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    45 views15 pages

    R - Sebeos, The Jews and The Rise of Islam

    Uploaded by

    Sameer Khan
    Jews & Muslims

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    6. SEBEOS, THE JEWS AND THE RISE OF ISLAM ROBERT HOYLAND, ‘The Armenian chronicler Sebeos, writing in the 660s, relates the exploits of a number of Jewish refugces of the Byzantine-Persian war (602-28), who had sought asylum ia Bdessa. When they saw that che Persian army had withdrawn and left the town in peace, they closed the gates and barricaded themselves in, Bur soon, besieged by order of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and realizing they could not win, they surrendered and were told to return to cheit own homes ‘They set out into the desert and came to Arabia, among the childten of Ishmael; they soughe their help and explained har they were kinsmen according co the Bible, Although they (the Arabs) were willing to accept this close kinship, they (the Jews) nevertheless could not convince the mass of the people because their cules were differen. Ac this time there was an Ishmaclie called Mahmer, a merchant; he presented himself to them as though at God's command, as a preacher, as the way of truth, and taughe them to know the God of Abraham, for he was very well informed and very well acquainted with the story of Moses. As the command came from on high, they all united under the authority of a single man, under a single law and, abandoning vain cults, returned to che living God who had revealed himself to their father Abraham ‘Then they all gathered together from Havila unto Shur and before Egype; they came out of the desert of Pharan divided into ewelve txibes according to the lineages of theit patriarchs. They distributed among their eribes the twelve thousand Israelites, a ‘thousand per tribe, co guide them into the land of Israel ... All chat remained of the peoples of the children of Iscael came to join them, and they constituted a mighty army. This accoune of Sebeos amounts to a theory of the origins of Islam and forms the crux ‘of Crone and Cook’s argument for what they call “Judao-Hagarism’, chat is, Arab-Jewish involvement in the conquest of cheir birthright of the Holy Land, united by comrnon descent from Abraham and motivated by Judaic messianism.? Other scholars, however, fare generally dismissive. Gil simply says that “one need not ascribe any historical significance to this kind of story”; Wansborough declares that this ‘por of Jewish ‘complicity “belongs to the standard ingredients of historia eceleiastica” and so “does not really admit of historical conclusions”; and for Griffith the account "fairly seethes with antiJewishness” and “is not a crustworthy historical statement”? Theie supposition would seem to be that if Christian asserts Jewish influence on or connection with some 90 ROBERT HOYLAND object, he muse be intending to discredit that object, and so his testimony is to be disregarded. Even accepting the first conclusion to be tru, ie does not follow ehae thee is ‘0 historical basis co che assertion; distortion rather than fabrication is the more common form of polemic. Greater care may be requited when handling such material, but ie still ‘merits our consideration. ‘This essay will attempr co give the above report a fai hearing and to probe what, if anything, lies behind i. Syriac chroniclers narrate ¢wo incidents involving Jews ae Edessa. ‘The fist took place in 628 when Heraclius’ brother Theodore “was going round the cities of Mesopotamia, informing the Persian gattisons of cheir duty co rerum eo their country”. The Persians in Edessa refused to comply, saying “we do not know Shiroi and we will noe surcender the city to the Romans”. The Jews resident in Edessa eheew in their lot with che Persians, and began to insule the Byzantines and taune Theodore. The latter was provoked to attack the city, subjecting ie roa volley of rocks from his cacapults. The Persians acknowledged defeat and agreed to leave, whereupon Theodore entered and began to kill che Jews and plunder their houses. Having anticipated such a reprisal, a Jew named Joseph had escaped to Heraclius and obtained his pardon for che Jews and a letter “by which he forbade his brother to harm them”. Though ic is not sated, ye assumnes that the Jewish communicy in Edessa was saved. The second episode follows upon the decree of compulsory bapeism Of Jews issued in 632, and, for all its brevity, constirutes almost our only notice on the effects of this decree in the eas: At this time the emperor Heraclus ordered that all che Jews in the lands of che Roman. ‘empire become Christian, For this reason the Jews fled the lands of the Romans. First they came to Edessa; when they were oppressed again ehere, they cook refuge in Pesia.? The Jews in Sebeos’ account are not native Edessans and so should belong co the second incident, bur che Persians have now been gone four years or more. Probably Sehcos has conflared or confused the ewo events, but in any case there is some reality behind his description of Jews fleeing from Edessa, OF Jewish participation in the Arab armies there is also some confirmation, The Dectrina Jacobi, a Greck anti-Jewish eract composed at the time of Hetaclis’ forcible conversion of Jews in 632, has the newly-baprised Jacob question Justus, whom Jacob has just won over to Christianity, saying: “IF your brother of the jews who mix with the Saracens tuen you from the faith, what will you do?” In response Justus avers that “‘even ifthe Jews and Saracens take hold of me and cut me into lcde pieces, I will not deny the ‘Chris the son of God"..“ No more than one or two years later the theologian Maximus the Confessor (d. 662) was writing a letter to Peter, governor of Numidia, in which he briefly complained of the Arab predations and then ranted at length against the Jewish people” for their pare in “che evils which today affict the world”. In particular, he say, there can be nothing more terrible chan “to see a cruel and alien nation authorised co raise its hand against che divine inhericance”.” His vieuperative thetoric is no doube due to his prejudice againse Jews, but his anger must have had some goad and this was evidently that Jews were joining the Arab armies in appreciable numbers. Such cooperation had SEBEOS, THE JEWS AND THE RISE OF ISLAM. 3 happened before during the Persian occupation of Palestine (614-28), when "“Hebrews land Saracens” had roamed the Judacan desere, tertifying the monks resident in the monasteries there.® Possibly these were the Jews of Noara and Livias, ewo “bases of aggression” (ormeteprar) of theirs near Jericho.” Ie is also worth noting that later Jewish sources actest the presence of Jews among che invading Arabs: Iwas God's will ro have us find favour before the Ishmaelite kingdom ae che time of its conquest of the Holy Land from ehe hands of Edom, When they (the Arabs) came to Jerusalem, there were with chem men from among the children of Israel who showed them the place of the Temple... Sech reports may, however, be influenced by Muslim traditions about the role of the Jewish scribe Ka’b b. al-Ahbae in helping ‘Umar establish his mosque on the Temple Of course, most Jews would not have risen up in support of che invading Arabs. In dhe city of Manuf in Egypr, for example, all the Jews gathered together and fled to Alexandria, ‘owing to thei fear of the Muslims, the cruelties of (the general) ‘Ame and the seizure of their possessions”. And we hear of Jews being killed and taken prisoner along with everyone else."® Bur as Byzantine intolerance towards the Jews increased in the carly seventh century and the Persian-Byzantine conflice escalaced into all-out war, ever more Jews took advantage of the disorder: When at Prolemais the Christians fled on account of the arrival ofthe Persians, the Jews ‘ook the chance to burn the churches of the Christians and to plunder their houses, and they molested and Killed many Christians." ‘When the Persians marched on Jerusalem itself, chousands of Jews flocked co chem in ehe hope of being allowed co rescore the Temple, An apocalyptic poem written by Eliczer ben Qulir c. 630 bears witness co these expectations and their subsequent frustration: ‘The holy people will have a shore respice, for Assur (the Persians) will permie them c0 found the holy shrine and they will build che altar and offer up the sacrifices. Bue th vill not have time to establish the sanctuary . .. After chtce months the commander in-chief will recutn and come against him (the Messiah son of Joseph) and will kill him in the ltcle temple, and his blood will congeal upon the rock. And the land shall mourn, every family apart (Zacharia 12.12)."” This is confirmed by a second more well known apocalyptic work, the Book of Zorobabel, which mentions all che above ingredients and portrays the Persian ruler Shiroi as an anti-Christ for his complicity in the slaying of che Messiah son of Joseph." ‘These and other apocalypeic writings make clear that i¢ was not juse che prevailing chaos that spurred many Jews ineo action. The events of the time evidently made many think thar these were the “travails of the Messiah", which heralded his imminent advent. Historical reality, indeed, seemed ro come very close to eschatological reality in the ealy ROBERT HOYLAND seventh century. The Petsian-Byzantine clash was on the ses of the expected war of Gog and Magog, and it concluded with Roman dominance “over the whole world” for a shoe time which, it was said in che Talmud, was tequited before the Son of David would ome." When the emperor Heracius decreed compulsory bapdsm of Jews, ie was pasne that the final showdown berween the enemies of God's kingdom and the nation of lerael ‘was at hand, '* So whereas Christians regarded the invading Arabs a8 God's tod for thir chastisement, a number of Jews saw them rather as God's instrument for theit salvation For was i nor sid cha “dhe end of Esau's (che Romans’) reign will form the beginning of Jacob's (the Messiah's) kingdom”?! Again, these sentiments are capeured in a conter- Potary apocalypse, which was attributed co the second-century rabbi Simon ben Yohay When he (Simon) saw the kingdom of Ishmael that was coming, he began to say: "Was ic noe enough whae the wicked kingdom of Edom has done cous, but we (muse have) the kingdom of Ishmael too"? Ac once Metaeron, the prince of the countenance, answered and ssid "Do no fea, son of man, for dhe Almighty only beings the kingdom Of Ishmael in order to deliver you ftom this wicked one (Edom). He eases up ove them {shmaelites) a prophet according to His will and will conquer the and for chem: Thep will come and restore ie (co you) in greatness and there wll be a great tertoe between ‘hem and the sons of Esau’? Such a positive attitude cowards the Arab invasions receives some confirmation from the comment in the Dacrina Jacob thatthe Jews repiced when they heard ofthe killing of & Byzantine officer by the Arabs, and remains fossilized in the frequent depiction of Arab rule by Jews as “che little hom, whic in Daniel 7.8-9 immediately prcedes the Day of Judgement and Salvation”! One mighe argue that, as afver the unsuccessful Bat Kochba "prising, chere would have been period of passivity following the failure of the collesion ‘with che Persians, But ehroughout the seventh and ealy eighth century cataclysmic event Dlausibly heralding the end of days spawned! messianic pretenders, and in each case they were able to attract a considerable following, Particularly influential were Aba “lee aklsfahani, who appeared during the second Arab civil war (683-92), and a veain Severus, who appeated just after the Arab siege of Constantinople (715-19) at the dine of Leo II's forcible baptising of Jews (721. Abu Ist preached a syncetic mesage and Portrayed himself as ehe ase such prophetic messenger, sent co peepare for che advent of the Messiah; Severus claimed co be Moses, “sent again forthe salvation of Israel ane wo lead you into the desere in order to introduce you then to the inheritance ofthe Promised Land which you will possess as before" > {eis apparen, then, tha Sebcos had at his disposl wo reports, one of Jews feting om Fes and another of Jewish participation in the Arab conquests, both having some substance to them. He directs not one word of abuse a che Jews and histone i very matter-of-fact, His decision co connect the two reports should therefore be regarded as an axtempe co make sense of his material rather than asa ploy t0 vilfy Islam, But was Sebeor used in making this association” Did Jews only mase ata citance on the posit of the Arabs ousting the Byzantines and occasionally take advanrage of the mayhem co oot and harass Christians, oF did some of them have real involvement with Moai? SEBEOS, THE JEWS AND THE RISE OF ISLAM 3 Arabic sources allow us (0 take the Arab-Jewish intimacy postulated by Sebeos back 0 Muhammad's Hijaz. We know from inscriptions that Jews settled in north-western bia atleast as early as che commencement of the Christian era, A certain Shubaye, who Finsalled a family tomb in Mada’in Salih in 42 AD, expressly designates himself as “a [Jew" (Yebadaya). The name of Menasse son of Nathan appears inscribed on a sundial found in al-Hiije, and at al-Dila in 307 AD one Yahya bar Shim'tia erected a tombstone foc his facher ”"'A few graffci comprise Jewish names such as Isaac and Samuel, and this epigraphic evidence can be supplemented with Talmudic references.”* For the fifth and sixth centuries we have only the testimony of the Arabic tradition,” But the allusions in poenry, prosopographical data such as Muhammad al-Habib's enumeration of Qurashi who were the sons of Jewish women, and the wealth of narrative material may at least be taken as evidence of @ continuing Jewish presence in the Hijtz.” For example, the Talmud records one Simeon of Taima, a contemporary of Rabbi Akiba (carly second century), as anauthority, and the early seventh-ceneury poet Shamenda intimates that Taima was still a Jewish centre in his time, comparing a ruined dwelling with the writing of a rabbi of Taima.?* ‘We come now to a document which matks che foundation of Mukiammad’s polity and isknown most commonly as the ‘Constitution of Medina’. It exists in ewo recensions, one of bn Hisham (d. 833) from Ibn Ishaq (d. 767), the other of Aba “Ubayd (d. 838) from al-Zubt(d. 742)? The differences between them, however, consist only of minor scribal additions, omissions and changes, and the document is generally considered co have been faithfully eransmirted and to be what it says ie is ‘This isa weiting from the prophet Muhammad between the believers and the Muslims of Quraysh and Yathrib, and those who follow them, join with chem and fight alongside them”? ‘The principles it seeks ro lay down are hat those who adhere co this document are a single community (umma waida) to the exclusion of the (other) people” (61) and chat for them "the inner pare (jawf) of Yathrib is sacred” (§ 39), Each clan is sell responsible for irs own affairs, bue 'chey help one another against whoever fights the people of this sheet (637), and God and Muhammad are he arbiters for all partes (§§ 23, 42). Among its adherents are che Jews who are specifically cacered for in a number of dauses: §.16: Any Jews who follow us shall have support and parity, without being wronged and without anyone supporting another against them, $6 24, 38: The Jews shall contribute co expenses along with the Muslims while they are §§ 25-35, 46: The Jews of Bana ‘Awf ... and of Banu “I-Najae, B. al-Harith, B, Sv'ida, B. Jusham, B. al-Aws, B. Tha'laba and theie clients, B. Shutayba, and close associates of the Jews ... are a community (umma) with the believers, To the Jews their ROBERT HOYLAND pales Abe ‘Ubaye: 1 ehe Jews cll for a peace teary with an ally of theits, they (the believers) shall make peace with him, Srceading of the document alone leaves one with the impression that it was meant as a Milas) nmuniey, uniting, Muslims and Jews under ake Rrawetion of God (dbinmat Allah) so that they mighe fighe “in the way of God" ( 17), Mose Islamicsts, however, approach the texe taking for granted the antipathy towards the Jews found in the Qur'an and Muhammad's biography (srra,°* and are led to belie the pare of both the Jews and of religion Since the most prominent Jewish tbs in the spa ae adit, Qurayza, and Qaynuga’, Wellhausen and Wensinck thoughe s tended hete, Bue Muharnmad subscquendy foughe and expelled these gorupe, and ae these Scholars were ed to postulate Pesfidy on the patt ofthe Prophet und to assere thas a document did noe represent an srinens with the Jows,'* Wate suggests that the clauses on erning Nadi, Qurayea and cat bean ve Unen cemoved once chy became inoperative bev since much of the cine nn ,SuPatseded as the communiey expander this seems an unlikely explanarion.”* Ahmad states thae the artes Percaining to the Jews, the declaration of edna sa protected arca and the formation ofr ann ‘must have been added only after Ue expulsion of che three Jewish eibes was comple ia 627/8."" He contends that only when Muhammad had won victories and gained Prestige could he have established 4 community and ©. But this is che weong way round; the document clearly Secks to found a communicy anda safe base forte Purpose of attacking God’s enemies and so belongs ac the beginning noe atthe end of Muhammad's career.” Finally, Rubin's xphanacion for che lack of explicit mention of the nn Jewish groups is chat they lived outside Medina and so tded in its Consccucion, As the recension of Abe pio Bots, this sa writing of Muhammad bos the believers. . and those who followed and joined them and resided with hom’ Ina list of the Jewish n Ishag records noe only Jews from Nadir, Qurayz; kof the opposition, but also a Jew of the Band “11 the Band “LELarch, x0 ofthe cans named ite qantitation” Evdendy, these clans were distinc fa he three main Jewish groupings; ihe designation of chem as ‘che Jews of such-andinach ae Arab clan’ indicates thae their ‘efeons lay more with the Arab tribes among ahve they dwelt. As one Arabic {cls us before Islam there existed between sore An, «tans and Jews an alliance (bi) sterity and feiendship."* So though the identity of the Jows mentioned in the (Constitution is unceat, one can say cha they had ‘common cause with the Arabs who he onde s8teement and had in some fashion aflinned chem, The tendency to downgrade the community so an ‘exclusively political unity” thae Jeeved purely politcal ends” likewise seems © po against the text.”? The very fst line “rests that che believers and chose who follow then wn ' single communiey”” (emma SEBEOS, THE JEWS AND THE RISE OF ISLAM 95 ‘wahida), « phrase which occurs nine times in the Que'an to denote a people who were, are ‘ar could have been one community under God."° Moreover, chis “single communicy”” is expected (0 “fight in the way of God” and co refer its disputes to God and Muhammad, One should also remark the statement of al-Zuhrt, che transmitter of Aba “Ubayd’s recension, that the Jews received the same booty as the Muslims when they raided «ogether."" The reason for the downgrading stems from che belief chat che presence of the ‘wo religious groups excludes any one religious goal. ‘Thus Gil argues ehat che document reflects Muhammad's anti-Jewish policy and “had in view the expulsion of the Jews even athe moment of its writing’. Wellhausen spoke of the document's “distrust of the Jews" and Denny holds chat the Jews are creased as a “sub-uemma”.? Rubin endeavours to pay attencion co what the text itself says, and he argues that the Gonscicurion sets Jews on a par with Muslims, both “sharing the same religious orientation”. The evidence he adduces is the reading of Aba “Ubayd (§ 25): “the Jews ae a community of believers (umma min al-mu'mintn)” as opposed to the reading of Ibn Ishaq: “the Jews ... are a community with the believers (umma ma‘ al-m'mintn)". He concludes chat within the amoma wahida which separated all monotheistic groups of Medina frorn other people, the Jews were given che postion of ‘mma of believers’, thus being distinguished from all ocher monotheistic (Muslim) members ofthe anna wabida, Theie recognition 4 lelievers provided chem with the privilege to stick to their own Jewish dim while enjoying complete procetion."” Bur these privileges applied eo bods groups: “the Jews have their religion and the Muslims have their eligion”, and "the believers protect each other to the exclusion of ehe (other) people” ( 15). Moreover, the term “believer” is used ehroughout (32 times), seemingly refering all partes; Muslin G times) and Jew (6 times, excluding the term ‘Jews of Bana ...") are only used! when a distinction needs co be made. One should pethaps, then, regard the tetm as including the Jews among, rather than distinguishing them from, all other monothests, “believers” being the general appellation and Muslim and Jew specific eases thereof. ‘The min in amma min al-mu'minmn woud then be parative ('l-tab'id) rather than explicative (li-'-sabytn), to be read "the Jews. . area community forming part of the believers”. And the opening clause might be understood: "This is a ‘writing of Muhammad . .. between the believers, (namely) the Muslims of Quraysh and Yathrib and those who follow cher ‘The possibility of different religious denominations subscribing wo a single formula is suggested in the Que'aa: Say, © people of the Book, come to an ageeement beeween us and you, chat we shall worship none bur God and ascribe no partner to him (3.64 Say: I believe in whatever book God has sent down... God is our Lord and your Lord, ‘We have our works (a'maluna) and you have your works. There is no dispute becween us and you (42.15). 96 ROBERT HOYLAND And ie is also known to have happened in practice: ‘The ‘siwiyya among the Jews and a part of the Shiruksniyya recognise that there is no fod but God, char Muhammad is His messenger and chac his teligion is tue, but despite all cha they do nor belong to che Muslim communicy, because they believe that they are not bound by che prescriptions of Islam. ‘What this compromise formula was is hineed at in the Constitution where a believer is defined as “he who has affirmed what is in this sheer and believes in God and the Last Day" 22). This also receives support from certain early sayings which give che basic duties of a believer as professing that there is no god bue God and paying one’s dues,” For our purposes itis sufficient to note — whether it provides for a single umm with two separate religious compartments of for two wnmas acting in unison — that the Constitution bears wieness to Arab-Jewish involvement and a certain coincidence of aims, A far mote difficult matter is whether the Jews had any ideological inpus ineo the nascent Muslim community, There are an enormous number of studies devored to demonstrating and eliciting the Jewish ingredients chat went into Islam,*” Lau dese could have made their entry at any poine during the six or more cencuties of cohabitation in pre-islamic Arabia and for some time after Islam's appearance in the Near East.“® The question is did the Jews have any influence upon Muhammad's teaching, did they provide the spark, as implied by Sebeos, char kindled ehe Arab conquests? Common descent from Abraham was the message of the Jews to che Arabs in the account of Sebeos, The fifth-ceneury Church historian Sozomen, a native of Gaza, tlls a remarkably similar story regarding the Arabs, how they had lapsed in theit Abrahamic ‘monotheism, but had heard once more of their true origin from the Jews and reeumed to the observance of Jewish laws and customs “‘up until che present day". Thus this ‘genealogical lesson had cultic ramifications;”” and it also had, according to Sebeos, territorial implications Muhammad preached, saying: “God has promised this land to Abraham and his Posteity after him forever . .. Now you, you are the sons of Abraham and God fulfils i you the promise made to Abraham and his posterity. Only love the God of Abraham, -g0 and take possession of your country which God gave to your father Abraham, and ‘hone will be able co resist you in the struggle, for God is with you"?! AA similar report is found in the chronicle of the Jacobice patriarch Dionysius of Telmahe (817-42), where again some link is made with the Jews:”” This Muhammad, while in the age and stature of youth, began to go up and down from his town of Yathrib co Palestine forthe business of buying and selling, While engaged with che Jews, he learnt from them the belief in one God, and seeing that his tribesmen worshipped stones and wood and every created thing, he adhered to the belief of the Jews, which was pleasing co him.”* When he wene back down to his tribesmen, he set SEBEOS, THE JEWS AND THE RISE OF ISLAM 7 this belief before them, and he convinced a few and they became his followers. In addition, he would extol the bountifulness of this land of Palestine, saying: ‘Because of the belief in one God, the like of this good and fertile and was given to them’, And he ‘would add: ‘Ifyou listen to me, abandon these vain gods and confess the one God, then ‘0 you (00 will God give a land flowing with milk and honey’. To corroborate his word, he led a band of them who were obedient co him and began to go up to the land of Palestine plundering, enslaving and pillaging. He returned laden (with booty) and unharmed, and thus he had nr fallen shore of his promise to them, ‘That religion and conquest wene hand in hand ia Muhammad's pecaching is lear from many passages in the Qur'an which command: “fight those who do not believe in God and the Lase Day . .. until chey pay tribute” (9.29) and the like, Bue there is also an indication that the lands which they were about ¢o conquer were theit inheritance: “"He ‘made you heirs to their land (of the ‘people of the Book’) and their dwellings and to a land which you have not yet trodden (33.27).* And Arab generals are heard to justify their invasion 0 cheir Byzantine and Persian councerparts by saying that the lands were promised ro them by God (maw'ad Allab).”* Ic is easy co sce how the Muslims might portray their conquests as che taking of whae was rightfully cheirs, bu it i less obvious why Christian sources would do so. The Bible has Ishmael father many offspring who are to become a great nation (Genesis 17.20, 21.13), but there is no. mention of an inheritance The evidence, if not conclusive, is suggestive. Unfortunately, not enough work has yet been done on these and other non-Muslim sources 0 allow assessmene of their value for historical reconstruction. The issue hete is, as Wansborough succinctly pur it Can a vocabulary of motives be freely exerapolaced from a discrete collection of li stereotypes composed by alien and mostly hostile observers, and thereupon employed t0 describe, even incerpret, not merely the overe behaviour but also the intellectual and spisitual development of helpless and mostly innocent actors? Thus che references to Muhammad as “proclaiming the advent of the anointed one who is to come"*” and to Arabs as Israel's redemption might reflect only che preoccupations of Jews, among whom messianic expectations seem heightened at this time," Then Sebeos description of the Jews’ flight inco the desert and gathering together under Muhammad's banner would signal only the enactment of a well-worn Jewish messianic fantasy.” And the fracas chat takes place between Jews and Muslims over building plans on ehe Temple Mounc in Jerusalem might be construed as a conflict between the Jews’ wish to implement theit messianic programme and the Muslims’ practical needs." There is, however, a plechora of apocalyptic material presene in ehe Que’an and Muslim tradition, which might suggest thar the matter was noe so one-sided," More research would need co be done on this and other issues couched upon in chis essay before «final verdice could be given on Sebeos’ theory of the rise of Islam. The foregoing has, I hope, shown chat such investigation would be fruitful and that Sebeos’ account 98 ROBERT HOYLAND, should noc be dismissed as unworthy of consideration, for even if his own conclusions ae suspect, the evidence from which they are derived may be of interest. ‘The senteiy of Sources for this period precludes any too profigute an approach for its historians Notes Ke Patkanian ex, Parma in Seber pistpar (Se. Peesburg. 1879), 1034 F. Mace Muti d Heraclins par Vévique Sebtes Pati 1904), 95-6. On Sebeos see MK. Kekona, ‘cbeos, Historian ofthe Seventh Century” and . Arzoumanian, "A Citique of Secon and bis History of Heracius, a Seventh-Century Document”, in T.j. Samuelian ed, Close! Aumerian Caliwe. Influences and Creativity (Areenian Texts anal Studies 4; Pennsylvasn 1982), 52-67, 68-78 respectively P. Grone and M. Cook, Hagerim. The Making of te ldamic Word (Cambridge 1977), 6-8 Me Gil Histor of Palestine, 634-1099 (Cambridge 1992), 61 n. 64; Wansborough The Sectarian Miiew (Oxford 1978), 117; SH. Grifich, “Jews and Muslins in Cheiing Sie and Arabic Tests of the Ninth Cencury", Jewish Hivory 3 (1988), 89 Zs scory is narsced by Agapius of Menbij, “Kitab alUnwan", ed/tt. A. Vasile, Patologia Orientalis 8 (1912), 466; Michael Syrus, Chronique, ed, fe. JB. Chabor (Park 1899-1910), 4.409-10/2.409-10; Chemicon ad annum 1234 pertinens ed. JB. Chabee {(Corpas Seripocum Christianorum Orientalium 81 ir. 197i 36; Paris 1930), 255. Thee ae ‘clying upon a mid-ighth-ceneury Syriac source, and ultimately the report derives roc, te

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