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Abgar VIII of
Edessa, also known as Abgar the Great or Abgar bar Ma'nu, was an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
king of
Osroene
Osroene or Osrhoene (; grc-gre, Ὀσροηνή) was an ancient region and state in Upper Mesopotamia. The ''Kingdom of Osroene'', also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" ( syc, ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܐܘܪܗܝ / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to ...
from 177-212 CE.
Abgar the Great was most remembered for his alleged conversion to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in about 200 CE and the declaration of Christianity as the official religion of the city at that time.
It has been suggested that a cross shown on the tiara of Abgar VIII in coins he minted have Christian meaning.
Osrhoene was a
client state
A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
in this era, Prior to Abgar VIII, in , the
Roman military
The military of ancient Rome, according to Titus Livius, one of the more illustrious historians of Rome over the centuries, was a key element in the rise of Rome over "above seven hundred years" from a small settlement in Latium to the capital o ...
had reinstated
Abgar VII
Abgar VII was king of Osrhoene from . His primary goal was to remain independent of both the major powers in the region, the Roman and the Parthian Empires. Toward this end, he supported the Roman Emperor Trajan's military campaign into Mesopota ...
, and they continued to have a significant presence in the region. However, Abgar VIII's behavior indicates that he was not wholly loyal to Rome nor was closely monitored by Rome. While Abgar VIII's
coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
bear the image of the Roman
Emperor Commodus, Abgar's goals were to maintain a degree of independence and to extend his influence geographically as much as possible without disturbing the greater powers of Rome and
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
.
Abgar VIII supported
Pescennius Niger as Roman Emperor in , who was swiftly challenged and deposed by the Emperor
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
. Abgar VIII's submission to Septimus Severus is portrayed on the
Arch of Severus in Rome. He was not deposed, but Osrhoene was made a
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
and Abgar's kingdom was reduced to a
rump state
A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case ...
containing just the city of Edessa. Abgar was fully reconciled with Septimus Severus and was later received with honor as a guest of Septimus Severus in Rome. In an additional display of loyalty, Abgar VIII took on the Latin name Lucius Aelius Aurelius Septimus.
Christianity spread in Edessa significantly during Abgar VIII's reign. The ''
Chronicle of Edessa
The ''Chronicle of Edessa'' ( la, Chronicon Edessenum) is an anonymous history of the city of Edessa written in the mid-6th century in the Syriac language. "''Chronicle of Edessa''" is a conventional title; in the manuscript it is titled ''Histor ...
'' () reports that a Christian church building in Edessa was damaged in a flood in November . The Christian philosopher
Bardaisan
Bardaisan (11 July 154 – 222 AD; syr, ܒܪ ܕܝܨܢ, ''Bardaiṣān''), known in Arabic as Ibn Daisan (ابن ديصان) and in Latin as Bardesanes, was a Syriac-speaking Assyrian or ParthianProds Oktor Skjaervo. ''Bardesanes''. Encyclopædia ...
lived in Abgar VIII's court. In 1904
Adolf von Harnack proposed that
Lucius of Britain
Lucius (Welsh: Lles map Coel, Lleirwg, Lleufer or Lleufer Mawr) was a supposed 2nd-century king of the Britons traditionally credited with introducing Christianity into Britain. Lucius is first mentioned in a 6th-century version of the ''Liber Po ...
, a ruler mentioned in the
Liber Pontificalis as contemporaraneous with
Pope Eleutherius
Pope Eleutherius (died 24 May 189), also known as Eleutherus, was the bishop of Rome from c. 174 to his death. His pontificate is alternatively dated to 171-185 or 177-193. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
He is linked to a numb ...
, actually was Abgar of Edessa. Harnack argued that '
Britanio' was written as an erroneous expansion for '
Britio', a citadel of
Edessa. Harnack's proposal has been challenged by British archaeologist David J. Knight, who argued that Abgar of Edessa was never called Lucius of Britio/Birtha in contemporary sources.
['King Lucius of Britain' by David J. Knight ()]
Upon his death in 212 CE, Abgar the Great was succeeded by his son
Abgar IX
Abgar IX Severus was king of Osroene.
Abgar succeeded his father, Abgar VIII in 212. In 213 Abgar IX and his son were summoned to Rome and murdered at the orders of Caracalla. A year later Caracalla ended the independence of Osroene and incorpora ...
. Though Abgar IX was summoned with his son to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 213 CE and murdered at the orders of
Caracalla
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
. A year later Caracalla ended the independence of Osroene and incorporated it as a province into
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
.
See also
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Abgar V
Abgar V (c. 1st century BC - c. AD 50), called Ukkāmā (meaning "the Black" in Syriac and other dialects of Aramaic),, syr, ܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ, ʾAḇgar Ḥmīšāyā ʾUkkāmā, hy, Աբգար Ե Եդեսացի, Abgar Hingero ...
Notes
Citations
References
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Further reading
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Year of birth unknown
2nd-century Arabs
3rd-century Arabs
3rd-century Christians
212 deaths
Rulers of Osroene
Syriac Christians
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