John of Nikiû (
fl.
''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
680–690) was an
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
Coptic
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of
Nikiû (Pashati) in the
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...
and general administrator of the
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
of
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...
in 696. He is the author of a ''Chronicle'' extending from
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
to the end of the
Muslim conquest of Egypt
The Arab conquest of Egypt, led by the army of Amr ibn al-As, took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long Roman Egypt, Roman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broa ...
. John of Nikiû's ''Chronicle'' contains important historical details otherwise unknown.
Life
There are two main sources for John's life. The first is the ''
History of the Patriarchs'' by
Severus, Bishop of Al-Ashmunyn (
Heliopolis). This draws on two originally independent biographies that mention John: those of
Pope Isaac of Alexandria (690-692 CE) and
Pope Simeon I of Alexandria (692-700 CE). The second source is the Life of
Isaac of Alexandria composed by John's successor as bishop of Nikiu,
Mena of Nikiu, between 697 and 700 CE.
[Yirga, Felege-Selam Solomon.]
The Chronicle of John of Nikiu: Historical Writing in Post-Roman Egypt
(Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 2020).
According to the ''History of the Patriarchs'', John lived under the
Patriarchs John III,
Isaac
Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...
, and
Simeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...
. The Patriarch Simeon removed John from office for having disciplined a monk (presumed guilty of leading other monks into removing a nun from her monastery's cell in
Wadi Habib and sleeping with her) so severely that the monk died ten days later.
Chronicle
The original editor of this text, Zotenberg, argued that John of Nikiû's ''Chronicle'' was originally written mostly in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, theorising that some of the name forms indicate that John wrote the sections concerning Egypt in
Coptic. Scholarly opinion has shifted, however, to the belief that this chronicle was probably written in Coptic. The work survives only in a
Ge'ez translation. In 1602, an
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
translation of the original was made. Sections of the text are obviously corrupted with accidental omissions. Most notably, a passage covering thirty years (from 610 to 640) is missing. The narrative, especially the earlier sections up until the reign of Constantine, has many obvious historical errors. These may be due to mistakes by the copyist, or to a policy of deliberate negligence towards Pagan history. There are also many instances of myth and less a reliance on pure history, for instance, Julius Caesar's mother being cut open to birth him, resulting in a Caesarian section. This is a fable made up by later historians and bears no evidence to historical fact.
John's view of the earliest periods of history is informed by sources such as
Sextus Julius Africanus
Sextus Julius Africanus ( 160 – c. 240; ) was a Christian traveler and historian of the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. He influenced fellow historian Eusebius, later writers of Church history among the Church Fathers, and the Greek sch ...
and
John Malalas
John Malalas (; ; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch in Asia Minor.
Life
Of Syrian descent, Malalas was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in his life. The name ''Malalas'' probably derive ...
. The ''Chronicle'' is most noteworthy for its passages dealing with the early 7th century. John covers in detail the revolt of the
Thracian
The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...
armies in
602 and the subsequent overthrow of the Emperor
Maurice by the usurper
Phocas
Phocas (; ; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially a middle-ranking officer in the East Roman army, Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers in their disputes with the cour ...
. His account adds considerably to our knowledge of the reign of Phocas and particularly to the successful revolt against him begun at
Carthage
Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...
by
Heraclius
Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas.
Heraclius's reign was ...
. Unfortunately, the section dealing with the climactic
Persian wars
The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of th ...
waged by Heraclius is not extant.
Perhaps the most important section of John's ''Chronicle'' is that which deals with the invasion and conquest of Egypt by the Muslim armies of
Amr ibn al-Aas. Though probably not an eyewitness, John was most likely of the generation immediately following the conquest, and the Chronicle provides the only near-contemporary account. John describes the major events of Amr's campaign, such as the taking of the
Babylon Fortress
Babylon Fortress (; ) is an Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman fortress on the eastern bank of the Nile Delta, located in the area known today as Old Cairo or Coptic Cairo. The fortress was built circa 300 AD by Emperor Diocletian in order to protect ...
and the capture of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
. Though the timeline is occasionally confusing, its narrative details are often vivid.
In the ''Chronicle'', John vividly records the fear that gripped Egypt during the Muslim invasions:
Then a panic fell on all the cities of Egypt, and all their inhabitants took to flight, and made their way to Alexandria, abandoning all their possessions and wealth and cattle.
He also makes several mentions of alleged atrocities committed against the Copts by the Arabs:
And these Ishmaelites came and slew without mercy the commander of the troops and all his companions. And forthwith they compelled the city to open its gates, and they put to the sword all that surrendered, and they spared none, whether old men, babe or woman.
Also:
And thereupon the Moslem made their entry into Nakius, and took possession, and finding no soldiers (to offer resistance), they proceeded to put to the sword all whom they found in the streets and in the churches, men, women, and infants, and they showed mercy to none.
John also reports the prohibitive new taxes placed on the native population. In some cases, the taxes were so burdensome that families were forced to sell their children into slavery. He also admonishes Egyptians who abandoned Christianity in favour of Islam.
Writing from a
miaphysite
Miaphysitism () is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature (''physis'', ). It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It differs from the Dyophysitism of the ...
point of view — at odds with the
dyophysite
Dyophysitism (; from Greek δύο ''dyo'', "two" and φύσις ''physis'', "nature") is the Christological position that Jesus Christ is in two distinct, inseparable natures: divine and human. It is accepted by the majority of Christian denomin ...
Christology affirmed at the
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...
in 451 — John describes the Islamic invasion of his homeland as divine punishment for the
Chalcedonian
Chalcedonian Christianity is the branches of Christianity that accept and uphold theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, held in AD 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christological Definitio ...
beliefs which held sway in the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
. At the close of his ''Chronicle,'' John describes the despair felt by the conquered Alexandrians, writing:
None could recount the mourning and lamentation which took place in that city....And they had none to help them, and God destroyed their hopes and delivered the Christians into the hands of their enemies.
The account ends with the faith that divine retribution would still befall his people's enemies:
But the strong beneficence of God will put to shame those who grieve us, and He will make His love for man to triumph over our sins, and bring to naught the evil purposes of those who afflict us, who would not that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords should reign over them, (even) Jesus Christ our true God. As for those wicked slaves, He will destroy them in evil fashion: as saith the holy Gospel: 'As for Mine enemies who would not that I should reign over them, bring them unto Me.'
Editions and translations
*
Introductionan
from Tertullian.org
an
from earlychristianwritings.com.
* "La Chronique de Jean de Nikioû", ed. and translated into French by H. Zotenberg in ''Notices et Extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale'', t. XXIV, I, pp. 125–605 (Paris, 1883) and also separately (Paris, 1883).
Online versioni
Gallica websiteat the "
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...
")
Notes
Further reading
*Mingazov, S. 2012. Kubrat - pravitel’ Velikoy Bolgarii i Ketrades - personal Ioanna Nikiusskogo (‘Kubrat, the ruler of Great Bulgaria, and Qetrades, a character from the Chronicle of John of Nikiu’) (Kazan’: Iydatel’stvo Yaz, 2012).
Catholic Encyclopedia: John of Nikiû*
{{DEFAULTSORT:John of Nikiu
7th-century historians
Coptic Orthodox Christians from Egypt
7th-century Coptic Orthodox bishops
Egypt under the Umayyad Caliphate
Medieval Egyptian historians
7th-century Egyptian people