You have no items in your shopping cart.
Close
Search
Filters

Bar Hebraeus The Ecclesiastical Chronicle

An English Translation


Translated by David Wilmshurst
The Ecclesiastical History of Bar Hebraeus is an important source for the history of the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Church of the East. It deserves to be widely read, but has never before been fully translated into English. David Wilmshurst, a noted historian of the Church of the East, has now provided a graceful and accurate English translation of the Ecclesiastical History, with the aim of winning this important text the readership it deserves. Wilmshurst's elegant translation is complemented by a well-informed and helpful introduction, several pages of maps and a comprehensive index of places and persons.
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-0535-5
  • *
Publication Status: In Print
Publication Date: Feb 17,2016
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Page Count: 594
Languages: English
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0535-5
$229.00
Your price: $160.30
Ship to
*
*
Shipping Method
Name
Estimated Delivery
Price
No shipping options

The Ecclesiastical Chronicle of the Syriac Orthodox polymath Bar Hebraeus (†1286), an important Syriac text written in the last quarter of the 13th century, has long been recognised as a key source for the history of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Church of the East. Bar Hebraeus describes the eventful history of the "Jacobite" and "Nestorian" Churches, as they were then called, from their earliest beginnings down to his own time, against the background of christological controversies, Roman‒Persian wars, the Arab Conquest, the Crusades and the 13th-century Mongol invasions. Two continuators bring the story down to the end of the 15th century, shedding valuable light on a relatively obscure period in the history of both Churches. The Ecclesiastical Chronicle was translated into Latin between 1872 and 1877, but has never before been fully translated into English. Gorgias Press is proud to publish the first complete English translation of this influential text, by respected Syriac scholar David Wilmshurst.

This elegant translation of the Ecclesiastical Chronicle captures the flavour of Bar Hebraeus’s style, and is complemented by a facing Syriac text. Wilmshurst also provides a detailed introduction, setting the chronicle in its historical and literary context. His translation is accompanied by five maps, showing the dioceses of the two Churches and the towns, villages and monasteries of Tur ‘Abdin and the Mosul Plain. A helpful bibliography and index are also provided.

David Wilmshurst was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he took a first-class BA degree in Classics (1979) and a D Phil degree in Oriental Studies (1998). He has spent much of his life in Hong Kong, and is one of the few modern scholars of the Church of the East who can read Syriac, Arabic and Chinese. He is the author of The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913 (Louvain, 2000), a study of the Christian topography of Iraq and Iran, and The Martyred Church (London, 2011), a general history of the Church of the East. Both books have been warmly praised by leading scholars.

The Ecclesiastical Chronicle of the Syriac Orthodox polymath Bar Hebraeus (†1286), an important Syriac text written in the last quarter of the 13th century, has long been recognised as a key source for the history of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Church of the East. Bar Hebraeus describes the eventful history of the "Jacobite" and "Nestorian" Churches, as they were then called, from their earliest beginnings down to his own time, against the background of christological controversies, Roman‒Persian wars, the Arab Conquest, the Crusades and the 13th-century Mongol invasions. Two continuators bring the story down to the end of the 15th century, shedding valuable light on a relatively obscure period in the history of both Churches. The Ecclesiastical Chronicle was translated into Latin between 1872 and 1877, but has never before been fully translated into English. Gorgias Press is proud to publish the first complete English translation of this influential text, by respected Syriac scholar David Wilmshurst.

This elegant translation of the Ecclesiastical Chronicle captures the flavour of Bar Hebraeus’s style, and is complemented by a facing Syriac text. Wilmshurst also provides a detailed introduction, setting the chronicle in its historical and literary context. His translation is accompanied by five maps, showing the dioceses of the two Churches and the towns, villages and monasteries of Tur ‘Abdin and the Mosul Plain. A helpful bibliography and index are also provided.

David Wilmshurst was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he took a first-class BA degree in Classics (1979) and a D Phil degree in Oriental Studies (1998). He has spent much of his life in Hong Kong, and is one of the few modern scholars of the Church of the East who can read Syriac, Arabic and Chinese. He is the author of The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913 (Louvain, 2000), a study of the Christian topography of Iraq and Iran, and The Martyred Church (London, 2011), a general history of the Church of the East. Both books have been warmly praised by leading scholars.

Write your own review
  • Only registered users can write reviews
*
*
Bad
Excellent
*
*
*
*
ContributorBiography

DavidWilmshurst

David Wilmshurst is presently Academic Editor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He graduated from Oxford University with a first-class BA degree in Classics in 1979, and went on to take a PhD in Oriental Studies at Oxford in 1998. He is the author of The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318-1913 (2000), and The Martyred Church: A History of the Church of the East (2011).

  • Table of Contents (page 5)
  • Introduction (page 7)
    • Preliminary Remarks (page 7)
    • The Career of Bar Hebraeus (page 9)
    • The Literary Achievement of Bar Hebraeus (page 12)
    • The Chronicle of Bar Hebraeus (page 16)
    • The Ecclesiastical Chronicle as Literature (page 19)
    • The Ecclesiastical Chronicle as History (page 27)
  • Text and Translation (page 41)
    • Section One (page 42)
    • Section Two (page 350)
  • Appendix One: The Patriarchs and Maphrians of the Jacobite Church (page 547)
  • Appendix Two: The Patriarchs of the Church of the East (page 551)
  • Select Bibliography (page 555)
  • Index (page 559)
  • Maps (page 589)
Customers who bought this item also bought
Picture of The New Syriac Primer, 2nd Edition

The New Syriac Primer, 2nd Edition

A truly useful introduction to the Syriac language is a rare find. This practical initiation to the study of this ancient language of the Christian church speaks with clarity and authority. A fruitful integration of scholarly introduction and practical application, this primer is more than a simple grammar or syntactic introduction to the language. Writing in a style designed for beginners, Kiraz avoids technical language and strives for a reader-friendly inductive approach. Readings from actual Syriac texts allow the student to experience the language first hand and the basics of the grammar of the language are ably explained. The book comes with downloadable material so that readers may listen to all reading sentences and text passages in the book.
$48.00
ImageFromGFF

A Short Chronicle on the End of the Sasanian Empire and Early Islam

The Short Chronicle is an eyewitness report on the demise of the Sasanian and Byzantines Empires and the beginning of the Islamic period. It uses official Sasanian sources and Syriac church documents and mentions for the first time new Arab cities, including Mosul, Kufa, and Baṣra.
$161.00 $112.70
Picture of The Chronicle of Zuqnīn

The Chronicle of Zuqnīn

The Chronicle of Zuqnin is a universal history beginning with the Creation according to the biblical account and ending with the time of the Chronicler, the years 775-776 AD. The author is most probably Joshua the Stylite, a contemporary of the Caliphs al-Mansur and al-Mahdi, who lived in the monastery of Zuqnin that was located near Amid, the Diar-Bakr of modern Turkey. Parts I and II contain compiled sources some of which survived only in this Chronicle. Sources include the Bible, Cave of Treasures, the Sleepers of Ephesus, Eusebius of Caesarea, Socrates, and the short Chronicle called Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite that deals with Sassanian-Byzantine warfare at the begging of the 6th century. Parts III and IV cover the years 488 and 775 AD. In this volume, Parts I and II, including the author’s dedicatory letter, are now published in an updated edition of the Syriac text and the first English translation.
$215.00 $150.50
Picture of Pocket Gorgias Syriac-English Dictionary

Pocket Gorgias Syriac-English Dictionary

The Pocket Dictionary is both a convenient academic resource and a door into the world of Modern Literary Syriac. With 13,000 entries drawn from the major existing works, it is a practical tool for all but the most specialized Classical Syriac texts.
$45.00