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Constantine and the Captive Christians of Persia Constantine and the Captive Christians of Persia Smith - 9780520289604.indd 1 25/11/15 9:15 PM transformation of the classical heritage Peter Brown, General Editor I. Art and Ceremony in Late Antiquity, by Sabine G. MacCormack II. Synesius of Cyrene: Philosopher-Bishop, by Jay Alan Bregman III. Teodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity, by Kenneth G. Holum IV. John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late Fourth Century, by Robert L. Wilken V. Biography in Late Antiquity: Te Quest for the Holy Man, by Patricia Cox VI. Pachomius: Te Making of a Community in Fourth- Century Egypt, by Philip Rousseau VII. Change in Byzantine Culture in the Eleventh and Twelfh Centuries, by A. P. Kazhdan and Ann Wharton Epstein VIII. Leadership and Community in Late Antique Gaul, by Raymond Van Dam IX. Homer the Teologian: Neoplatonist Allegorical Reading and the Growth of the Epic Tradition, by Robert Lamberton X. Procopius and the Sixth Century, by Averil Cameron XI. Guardians of Language: Te Grammarian and Society in Late Antiquity, by Robert A. Kaster XII. Civic Coins and Civic Politics in the Roman East, a.d. 180–275, by Kenneth Harl XIII. Holy Women of the Syrian Orient, introduced and translated by Sebastian P. Brock and Susan Ashbrook Harvey XIV. Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection, by Carole Straw XV. “Apex Omnium”: Religion in the “Res gestae” of Ammianus, by R. L. Rike XVI. Dioscorus of Aphrodito: His Work and His World, by Leslie S. B. MacCoull XVII. On Roman Time: Te Codex-Calendar of 354 and the Rhythms of Urban Life in Late Antiquity, by Michele Renee Salzman Smith - 9780520289604.indd 2 25/11/15 9:15 PM XVIII. Asceticism and Society in Crisis: John of Ephesus and “Te Lives of the Eastern Saints,” by Susan Ashbrook Harvey XIX. Barbarians and Politics at the Court of Arcadius, by Alan Cameron and Jacqueline Long, with a contribution by Lee Sherry XX. Basil of Caesarea, by Philip Rousseau XXI. In Praise of Later Roman Emperors: Te Panegyrici Latini, introduction, translation, and historical commentary by C. E. V. Nixon and Barbara Saylor Rodgers XXII. Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital, by Neil B. McLynn XXIII. Public Disputation, Power, and Social Order in Late Antiquity, by Richard Lim XXIV. Te Making of a Heretic: Gender, Authority, and the Priscillianist Controversy, by Virginia Burrus XXV. Symeon the Holy Fool: Leontius’s “Life” and the Late Antique City, by Derek Krueger XXVI. Te Shadows of Poetry: Vergil in the Mind of Augustine, by Sabine MacCormack XXVII. Paulinus of Nola: Life, Letters, and Poems, by Dennis E. Trout XXVIII. Te Barbarian Plain: Saint Sergius between Rome and Iran, by Elizabeth Key Fowden XXIX. Te Private Orations of Temistius, translated, annotated, and introduced by Robert J. Penella XXX. Te Memory of the Eyes: Pilgrims to Living Saints in Christian Late Antiquity, by Georgia Frank XXXI. Greek Biography and Panegyric in Late Antiquity, edited by Tomas Hägg and Philip Rousseau XXXII. Subtle Bodies: Representing Angels in Byzantium, by Glenn Peers XXXIII. Wandering, Begging Monks: Spiritual Authority and the Promotion of Monasticism in Late Antiquity, by Daniel Caner XXXIV. Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century a.d., by Noel Lenski Smith - 9780520289604.indd 3 25/11/15 9:15 PM XXXV. Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middle Ages, by Bonnie Efros XXXVI. Qus.ayr ‘Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, by Garth Fowden XXXVII. Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity: Te Nature of Christian Leadership in an Age of Transition, by Claudia Rapp XXXVIII. Encountering the Sacred: Te Debate on Christian Pilgrimage in Late Antiquity, by Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony XXXIX. Tere Is No Crime for Tose Who Have Christ: Religious Violence in the Christian Roman Empire, by Michael Gaddis XL. Te Legend of Mar Qardagh: Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq, by Joel Tomas Walker XLI. City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria, by Edward J. Watts XLII. Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination, by Susan Ashbrook Harvey XLIII. Man and the Word: Te Orations of Himerius, edited by Robert J. Penella XLIV. Te Matter of the Gods, by Cliford Ando XLV. Te Two Eyes of the Earth: Art and Ritual of Kingship between Rome and Sasanian Iran, by Matthew P. Canepa XLVI. Riot in Alexandria: Tradition and Group Dynamics in Late Antique Pagan and Christian Communities, by Edward J. Watts XLVII. Peasant and Empire in Christian North Afica, by Leslie Dossey XLVIII. Teodoret’s People: Social Networks and Religious Confict in Late Roman Syria, by Adam M. Schor XLIX. Sons of Hellenism, Fathers of the Church: Emperor Julian, Gregory of Nazianzus, and the Vision of Rome, by Susanna Elm L. Shenoute of Atripe and the Uses of Poverty: Rural Patronage, Religious Confict, and Monasticism in Late Antique Egypt, by Ariel G. López Smith - 9780520289604.indd 4 25/11/15 9:15 PM LI. Doctrine and Power: Teological Controversy and Christian Leadership in the Later Roman Empire, by Carlos R. Galvão-Sobrinho LII. Crisis of Empire: Doctrine and Dissent at the End of Late Antiquity, by Phil Booth LIII. Te Final Pagan Generation, by Edward J. Watts LIV. Te Mirage of the Saracen: Christians and Nomads in the Sinai Peninsula in Late Antiquity, by Walter D. Ward LV. Missionary Stories and the Formation of the Syriac Churches, by Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent LVI. A State of Mixture: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity, by Richard E. Payne LVII. Constantine and the Captive Christians of Persia: Martyrdom and Religious Identity in Late Antiquity, by Kyle Smith Smith - 9780520289604.indd 5 25/11/15 9:15 PM Smith - 9780520289604.indd 6 25/11/15 9:15 PM Constantine and the Captive Christians of Persia martyrdom and religious identity in late antiquity Kyle Smith university of california press Smith - 9780520289604.indd 7 25/11/15 9:15 PM University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2016 by Te Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Smith, Kyle, author. Constantine and the captive Christians of Persia : martyrdom and religious identity in Late Antiquity / Kyle Smith. p. cm. — (Transformation of the classical heritage ; 57) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-28960-4 (cloth, alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-520-96420-4 (electronic) 1. Syriac Christians—Iraq—History—To 1500. 2. Syriac Christians— Iran—History—To 1500. 3. Syriac Christians—History—To 1500— Sources. 4. Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, –337. 5. Iraq—History—To 634. 6. Iran—History—To 640. 7. Church history—Primitive and early church, ca. 30–600. I. Title. II. Series: Transformation of the classical heritage ; 57. ds59.s94s65 2016 935′—.07—dc23 2015029054 Manufactured in the United States of America 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). Smith - 9780520289604.indd 8 25/11/15 9:15 PM For Liz Smith - 9780520289604.indd 9 25/11/15 9:15 PM Smith - 9780520289604.indd 10 25/11/15 9:15 PM contents Acknowledgments xiii Abbreviations xvii Introduction: Constantine and the Writing of Fourth-Century History 1 part i the roman frontier and the persian war 1 r Patronizing Persians: Constantine’s Letter to Shapur II 17 2 r Constantine’s Crusade: Te Emperor’s Last Days and the Persian Campaign 45 3 r Rereading Nisibis: Narrating the Battle for Roman Mesopotamia 65 part ii roman captives and persian envoys 4 r On War and Persecution: Aphrahat. the Persian Sage and the Martyrdom and History of Blessed Simeon bar S. abbaʻe 99 5 r Te Church of the East and the Territorialization of Christianity 125 6 r Memories of Constantine in the Acts of the Persian Martyrs 154 Smith - 9780520289604.indd 11 25/11/15 9:15 PM Appendix A. Constantine’s Letter to Shapur: Eusebius’s Life of Constantine IV.8–14 181 Appendix B. Martyrdom of the Captives of Beth Zabdai 184 Appendix C. Martyrdom of Abbot Barshebya, Ten Fellow Brothers, and One Magus 191 Bibliography 197 Index 217 Smith - 9780520289604.indd 12 25/11/15 9:15 PM acknowledgments Constantine and the Captive Christians of Persia was a long time in the mak- ing. Technically, it began as my doctoral dissertation at Duke University, but the foundation for it was laid years earlier when I knew little about Constantine and even less about the Acts of the Persian Martyrs. As a master’s student at the University of Notre Dame, I was more interested in the Egyptian Desert Fathers and the Greek monk Evagrius of Pontus than I was in the Roman eastern frontier or Syriac martyrdom literature. But Robin Darling Young convinced me that if I truly wanted to know anything about Evagrius, I would have to learn how to read the ancient translations that preserve much of his work in Syriac and Armenian. I tried to begin both languages at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I studied for a year as a Fulbright Fellow, but did not get very far with either.
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