Bardaisan of Edessa and Memories of Christian Persecution in the Near EastBulletin of the Institute of Classical StudiesSyriaca.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/XT6SKC8V/tei
Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
2024-08-15-04:00
Born digital.
CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Nathanael JohnAndradeBardaisan of Edessa and Memories of Christian Persecution in the Near Easthttp://syriaca.org/cbss/XT6SKC8Vhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/XT6SKC8Vhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/XT6SKC8VBulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies62:1201986-105According to Eusebius, the famous Edessene thinker Bardaisan wrote his work <i>On Fate</i> in a time of persecution and addressed it to a figure named Antoninus (HE 4.30). It is commonly surmised that this ‘Antoninus’ was a Roman emperor who sanctioned Christian persecution in some way. But scholars have varied in their interpretations. Some have identified this figure as Caracalla, who visited Edessa in 216–217. But since Eusebius situated Bardaisan’s activity in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, he is often deemed to be the Antoninus in question. As this article surmises, the testimony of Eusebius and other late antique authors, like Epiphanius, reflect certain memories both of the integration of Edessa into the Roman provincial system under Caracalla and the social tensions that it raised. But largely due to Eusebius’ narrative, late antique authors conceived of Marcus Aurelius as the ‘Antoninus’ to whom Bardaisan reportedly addressed <i>On Fate</i> and other apologetic work, and they created social memories of Bardaisan as a would‐be confessor in a context of persecution.
Andrade, Nathanael John. “Bardaisan of Edessa and Memories of Christian Persecution in the Near East.” Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 62:1 (2019): 86–105.
Nathanael John Andrade, Bardaisan of Edessa and Memories of Christian Persecution in the Near East,Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 62:1 (2019): 86–105.BardesanEdessaI-III CEIII CEpersecution