Arethas or Aretas ( ar, الحارث بن كعب ''al-Ḥārith bin-Ka'ab'') was the leader of the

Christian 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'' (Χρι ...

community of

Najran Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen fr ...

in the early 6th century, was executed during the

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

of Christians by the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas in 523. He is known from the ''Acta S. Arethae'' (also called ''Martyrium sancti Arethae'' or ''Martyrium Arethae'') which exists in two recensions: the earlier and more authentic, which was found by Michel Le Quien (''Oriens Christianus'', ii. 428) and was subsequently dated as no later than the 7th century; the later, revised by

Simeon Metaphrastes Symeon, called Metaphrastes or the Metaphrast (; ; died c. 1000), was a Byzantine writer and official. He is regarded as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his feast day falls on 9 or 28 November. He is best known for his 10-volume Gree ...

, dates from the 10th century. The Ge'ez and

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 ...

versions of the text were published in 2006 and the Greek version in 2007.Marina Detoraki and J.Beaucamp, 2007, Le martyre de saint Aréthas et de ses compagnons (BHG 166), édition critique, étude et annotation Marina Detoraki, traduction par Joëlle Beaucamp, appendice sur les versions orientales par André Binggeli = Collège de France – CNRS, Centre de recherche, d’histoire et de civilisation de Byzance, Travaux et Mémoires – Monographies 27, Le massacre de Najrân. Religion et politique en Arabie du Sud au VIe siècle I, Paris: Association des amis du Centre d’histoire et de civilisation de Byzance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arethas 523 deaths 6th-century Arabs Ancient history of Yemen History of Saudi Arabia Year of birth unknown Arab Christian saints 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Christian martyrs

See also

References