The ''Melkite Chronicle'' or ''Chronicle of 641'' is an anonymous

world chronicle A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...

written in

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 ...

shortly after the death of the Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...

in 641. has it "composed after 638". The chronicle is preserved in a single copy in the 8th- or 9th-century manuscript codex Sinai syr. 10 at folios 42–53. The codex also contains anti-

Miaphysite Miaphysitism is the Christology, Christological doctrine that holds Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, the "Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnate Logos (Christianity), Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (''physis'')." It is a posi ...

polemics. The copy of the chronicle is damaged and not complete in its present state.

André de Halleux André de Halleux (1929–1994) was a Belgian Franciscan (ordained 1953), and professor at the University of Louvain at the Theological Faculty (Patristics, theology of Eastern Churches, ecumenical movement, history of dogma) and at the Orient ...

argued that it is an epitome of a longer work written between 641 and 680, likely in 642. It has also been suggested that the longer original was written in the late 6th century and the epitomized and extended with a brief record of imperial reigns down to 641. The chronicle was the work of a

Chalcedonian Chalcedonian Christianity is the branch of Christianity that accepts and upholds theological and ecclesiological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christolo ...

cleric in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Although usually labelled

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...

, this is something of a misnomer, since this terminology did not come into use until after the

Third Council of Constantinople The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical a ...

(680/681). The anonymous author did not use the ''

Chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

'' of

Eusebius of Caesarea 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 Christia ...

. He did, however, use a now lost Miaphysite source also used by two Miaphysite Syriac chronicles: the '' Chronicle of 819'' and the ''

Chronicle of 846 The ''Chronicle of 846'' is a fragmentary universal chronicle written in Syriac by an anonymous author sometime between 846 and 873. Its focus for the later centuries, where it is most valuable, is ecclesiastical history. It is written from a Syr ...

''. He also made use of the historical compilation of

Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor is the designation used by modern scholarship for the anonymous 6th-century author who compiled a twelve-part history in the Syriac language around 569. It contains portions of the otherwise lost ''Ecclesiastical History'' of ...

. The chronicle begins with

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

and continues down to the death of Heraclius. For the early period it borrows its chronology from the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

. For the Christian era, it lists the holders of the patriarchal sees. It offers a Chalcedonian account of the

ecumenical councils An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote ar ...

and contains denunciations of the errors of

Arius Arius (; grc-koi, Ἄρειος, ; 250 or 256 – 336) was a Cyrenaic presbyter, ascetic, and priest best known for the doctrine of Arianism. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead in Christianity, which emphasized God the Father's un ...

and

Nestorius Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as controve ...

. From the time of Nestorius, it gets more detailed. It is most valuable for its coverage of the church in the 6th century. It contains unique Syriac accounts of the synods of

536 __NOTOC__ Year 536 (Roman numerals: DXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year after the Consulship of Belisarius. The denomination 536 for this year has been used since the early m ...

553 __NOTOC__ Year 553 ( DLIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 553 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

and

571 __NOTOC__ Year 571 ( DLXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 571 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. The acts of the poorly known council of 571 are lost and the ''Melkite Chronicle'' provides information not found elsewhere. Its most detailed coverage concerns

Philoxenus of Mabbugh Philoxenus of Mabbug (Syriac: , ') (died 523), also known as Xenaias and Philoxenus of Hierapolis, was one of the most notable Syriac prose writers and a vehement champion of Miaphysitism. Early life He was born, probably in the third quarter of ...

Severus of Antioch Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...

and, to a lesser extent,

Timothy Aelurus Pope Timothy II of Alexandria (died 477), also known as Timothy Ailuros (from Greek Αἴλουρος, "cat," because of his small build or in this case probably "weasel"), succeeded twice in supplanting the Chalcedonian patriarch of Alexandria. ...

, all of whom are accused of error and lust for power.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{refend Syriac chronicles 7th-century history books