E00025: Theophylact Simocatta in his History describes how in 590 the deposed Persian king Khosrau II vowed to dedicate a precious cross to the shrine of *Sergios (soldier and martyr of Rusafa, S00023) at Rusafa/Sergiopolis (north-east Syria) if the saint assisted him to regain his throne. He fulfilled his vow in 591. Written in Greek at Constantinople in the early 7th century.
Creators: name: Admin, CSLA
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2014
Subjects: History

description: Theophylact Simocatta, History 5.1.7-8 and 5.13.1-7<br><br>5.1.7-8<br>(7.) εἰσῆλθε τοίνυν αὐτὸν δεισιδαιμονία ὁσίας θρησκείας τινός, καὶ πάλιν πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸν τὸν νοῦν μετεκόμισεν, καὶ ἠντιβόλει τὸν ἀοίδιμον ἐν μάρτυσι Σέργιον, ὃν καὶ τὰ νομαδικὰ πρεσβεύειν ἔθνη εἰώθασιν, συλλαμβάνειν τῶν πόνων αὐτῷ, (8.) ἀπαρχάς τε τροπαίων καθυπισχνεῖτο προσφέρεσθαι τοῦ κυριακοῦ πάθους τὸ ἐπίσημον σήμαντρον (σταυρὸς δὲ τοῦτο ἀναγορεύεται), τεκτονεύεσθαί τε τοῦτον χρυσήλατον, μαργαρίτην τε περιβαλεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν Ἰνδικῶν λίθων τοὺς διαυγεῖς· εὐσεβέστερον γὰρ ποτνιώμενον ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης ὁ καιρὸς αὐτὸν ἐξειργάζετο.<br><br>5.13.1-7<br>(1.) … ἐς νοῦν τοίνυν βαλόμενος ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεὺς τὴν ἄνωθεν αὐτῷ τῆς ἐπικουρίας γεγονυῖαν ῥοπήν, τῷ ἐν μάρτυσιν ἐπιφανεστάτῳ Σεργίῳ σταυρὸν ἐκ χρυσοῦ πεποιημένον λιθοκόλλητον δῶρον ἐξέπεμπεν, (2.) ὃν δῆτα Χοσρόης ὁ Καβάδου τὸ ἄστυ παραστησάμενος, λαφυραγωγήσας ἐν τοῖς τῶν Περσῶν ἀνακτόροις ἀπέθετο, ἔτι τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν σκήπτρων Ἰουστινιανοῦ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἐπιβαίνοντος. ἐν τούτῳ γοῦν τῷ σταυρῷ ἕτερον Χοσρόης ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐξ ἀπέφθου χρυσοῦ σταυρὸν ἐτεκτήνατο τὴν αἰτίαν ἐντυπώσας ἐν αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀναθήματος. (3.) ἐπιστολὴν δὲ δὴ Ἑλληνικοῖς γράμμασιν ἅμα τῷ κειμηλίῳ ἐς τὸ λεγόμενον Βαρβαρικὸν παρεπέμπετο. ὑπεγέγραπτο δὲ τῇ ἐπιστολῇ καὶ βασιλικὴ ὑποτύπωσις. τὰ δὲ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ἐν τούτοις δῆτα ἐτύγχανεν ὄντα· οὐκ ἀμείψω γὰρ τῆς λέξεως τὸ ἀρχέτυπον. (4.) “Τοῦτον τὸν σταυρὸν ἐγὼ Χοσρόης βασιλεὺς βασιλέων, υἱὸς Χοσρόου, ὅτε ἐκ διαβολικῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ κακουργίας τοῦ δυστυχεστάτου Βαράμ, υἱοῦ Βαργουσνᾶς, καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ καβαλλαρίων εἰς Ῥωμανίαν ἀπήλθομεν, καὶ διὰ τὸ ἔρχεσθαι τὸν δυστυχῆ Ζαδεσπράτην ἐκ τοῦ στρατοῦ εἰς τὸ Νισίβιος ἐπὶ τῷ ὑποσῦραι τοὺς καβαλλαρίους τοῦ μέρους τοῦ Νισίβιος εἰς τὸ ἀντᾶραι καὶ συνταράξαι ἐπέμψαμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς καβαλλαρίους μετὰ ἄρχοντος εἰς τὸ Χαρχάς, (5.) καὶ διὰ τῆς τύχης τοῦ ἁγίου Σεργίου τοῦ πανσέπτου καὶ ὀνομαστοῦ, ἐπειδὴ ἠκούσαμεν δοτῆρα εἶναι αὐτὸν τῶν αἰτήσεων, ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας ἡμῶν, μηνὶ Ἰανουαρίῳ ἑβδόμῃ, ᾐτησάμεθα, ὡς, ἐὰν οἱ καβαλλάριοι ἡμῶν σφάξωσι τὸν Ζαδεσπράτην ἢ χειρώσωνται, σταυρὸν χρυσοῦν διάλιθον εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ πέμπομεν διὰ τὸ πάνσεπτον αὐτοῦ ὄνομα. (6.) καὶ τῇ ἐνάτῃ τοῦ Φεβρουαρίου μηνὸς τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ Ζαδεσπράτου ἤνεγκαν ἐπὶ ἡμῶν. ἐπιτυχόντες οὖν τῆς αἰτήσεως ἡμῶν, διὰ τὸ ἕκαστον ἀναμφίβολον εἶναι, εἰς τὸ πάνσεπτον αὐτοῦ ὄνομα τὸν σταυρὸν τὸν παρ’ ἡμῶν γενόμενον, μετὰ τοῦ πεμφθέντος σταυροῦ παρὰ Ἰουστινιανοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἀμιξίας τῶν δύο πολιτειῶν ἐνεχθέντος ἐνταῦθα παρὰ Χοσρόου, βασιλέως βασιλέων, υἱοῦ Κοάδου, τοῦ ἡμετέρου πατρός, καὶ εὑρεθέντος ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις θησαυροῖς, ἐπέμψαμεν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πανσέπτου Σεργίου.” (7.) Ὁ μὲν οὖν σατράπης κατὰ τὸ διατεταγμένον αὐτῷ ἀπέδοτο τὸν σταυρὸν τά τε γράμματα τοῦ βασιλέως.<br><br>5.1,7-8<br>'(7.) Then reverence for a certain holy religion came upon him [Khosrau II], and he again transported his mind to the supreme God. He supplicated Sergios, famous among the martyrs – whom even the nomad tribes are accustomed to revere – to assist him in his troubles. (8.) He solemnly promised to offer as first-fruits of victory the famous symbol of the Lord’s Passion (this is designated a cross) to fashion it from beaten gold and cover it with pearls and radiant Indian stones. For in his necessity the occasion made him implore more piously.'<br><br>After Khosrau's victories in 591:<br><br>5.13.1-7<br>'(1.) ... Then the king of the Persians called to mind the decisive assistance he had received from above, and he dispatched as a gift to Sergios, most illustrious among martyrs, a gem-studded cross made of gold, (2.) which Chosroes the son of Kabades, when he reduced the city, had taken as booty and deposited in the palace of the Persians, while the emperor Justinian was still master of the Roman sceptres. So on this cross, Chosroes fashioned at its head another cross of pure gold and inscribed on it the reason for the offering. (3.) He sent a letter written in Greek letters, along with the treasure, to the Barbarikon, as it is called [the region of Rusafa]. And the royal emblem was also signed on the letter. The contents of the letter were in fact in the following terms, for I shall not alter the original wording: (4.) "This cross do I give, Chosroes, king of kings, son of Chosroes. When we departed to Romania [the Roman Empire] on account of the devilish operations and wickedness of the most ill-starred Baram son of Bargusnas [the usurper Bahram Chobin] and of his associate cavaliers, and because the ill-starred Zadesprates was coming from the army towards Nisibis in order to seduce the cavaliers of the district of Nisibis to revolt and participation in the turmoil, we also sent cavaliers with an officer to Charchas. (5.) And by the spirit of the most holy and renowned Saint Sergios, when we heard that he was the granter of petitions, in the first year of our reign, on the seventh of January, we petitioned that, if our cavaliers should slaughter or arrest Zadesprates, we would send a gold-bejewelled cross to his house for his most holy name. (6.) And on the ninth of February they brought us the head of Zadesprates. Now, since we were granted our request, and so that both parts might be fully satisfied, [we dedicated] to his most holy name the cross made by us together with the cross sent to his shrine by Justinian, emperor of the Romans; this was brought here in the time of estrangement between the two states by Chosroes our father, king of kings, son of Koades, and was discovered in our treasury; these we sent to the house of the most holy Sergios." (7.) And so the satrap delivered the cross and the king’s letter according to his instructions.'<br><br>Text: de Boor and Wirth 1972. Translation: Whitby and Whitby 1986, modified.