The Expansion of Christianity: a Gazetteer of Its First Three Centuries
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THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY SUPPLEMENTS TO VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE Formerly Philosophia Patrum TEXTS AND STUDIES OF EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE AND LANGUAGE EDITORS J. DEN BOEFT — J. VAN OORT — W.L. PETERSEN D.T. RUNIA — C. SCHOLTEN — J.C.M. VAN WINDEN VOLUME LXIX THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY A GAZETTEER OF ITS FIRST THREE CENTURIES BY RODERIC L. MULLEN BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2004 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mullen, Roderic L. The expansion of Christianity : a gazetteer of its first three centuries / Roderic L. Mullen. p. cm. — (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, ISSN 0920-623X ; v. 69) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-13135-3 (alk. paper) 1. Church history—Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600. I. Title. II. Series. BR165.M96 2003 270.1—dc22 2003065171 ISSN 0920-623X ISBN 90 04 13135 3 © Copyright 2004 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands For Anya This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Preface ........................................................................................ ix Introduction ................................................................................ 1 PART ONE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ASIA BEFORE 325 C.E. Palestine ...................................................................................... 21 Syria Phoenice ............................................................................ 33 Syria Proper ................................................................................ 40 Arabia .......................................................................................... 47 (Roman) Mesopotamia .............................................................. 54 Assyria and Babylonia ................................................................ 59 Persia .......................................................................................... 66 India and Bactria ........................................................................ 70 Isauria, Cilicia, and Cyprus ...................................................... 74 Dioecesis of Asia ........................................................................ 83 Dioecesis of Pontica .................................................................... 114 Pontus Polemoniacus, Colchis, and Transcaucasian Iberia .... 133 Armenia Major .......................................................................... 136 PART TWO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN EUROPE BEFORE 325 C.E. Dioecesis of Thrace .................................................................... 143 North and Northwest Coasts of the Black Sea ...................... 152 Greece .......................................................................................... 154 Province Dalmatia ...................................................................... 170 Moesia Superior .......................................................................... 172 Dacia Traiana ............................................................................ 175 Pannonia ...................................................................................... 178 Dioecesis of the City of Rome .................................................. 184 Dioecesis of Italy ........................................................................ 211 Noricum ...................................................................................... 220 viii contents Raetia .......................................................................................... 221 Germania (Superior and Inferior) ............................................ 222 Gaul ............................................................................................ 226 Britannia ...................................................................................... 242 Hispania ...................................................................................... 248 PART THREE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN AFRICA BEFORE 325 C.E. Egypt ............................................................................................ 263 Cyrenaica and Libya .................................................................. 294 Africa Proconsularis .................................................................... 298 Numidia ...................................................................................... 311 Mauretania Sitifensis .................................................................. 319 Mauretania Caesariensis ............................................................ 321 Mauretania Tingitana ................................................................ 326 Unlocatable Christian Communities in North Africa ............ 328 Ethiopia (Aksum) to the mid-Fourth Century .......................... 330 Maps ............................................................................................ 333 Unplaced Sites ............................................................................ 333 Bibliography and Abbreviations ................................................ 347 Index ............................................................................................ 387 PREFACE This work began some seven years ago as a rainy-day project born out of a fascination with data on the early spread of Christianity. From checking some of the evidence cited for the more far-flung sites, such as Volubilis, Aksum, Rewardashir, and Valarshapat, I pro- gressed to a more systematic assembling of the material. None of the early but possible sites just named are in Europe, nor are they anywhere near the areas that many historians would consider to be the heartland of Christianity. Many people in our century consider Christianity to be a “Western” religion. Indeed, this is the case even with some Christians who have lived their entire lives in Asia. Yet it should never be forgotten that Christianity had its beginnings in Asia among the followers of a crucified Middle-Eastern Jew from Nazareth by the name of Jesus. Biblical scholars have long noted that the native language of Jesus and his followers was Aramaic, and many early Christian works survive in the closely related Syriac lan- guage. Even when they were translated into Greek within the first generation of Christianity, the ideas of early Christianity seemed to cultured individuals of classical antiquity, speaking Greek and Latin, to be the work of an Eastern cult. In the introduction, I will sur- vey some of the factors that led this “Eastern cult” to become one of the dominant religions of the late ancient world, but I reserve the major part of my efforts for documenting the geographical spread of the new faith. When I first started the process of documentation, I doubted whether such a project could be completed outside of the great libraries of Europe. I was more than pleasantly surprised to discover that the book could have been finished easily without leaving the United States. More than ninety percent of the works I needed were available in the libraries of my two almae matres, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A score or so of works were retrieved from other libraries in the Southeastern United States, and another dozen perhaps from the Library of Congress and elsewhere. A special debt of thanks goes to Mrs. Becky Hall and her colleagues at Currituck County Library for finding a copy of Raymond Thouvenot’s article on Volubilis from 1939. My relocation to the x preface United Kingdom to take up text-critical work in 2001 necessitated a brief delay in the research as I became accustomed to new libraries, particularly those at the University of Birmingham, and double- checked references. I have also made use of the Bodleian and related libraries at Oxford and of the British Library. It remains for me to thank colleagues who have been helpful, per- haps without realizing it, along the way. My colleagues in the Department of Theology at the University of Birmingham have been more than patient with my requests for books and information, espe- cially David Parker, David Taylor, David Thomas, and Werner Ustorf. Carol Bebawi has read the text of the manuscript and has graciously allowed me to use her computer to print the entire man- uscript more than once. Nathan Samwini and Catherine Smith helped to check the maps. Colleagues from elsewhere who have offered sug- gestions, information, insights, or resources include John Oates, Eric Meyers, Hans Martin Schencke, Joshua Sosin, Hosam El-Tawil, Peter van Minnen, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Klaus Wachtel, and an anony- mous reader for Brill. Thanks also go to Mrs. F. E. Derksen-Janssens for drawing the maps from my sketches. These and many others are responsible for making this book a better one. Any remaining short- comings and errors in the work are, of course, my own. It would be appreciated if readers who are aware of solid evidence for Christianity before 325 in communities not listed here would for- ward the appropriate references to the author. —Birmingham,