Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 173.13-29
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/218
Context
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 of 556 C.E.
Text
Ὅτι ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ ἐστασίασαν οἱ Σαμαρεῖται καὶ οἱ
Ἰουδαῖοι ἐν Καισαρείᾳ τῆς Παλαιστίνης ποιήσαντες τὸ ἓν ὡς ἐν
τάξει πρασινοβενέτων, καὶ ἐπῆλθον τοῖς χριστιανοῖς τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως καὶ κατέκοψαν
πολλοὺς καὶ ἐπῆλθον καὶ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ὀρθοδόξων. ὁ δὲ Στέφανος ὁ ἀνθύπατος τῆς
αὐτῆς πόλεως ὁ ἐπίκλην Σύρος θέλων βοηθῆσαι τοῦ μὴ εἰσέρχεσθαι ἐν τοῖς εὐκτηρίοις,
ἐπῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ Σαμαρεῖται, καὶ ἔφυγεν εἰς τὸ πραιτώριον αὐτοῦ, καὶ κατεδίωξαν αὐτὸν καὶ
ἔσφαξαν ἔσω τοῦ πραιτωρίου καὶ ἐπραίδευσαν τὰ πράγματα αὐτοῦ. ἡ δὲ γυνὴ τοῦ αὐτοῦ
Στεφάνου ἀνῆλθεν εἰς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰουστινιανὸν καὶ ἐδεήθη αὐτοῦ, ὁ δὲ ὀργισθεὶς ἐκέλευσεν
Ἀμαντίῳ τῷ στρατηλάτῃ ὄντι τότε ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ τῷ κατὰ Ζίμαρχον ἀπελθεῖν καὶ ἐκζητῆσαι
τὸν φόνον τοῦ Στεφάνου. ὁ δὲ Ἀμάντιος ἐλθὼν ἐν Καισαρείᾳ ἤρξατο
ζητεῖν τοὺς πεποιηκότας τὸν φόνον, καὶ εὑρὼν τοὺς μὲν ἐφούρκισε, τοὺς δὲ ἀπεκεφάλισεν,
ἑτέρους δὲ ἐχειροκόπησε, τοὺς δὲ ἐδήμευσε· καὶ ἐγένετο φόβος μέγας ἐν Καισαρείᾳ τῆς Παλαιστίνης.
1
Textual Note
Ed. de Boor 1905Translation
It happened during the
reign of the emperor Justinian that the Samaritans and Jews in Caesarea
Palestinae staged a revolt. Combining into a Green-Blue faction, they attacked
the Christians in this city and cut down many of them and attacked the churchs of the
Orthodox. Stephanos the governor of the city, called the Syrian, wanted to help bar entrance
to the places of prayer—the Samartians attacked him and he fled to his Praetorium, and they
pursued and killed him inside the Praetorium and plundered his possessions. Stephanos’s wife
went up to the emperor Justinian and beseeched him. He grew angry, and ordered Amantios, who
was then the magister militum in the East against Zimarchos, to depart
and to search out the murderer of Stephanos. Amantios came to
Caesarea and began searching for those who had committed the
murders. When he found them, he hanged some, beheaded others, cut off the right hands of
others, and confiscated the property of others. And there was great fear in
Caesarea Palestinae.
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. RifeWorks Cited
- 1 Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Excerpta historica iussu imp. Constantini Porphyrogeniti confecta III: Excerpta de insidiis, ed. Carl de Boor, repr. Hildesheim: Weidmann, 2003 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1905), p: 173.13-29, bk: 3.48.
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How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 173.13-29,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/218.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 173.13-29.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/218.About this Entry
Entry Title: Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 173.13-29
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 173.13-29”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Plots 173.13-29”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife