Title(s):
- Chronicle
- ܡܟܬܒܘܬ ܙܒ̈ܢܐ ܕܒܬܪ ܗܿܝ ܕܐܘܣܒܝܣ ܕܩܐܣܪܝܐ(maktbūt zabnē d-bātar hāy d-’eūsebīs d-qāsaryā, Chronicle following the one by Eusebius of Caesarea)
- ܩܢܘܢ ܕܫ̈ܢܝܐ(qanūn da-šnayē, Canon of the years)
Period covered:
327-710
Language:
Syriac
State of Preservation:
Partial
Genre:
- Chronicle (chronica)
Remarks:
The manuscript London, British Library, Additional 14685 is the only direct testimony of the work. It consists of just 23 leaves, many of which are severely damaged and present lacunae. Jacob's chronicle is a continuation of Eusebius', and is modeled on it. In the manuscript the work is ascribed to 'Jacob the Laborious' and the identification with Jacob of Edessa was denied by Nau (1898), but his arguments have been definitively proved wrong, as shown by Witakowksi (2008: 27-29). The text in the manuscript ends with the year 631, but according to Michael the Great the chronicle covered the period up to 710. Since Jacob died in 708, the last two years (at least) must have been added by a continuator. In his metrical catalogue of Syriac writers, Abdisho bar Brika (Assemani 1725: 229) says that Jacob 'wrote about the times/years and the chronicon' which might mean that Jacob's chronicle, like Eusebius', consisted of two parts, the 'chronography' and the 'chronological canons'.
Jacob might also be the author of the West-Syrian translation of Eusebius' Chronicle: see Anonymous (Syriac translation of the Chronicle of Eusebius).
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