E05968: Syriac translation of the Greek Martyrdom of *Kyprianos and Ioustina (martyrs of Antioch, S01704), recounting the martyrdom of the bishop of Antioch Kyprianos with the virgin Ioustina, and of a certain *Theoktistos (S00866); produced during the 5th or 6th century.

The Syriac text of the Martyrdom is preserved in no less than eleven manuscripts. Its earliest textual witness, so far, is represented by ms. British Library Add. 12142, dated to the 6th century (see Wright 1870-1872, vol. 3, 1092-1093).

The Syriac version of the Martyrdom is comprised of two parts, the Conversion of Kyprianos and Ioustina (for summary and discussion, see E01164) and the Martyrdom of Kyprianos and Ioustina (for summary and discussion, see E01165). The date of the martyrdom, given in ms. British Library Add. 12142, as well as in the printed texts, is 15 June.

There is no critical edition yet of the Syriac version of the Martyrdom. It was published first in Bedjan 1890-1897, vol. 3, 322-344, on the basis of ms. Berlin, Königliche Bibliothek, Syr. 75 [Sachau 222]; subsequently in Lewis 1900, vol. 1, 185-203 (trans.), vol. 2, pp. 245-278 (Syr.), on the basis of ms. Sinai, Monastère Sainte-Catherine, Syr. 30 [Kamil 74]. For a discussion of the Syriac version, see also Ryssel 1903.