Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 162.22-36
created: This entry is taken from Plots 162.22-36 written by Constantine VII Porphyrogeni
edition published: 2022-10-19-05:00
language: grc; grc
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https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/217

Καισαρείᾳ

, and

Caesarea

are directly attested at Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 162.22-36. This passage was written ca. 930-955 CE possibly in Constantinople. Constantine VII Flavius Porphyrogenitus (“born in the purple”) ruled the Byzantine emperor as a member of the Macedonian dynasty in 913-959 C.E. Beyond the challenges he faced in managing Imperial authority and international relations throughout his reign, Constantine VII devoted considerable energy to his scholarly pursuits. Among his many writings is the collection Excerpts from Historians, in which he quotes or epitomizes earlier writers on topics chiefly of relevance to statecraft and leadership. In this passage from the book on plots against the government (de insidiis), the emperor paraphrases the earlier accounts of John Malalas and the Easter Chronicle on the Samaritan uprising in 484 C.E.

Ὅτι ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας Ζήνωνος πρόφασιν λαβόντες οἱ ἐκ τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν ἐτυράννησαν καὶ ἔστεψαν λῄσταρχον ὄνομα Ἰουστάσαν Σαμαρείτην. καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἐν Καισαρείᾳ καὶ ἐθεώρησεν ἱππικὸν καὶ ἐφόνευσε πολλούς, ἡγεμονεύοντος τῆς πρώτης Παλαιστίνης Πορφυρίου. ἔκαυσε δὲ καὶ τὸν ἅγιον Προκόπιον ὁ αὐτὸς Ἰουστάσας. καὶ εὐθέως ὁ δοὺξ Παλαιστίνης Ἀσκληπιάδης ἦλθε μετὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ βοηθείας καὶ ὁ λῃστοδιώκτης Ῥήγις ὁ ἀξιωματικός, καὶ ὁρμήσαντες κατ’ αὐτῶν μετὰ τῆς αὐτῶν βοηθείας συνέβαλον αὐτῷ καὶ παρέλαβον αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπεκεφάλισαν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπέμφθη ἡ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ μετὰ τοῦ διαδήματος τῷ βασιλεῖ Ζήνωνι· καὶ εὐθέως ὁ Ζήνων ἐποίησε τὴν συναγωγὴν αὐτῶν τὴν οὖσαν εἰς τὸ Γαργαρίζη ὄρος εὐκτήριον οἶκον τῆς ἁγίας θεοτόκου, ἀνανεώσας καὶ τὸν ἅγιον Προκόπιον, ποιήσας διάταξιν μὴ στρατεύεσθαι Σαμαρείτην, δημεύσας τοὺς εὐπόρους αὐτῶν. καὶ ἐγένετο φόβος καὶ εἰρήνη.

[Ed. de Boor 1905]

It happened during the reign of Zeno that the people of the Samaritan race seized a pretext and rebelled, and crowned a bandit chief, the Samaritan named Justasas. And he came to Caesarea and watched chariot races and murdered many people when Porphyrios was governor of Palestine I. The same Justasas also burned the Church of St. Procopius. And immediately Asclepiades, dux Palestinae, came with his forces and the bandit-hunter Regis, a dignitary. Setting out against them with their forces, they engaged with him and captured him and beheaded him, and his head was sent along with his diadem to the emperor Zeno. Immediately the emperor Zeno made their synagoge on Mount Garizim into a a house of prayer for the Holy Mother of God. He also renovated (the Church of) St. Procopius, issued an edict that a Samaritan could not hold a military post, and confiscated the property of their wealthy. And there was fear and peace. [Trans. J. L. Rife]

Works Cited

[...] 162.22-36 3.34

[Easter Chronicle 603.19-604.13

John Malalas, Chronicle 382.10-383.5]

[Garizim, Mount (Gargarides, Gargazi)

Palestine]

[Asclepiades

Christians

Justasas

Mary, Mother of God

Porphyrios, governor

Procopius, saint and martyr

Rhegis

Samaritans

Timothy, bishop

Zeno, emperor]

[Christianity

Death and Burial

Entertainment

Geography

Government and Law

Judaism

Military

Roman History

Urban Topography]