Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle 336.4-24
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/80
Context
Theophanes, born to noble parents in Constantinople, was raised in the
Palace under Constantine V (740-775 C.E.) He spent much of his career as a member and
leader of monastic communities around the Sea of Marmara, before his condemnation and
exile to Samothrace in 817 C.E. by Leo V the Armenian during the controversies over
Iconoclasm. At the request of George Syncellus, Theophanes wrote a continuation of his
chronicle from Diocletian down to Michael I Rhangabes (284-813 C.E.), in the usual dry
style and format of Byzantine chronography. In his entry for the year 631/2, he narrates
the victory of the Arabs over the Byzantines at Caesarea and the famous celestial
harbinger of the Arab conquest, an episode that several Syriac sources also
recount.
Text
Κόσμου ἔτη ͵ϛρκδʹΤῆς θείας σαρκώσεως ἔτη χκδʹῬωμαίων βασιλεὺς
Ἡράκλειος ἔτη λαʹκγʹ. Ἀράβων ἀρχηγὸς Ἀβουβάχαρος ἔτη γʹβʹ. Κωνσταντ(ινουπόλεως)
ἐπίσκοπος Σέργιος ἔτη κθʹκδʹ. Ἱεροσολύμων ἐπίσκοπος Μόδεστος ἔτη βʹ. βʹἈλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπος Γεώργιος ἔτη ιδʹ. ιδʹΤούτῳ τῷ ἔτει ἔπεμψεν Ἀβουβάχαρος
στρατηγοὺς τέσσαρας, οἳ καὶ ὁγδηγηθέντες, ὡς προέφην, ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀράβων ἦλθον καὶ ἔλαβον
τὴν Ἥραν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν χώραν Γάζης. μόγις δὲ ἐλθών ποτε ἀπὸ Καισαρείας
Παλαιστίνης Σέργιος σὺν στρατιώταις ὀλίγοις καὶ συμβαλὼν πόλεμον
κτείνεται πρῶτος σὺν τοῖς στρατιώταις τριακοσίοις οὖσιν. καὶ πολλοὺς αἰχμαλώτους
λαβόντες καὶ λάφυρα πολλὰ ὑπέστρεψαν μετὰ λαμπρᾶς νίκης. Αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ σεισμὸς
ἐγένετο κατὰ τὴν Παλαιστίνην· καὶ ἐφάνη σημεῖον ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ κατὰ μεσημβρίαν, ὁ
λεγόμενος δοκίτης, προμηνύων τὴν τῶν Ἀράβων ἐπικράτησιν· ἔμεινε δὲ ἡμέρας λʹ διατείνων
ἀπὸ μεσημβρίας ἕως ἄρκτου. ἦν δὲ ξιφοειδής.
1
Textual Note
Ed. de Boor 1883Translation
Year of the World 6124 [=631/2 C.E.]Year of the Divine
Incarnation 624Heraclius, Emperor of the Romans, 23rd yearAboubacharos, Leader of
the Arabs, 2nd yearSergius, Bishop of Constantinople, 24th yearModestus, Bishop of
Jerusalem, 2nd yearGeorge, Bishop of Alexandria, 14th yearIn this year
Aboubacharos sent four generals who were conducted, as I said earlier, by the Arabs and
so came and took Hera and the whole territory of Gaza. At length Sergius arrived with
some difficulty with a few soldiers from Caesarea Palestinae. He
took up battle and was the first to be killed along with his soldiers, numbering 300.
Taking many captives and much booty, the Arabs returned home after their brilliant
victory.At the same time an earthquake occurred in Palestine, and there appeared a
sign in the heavens to the south, the so-called shooting star, foreboding the Arab
conquest. It remained for thirty days, moving from south to north, and was shaped like a
sword.
2
Translation Note
Adapted from Mango, Scott, and Greatrex 1997Discussion Note
The unusual word δοκίτης refers to a shooting star or meteor already in Late Antiquity (John Lydus, Signs 10b) and continuing in common usage into Late Byzantine and katharevousa.Works Cited
- 1 Theophanes the Confessor, Theophanis Chronographia I, ed. Karl de Boor, 2 vols., Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1883), p: 335.4-24.
- 2 Theophanes the Confessor, The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, A.D. 284-813, trans. Cyril Mango and Roger Scott (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997), p: 467-468.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle 336.4-24,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/80.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle 336.4-24.” 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/80.About this Entry
Entry Title: Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle 336.4-24
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, “Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle 336.4-24”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle 336.4-24”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife