Late Antique Historiography

Second letter on the martyrs of Najran

Title(s):
  • Second letter on the martyrs of Najran
  • ܬܫܥܝܬܐ ܐܘܟܝܬ ܣܗܕܘܬܐ ܕܛܘܒܵܢܐ ܚܡܝܖ̈ܝܐ ܗܢܘܢ ܕܐܬܟܠܠܘ ܒܢܓܪܢ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ
    (taš‘ītā ’awkīt sahdūtā d-ṭūbānē ḥīmyarāyē hānūn d-etkalalw b-nagran madintā, Story, that is martyrdom, of the blessed Himyarites who were crowned [martyrs] in the city of Najran)
Author:
Period covered:
518-523
Language:
Syriac
State of Preservation:
Full
Genre:
  • Letter
Remarks:
This second letter on the martyrs of Najran was discovered by Shahid (1990) and ascribed by him to Simeon of Bet Arsham, author of the other letter on the Himyarite martyrs published. The identification has been questioned by Taylor (2010), who has recently proposed a general reassessment of the relationships among the different sources of the Najran dossier.
Edition - Translation:
  • I. Shahīd (1990) 'The martyrs of Najran: further reflections'. Le muséon 103: 151-153.
Fragments:
Users:
Sources:
Bibliography:
  • G. Bowersock (2013) The throne of Adulis. Oxford.
  • J. Ryckmans (1987) 'Les rapports de dépendance entre les récits hagiographiques relatifs à la persécution de Himyarites'. Le muséon 100: 297-305.
  • J. Ryckmans (1989) 'A confrontation of the main hagiographic accounts of the Najran persecution'. In: Arabian studies in honour of Mahmoud Ghul, ed. M.M. Ibrahim. Wiesbaden: 113-133.
  • I. Shahīd (1980) 'The Martyrs of Najran: Miscellaneous reflexions'. Le muséon 93: 149- 161.
  • I. Shahīd (1989) 'Further reflections on the sources for the Najran martyrs'. In: Arabian studies in honour of Mahmoud Ghul, ed. M. M. Ibrahim. Wiesbaden: 161-172.
  • Y. Shitomi (1991) 'Réexamen de deux lettres attribuées à Simeon de Beth Arsham, relatives à la persécution de Nagran'. In: Études Sud-Arabes: Recueil offert à Jacques Ryckmans (Publications de l'Institut Orientaliste de Louvain, 39). Leuven: 207-224.
  • D.G.K. Taylor (2010) 'A stylistic comparison of the Syriac Ḥimyarite martyr texts attributed to Simeon of Beth Arsham'. In: Juifs et chrétiens en Arabie aux Ve et Vie siècles: Regards croisés sur les sources, ed. J. Beaucamp - F. Briquel-Chatonnet - C.J. Robin. Paris.
  • L. Van Rompay (1982) 'The martyrs of Najran: Some remarks on the nature of the sources'. In: Studia Paulo Naster oblata. II: Orientalia antiqua, ed. J. Quaegebeur (Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta, 13). Leuven: 301-309.