Late Antique Historiography

Chronicle of Edessa

Title(s):
  • Chronicle of Edessa
  • ܬܫ̈ܥܝܬܐ ܕܣܘܥܖ̈ܢܐ ܐܝܟ ܕܒ̈ܦܣܝܩܬܐ
    (taš‘yātā d-sū‘rānē ’ayk da-b-pāsīqātā, Narratives of events in brief)
  • Chronicon Edessenum
Author:
Period covered:
133/132 B.C.-540
Language:
Syriac
State of Preservation:
Full
Genre:
  • Chronicle (chronica)
Remarks:
The traditional title Chronicon Edessenum is due to the fact that most of the 106 entries concern, more or less closely, the city of Edessa.
The religious denomination of the author can be gathered from his reporting, in a positive tone, Justinian's order to have the four ecumenical councils (Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon) recognized.
The anonymous chronicle shares with some later Syriac chronicles material allegedly coming from the city archives. Therefore Witakowski (1984-1986) has hypothesized that all these texts drew such material from an earlier and more comprehensive Edessan chronicle, which he calls 'Primeval chronicle of Edessa'. Such reconstruction is not unanimously accepted, and has been questioned in particular by Debié (1999-2000).
Edition - Translation:
Fragments:
Users:
Sources:
Bibliography:
  • M. Debié (1999-2000) 'Record keeping and chronicle writing in Antioch and Edessa'. Aram 11-12: 409-417.
  • M. Debié (2015) L'écriture de l'histoire en syriaque: Transmissions interculturelles et constructions identitaires entre hellénisme et Islam (Late antique history and religion, 12). Leuven - Paris - Bristol: 527-529.
  • F. Haase (1918) 'Die Abfassungszeit der Edessenischen Chronik'. Oriens Christianus 7-8: 88-96.
  • L. Hallier (1892) Untersuchungen über die Edessenische Chronik. Volume One (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, 9). Leipzig.
  • A. Palmer (2000) 'Procopius and Edessa'. Antiquité Tardive 8: 127-136.
  • J.B. Segal (1970) Edessa: The blessed city. Piscataway (NJ).
  • L. Van Rompay (2011) 'Chronicle of Edessa'. In: Gorgias encyclopedic dictionary of the Syriac heritage, ed. S.P. Brock - A.M. Butts - G.A. Kiraz - L. Van Rompay. Piscataway (NJ): 97-98.
  • W. Witakowski (1984-1986) 'Chronicles of Edessa'. Orientalia Suecana 33-35: 487-498.
  • E.-I. Yousif (2002) Les chroniqueurs syriaques. Paris: 23-36.