The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 CE by Strategius of Mar Saba

Sean W. Anthony

ISBN 10: 1614911193 / ISBN 13: 9781614911197

Published by ISD International - IPSUK Feb 2025, 2025

Neuware - In 614 CE, the armies of Sasanid Persia shocked the Eastern Roman Empire when they besieged and captured Jerusalem, taking a large swath of its population into captivity along with the city's patriarch and the famed relic of the True Cross. This astounding Persian victory over Christian Jerusalem was a key episode in the last war between Rome and Persia in 602-628 CE and occurred at the high tide of Persian advances into the Roman territories in Asia Minor, the Levant, and Egypt. Among those taken captive was a certain Strategius, a monk of Mar Saba, who subsequently took it upon himself to compose a homily recounting the events leading up to the Persian siege of the Holy City and its aftermath. Strategius presents his pious and harrowing account as that of an eyewitness to many of the events he recounts. For events he did not himself witness, he purports to rely on contemporary informants who did, making his treatise a source with few parallels in late antiquity. Although Strategius's original account in Greek is lost, it survives via later translations into Georgian and Christian Arabic, two languages that attained prominence in the monasteries of Palestine during the Islamic period. This volume provides, for the first time, a complete side-by-side English translation of both the Georgian and the Arabic recensions. Seller Inventory # 9781614911197

Synopsis:

In 614 CE, the armies of Sasanid Persia shocked the Eastern Roman Empire when they besieged and captured Jerusalem, taking a large swath of its population into captivity along with the city's patriarch and the famed relic of the True Cross. This astounding Persian victory over Christian Jerusalem was a key episode in the last war between Rome and Persia in 602-628 CE and occurred at the high tide of Persian advances into the Roman territories in Asia Minor, the Levant, and Egypt.
Among those taken captive was a certain Strategius, a monk of Mar Saba, who subsequently took it upon himself to compose a homily recounting the events leading up to the Persian siege of the Holy City and its aftermath. Strategius presents his pious and harrowing account as that of an eyewitness to many of the events he recounts. For events he did not himself witness, he purports to rely on contemporary informants who did, making his treatise a source with few parallels in late antiquity.
Although Strategius's original account in Greek is lost, it survives via later translations into Georgian and Christian Arabic, two languages that attained prominence in the monasteries of Palestine during the Islamic period. This volume provides, for the first time, a complete side-by-side English translation of both the Georgian and the Arabic recensions.

About the Author:

Sean W. Anthony is professor of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures at The Ohio State University.

Stephen J. Shoemaker is professor and the Ira Gaston Fellow in Christian Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Oregon.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in ...
Publisher: ISD International - IPSUK Feb 2025
Publication Date: 2025
Binding: Taschenbuch
Condition: Neu