thousand lashes with thongs of bull's hide to make them apostatize; yet they remained faithful. Hārūn Ar-rashīd (Abū-ǵa‘far 786–809) also persecuted for a time. He ordered all churches to be destroyed, and Christians to wear a special dress; from which Kremer concludes that already they had begun to speak Arabic, and to be otherwise not distinguishable from their Moslem neighbours.[1]
A picture of the state of the Nestorians soon after the Moslem conquest of Persia is given by the life of their Patriarch Timothy I (779–823), related by M. J. Labourt.[2]
Timothy was born about 728 in Adiabene, still the chief stronghold of Christianity in those parts. His uncle, George, was Bishop of Beth Bagash on the Zab. The boy was sent to a famous monastery, Beth ‘Abe, to be educated; here an old monk prophesied to him: "Keep thyself from all uncleanness; for thou shalt be Patriarch of all Eastern lands, and the Lord will make thee famous, as no one has been before thee nor shall be after thee." Timothy succeeded his uncle as Bishop of Beth Bagash. In 779 the Patriarch Ḥnânyeshu‘[3] II (774–779) died, and Timothy began intriguing to succeed him. He offered the electors a bag which he said was full of gold, if they would choose him. They did, and then he gave them the bag, which was found to contain only stones. The story does credit to the simple faith of the Nestorians in their bishops.[4] Timothy was thus made Patriarch in 780. But a number of bishops opposed him on sound canonical grounds,[5] set up a rival, Ephrem of Gandīsābur, and he had much trouble before he crushed them. He had no mercy on Ephrem. Then Timothy set about his duties as Patriarch. He opposed the Jacobites, already a powerful community, the Catholics (who had a bishop
- ↑ A. v. Kremer: Culturgeschichte des Orients (Vienna, 1875–1877), ii. 168. An account of the state of Christians under the Khalifs at Bagdad will be found here, pp. 162–177.
- ↑ Labourt: De Timotheo I, Nestorianorum patriarcha, et christianorum orientalium condicione sub caliphis Abbasidis (Paris, 1904).
- ↑ "Mercy of Jesus."
- ↑ Barhebræus tells it: Chron. eccl., ed. cit. ii. 168; and Maris: Liber Turris, ed. cit. p. 63.
- ↑ Not because of the bribing trick; that was fair war: but because the Metropolitans of Beth Lapaṭ, Maishan, Arbela, and Beth Sluk were not present at the election; Labourt: De Timotheo I, p. 11.
