Original sentence: According to modern Maronites, their forebears remained orthodox in the 5th and 6th centuries despite the strength of the Monophysite and Nestorian heresies in that region.Edward Gibbon adopted this opinion in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, drawing upon the work of William of Tyre, Jacques de Vitry, and Abulpharagius, in addition to Eutychius.Eutychius used "Maronite" and "Monothelite" synonymously.For most of their history, however, the Maronites were instead accused of having fully adopted and embraced the Monothelite heresy.Most of these sources overlap, however (Gibbon himself equivocates as to whether Jacques de Vitry confirms or simply copies William of Tyre's account), and most modern Maronites consider the association with Monothelitism to be an ancient slander.The early history of the Maronites is the subject of considerable and sustained conflict.What is known is that they were centered near Emesa in Syria
Edited sentence: Centered near Emesa in Syria, the Maronites remained orthodox in the 5th and 6th centuries despite the strength of the Monophysite and Nestorian heresies in that region