The ''History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria'' is a major historical work of the

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

. It is written in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, but draws extensively on Greek and Coptic sources. The compilation was based on earlier biographical sources. It was begun by

Severus Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ Severus ibn al-Muqaffaʿ ( ar, ساويرس بن المقفع) or Severus of El Ashmunein () (died 987) was a Coptic Orthodox Bishop, author and historian. In Arabic, his name is spelled Sawires ساويرس. Severus is sometimes confused with t ...

, although one scholar contests its attribution to him. It was continued by others including Michael,

bishop of Tinnis The bishop of Tanis was the head of the Christian church in the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis (today Ṣān al-Ḥagar). Although it is no longer a residential bishopric, it has been a titular bishopric in the Roman Catholic Church since the Middl ...

(11th century, writing in

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

, covering 880 to 1046), Mawhub ibn Mansur ibn Mufarrig, deacon of Alexandria, and Pope Mark III of Alexandria (for 1131 to 1167).

Description

The first half of the Arabic text known as the ''Ta'rikh Batarikat al-Kanisah al-Misriyah'' (transliterated Arabic) was edited and translated into English by Basil Thomas Alfred Evetts under the title ''History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria''. The remainder was published by O.H.E.Burmester with English translation. This work presents a compilation of the history of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria. The earlier portions of the text are derived mainly from

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...

and Coptic tradition. But from the 6th century onwards, the biographies grow longer and often seem to derive from documents written by eyewitnesses of the events recorded. The

Muslim conquest of Egypt The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman Egypt, Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. ...

is recorded, and a vivid eyewitness account included of the overthrow of the last Umayyad Caliph,

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم, Marwān ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of ...

. Severus also relates the famous miracle of moving the Mokattam Mountain during the ruling of the Fatimid Caliph

Al-Muizz Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Muizz li-Din Allah ( ar, ابو تميم معد المعزّ لدين الله, Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, Glorifier of the Religion of God; 26 September 932 – 19 December 975) was the fourth Fatimid calip ...

around 975 (as an eyewitness of that period). The complete text has since then been expanded with appendices and continuations running up to 1894. Indeed, one unpublished manuscript continues the text until 1923. Evetts stopped with the 52nd Patriarch,

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, who died in 849. Subsequent material was published and translated by various scholars led by

O. H. E. Burmester Oswald Hugh Ewart KHS-Burmester (1897 in Sandy, Bedfordshire – 22 November 1977 in Cairo) was a British specialist in Arabic Coptology. He is best known as the translator of most of the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria. In his later work ...

, in Cairo.

Translations

In 1713

Eusèbe Renaudot Eusèbe Renaudot (; 20 July 16461 September 1720) was a French theologian and Orientalist. Biography Renaudot was born in Paris, and brought up and educated for a career in the church. After being educated by the Jesuits, and joining the Oratori ...

published the Latin translation ''Historia patriarcharum alexandrinorum jacobitarum''. A scholarly Arabic edition was started by

Christian Friedrich Seybold Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

(1904).In ''Corpus scriptorum christianorum orientalium'', reprinted 1962.

Notes

References

*''The History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Orthodox Church to 849 AD'' * Johannes Den Heijer (1989), ''Mawhub ibn Manṣǖr ibn Mufarrig et l'historiographie copto-arabe''

Description

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Editions and translations

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