Early Christianity in Arabia/Section 5

by Thomas Wright

SECTION V.

The northern Arabs of Syria and Irak were subject to the two independent princes of Ghassan and Hirah, the dominions of the latter including the tribes who were nominally subject to the kingdom of Persia, the former those who occupied the districts bordering on Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The family of the kings of Hirah appears to have originated from some of the chiefs who had accompanied the warlike expeditions of the tobbaas of Hamyar into Sogd and Persia.^[1] The first king of Hirah, called by the historians simply Malek, who is said to have been a descendant of Kahlan, mounted the throne soon after the death of Alexander,^[2] but on the death of his nephew Jodhaimah, the third king of that dynasty, the crown was seized by the sons of Lachm, a descendant of Saba.^[3] The capital of Malek was called Anbar, but Jodhaimah, who had by his conquests extended the boundaries of his kingdom,^[4] moved the seat of government to Hirah, which had been built by one of the tobbaas, who stopped there on his road to Irak.^[5] The kings of Ghassan deduced their descent from the tribe of Azd in Yaman.^[6] Gafahah, the first king, had dispossessed the original dynasty, and is said to have been confirmed in his conquest by the Roman governor of Syria.^[7] The third king Tsâlabuh, built Akhah, in the Hauraun, towards Balka, the latter of which was the capital of Ghassan in the time of the second Hareth, but the seat of government was removed to Sideir, by Amru, the twelfth king of this dynasty.^[8]

Although by eastern writers the name of Syria is given to the whole of the territory between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates as far as Babylon,^[9] yet all the tract which spreads out to the east of Libanus and the Jordan belongs physically to Arabia,^[10] and we find accordingly that it was always occupied by wandering tribes, who continually infested the border districts of Syria, whilst that country was subject either to native princes or foreign conquerors.^[11] The interior has always been a sterile sandy desert, interspersed however by frequent green and fertile oases, which were occupied by villages and small towns, as was the case with Palmyra, which rose to power and opulence by being the centre of the trade from the Persian gulf.^[12] On the east the Arabs were often in possession of the rich plains of the Hauraun and Damascus; towards the north the districts of Edessa and Emessa, as well as Irak and part of Mesopotamia towards the east, were long ruled by Arabian dynasties.

The Arabs of the northern desert, during the revolution of centuries, have changed little more than their religion. Distinguished from all their neighbours by their sinewy limbs, and their dark and fiery eye, they roved in the conscious pride of personal independence, with "no dwelling but the tent, no intrenchment but the sword, no law but the traditionary song of their bards."^[13] The virtues of the Scenite were bravery, generosity, and hospitality; and he looked, as he still does, with contempt and indignation on the faithlessness and treachery which were too often the characteristics of his more polished neighbours.^[14] But his virtues were more than overbalanced by his lawless and predatory life, his avarice, and his cruelty. The love of the Arabs for independence, placed them under the necessity of being continually in a posture of defence; by their perpetual hostilities they learnt to consider every one as their enemy, and one of their poets has justified their mode of life, by observing, that "he who drives not invaders from his cistern with strong arms, will see it demolished; and he who abstains ever so much from injuring others, will often himself be injured."^[15] Their liberty thus became a precarious possession; for they were at every step in danger from their enemies, and every person and even place aroused their suspicious fears.^[16] Plunder, much more even than revenge, was generally the cause of their wars, however the greatest heroes might boast of being "impetuous in the battle, but regardless of the spoils."^[17]

The Arabs were long independent of the neighbouring empires of Persia and Rome. They fought under the banners of the great king as early as the age of Alexander, whose soldiers were often harassed by them in the mountains of Libanus,^[18] and the Persian army at the battle of Gaza was partly composed of them.^[19] But in succeeding reigns, the richest provinces of Persia were laid waste by the numerous hordes which issued from the desert. At the time of the extinction of the dynasty of the Arsacides by Ardesheir Baubegan (or Artaxerxes), the territories between the Tigris and the Oxus, including Khorasan and Irak, had been for upwards of five centuries in the possession of various tribes of Arabs, under Mûlouk-al-Towâeif,^[20] or chiefs of various independent tribes, although several Persian princes had at times made a temporary conquest of Irak, Medaine, and even Rei and Isfahaun. Ardesheir however invaded the territories of the Mûlouk-al-Towâeif, drove them from Khorasan, Irak, and Mesopotamia, and even pursued them into Bahhrein and Hedjaz, where he compelled them to pay tribute to the crown of Persia. Many of the Arab chieftains were permitted to occupy the northern deserts under the princes of Hirah, which with its dependencies the Arabian king of Bahhrein was allowed to retain, and some appear to have retired to Hamyar and other parts of the south. The king of Hirah seems however to have been considered as little better than a viceroy of Persia. The Arabs of Ghassan, and other tribes who bordered on Syria, which was occupied by the Romans, sheltered themselves from the Persian power by a nominal alliance with their neighbours. Accordingly when Hormuz II., the seventh king of the Sassanian dynasty, attempted to exact a tribute of the tribe of Ghassan, they refused to comply with his demand. Without giving them time to seek assistance from their Roman allies, the Persian king invaded their territory, and entirely defeated them. But Hormuz himself was waylaid in the desert by a body of Arabs, who put him and his attendants to the sword.^[21]

On the sudden death of Hormuz, the next heir to the throne of Persia was his posthumous son Shahpoor the second. The minority of this prince presented an opportunity of revenge to the Arabs of Bahhrein and Lachsa, who collected a considerable force, crossed the Persian gulf, and plundered the country in all directions. The king of Hamyar, tobbaa Hassan, incited perhaps by the fugitive chiefs who had been driven from their possessions by Shahpoor, and who had sought refuge in Yaman, at the same time made a descent on Irak. No sooner, however, had Shahpoor reached the age of sixteen, than he prepared to retaliate on the Arabs the cruelties which they had perpetrated on his subjects. His vengeance was first directed against those tribes who had gained possession of Fars, which had been the principal scene of their devastations. Not one was suffered to escape, and the captives had their shoulders pierced, and afterwards dislocated by means of a string passed through them, a punishment which gained for this Persian king the title of Dzu Lektaf, or lord of the shoulders. Shahpoor next crossed the gulf, marched through the desert as far as Yatreb, filling up all the wells, and massacring every Arab he met with. From Hedjaz he continued his destructive march into Palestine and Syria, and to Mesopotamia and Irak, where he fixed his residence at the cities of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, which, separated by the Tigris, were denominated by the Arabians Al Medaïm, or the two cities.^[22] Whilst Shahpoor was engaged in quelling a rebellion which had arisen in Khorasan, the Arabs invaded Mesopotamia, and a chief of the name of Manizen, or Malek Zeiren, seized on the almost impregnable fortress of Khadher or Khazm, near Tekrit, where he defied the power of the Persian army. The daughter of the Arabian chief is said to have fallen in love with Shahpoor, whom she had seen from the ramparts, and she found means to disclose to him her passion, offering to betray the fortress into his hands, on his promise to become her husband. The condition was accepted, Manizen and the garrison were massacred, his daughter for one night shared the bed of the conqueror, and the next morning she was tied by her beautiful hair to the tail of a wild horse, which was let loose in the desert.^[23]

The Syrian Arabs were first subjected to Rome by the arms of Pompey.^[24] The kingdom of Arethas at that time included Petra and Cœlosyria, as well as Damascus;^[25] he had been the ally of Antipater, and had besieged Aristobulus in Jerusalem, and taken the city all but the temple, when he was obliged to retire before the Roman forces.^[26] The history of the eastern frontiers of the Roman empire does not rise to much importance till after the removal of the imperial residence to Byzantium, for the dominions of Rome and Persia were separated by the possessions of various independent princes, such as those of Palmyra, Edessa, &c, whom the policy established by Augustus had suffered to reign without interruption. On the death of Pertinax, these independent princes favoured the cause of Pescennius Niger, the Syrian governor, who aspired to the imperial purple. After his defeat they incurred the resentment of the conqueror, and Severus overran and subjected with his victorious army the whole of the country from Armenia, Osrhoëne, and the Persian frontiers, where he took Ctesiphon and Babylon, to the limits of the happy Arabia.^[27] The Arabs of Syria still, however, preserved their independence, and in later times, on the defeat of Valerian, the victorious army of Shahpoor was driven from Mesopotamia by the Palmyrene Arabs under Odenathus.^[28] The wife and successor of Odenathus was the celebrated Zenobia, and on her defeat by Aurelian, Palmyra and its dependencies became permanently a province of the empire.

After the death of Constantine the tranquillity of the eastern empire was again disturbed by the hostilities of the Persians, and the most important fortresses of Mesopotamia were reduced by the arms of Shahpoor. The Arabs of Syria had suffered severely from the Persians, who in pursuing the Arabs had been stopped only by the shores of the Mediterranean, and they willingly attended the expedition of Julian, whose army was considerably increased by their numbers,^[29] and who was liberal in rewarding them for their services.^[30] At this period we read of Saracens, or Arabs, who attended the Persian army,^[31] and who were employed in harassing Jovian in his retreat.^[32] From the time of Baharam Gaur, who had been educated amongst the Arabs, and raised to the throne by their assistance, the princes of the house of Hirah were in great favour with the Persian monarchs.^[33]

Christianity was introduced at an early period among the Roman Arabs. There were Arabians present at the feast of Pentecost,^[34] and St. Paul resided some time in the dominions of the Arabian king Hareth, or Arethas, whose territory included the city of Damascus.^[35] Agbarus, so celebrated in the annals of the early Christians, was a prince of the territory of Edessa,^[36] and Christianity had made some progress in the desert in the time of Arnobius.^[37] Bishops of Bostra (Basra), which was considered as an Arabian town, are mentioned in early records.^[38] The tribe of Ghassan was celebrated for its early attachment to the Christian faith;^[39] and during the short reign of the emperor Philip, Arabia was noted as the mother of a dangerous heresy, which taught that the souls expired and suffered corruption with the body, and that at the general resurrection both would be revived together.^[40]

The name of Mavia (Muaviyah), an Arab queen, is celebrated amongst ecclesiastical writers. The Saracens had been for some time, under this queen, the scourge of the Syrian frontier, and their hostilities were only arrested by her conversion; Mavia accepted at the same time the alliance of Rome, and a Christian bishop named Moses, ordained by the primate of Alexandria.^[41] In the war with the Goths, who had carried their arms to the walls of Constantinople, the courage of the Saracen auxiliaries was soon after exhibited in the defence of the capital, and the wild hordes who had depopulated the fields of Thrace, were obliged to yield to the no less barbarous bravery of the Arabs, in a sally from one of the gates of the city.^[42] The progress of Christianity increased in proportion as the Arabs became more intimately connected with the Romans, the cities and towns were by degrees furnished with Syrian and native bishops, and the country took the form, or title, of a Roman eparchy.^[43]

To the Byzantine court, however, the Arabs were rather allies than slaves. Their governors were generally natives, and were named phylarchs, or leaders of tribes, while the provinces of Syria and Mesopotamia were governed by magistrates named duces.^[44] Towards the east the territory of the Arabian phylarchs joined the dominions of the kings of Hirah, who were now subject to the Persian king. Thus the northern Arabs, who began to be known under the name of Saracens, were nearly equally divided between the two hostile powers of Rome and Persia, and a declaration of war on either side was almost immediately followed by an invasion by the flying squadrons of one or other of the Arabian kings. Early in the fifth century the dissensions between the rival chiefs had been publicly manifested, and the mondar Naaman, was easily induced by a bribe from the king of Persia to invade the Roman territory.^[45] The idolatrous inhabitants of Beth-Hur were visited with all the miseries of a successful siege from the rapacious Arabs.^[46] Kobad himself, at the head of a powerful army of Persians and Huns, quickly followed the Arabian chief, and laid siege to the city of Amida, now Dyar-bekr. In his besieging camp he was visited by the ambassador of Anastasius, who had stooped to solicit the departure of his enemy from the Roman territory by the offer of a large sum of money. The ambassador was retained by Kobad, the siege of Amida pursued with vigour, and the Arabs sent to invade and lay waste the districts of Haran, where they carried their incursions to the walls of Constantina, or Tela. They were then at first successfully opposed by the united exertions of Olympius and Eugenius, the governors of Tela and Melitena, but in a second engagement the few troops these officers had collected to defend the Syrian frontier were unequal to the united strength of Arabian, Persian, and Hun, and their defeat laid open to the fury of the enemy the whole country up to the walls of Edessa.^[47]

During a short and precarious peace, or rather cessation of arms, which appears to have been purchased by the promise of the evacuation of Amida by the Romans, an opportunity was afforded of friendly congress between the Christians and the Persian Saracens. The Persian monarchs, from Shahpoor to Kobad, had persecuted with unrelenting acrimony the followers of Christ, and the spirit of the monarch was easily imparted to his vassals and the kings who courted his alliance. The pious example and eloquent exhortations of Simeon Stylites, a Syrian monk, had induced numbers of the Saracen tribes to embrace the religion of their Saviour, and Naaman began to fear lest his subjects might be led by their religion to desert to the service of the Romans. The intercourse of the Arabs with the Christians was therefore forbidden on pain of instant death. But, in consequence of a vision or dream, the edict of the Arabian chief was soon afterwards recalled, and free liberty given to attend the lectures of Simeon. Naaman confessed to Antiochus, the Roman governor of Damascus, at a friendly interview in the Arabian camp, which was then fixed in that neighbourhood, that the night after he had issued the command, whilst he was sleeping in his tent, he was startled by the appearance of a venerable man of a commanding mien, accompanied by five attendants. Approaching the chief, who, terrified at the extraordinary appearance, had fallen almost senseless at his feet, he addressed him in an indignant tone, "Darest thou, wretch, to persecute the people of God?" The Arabian chief was then laid across his bed by the attendants, and scourged almost to death. He was at last released from this unpleasant situation by the order of the principal personage, who stood before him with a naked sword in his hand, and threatened that unless he immediately recalled his edict against the Christians, himself and his family should be by that sword severed member from member. Naaman himself was only prevented from embracing Christianity by his fear of the Persian king.^[48] When the change of sentiment that had taken place in their prince was publicly known, the Saracens flocked in crowds to receive the Christian faith, changing the worship of their idols for the divine institutes of the Gospel.^[49]

Shortly afterwards, the emperor being unwilling to accede to the demands of the Persians, the war was again renewed. The Persian Arabs, having invaded the Roman territory, were expelled by Timostratus, one of the Syrian leaders. The dominions of Naaman were laid waste and plundered by the Arabian allies of Rome, and himself compelled to seek shelter in the desert; from thence he fled into Persia, and joined the forces of the great king. Enraged at his defeat he used all his interest to persuade Kobad to turn his arms against Syria. But in a conflict between the Persians and Romans under Fabricius, the Arab chief received a dangerous wound on his head, which he only survived a few days, dying before the expedition against Edessa set out. Kobad, having placed a new king over the Arabians, proceeded to Tela, which, being obstinately defended, he left, and went on to Edessa, fixing his camp for twenty days on the river Galabus (the modern Jáláb). From Edessa he led his army against the city of Haran, but the citizens, in a sudden attack on the besiegers, made a great slaughter of the Arabs, and took prisoner the leader of the Huns, who was released on the promise of the Persian monarch to raise the siege. Kobad returned to continue the siege of Edessa, which had been reinforced by supplies under Patricciolus.^[50]

Amongst the first monks who were active in converting the wandering tribes, the name of Euthymius is recorded. The fierce persecution which raged in Persia against the Christians in the reigns of Yezdigird and his successor Baharam, during nearly twenty years of the commencement of the fifth century, is said to have originated from the zeal of a Christian bishop, who had destroyed a pyreum, or temple of the Persian fire-worshippers.^[51] Amongst those who suffered under it are preserved the names and histories of Maharsapor^[52] and St. Jacobus.^[53] For the more effectual extirpation of their enemies, the Magi had instigated Yezdigird to appoint the various Arabian phylarchs who served under him as guards between the frontiers of Persia and Rome, that their flying parties might surprise and cut off the fugitives. Many of the Christians, however, escaped by the roads that were guarded by the phylarch Aspebetus, who, pitying their misfortunes, assisted instead of impeding their flight. The Magi, informed of his proceedings, accused him before the king, and Aspebetus, rather than trust to the mercy of Yezdigird, fled with his family to seek protection in Syria, and met with a hospitable reception from Anatolius, the prefect of the east, who restored him to the same rank under the emperor which he had before held under his enemies.^[54] The monks appear to have been in some measure the physicians of the desert;^[55] Euthymius in this capacity had been serviceable to the family of the Arab, and, actuated by gratitude and by the convincing persuasions of the pious monk, he embraced the belief in the Redeemer.^[56] The whole of his family were also baptized, and their example was followed by numbers of the wandering tribes.^[57] Aspebetus himself embraced a monastic life, and left the command of his tribe to his son Terebon. Afterwards, the same Aspebetus, whose name at his baptism had been changed to Peter, was consecrated by Juvenal patriarch of Jerusalem, and became the first bishop of the wandering tribes in the neighbourhood of Palestine. The name of Peter soon became famous through the desert, and the Saracen wanderers, flocking in crowds to receive the rite of baptism at his hands, are compared to a river that flows on with a constant, never-failing stream.^[58]

Simeon, who, from the mode of life in which he is said to have passed part of his days, was named Stylites,^[59] was by birth an Arab,^[60] and was initiated into the monastic life by Maras, bishop of Gabala.^[61] His name was famous even among the Sabæans of Yaman^[62] and his friendship was courted by the Arabian chiefs.^[63] Amongst the number of his converts were the idolatrous inhabitants of the mountains of Libanus;^[64] the Christians of Arabia were supported and increased by his miracles and his eloquence, and it was his boast that they were respected equally by the wandering robber and the ferocious wild beast.^[65] When he died, he left the orphan and the widow to mourn the loss of a friend.^[66]

St. Saba, who was one of the acquaintances of Euthymius' latter days,^[67] is celebrated amongst the Syrian Christians as the "Star of Palestine," and is eulogized as the colonizer of the desert, by turning its barren sands into flourishing towns.^[68] From his solitary cell near the Jordan, his name was known far around as the friend of the unfortunate. When he first entered the desert to seek retirement, he met some hungry Arabs, who were reduced almost to starvation, and he gave them freely what he had to satisfy their wants; from that hour his cell was always furnished with abundance by the grateful Scenites, and in contemplating their officious kindness, he wept over the ingratitude of his fellow-creatures towards the Giver of all things.^[69] His name afforded protection to the numerous eremites who had established themselves in the wilderness, and in the midst of continual scenes of bloodshed and rapine, the pious and defenceless inhabitant of the solitary cave was suffered to live uninjured and unmolested.^[70]

Soon after the accession of Justinian, owing to a quarrel with the governor of Palestine, Diomedes Silentiarius, the Arabian phylarch or king, Hareth, retired into the desert, where he was suddenly attacked, defeated, and slain by the king of the Persian Arabs, who had, during the reign of Justin, been in continual hostilities with the Romans.^[71] To revenge his death, by order of the emperor, the successor of Hareth, who also bore his name, and was probably his son, was joined by the governors of Phœnicia and Mesopotamia, in the invasion of Hirah, and the mondar was compelled to fly and leave his dominions to the mercy of his enemies.^[72] But the dissensions of the two Arab princes were seldom at rest, and as they had not been included in the articles of peace between Rome and Persia, they were now waging a constant war. In one of their disputes the king of Hirah, as well as a son of the king of Ghassan, fell.^[73]

The invasion of Mesopotamia and Syria by Kobad, in the beginning of the reign of Justinian, was undertaken at the instigation of the king of Hirah, in whom the king of Persia placed unbounded confidence.^[74] The Persian army was preceded by the Saracens, who were opposed in vain by the king of Ghassan.^[75] The Arabs were quickly followed by Kobad himself, who was as closely watched by Belisarius, but either by the treachery or cowardice of Hareth, the king of the Arabs of Ghassan, the Romans were defeated.^[76]

nobis nocuit, &c. Id. p. 347. Sudden and miraculous punishments were often, according to the legends, the consequence of injuring the faithful believers. The following is an instance: "Gerontius, abbot of the monastery of our holy father Euthymius, related to me, saying: "We were three, seeking provisions beyond the Dead Sea, near Besimus. And as we were ascending a mountain, another was walking below us on the shore of the sea, and it happened that the Saracens, who were wandering about those parts, met with him. After therefore they had passed him, one of the Saracens returned, and cut off the head of the anchorite, whilst we were looking at them, for we were on the mountain. And as we were weeping for the anchorite, behold on a sudden a large bird made a stoop at the Saracen, carried him up into the air, and then let him fall to the ground, where he was dashed to pieces." Mosci Pratus Spiritualis, in Cotelier, tom. i. p. 346. A miracle of the same kind is related in the life of S. Saba (p. 237), more wonderful, and consequently still less credible.

1. Hamza, in Rasmussin, Hist. Præcip. Arab. Regn. p. 3. The family of Hirah are said to have migrated into Irak, according to Mesoud, at the time of the flood of Elarim. Hirah was before occupied by Arabs of Ghassan. Mesoud, in Schultens' ed. p. 180.
2. Pococke, Spec. Hist. Arab. p. 67.
3. Id. p. 69.
4. Hamza, in Rasmussin, p. 4, 5, 6. He is said to have invaded Syria and killed Amrus, king of the Amalekites, p. 4.
5. Abulfedæ Irak, in Büschings Magazin für die neue Historie und Geographie, band iv. p. 257.
6. Pococke, p. 77. Hamza, in Rasm. p. 41.
7. Hamza, ib. p. 42.
8. Hamza, p. 44. The capital of the kings of Ghassan is generally considered to have been Petra, the magnificent ruins of which were explored by Irby, Mangles, and Bankes. But the Arab kings appear to have seldom been long in one place; and as being nearer to the frontiers of the neighbouring states, into which they were continually making excursions, they might prefer to reside at Balka, or Sideir, or Tadmor.
9. Maimonides describes Syria as consisting of the country—"from Israel and below it to Aram Naharim—ארם‬ נ‬ה‬רים [Aram of the Rivers, i.e. Mesopotamia] and Aram Isoba—ארם‬ ישו‬בא‬ [the northern part of Syria towards Aleppo], and the whole tract of the Euphrates as far as Babel— כ‬ל יד‬ פ‬רת‬ עד ב‬ב‬ל‬—as Damascus and Achleb (Aleppo) and Haran or Charan, and Magbub (Mabog) כג‬ו‬ן ד‬מ‬ש‬ק‬ וא‬חל‬ב וחרן‬ ו‬מגבב—and the like, to Schinear שנ‬ע‬ר‬ and Tzohor (וצהר)—הרי‬ ה‬יא כסו‬רים behold it is Syria." Hilch. Tzum. c. 1. p. 9.
10. In Xenophon's time Mesopotamia seems to have been included under the name of Arabia: while under the lower empire Arabia reached to Nisibis, εξεπεμπετο δε και ες την Νισιβιν, την τεσυγχορον Αραβιαν. Theophylact. Symocalt. lib. v. c. 1.
11. Appian, Syriaca, c. 51.
12. Appian, Civil, lib. v. c. 9.
13. Scenes and Impressions.
14. "The term khayn, treacherous, is universally applied to every Turk in Arabia, with that proud self-confidence of superiority, in this respect, for which the Arabs are deservedly renowned." Burckhardt, Travels in Arabia, vol. i. p. 39.
15. Zohair, Moallaca, couplet 53.
16. "He ascends the sandy hillock of Thalbut, and explores its deserted top, fearing lest an enemy should lurk behind the guide stones." Zohair, coupl. 27.
17. Idem, coupl. 47.
18. Curtius, lib. iv. c. 2.
19. Cecidere Persarum Arabumque circa decem millia, nec Macedonum incruenta victoria fuit. Curt. lib. iv. c. 6.—See Josippon Ben Gorion, Hist. Jud. vol. ii. p. 161. He calls the Arab king who was defeated here by Alexander ה‬ר‬תם Harethum.
20. The history of the Mûlouk-al-Towâeif is given by Masoudi, p. 159, in the Notices et Extraits de la Bibliothèque du Roi, tom. viii.
21. Malcolm's History of Persia, vol. i. p. 106, 7, and the authorities cited by him.
22. Nikbi ben Massoud, p. 329–333, in the Notices de la Bibl. du Roi, tom. ii.
23. Eutychius, Annal. ed. Seld. tom. i. p. 369. The history of Manizen is given by Malcolm (Hist. of Pers. vol. i. p. 97), from the Kozut ul Suffa, and by Major D. Price (Essay towards the history of Arabia), from the Tarikh Tebry.
24. Dio Cassius, Hist. lib. xxxvi. p. 360. Appian, Mithridatica, c. 106, 117. Jo. Malala, p. 288. They afterwards fought on the side of their conqueror. Appian, Civil. lib. ii. c. 71.
25. Frœlich, Annales Regum Syriæ. Josephus. Frœlich has engraved two coins of Arethas, on one of which he bears the title of ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ, tab. xvi.
26. Appian. Mithridat. c. 106, 117. Josephus, Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 1, 2. Josippon, Hist. Jud. lib. v. c. 38. p. 174, 5. Noldii Historia Idumæa, in Havercamp's Josephus, p. 338. tom. ii. 2 Maccab. v. 8, &c. His granddaughter was married to Herod Antipas.
27. Herodian, lib. iii. c. 27. Zozimus, lib. i. p. 10. διαδραμων δε τους Σκηνιτας Αραβας, και πασαν Αραβιαν καταστρεψαμενος.
28. Zosimus, lib. i. p. 36.
29. Adscitis Saracenorum auxiliis, quæ animis obtulere promptissimis, &c. Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xxiii. c. 5. Conf. Malcolm, Hist. of Pers. vol. i. p. 109.
30. Post quæ Saraceni procursatores quosdam parte hostium obtuleri lætissimo principi, et munerati ad agenda similia sunt remissi. Id. lib. xxiv. c. 1.
31. Ammianus, lib. xxiv. c. 2.
32. Id. lib. xxv. c. 6, 8.
33. D'Herbelot, Biblioth. Orient. art. Baharam. Eutychius, tom. ii. p. 82. Nikbi ben Massoud, p. 335. (Not. de la Bibl. du Roi, tom. ii.)
34. Acts ii. 11.
35. Acts ix. 25. 2 Cor. xi. 33.
36. Bayer, Historia Asrhoena et Edessena, p. 105. Moses Choren. Hist. Armen. lib. i. c. 29. See also Eusebius and the Eccl. Historians.
37. Arnobius, adv. Gentes, lib. 2. p. 50.
38. See Fabricius, Lux. Evangel. p. 693. Buchanan's Christian Researches. At the Nicene council were present six bishops of the province of Arabia, the bishops of Bostra, Philadelphia, of the Jabrudi, Sodomi, of Betharma, and Dionysias (Concil. tom. i. p. 27); of the province of Phœnicia, bordering on Arabia, the bishops of Damascus, Palmyra, Emessa, &c.; of Cœlosyria, the bishops of Antioch, Apamea, Rhaphanea, Hierapolis, Gabala, Zeugma, (or Birtha,) Gindara, (Jindartz,) Acoraba, Germanicia, &c.; of Mesopotamia, the bishops of Edessa, Nisibis, &c. (p. 27.) At the first Constantinopolitan council were bishops of the following sees — Provinciæ Bostron, Dionysia, Adrana, Constantia, Neapolis; Provinciæ Osdroënæ, Edessa, Carræ, Bathna; in Mesopotamia, Amida, Constantina, Imeria.
39. Ibn Kothaib, ap. Eichhorn, Monument. Antiq. Hist. Arab. p. 150.
40. The Arabian heretics and the Manichæi arose in the third century. Hottinger. Hist. Eccl. tom. i. p. 145.
41. Theodoret. Ruffinus. Socrates. Pagi, p. 391. The conversion of Mavia took place about A.D. 372; Christianity had been introduced among the southern Saracens before that period. Baronius, tom. v. p. 393.
42. Socrates, lib. v. c. 1. Sozomen, lib. vii. c. 1. Ammianus, lib. xxxi. c. 16.
43. Επαρχια Αραβιας. ὑπο κονσουλαριον. Hieroclis Synecdemus, p. 50, apud Bandurin. Imperium Orientale.
44. Φυλαρχοι–Δουκας, Procop. de Bel. Pers. c. 17. p. 51. Appian calls Agbarus king of Edessa, an Arabian phylarch—Ακβαρον φυλαρχον Αραβων. Φυλαρχης,, says Suidas, ὁ δυναστης ξυμβαλλει τῳ Τραϊανῳ. περι Ακβαρου, ὁς ην Οσροηνης χωρας δυναστης οὑσπερ φυλαρχας σνομαζουσιν εκεινοι. ὁτι και τα χωρια αυτων φυλαι ονομαζουσιν εκεινοι.
45. Assemann, Biblioth. Orient, tom. i. p. 227.
46. S. Isaac Magnus, who was contemporary with the fall of Beth-Hur, represents the destruction of its inhabitants as the punishment which they had drawn down on themselves by their idolatry, worshipping Venus, the common deity of the Arabian tribes, and equalling in wickedness the people of Nisibis and Haran, who had fallen off to the Persian superstitions. Ap. Assemann. tom. i. p. 225.
47. Jo. Stylites, ap. Assemann. tom. i. p. 273-4.
48. Cosmas Presbyter, ap. Assemann. tom. i. p. 217. Enimvero ex ea pavore et acerrima fustigatione consequutus morbus me ultra mensem tenuit. Perhaps this was an addition of the writer. The work of Cosmas is published in Assemanni Acta Martyr, Oriental, tom. ii.
49. Ismaelitæ autem turmatim venientes, ducenti simul, et trecenti, ac interdum mille, patrium errorem magna voce abnegant, simulacra quæ coluerunt coram magno illo lumine conterentes, Venerisque orgia ejurantes (hujus quippe dæmonis cultum amplexi jam olim fuerant) divinis mysteriis iniantur, leges ab illa sacra lingua accipientes, &c. Theodoret, cited by Asseman. Conf. Vit. Sim. Styl. p. 328.
50. Jo. Stylites, ap. Asseman. tom. i. p. 276-8. Bayer, Historia Osrhoëna, p. 242, &c. The people of Haran, or Carræ, Procopius tells us, went to the Persians with rich presents, but they were restored, and the people of Haran were left unmolested, ὁτι δη οἱ πλειστοι ου Χριστιανοι, αλλα δοξης της παλαιας τυγχανουσιν οντες. Procopius, cited by Bayer, p. 255.
51. Asseman. Acta Martyrum Orient, tom. i. p. 230, 1, 2. The following distich was the work of some pious monk:—

    Εις πυρσολατρων γην εναθλει Περσιδα
    Ἡ Χριστολατρων αυχενοτμητος φαλαγξ.

    Menæa ap. Assem. p. 132.

52. Asseman. ib. p. 234.
53. Id. ib. p. 242.
54. Vita Euthymii, in Cotelier, Monument. Ecclesiast. tom. i. p. 46.
55. The most numerous of the miracles of the Christian monks were those of curing the sick. S. Simeon Stylites was particularly celebrated on this account. (Cosmas, Vit. S. Simeonis, in Asseman. Act. Mart. tom. ii. p. 346.) The monks in all countries and ages were noted for their knowledge of the virtues of herbs.
56. Euthymii Vit. p. 218.
57. Id. p. 221.
58. Πετρος μεν ουν οὑτως επισκοπος των παρεμβολον εν Παλαιστινῃ πρωτος χειροτονιται. ἡ δε των Σαρακηνων πληθυς, ισα και ποταμων ῥευμασιν αενναων επερρει και οἱ νυν προσιοντες, τους φθασισι προσετιθεντο και ουτοι παντες τῃ σφραγιδι του βαπτισματος σημειουμενοι, τῃ των Χριστιανων ποιμνῃ συνηριθμουντο. Euthymii Vit. p. 231.
59. Simeon, we are told, stood upright on a column twenty-two cubits high, for five years. Cosmas, Acta S. Simeonis, in Asseman. Acta Martyr. Orient. tom. ii. p. 365.
60. In regionis Nachipelorum vico, quem Sisan adpellant, in Arabia natus. Acta S. Simeon. p. 261.
61. The Kalaba of Procopius; the remains of the castle exist on the banks of the Jáláb.
62. Acta S. Simeon, pp. 278, 347.
63. Id. p. 345.
64. Acta S. Simeon, p. 320-323.
65. Nec Arabum latronum nos quisquam offendit, nec bestia
66. Acta S. Simeon, p. 385.
67. Cyril. Scythopolit. Vita S. Sabæ, in Cotelier. Saba was by birth a Cappadocian. Id. p. 222.
68. Saba eximius ille qui desertum nostrum inurbes convertit, ipsumque habitari fecit, qui est Palestinæ Stella. Eutychius, ed. Seld. p. 137.
69. Ὁ δε πατηρ ημων Σαβας την των βαρβαρων ευγνωμοσυνην θαυμασας και κατανυγεις, ελεγε μετα δακρυων. κ. τ. λ· Cyril. Vit. S. Sabæ, p. 236.
70. Id. ib. p. 323. Among the Arabs converted by Saba were the inhabitants of Medaba, a town of Arabia, beyond the Jordan, p. 290.
71. Barhebræus, sive Abulfaragii Hist, Dynast. (Syriac.) p. 82.
72. Jo. Malala, pars altera, p. 165.
73. Barhebræus, Hist. Dynast. p. 86.
74. Procop. de Bell. Pers. lib. i. c. 17. p. 50. Αλαμουνδαρος μεν βασιλεως αξιωμα εχων ἁπαντων μονος των εν Περσαις Σαρακηνων ειχε την αρχην.
75. Procop. ib. p. 51.
76. Id. c. 18. p. 52.