Sultana Mahdokht (died January 12, 319) was the daughter of Pholar, the Prince of Dorsas. Together with her brothers Adorfrowa and Mehrnarsa, Mahdokht is a canonized saint in all branches of the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

due to her and her brothers' execution on January 12, 319 A.D. for leaving the Zoroastrian faith at a time when

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...

was punished by death under

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigned fo ...

. All branches of the

commemorate their feast day on January 12. They are also commemorated in the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

. She is also the patron saint of the village of

Araden Araden ( ar, أرادن, , syr, ܐܪܕܢ) is a village in Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located in the Sapna valley in the Amadiya District. In the village, there are Chaldean Catholic churches of Mart Shmune, Sultana M ...

, which is located in northern Iraq. The Sultana Mahdokht Church dating from the 4th century in Araden commemorates her by bearing her name (which comes ). It is a pilgrimage site for many

Syriac Christians Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are expr ...

References

319 deaths 4th-century women Women from the Sasanian Empire Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism {{EasternCatholic-bio-stub