The ''Chronicle of Edessa'' ( la, Chronicon Edessenum) is an anonymous history of the city of

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

written in the mid-6th century in the

Syriac language The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic language, Aramaic dialect that emerged during ...

. "''Chronicle of Edessa''" is a conventional title; in the manuscript it is titled ''Histories of Events in Brief'' (

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

: ܬܫ̈ܥܝܬܐ ܕܣܘܥܪ̈ܢܐ ܐܝܟ ܕܒܦܣܝ̈ܩܬܐ, ''Tašʿyātā d-suʿrāne a(y)k da-b-pāsiqātā''). The ''Chronicle of Edessa'' is generally agreed to have been written around . The ''Chronicle'' primarily used old Edessan royal archives as its source, as well as some more recent church records, and accordingly is thought to be historically reliable. It may make use of a lost history of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. It is extant only in an abbreviated version in a single manuscript, Vatican Syriac 163 (Vat. Syr. 163). This manuscript, from the Syrian Convent of Our Lady in the Wadi El Natrun, was acquired by

Giuseppe Simone Assemani Giuseppe Simone Assemani (Classical Syriac : ܝܵܘܣܸܦ ܒܲܪ ܫܸܡܥܘܿܢ , ( ar, يوسف بن سمعان السمعاني ''Yusuf ibn Siman as-Simani'', en, Joseph Simon Assemani, la, Ioseph Simonius Assemanus; July 27, 1687–January 13 ...

during a trip to the Near East from 1715–1717 taken at the request of

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

. Some excerpts of the lost full version of the text—sometimes called the ''Original Chronicle of Edessa''—are preserved in other Syriac chronicles. The ''Chronicle'' covers the period from the founding of the kingdom of

Osrhoene 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 ...

in until 540, but few events are recorded before the 3rd century. The ''Chronicle'' picks up with a record of a flood of the river Daysan during the reign of

Abgar VIII __NOTOC__ Abgar VIII of Edessa, also known as Abgar the Great or Abgar bar Ma'nu, was an Arab king of Osroene from 177-212 CE. Abgar the Great was most remembered for his alleged conversion to Christianity in about 200 CE and the declaration of ...

in November 201, which damaged a Christian church building in Edessa. This is the earliest mention of a building dedicated exclusively to Christian worship, as well as one of few records of Christianity in Edessa at this time. Unlike other

Syriac literature Syriac literature is literature in the Syriac language. It is a tradition going back to the Late Antiquity. It is strongly associated with Syriac Christianity. Terminology In modern Syriac studies, and also within the wider field of Aramaic stu ...

, the ''Chronicle'' does not contain any legends of the

Apostle Thaddeus Jude ( grc-gre, Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Thaddeus ( grc-gre, Θαδδαῖος; cop, ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; ...

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