, 127 of the Arabs.

The Arabs of the desert, who are called Kelbites, gathered around Soleiman and marched on Tadmor which is in the desert, to the East of Rousafah. In that year, a comet appeared. The same year, a rebel named Thabit revolted in Palestine; he gathered many troops and captured Syria. The same year still, in Koufah and Deir-al-`Aqoul, Dhahhak-al-Harouri revolted; |256 he captured most of Iraq, marched against Marwan and, when he was in his vicinity, he sent a delegation to him, took an oath to him and accepted safety from him. When Dhahhak had given oath and Marwan-ibn-Mohammed had ordered him to return to his country, Marwan passed the Euphrates and went against Thabit the rebel of Palestine. Thabit, learning of the arrival of Marwan, went to Tabariyah (Tiberias). When Marwan passed by Emesa, a man of its inhabitants revolted: he gathered the Kelbites and was master of Emesa. Marwan attacked him, captured him and killed him with all his followers whom he hanged, and he exiled all the Kelbites from Emesa; he then made a large breach in the wall of Emesa.

However Thabit had marched on Tabariyah. The inhabitants of the city, informed of his arrival, made sorties every day to fight him; they killed approximately 10,000 of his men and plundered his riches. Thabit then with his sons and a certain number of his followers moved towards Moultan (?), where he remained wandering and fugitive. Marwan arrived in Palestine and learned how the inhabitants of Tabariyah had treated Thabit, and he showed himself very satisfied at this; he treated the inhabitants of Palestine well and appreciated their help. He halted and sent troops to the pursuit of the rebel Thabit who was . . . rejoined in the mountains of . . . ; the troops captured him and the followers who accompanied him, and brought them to Marwan who ordered Thabit's right hand and left foot cut off. |257 Marwan then left Palestine and went to Damascus where he had Thabit killed.

Then Marwan went from Damascus to Raqqah, with the intention to go down into Iraq. Soleiman-ibn-Hicham sent a delegation to him to ask for peace; Marwan granted it to him, and (Soleiman) presented himself to him. Marwan left for Raqqah, and Soleiman asked him for permission to go to Rousafah and to remain there for a few days. Marwan allowed him to, and Soleiman departed. When Marwan was at Qirqisiyah, Soleiman-ibn-Hicham revolted and gathered the Arabs of Syria; most of the Arabs who were with Marwan took the part of Soleiman who resolved to march on Harran. Marwan, informed of these events and knowing that Soleiman had made many recruits, gave up the intention which he had formed, went to Raqqah and transported himself from one place to the other, in making war. Soleiman met him, and they came to blows. Soleiman was overcome, and 7,000 men of his followers were killed. Soleiman escaped, got to the desert of Phoenicia and went to Tadmor. Marwan ordered that the fields of Hicham which were on the Euphrates and in other places should be devastated. Then a certain number of the followers of Hicham fortified themselves in a fort which was located on the Euphrates, opposite Rahbah, and put themselves to insult and to injure Marwan. |258 He sent troops against them and reduced them. Their heads were cut off. They were approximately 400 men.

The inhabitants of Emesa then revolted against Marwan; they killed `Abdallah, his governor at Emesa, and repaired the breach that Marwan had made in the fortress. The Kelbite Arabs took the part of Yazid-ibn-Hicham, arrived at Damascus and besieged it. In Palestine, the sons of Thabit rose, made themselves masters of the region and made war on those who remained faithful to Marwan. Dhahhak-al-Harouri acted at the same time in Iraq and gathered many troops against Marwan. Surrounded on all sides with misfortunes and encircled with enemies, Marwan sent his son `Abdallah with troops to Nisibis, because he had learned that Dhahhak was going there; and (at the same time) he sent troops with Yazid-ibn-Houbeirah to Qirqisiyah. Marwan gave them, both of them, his recommendations and said to them: "Dhahhak has risen; one of you fight him; the second will thus have free movement, he will go down into Iraq, will occupy the country and will capture it!" Marwan moved towards Emesa. The inhabitants, informed of his march, sent against him a man named Mo`awia with troops to make resistance; they then chose Sa`id-ibn-Hicham and put him at their head. Soleiman-ibn-Hicham was complicit with them. Having arrived at Qinnesrin, Marwan learned that Mo`awia was moving against him; |259 he went to meet him, found him, put him to rout and killed him and most of his men; he then went against Emesa and besieged it in the spring; he sent messengers to the city, promised safety to the inhabitants, addressed them and promised forgiveness to them. But they refused to submit themselves. Seeing that, Marwan drew up the balistas and waited with patience.

However Dhahhak-al-Harouri marched on Mosul, killed Marwan's governor who was there, then arrived at Nisibis and besieged it. On this news, Yazid went down to Iraq, killed all the followers of Dhahhak and the members of his family which he found and maintained order throughout the East. Marwan sent Abu'l-Ward with many troops into Palestine. He found there a son of Thabit which he put to rout, made captive and brought him to Marwan who was at Emesa. The siege of Emesa continued and the inhabitants refused to open the gates to Marwan; he then ordered his troops to traverse the province and the villages of Emesa and to devastate them. The inhabitants of Emesa, at this sight, wrote (to Marwan) and asked for the aman. Marwan granted this to them, except for Sa`id-ibn-Hicham. (The inhabitants of Emesa) then opened the gates. While the people underwent this misfortune, the emperor of the Greeks made a raid into Syria and arrived at Delouk. Learning that Marwan had captured Emesa, he feared attack and returned to Constantinople with many prisoners. |260

In this same year, there was thick darkness which was prolonged for five days in the month of Ab (August); the atmosphere was dull and obscure; the sun resembled blood and its light was weak. It was not an eclipse of the sun, but a great darkness in the sky. Marwan destroyed the walls of Emesa and Ba`lbek; then he returned to Harran and camped there; then he arose to go to Nisibis to the encounter with Dhahhak-al-Harouri. Dhahhak, informed of the arrival of Marwan, left the city and went to meet him. Soleiman-ibn-Hicham had already taken the part of Dhahhak. Dhahhak arrived at Kafartoutha and besieged it. Marwan arrived at Ras-`Ayn and left there against Dhahhak, which he met between Ras'ayn and Kafartoutha. The battle began between them and many people succumbed on both sides. Dhahhak and his followers took flight; Marwan pursued them, caught up with them and killed them all with Dhahhak.

After the death of Dhahhak, the Harourites took as leader a man named Khaibari. This Khaibari disguised himself and penetrated the camp of Marwan; he traversed it and arrived at the tent of Marwan. Then he suddenly attacked Marwan and his followers. Marwan and his followers were overcome. Marwan himself would have perished, except that his son `Abdallah and a group of Arabs of his companions who returned after their rout, attacked the Harourites and drove them out of their camp. |261 Then the Harourites met again and elected as leader a man named Cheiban, who raised an army and marched to Niniveh. Marwan went against him and halted in the vicinity. The war between them continued little by little and was prolonged for two months. Then the troops of Marwan attacked the Harourites, put them to rout and pursued them as far as Azerbaijan. (Marwan) then sent Amrou-ibn-Sanarah with many troops to the pursuit of the Harourites. Then Marwan in flight returned to Harran and remained there.

At that time, Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, made a raid into Syria (ach-Chamat and Souriyah), attacked several places and returned from there. In the month of Kanoun II (January), there was a violent earthquake on the coast of the sea of Palestine. Many places were devastated, and many people perished, especially in Tiberias, where more than 100,000 men succumbed. The people were swamped with these misfortunes and these wars, when a man named Abu-Muslim revolted in Koufah and Deir-al-`Aqoul; he conferred confidentially with the population and made them share his ideas; the people answered his call, and he and his followers put on black clothing. There were with him 14 men of the Shiites. |262 They made professions of abstinence, mortification and attachment to the family of Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah who had been the origin of the empire of the Arabs, and they let their hair grow. Many people of Khorasan joined them and formed a great party. When they were a very significant party, they took an oath to Ibrahim-ibn-Mohammed . . . he arrived in the fortified camp of Harran and massacred the principal leaders of the Arabs and Khorasanians.

Then this news came to Marwan, who was overcome with sadness. He wrote to Amrou-ibn-Sanarah who was at that time in Iraq, and ordered him to go against Ibrahim and to fight him. Abu-Muslim had captured Djordjan, Ray, Qirmisin (Qirmanchah) and most of the cities of Khorasan and had constrained the inhabitants to take an oath to Ibrahim-ibn-Mohammed. Amrou-ibn-Sanarah marched against him and met him at Ispahan. The inhabitants of Khorasan put him to rout and killed him and his followers. Yazid-ibn-Houbeirah was a governor on behalf of Marwan-ibn-Mohammed over all the East. After the death of Amrou-ibn-Sanarah, Yazid-ibn-Houbeirah gathered troops from Iraq and camped near Madain. When Abu-Muslim saw this, he attacked him there and Yazid fled before Abu-Muslim and made a halt between the two rivers, i.e. between the Euphrates and the Tigris. Then Abu-Muslim the Khorasanian went against him, |263 and (Yazid) fled (again), entered Wasit and fortified himself there. Abu-Muslim delivered his camp and his riches over to plundering. Yazid-ibn-Houbeirah had already collected at Wasit the riches and the goods which he needed.

Then Abu-Muslim went to Deir-al-`Aqoul, met there a man of his party and asked his advice on what must be done. The family of Ibrahim-ibn-Mohammed was worried in that time at Koufah. Marwan had sent (troops) against Ibrahim, had captured him, had put him in prison at Harran; and all his brothers had taken flight. Ibrahim died in prison, after having designated as successor his brother `Abdallah called Abu'l-Abbas. Then Abu-Muslim went to find `Abdallah in his retirement, made him come out and proclaimed him king with all Khorasanians who were with him. When `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed had become king, he sent a man called Abu-`Aoun, with the troops of Khorasan, against Mosul; he sent Hasan-ibn-Qahtabah with troops against Yazid-ibn-Houbeirah who was in Wasit. At this news, Marwan sent his son `Abdallah with many troops to Mosul; he also sent his other son `Oubeidallah to Qirqisiyah. Abu'l-Abbas sent his elder brother to Wasit against Ibn-Qahtabah, charged him with command of these troops and ordered him to make them take an oath. He (also) sent his uncle `Abd-allah-ibn-`Ali to Mosul against Ibn-Abu-`Aoun, conferred the administration |264 of this city on him and ordered him to administer an oath to the western troops and others. `Abdallah-al-Mansour, when he arrived at Wasit, found that Hasan-ibn-Qahtabah was besieging it and avoided the battle. Then he ordered his troops to prepare for combat. The two parties met, and engaged in combat and the battle lasted a few days.

Then Marwan-ibn-Mohammed assembled the troops of Syria, Egypt and Mesopotamia and marched on Mosul. `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali, who had arrived with troops from Khorasan, made a halt on the Great Euphrates at Mosul. `Abdallah-ibn-Marwan also arrived there and halted on the western side, opposite `AbdalIah-ibn-`Ali; but they did not start the battle, waiting for the arrival of Marwan. When the letters (of Marwan) reached his son where he was enjoining to him to pass (the river) of Zab, to camp on its Eastern bank and to surround his camp with a ditch, `Abdallah carried out these orders; he built over the Zab a bridge, prepared his soldiers for battle and equipped the cavalry and the infantry. At the first meeting, Marwan found that the Khorasanians were brave, that they did not yield in the battle (and were) like blocks of stones unaffected by either iron nor fire; that they were courageous and valiant. The war between the two parties was prolonged, and every day they sustained losses that God alone knows; soon the soldiers of Marwan lacked ardour and lost courage, while the |265 Khorasanians remained firm and quickly decided the victory. The Syrians felt weakness; (the Khorasanians) attacked them with so much force that they put them to rout; (the Syrians) fled and piled up on the bridge, one on another; the greatest part fell into the Euphrates and drowned; others died trodden underfoot and crushed; the remainder perished in the battle or were made prisoner.

And Theophilus the astrologer, from whom we drew this information, tells us: "Myself, I was all the time an eyewitness of these engagements, I noted many things and nothing of what relates to them has escaped me." Theophilus composed on this subject several books from which we extracted this summary, and we have included what we believe should not be overlooked, but we have avoided being so long, as far as we could. |266 Let us return to our account. When `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali had gained the victory and Marwan and his soldiers had been completely demolished, Marwan and his son `Abdallah ran away to Harran. Marwan rejoined his family and his clients, gathered as much wealth and weapons as he could, crossed the Euphrates and went towards Ascalon to await there what the Khorasanians would do. Then `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali, at the head of his troops, went against the troops of Marwan, captured the wealth, weapons and other things which were there, and brought back the whole to `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed, who was at Koufah. After the flight of Marwan-ibn-Mohammed, the Arabs of Syria and Mesopotamia, as well as the non-Arab inhabitants of Mesopotamia, took an oath to `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali. The battle between `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali and Marwan-ibn-Mohammed took place on the Euphrates on Saturday, the 21 of Kanoun II (January), in year 133 of the Arabs.

On that day, the empire passed from the Omayyads to the Hashemites. Abu'l-Abbas-`Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed began to reign and his brother Mansour succeeded him. `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali went to Harran with troops of Khorasan and ordered the castles of Marwan which were there to be ruined. He made all trace of him disappear and entrusted the government of Mesopotamia to Mousa-ibn-Ka`b of Khorasan; then he went to pursue Marwan. |267 When Walid, who was at Damascus, learned of the arrival of `Abdallah-ibn `Ali, he fortified himself and prepared for battle; Marwan had ordered him to do this. `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali arrived and besieged Damascus. He prepared scaling ladders and set them against the wall, in complicity with some inhabitants of Damascus; but those who were for Walid fought the troops of `Abdallah and did not let them go up, so that battle began between them. Then one of the enemies of Walid ran and opened the gates of the city. The soldiers of `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali there entered and gave (the inhabitants) to the edge of the sword; for three hours, they did not cease cutting off heads in the markets, in the streets and in the houses and seizing riches. At midday, `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali ordered an end to the massacre. Walid was among the dead; a great number of Christians and Jews had perished. `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed sent his uncle Salih-ibn-`Ali with many troops to pursue Marwan and ordered him to go by the way of Qadisiyah and to move towards Egypt to rejoin his brother `Abdallah; then to join with him to set out together to pursue Marwan.

`Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed-al-Mansour remained still near Wasit, to fight Yazid-ibn-Houbeirah. The situation of Wasit had become very difficult, and the inhabitants asked Yazid to leave; they said to him: "If you refuse (to depart), we will help your enemies." Then Yazid entered into talks with Mansour about safety; and Mansour promised safety to him and its soldiers. |268 On these conditions they went over to him; but he ordered his head cut off and to demolish the wall of Wasit; after which, he returned with this news to his brother Abu'l-Abbas. Then Abu'l-Abbas built for himself a city where he would settle. The city was built for him on the Euphrates; he called it al-Anbar and he settled there. When Marwan learned what `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali had done with the body of Walid and that the inhabitants of Damascus had taken an oath to Abu'l-Abbas, he lost hope and fled with haste with a small number of his clients and members of his family, who moved towards Egypt; then he took the route of the Nile and arrived at the borders of Nubia. But he dealt with Salih-ibn-`Ali who had preceded his brother `Abdallah. This last had been delayed under the walls of Damascus, then had entered the city and had halted there.

When he arrived in Egypt, Salih-ibn-`Ali sent one of his followers, named `Amir-ibn-Isma`il, with troops to seek Marwan-ibn-Mohammed, who he found camped on the Nile. Then he attacked by night; the followers of Marwan abandoned him, and he remained alone. He took refuge on a hill which was there, and ceased fighting only when it fell; he was killed, and his two sons, `Abdallah and `Obeidallah, fled under a disguise |269 with all the people . . . who were on the Nile. Then `Abdallah left `Obeidallah . . . in Mecca. `Obeidallah marched to . . . on the way; and he died. `Amir-[ibn-Isma`il] gathered. . . the riches which were with him, and returned to Salih-ibn-`Ali who was in Egypt. He put the corpse of Marwan on a cross and embalmed his head, which he brought to Abu'l-Abbas, the son of his brother. Salih-ibn-`Ali was his lieutenant in Palestine; approximately 70 men of Omayyads gathered to come to him and approached reading the Koran and reciting the words, and thinking that this would dispose him to pardon them. He had already promised safety for their life and property, when one day he ordered them to present themselves at his castle. He placed next to each of them two men of Khorasan who held in their hands a pointed bludgeon. While they were addressing him, he made a sign with his eyes to the Khorasanians who massacred these Omayyads with the bludgeons. Salih took their heads and sent them to Abu'l-Abbas; then he seized their property, set to pursue the remainder, and he persecuted them in Palestine with so much eagerness that he destroyed them.

The Arabs of Syria repented what they had done, when Abu'l-Abbas exposed them to shame and the domination of strangers who lived their houses and seized their property; they were disturbed and agitated by this and refused to take an oath. [Habib-ibn-]Mourrah, of the tribe |270 of Qais ... who lived in Ramlah and his province and Abu'l-Ward. . . its surroundings and Mansour-ibn-Mohammed. . . they were thrown into disorder and there was a sedition. . . . Hashem. . . Then .. the Arabs. . . and they captured it. Abu'l-Ward gathered a great number of Arabs and marched against `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali. `Abdallah left Palestine for Emesa; he camped in Merdj, to the east of Emesa, and ordered his troops to prepare for battle. Abu'l-Ward arrived. `Abdallah seeing the many troops of Abu'l-Ward, was frightened a little. The battle began and many fell on both sides; finally Abu'l-Ward and his troops fled. `Abdallah took the inhabitants of Syria and returned to Damascus, where he met Habib-ibn-Mourrah and killed him and his followers. After that he made the inhabitants of Damascus and all the cities of Syria take an oath.

Then Ishaq-ibn-Muslim revolted in Samosata, and the leaders of the tribe of Qais took his part. He had already put an Arab at the head of most of the towns of Mesopotamia, at Qirqisiyah, Ras'ayn, Tell-Maouzen (Maouzala), in Kafartoutha, Thamanin, Amid, Mayafariqin and other towns. Harran recognized the power of Mousa-ibn-Ka`b who was there. |271 Then the Arabs of Mesopotamia gathered, marched on Harran and fought Mousa-ibn-Ka`b. When the Arabs learned that Abu'l-Ward had been killed, they were divided and took flight to the last man. At this news, `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed sent `Abdallah-al-Mansour with many troops into Mesopotamia to make peace with the population of their cities and to fight those who would not take an oath. When he arrived at Qirqisiyah, he named one of his followers as governor there and went to Harran. As for `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali, he made the inhabitants of Syria (Chamat and Souriyah) take an oath and for the winter marched on Samosata. Then he returned, marched against Ishaq-ibn-Muslim and Mansour-ibn-Dja'ounah, promised safety to them, and they came to him. Then he captured Samosata and made its inhabitants take an oath. Also `Abdallah-al-Mansour captured all the cities of Mesopotamia and made the population take an oath. The misfortunes did not stop for nine months.

While the people were in these wars, the emperor of the Greeks attacked Malatia, captured it, made captive the inhabitants and returned home. In this same year, Kousan (Kouchan), the leader of the Armenians, took most of the inhabitants of Armenia and deported them into the country of the Greeks. Then `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed went to Harran and transported to |272 Anbar the royal treasures of the Omayyads. Then he named Salih-ibn-`Ali as governor of Egypt and the neighbouring countries; `Abdallah-ibn-al-Mansour as governor of Mesopotamia and Armenia; Yahya-ibn-Mohammed as governor of Mosul and his province. When he arrived at Mosul, Yahya-ibn-Mohammed ordered that the Arabs of Mosul and their heads meet in the Great Mosque, and he massacred them all at the same time; their children and their wives perished (also). The Arabs were then seized with grief and covered with shame and humiliation. The Hashemites multiplied their exactions against everyone, whom they crushed with taxes, and they seized the wealth of all the Arabs.

Then a man of the Qoreichites named Habib revolted in Africa; he captured and killed the governor. Then `Abdallah-al-Mansour entered Armenia, imposed the capitation on the nobles, confiscated their wealth and made them undergo all kinds of vexations. Then `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed wrote to Abu-Muslim who was then in Khorasan to order to him to come to find him; (he also ordered) `Abdallah-al-Mansour to return to him in haste. When they had arrived, he ordered `Abdallah to go to Mecca and to direct the pilgrimage, and he ordered Abu-Muslim to accompany him. (At the same time) he secretly ordered his brother |273 to take the head of Abu-Muslim if he could. They thus both left together, at the head of many troops of Arabs and Persians. Then (`Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed) wrote to `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali to order to him to make a expedition; he thus attacked the Greeks, but did not gain any success and returned.

`Abdallah-al-Mansour entered Mecca, attended the festival and returned; however Abu'l-Abbas-`Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed died. His death took place on Sunday 7th of Haziran (June), year 136 of the Arabs; his reign had lasted four years and ten months. He bequeathed the caliphate to Abu-Dja`far-`Abdallah-al-Mansour and then to his cousin `Isa-ibn-Mousa. In this same year, Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, gathered a council of approximately 300 bishops at Constantinople concerning the images which were in the churches. They examined and considered whether they should be venerated or not. Then they agreed with the emperor that they should not be venerated and could not be allowed for any other purpose; they brought testimonies of the Sacred Books of the Old and New Testaments and treatises of the Fathers. They anathematised Jyannis (Jean), son of Mansour, of Damascus, and Gregorius (Georgius) of Cyprus and wrote many canons. This is what is called the seventh council. |274

`Abdallah-ibn-`Ali learning of the death of `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed and seeing that `Abdallah-al-Mansour and Abu-Muslim were far away, avidly wanted the empire and ordered the Arabs and Khorasanians which were with him to take an oath to him. They took an oath to him, except for his brother Salih-ibn-`Ali, who refused. (`Abdallah-ibn-`Ali) had projected a raid (against the Greeks); but when he aspired to the empire, he renounced the idea and threw himself on Mesopotamia. There was then, in Harran, a man called Mouqatil and called al'akki, with many troops that `Abdallah-al-Mansour had established to keep his place until his return from the pilgrimage. Harran remained firm and did not take an oath to `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali. The latter arrived there, drew up balistas against the city with which he fought the inhabitants for forty days. Then they asked him for the aman, which he granted to them; and the gate of the city was opened to him. Harran taken, `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali arose to go into Iraq. He preferred the Arabs to the Khorasanians, chose them for high dignities, and he started to kill Persians and to confiscate their wealth to give to the Arabs.

Then `Abdallah-al-Mansour returned from Mecca with Abu-Muslim and entered Koufah. He spoke in the pulpit and asked the caliphate for himself; and the people took an oath to him. Before his arrival, `Isa-ibn-Mousa had already gathered the Arabs of the East and the Khorasanians, had read |275 the will of Abu'l-Abbas to them, declared to them that `Abdallah-al-Mansour succeeded him, and by exhortations and promises had led them to take an oath to `Abdallah-al-Mansour. On his arrival, Mansour found troops which were subjected to him; the empire was assured to him and his power was consolidated. He then ordered Abu-Muslim to go with many troops from Mosul to the meeting of `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali who was in this moment with Qirqisiyah. `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali learned that Abu-Muslim had already left Anbar and had taken the road to Mosul. `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali, who was camping on the Euphrates, took the (river) road of Khabour, moved towards the confluence of the Hirmas and Khabour, then skirted the course of Hirmas and arrived at Nisibis, which he besieged. But Abu-Muslim pretended to move towards Ras'ayn; then `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali went to pursue. Abu-Muslim, learning that, left the road of Ras'ayn, detoured, returned by another way and arrived at Nisibis where he camped and put himself thus between `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali and the city. Having learned that Abu-Muslim had captured Nisibis, `Abdallah was frightened by this somewhat and, each time that he was transported from one place to the other, he started by surrounding his camp with ditches and guards and spiky hedges. Then the two forces approached; each day was marked by some combat, and on both sides the losses were considerable. |276

In the sky there appeared a sign like a lance of fire which extended from the east to the west and sometimes grew, sometimes decreased. During all this time, the war of `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali dragged on. Then Abu-Muslim, in one of his attacks, beat `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali, who took flight before him with its followers. (The soldiers of Abu-Muslim) massacred the followers of `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali and plundered their camp. `Abdallah fled, hid in an unknown retreat and remained thus unknown until he arrived at Basrah, to his brother Soleiman-ibn-`Ali. Then Salih-ibn-`Ali sent Abu-`Aoun from Egypt to Palestine with many troops; he pursued the tribes of the Arabs, massacred them and killed them to the last man. Their goods and their herds were plundered. Then `Abdallah-al-Mansour sent to Qirqisiyah a man named Djaouher, at the head of troops of Khorasanians; he entered the city and killed there 20,000 Arabs. He (also) sent with him Houmeid-ibn-Qahtabah to Mosul. He had learned that `Abdallah-ibn-`Ali had in fact arrived at Harran and in other towns of Mesopotamia. He (al-Mansour?) was thus the head of all the Arabs of Mesopotamia and Syria, after they had despaired and lost hope of preserving life.

Then Abu-Muslim returned from Harran while passing by Mosul; |277 then he left the way to Koufah and Anbar, took the road to Helwan, between Azerbaijan and Iraq, and decided not to return to Abu-Dja`far. Abu-Dja`far, learning that Abu-Muslim had left for Khorasan, knowing his intentions, sent against him `Isa-ibn-Mousa. This latter rejoined him and did not cease showing him benevolence and softness, making him promises, softening him by flattering and crafty words. He did enough to divert him from his intentions and renounce them. Then `Isa-ibn-Mousa came with Abu-Muslim to Abu-Dja`far-al-Mansour, who ordered him killed as soon as he arrived, as he was coming in.

There was one of Abu-Muslim's leaders named Cheibah, who was also a Magus, whom Abu-Muslim had approached in person and who was in Azerbaijan, where he was awaiting the arrival of Abu-Muslim. When he learned of his death, he revolted and decided to avenge his blood. Then it came to Ray and perverted the ideas of the Magi, the Deilemites, the Indians and others, who took his part. This news came to Abu-Dja`far, who sent against Cheibah a man called Djaouher. The latter arrived at Ray and attacked Cheibah the Magus who took flight. Djaouher put to death all those of the Magi who had taken his part, to the number of approximately 50,000; he captured their families and their goods and forced the inhabitants of Ray to take an oath to Abu-Dja`far-al-Mansour. Having done that, he remained there and did not return to Mansour. Then Mansour sent against him Ibn-al-Ach`ath who overcame him and killed him with all his men. |278 Then Mansour ordered his cousin Salih-ibn-`Ali to establish Abu-`Aoun as governor of Egypt and to send Cheibah to Syria and to the coastal country. Mansour then sent Mousa-ibn-Ka`b to Sind and its district where he met a rebel named Asbagh-ibn-Davoud; he overcame him, killed him with his followers, forced the Arabs and the other inhabitants to take an oath, established a governor on the country and returned. That took place in year 137 of the Arabs.

Then Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, attacked Qaliqala (Theodosiopolis), captured and took into captivity its population. Salih-ibn-`Ali made a raid against the Greeks with troops of Arabs and Persians; then he returned without success; but he took the Armenians and Alans which the Greeks had brought from Armenia with Kouchan their patrician, and settled them in Syria. Since that day, the kings of the Greeks have prohibited any of the Armenians from settling in their empire, and especially in places near the border. At that time, `Abdallah-al-Mansour rebuilt Malatia, ruined by the kings of the Greeks and established hostels to be used as dwellings for the soldiers. In Mesopotamia Harouri called Moulabbid revolted. |279 A great number of Khorasanians took his part. That frightened `Abdallah-al-Mansour and this matter impressed him a lot. When (the rebel) arrived in Mosul, `Abdallah-al-Mansour sent Hazim-ibn-Houzeimah against him who overcame him, killed him with his followers and returned. `Abdallah-al-Mansour named as governor of Khorasan a man called `Abd-al-Djabbar, who revolted against him. That took place in year 140 of the Arabs.

In this same year, a son of `Ali-ibn-Abu-Talib revolted and was called Mahdi. Part of the Arabs took his part. `Abdallah-al-Mansour sent against him someone who killed him and killed his followers. In this same year, Ach' ath made a expedition against Africa; he conquered it and made its inhabitants take an oath. In this same year, `Abdallah-al-Mansour ordered the rebuilding of Qaliqala (Theodosiopolis), ruined by the kings of the Greeks, to establish a garrison and to open the roads. In this same year, (`Abdallah-al-Mansour) named his son Mohammed governor of Khorasan and sent with him leaders and troops. `Abd-al-Djabbar the rebel was in Merv. Then a rebel called Hasan-ibn-Harran also revolted in Djordjan. This country is surrounded by seas and mountains; the Deilemites are to the west of it; Azerbaijan to the south. The defiles are difficult and the roads narrow, which makes access difficult. Its length, following the shore of the sea from the east to the west, |280 is forty parasangs, and its width, from north to south, is twenty parasangs. There are there vast, large and broad meadows, abundant springs, thick trees and many fruits. Five cities are met with there; each city has two or three walls; a great number of fortresses are placed on the top of the high mountains. Its people have delicate bodies, of a very beautiful hue; they are very skilful in the various trades; they are a numerous people. Isbehbedh, which was in that time, was called Kourchib.

Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah-al-Mansour sent messengers to him; he overpowered him with taxes and increased the tribute on him; he ordered him to pay them to him or to come out against him and declare war. The ambassador that he had sent to him was Abu-`Aoun with some companions. When the ambassador had presented and read the letter, Isbehbedh treated him well and sent to Mansour a letter thus designed: "I am a man who compares matters one with another; and my land is small and narrow. When I think of war, the misfortunes, testing times, calamities, sorrows and affliction which are involved with it, I become wise again and I restrain myself. For what I have said, I am ready to give my wealth. With this I will preserve my honour and my life and will deliver it to him that can come and get it. |281 What I have paid to others who preceded you, all that will be given likewise to you . . . . Take it!"

When the ambassador had accepted the answer [of Isbehbedh and] had left, Isbehbedh hastened to put in safety, in his fortresses, his wealth, weapons and carpets and fortified himself. His letter came to Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah. The reading filled him with anger and fury, and he sent against him Abu-`Aoun with all the troops of Khorasan. They entered Tabaristan, dispersed among its villages and fields and lived there; they attacked the inhabitants and caused great devastations. Isbehbedh with his family were safe in the fortresses which they had fortified. Seeing the many troops which arrived in his country, he understood that he could not resist them. The troops attacked one fortress, captured it and there found great wealth, effects, carpets, precious stones and other objects. When Isbehbedh saw that, he decided to go out to fight the troops. He thus went out against them with his soldiers; but the troops overcame him; he fled and went to the Deilemites. Then he gathered on their premises troops of men and returned against his enemies; but they inflicted a new defeat on him; then he passed to the Deilemites for the second time and remained there until his death. Then the enemies attacked these fortresses, captured the wealth, the weapons and the carpets and made captive the inhabitants; |282 then they conquered the whole country, took everything and withdrew. Then Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah departed from Ray and arrived at Nisabour (Nichapour) which is located at the distance of . . . parasangs from Djordjan and at a distance from 70 parasangs from . . .

In this same year, a comet [appeared]. It was in Aries, in front of the sun, when the sun was in Taurus. It went on until it came beneath the rays of the sun; then it went behind and remained for forty days. Towards the end of that year, Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah returned from Khorasan and directed the pilgrimage with `Abdallah-al-Mansour. Then `Abdallah-al-Mansour built a city on the Tigris above Madain, and called it "city of peace" (Baghdad). He settled there and set up his court. Then he sent his Mohammed son into Khorasan and ordered him to settle at Ray. He departed and, having arrived there, he built beside it another city which he called Mohammediyah. In year 9 of `Abdallah-al-Mansour, in Medina, a rebel of the family of Fatimah called Mohammed revolted; he was descended from Hasan-ibn-`Ali-ibn-Abu-Talib. The people took an oath to him. Then `Abdallah-al-Mansour sent against him his cousin Isa-ibn-Mousa and Houmeid-al-Tousa with many troops. |283 (`Isa) killed him with his followers, took his head and brought it to Abu-Dja`far. `Abdallah had already left his city and marched on `Aqoul where he had camped, when he learned of the death of the rebel and received his head. He had only acted so because he feared a revolt of the inhabitants of Roufah who had already like those of Basra and the neighbouring cities taken an oath to the rebel called Ibrahim. The latter, when he arrived at Basra, made the inhabitants take an oath and decided to make war on `Abdallah-al-Mansour.

When he learned that his brother had been killed, he rose with many troops, marched against Abu-Dja`far and approached `Aqoul. He was separated from Abu-Dja`far only by a distance of fifteen parasangs approximately. Then `Isa-ibn-Mousa went out against him with many troops. (`Isa) overcame him and killed most of his followers. Ibrahim fled and was not killed in the battle. Then `Isa-ibn-Mousa pursued him, caught up with him and, after having killed him, brought his head to Abu-Dja`far. After the death of Ibrahim the wars calmed down and the misfortunes stopped. Then the Khazars made a raid against Haroun (?), Laziqah and all the Gates of the Alans and made captive 50,000 Arabs with great wealth and herds. Mousa-ibn-Ka`b went to battle them. |284 But the . . . Khazars overcame him and killed most of his soldiers. In this same year, `Abdallah-ibn-Mohammed-al-Mansour violated the oath to his cousin `Isa-ibn-Mousa that the people had taken to him and according to which they had agreed to make him king after `Abdallah-al-Mansour. Then the people took an oath to Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah and proclaimed him heir to the empire of the Moslems.

Constantine took an oath to his son Leo and made him heir to the Greek empire. In this same year, Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, built several cities and settled there Armenians and other populations. In year 10 of `Abdallah-al-Mansour, the Arabs captured a city, in the country of India, which is called Kabul. In this same year, in Khorasan, there was a violent earthquake, which moved mountains and left untouched neither trees nor stones. When the ground trembled below, the trees and the stones shattered and disappeared. In the year 14 of `Abdallah, the Magi revolted in Khorasan and shook the authority of `Abdallah-al-Mansour for this reason:

In a city of Khorasan which is called Far`is (?), there was a mountain from where much silver was taken. 30,000 workmen dealt specifically |285 with the exploitation of this mine and the purification. The workmen were Magi to whom the mountain had been ceded. A very rich mine was discovered there. The Sultan wanted to take the mountain from them and give it to others. They were opposed to the implementation of this project, and the Sultan struck a Magus. Then they threw themselves on him and killed a great number of his soldiers. After that, the Sultan wrote with Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah-al-Mansour who was in Ray, to tell him what had occurred. The latter sent to him 34,000 soldiers who formed his vanguard; then he went out, himself, against the Magi, at the head of 30,000 soldiers. The people who formed the vanguard arrived at the mountain where the mines and the Magi were; they started the battle, but the Magi overcame them and made a very great number perish. Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah, learning of the defeat of his soldiers, remained at the place where he was and sent a letter to `Abdallah-al-Mansour in which he made known to him the fate of his troops and the business of the mine. He was then at the place which is called Arfasir(?), and he spent the winter there.

After winter had passed, he sent against the rebels a man called Hazim at the head of 40,000 soldiers. When he arrived near the rebels, (his soldiers) attacked them, overcame them, killed more than 20,000, made captive the survivors whom they sent to Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah who was on the Tigris, opposite Baghdad. |286 In year 15 of Mansour, the inhabitants of Africa rose and killed Amrou-ibn-al-Mouhallab and his troops. Then Yazid-ibn-al-Mouhallab went against them with many troops, made 30,000 men perish and returned. Then Mansour left with all his troops and went to Mesopotamia where he remained some time; he then crossed the Euphrates and arrived in Palestine. He oppressed everyone, caused them more sorrows and misfortunes that any of the kings his predecessors; he treated them with such harshness that there was nobody, not a worker, or a servant, or a camel driver, or a grave-digger, or a farmer, or a charitable man, or any other class of people whom he did not subject to the tax and whose goods he did not confiscate. People were reduced to such a degree of misery that some dug up tombs, dragged out the corpses, cooked and ate them; others killed dogs, roasted them and sold them in the markets. Money disappeared from the hands of people. An unimaginable distress seized them, and to fill up their misfortune, the plague started to break out among them.

While they were thus in misfortune, Mansour died, after reigning twenty and one years and three and a half months. |287 In this same year, Constantine, emperor of the Greeks, died, after reigning thirty-four years and three months. Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah-al-Mahdi, son of Mansour, started to reign in year 158 of the Arabs. He ordered the prisons opened and that all those whom his father had shut up there freed. Leo, son of Constantine, reigned over the Greeks for five years, from the year 1084 of Alexander. He freed all those which were in his father's prison, and recalled all those whom he had exiled. In year 2 of Mohammed-ibn-`Abdallah-al-Mahdi, Abbas-ibn-Mohammed made a raid against the Greeks and arrived at Ancyra, a town of Galatia; he entered it, but did nothing there. In this same year, four rebels revolted in the East: one in the country of Sa`id, another in Sedjestan, the third in Bahrain and the fourth beyond the river.

HERE THE FLORENCE MANUSCRIPT FINISHES. 1. The events at the beginning of the second part are also recounted at the end of the first part, but in a different version to that in the Florence manuscript. 2. Genesis 49:10. 3. Daniel 9:24-27. 4. See Jos. Flav., Ant., XVII, VIII, 189. τήν τε Γαυλωνῖτιν καὶ Τραχωνῖτιν καὶ Βαταναίαν καὶ Πανιάδα Φιλίππῳ. 5. Three lines are illegible here. They might be filled up using Michael the Syrian, I, 143, 2. 6. Completed using Michael the Syrian. 7. Text filled out using Michael the Syrian. 8. Jos. Fl. Ant. Jud. XVIII, III, 63-4. See Michael the Syrian, I, 143-145. 9. Eusebius, H.E., I, x, 1-2. Jos. Fl. Ant. Jud. XVIII, ii. 33-35. Michael the Syrian, I, 142-143, 145. 10. Some words are unclear here. 11. Rom. 16:14. 12. Dan.9:27. 13. Simoni deo sancto. 14. Gen.49:10. 15. Dan. 9:26-27. 16. Cf. Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21.

17. Josephus, Jewish War, VI. 9. 18. Josephus, Jewish War, VI, 5:3. 19. Phil. 4:3. 20. Iren. Haer. I. 26; III. 3; Eus. HE III. 28:6. 21. Βασιλικόν? βασιλική? 22. Text restored from Michael the Syrian I, 181. 23. A certain Scuthinos is mentioned in other texts as the master of Bardesanes in the study of the occult, the precursor of Mani the author of four books. See R. Duval, La litterature syriaque, 2 ed., p. 242, n. 1. 24. Possibly it should read Quitous, i.e. Geta, Caracalla's brother. 25. Perhaps the sun and the moon? 26. On Oudhi (Αὐδαῖος) and his followers, the Audians, see Epiphanius, Panarion, I, 70 (PG 42 col. 339 f.) 27. Aphrahat. ** The first fascicle of part 2 ends on page 135; the second fascicle begins on page 139. 28. Here, in the margin of the manuscript, we read: "This is wrong". There is indeed a mistake, because the 1,273 year of Alexander (= 961AD) does not correspond to the 330 year of the Hegira (= 941-942). Instead of 1,273, it should be 1,253 (= 941). On the other hand, we know that Masudi, who wrote his Tenbih in 945, already knew the work of Mahboub (Agapius). Kitâb at-Tanbîh wa'l-Ischraf auctore al-Masudi. Bibl. geographorum arabiÂ-corum, ed. of Goeje, VIII, Leiden, 1894, 154. Maçoudi, Le Livre de l'avertissement et de la revision, trad.by B.Carra de Vaux, Paris, 1896, 212.

29. Cf. Georgii Elmacini Historia Saracenica, ed. Thomae Erpenii, Leide, 1625, p. 2-3. Elmacinus abridged the account of Agapius. Michael the Syrian, II, 403-405. 30. Folios 89v-90 are very deteriorated. 31. This relates to the war with Chrosroes in AD 540, and the capture of Apamea in the same year. 32. The following four lines are illegible. A few words can be read, suggesting that they concern the death of Mohammed and the transmission of power to Abu Bekr. Cf. Elmacinus, 9-10, 15. 33. The following six lines are illegible. A translation is given of whatever can be read. 34. The start of each of the next eight lines is illegible. 35. The text of this passage is damaged and illegible. 36. Some words here have been damaged. 37. The remainder of folio 97v is almost illegible. 38. The remainder of fol. 98 is illegible. The next four pages, consisting of folios 98v, 99, 99v and 100 cannot be read. These leaves are stuck to each other because of damp and so cannot be read.

39. Apart from the first two words, folios 104v, 105, 105b and 106 are stuck together and illegible. 40. A damaged line here. 41. Two damaged lines follow. 42. A number of words are probably missing here. 43. This interesting source used by Agapius is Theophilus of Edessa, son of Thomas, a distinguished astronomer, who lived under the Caliph al-Madhi and died in 785 AD. He was the author of works, today lost, which included a history and a Syriac translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Bar Hebraeus mentions and praises him (Historia dynastiarum, 98 (63), 40 (26), 228, (147-148), ed. Salhani 98. 40, 219-220; Chronicum Syriacum 134). His name is also found in Michael the Syrian, II, 358: " Theophilus of Edessa, who was a Chalcedonian and considered hatred of the orthodox as his heritage, left fraudulently to one side all the histories in which he found record of us . . . We borrowed from his Chronicle some of things which are not found in better sources." See W. Wright, A Short History of Syriac Literature, London, 1894, pp.163-4.

44. Five lines are damaged here. 45. Three damaged lines here.