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E02554: Procopius of Caesarea in his Wars mentions that the shine of *Ioulianos (martyr of Cilicia, S00305), outside the walls of Syrian Antioch, was spared from destruction during a Persian attack in 540. Written in Greek in Constantinople, by 545.

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posted on 2017-03-11, 00:00 authored by erizos

Procopius, Wars 2.10.8-9

[…] ἐνέπρησάν τε καὶ τὰ ἐκτὸς τοῦ περιβόλου οἱ βάρβαροι, πλὴν τοῦ ἱεροῦ, ὅπερ Ἰουλιανῷ ἀνεῖται ἁγίῳ, καὶ τῶν οἰκιῶν, αἳ δὴ ἀμφὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι. τοὺς γὰρ πρέσβεις ἐνταῦθα καταλῦσαι ξυνέπεσε. τοῦ μέντοι περιβόλου παντάπασιν ἀπέσχοντο Πέρσαι.

‘And the barbarians burned also the parts outside the city walls, except for the sanctuary which is dedicated to Saint Ioulianos, and the houses which chance to be around this shrine. For it happened that the ambassadors had taken up their lodgings there. As for the walls, the Persians left them wholly untouched.’

Text: Wirth/Haury 1962. Translation: E. Rizos.

History

Evidence ID

E02554

Saint Name

Julian, martyr in Cilicia, ob. c. 303-311 : S00305

Saint Name in Source

Ἰουλιανὸς

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Ioulianos_martyr_of_Cilicia/13729957

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

Greek

Evidence not before

540

Evidence not after

545

Activity not before

540

Activity not after

540

Place of Evidence - Region

Constantinople and region

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Constantinople Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoupolis Constantinopolis Constantinople Istanbul

Major author/Major anonymous work

Procopius

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Source

Procopius of Caesarea, (c. 500 – c. 560/561 AD) was a soldier and historian from the Roman province of Palaestina Prima. He accompanied the Roman general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian (527-565). He wrote the Secret History, the Wars (or Histories), and On Buildings. The History of the Wars was written in the early 540s, updated by around 550. With its focus on military affairs, it contains only the odd passing reference to the cult of saints.

Discussion

This passage contains an attestation of the shrine of Ioulianos of Cilicia in Antioch, which is likely to have existed since the times of John Chrysostom (E02544). During the Persian invasion of 540, the suburbs of Antioch were torched, except for the extramural shrine of Ioulianos and the quarter around it, because it was used as a lodging by a Persian embassy. The hostel of the shrine is also mentioned in the Penance of Pelagia (E02571).

Bibliography

Text: G. Wirth (post J. Haury), Procopii Caesariensis opera omnia, vol. 1, Leipzig, 1962. Translation: H. B. Dewing, Procopius, History of the Wars, Books i-ii, LCL 48, Cambridge MA, London, 1914. Further reading: W. Mayer – P. Allen, The Churches of Syrian Antioch (300-638 CE), Late Antique History and Religion 5, Leuven, 2012, p. 83-85.