A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East. Группа авторов

is depicted as an enemy to Christianity, aligned with his Jewish allies, and characterized as the Chalcedonian Justinian in Constantinople (Wood 2010); themes found in the Julian Romance emerged again in later Syriac literature, including an important strand of apocalyptic literature represented by the late seventh-century Ps.-Methodius (Butts 2011a).

The homily On the Fall of the Idols, by Jacob of Serugh (d. 521), takes a different stance and denounces some specific (if ancient) cultic connections of Edessa with Nebo and Bel, in addition to condemning the paganism of Harran, and ultimately raising questions about the longevity of these cults in the region (Syriac text and French translation in Martin 1875; Schwartz 2016; Healey 2019). In his five metrical homilies On the Spectacles of the Theatre the same author instead points the finger at theater and its dances as an enduring bastion of ancient paganism and raises a question about the continuity of these practices (text and English translation in Moss 1935; Hall and Wyles 2008: 412–419). Syriac martyr acts have also been used in the study of the early history of Edessa, such as the Martyrdom of Shmona and Gurya, which makes reference to the worship of the Sun in Edessa (Syriac text and English translation in Burkitt 1913; Healey 2019: 58), the Martyrdom of Ḥabbib (in Millar 1993: 486–487; Burkitt 1913), the Martyrdom of Sharbil and Barsamya (Cureton 1864; Millar 1993: 486–487), and the Syriac Martyrdom of the Mimes, which implies a degree of familiarity with pantomime among Syriac speakers (Horn 2011). Later in the sixth century, the Syriac historian and bishop John of Ephesus (d. 586) claimed to have converted as many as 80,000 pagans to Christianity in the mountains of Lydia and Caria, although it remains difficult to corroborate his claim (Ashbrook Harvey 1990: 99 with n.22–23).¹

      FURTHER READING

      Excellent introductions to Syriac studies are Briquel Chatonnet and Debié 2017 and King 2019; see also Healey 2019 on the religions of Syriac speakers before Christianity. Fundamental reading for research on early Syriac epigraphy and papyrology are Drijvers and Healey 1999 and Healey 2017, which deal with Old Syriac stone inscriptions, inscribed mosaics, documentary material, and coins; while Gardner 1996–2007 and Pedersen and Larsen 2013 are crucial for the Manichaean material. Debié 2015 is fundamental for historiography, together with Brock 1979. Millar 1993: 472–481 and Sommer 2018: 227–271 offer excellent introductions to the history of the kingdom of Osrhoene; while Ross 2001 and Segal 1970 are monographs entirely dedicated to Edessa. For early Syriac literature, see Brock 1997, 2004; Witakowski 2017, and the relevant chapters in King 2019. An important source when working with Syriac texts is the online portal syri.ac, which includes a comprehensive annotated bibliography of open-access resources (inclusive of references to editions and translations) related to Syriac studies; and Brock et al. 2011 is an excellent encyclopedic dictionary for Syriac studies, now also available online at gedsh.bethmardutho.org. A comprehensive bibliography of publications on Syriac Christianity is available at http://www.csc.org.il/db/db.aspx?db=SB; and syriaca.org is a growing collection of digital resources for Syriac studies, including a geographical reference tool, a biographical dictionary, a new handbook of Syriac literature, and a database of hagiographical texts.

      NOTE

      1 1 I am grateful to Ted Kaizer, Kathryn Stevens, and David Taylor for conversations on subjects related to this chapter.