The Portrayal of Heraclius in Syriac SourcesGroningen Studies in Cultural Change 2Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/JP4Z88ER/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.John W.WattThe Portrayal of Heraclius in Syriac Sourceshttp://syriaca.org/cbss/JP4Z88ERhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/JP4Z88ERhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/JP4Z88ERGerrit J.ReininkBerhard H.StolteThe Reign of Heraclius (610–641): Crisis and ConfrontationLouvainPeeters200263-79Groningen Studies in Cultural Change 2In the early part of the reign of Heraclius, Syria was divided approximately between the Byzantine Empire (West) and the Persian Empire (East). The most important West Syrian sources are The Chronicle of Michael the Syrian, The Chronicle to 1234 AD, and the Chronography of Bar Hebraeus, all of the 12th-13th cent. but based on earlier sources. The most important East Syrian sources are The Khuzistan Chronicle and the Resh Melle of John bar Penkaye, with two other later works, the monastic history of Beth Abhe and The Chronicle of Se'ert, which provide supplementary material. The Khuzistan Chronicle is the earliest text and is described as the Syriac counterpart of the Armenian work of Sebeos. In both works Khosrau is treated as the enemy and Heraclius the champion of Christianity. Heraclius is also said to have 'received priestly rank', which may have contributed to his military success in Armenia and Mesopotamia. But, after the removal of the common enemy, the Persians, Christians turned their attention once again to the Christological controversy, with the result that Heraclius became an 'heretical and interfering king', his prestige reaching rock bottom with the Arab conquest. The West Syrian sources, being much later, concentrated on the Dyophysite-Monophysite divide. Both East and West sources saw the Arab Conquest as a punishment from God. But the character of Heraclius is presented in an interesting light by Bar Hebraeus, an East Syrian of 'ecumenical' outlook who was well read in Muslim Arabic literature: Heraclius is said to have compared the Arab Conquest to a cloudy dawn in which there is only twilight, so not the end of the world merely a change in it. This philosophical attitude may well be informed by the writer's own experience of the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258 AD.
Watt, John W. “The Portrayal of Heraclius in Syriac Sources.” In The Reign of Heraclius (610–641): Crisis and Confrontation, edited by Gerrit J. Reinink and Berhard H. Stolte, 63–79. Groningen Studies in Cultural Change 2. Louvain: Peeters, 2002.
John W. Watt, The Portrayal of Heraclius in Syriac Sources, in The Reign of Heraclius (610–641): Crisis and Confrontation, ed. Gerrit J. Reinink and Berhard H. Stolte, Groningen Studies in Cultural Change 2 (Louvain: Peeters, 2002), 63–79.Byzantine empireChronicle of KhuzistanHeracliusJacobitesNestoriansVII CEapocalypticismemperorhistoriography