Persian Martyr Acts in Syriac: Text and Translation

The reign of King Khusrō I (531–579 CE) was a key chapter in the history of the Persian Empire, but it was also an important period for the development of the Church of the East. The Martyrdom of Mar Grigor Piran-Gušnasp and the Martyrdom of Mar Yazd-panah offer a panoramic perspective onto the social, religious, and political life of Christians in the Sasanian Empire at this time. According to these contemporary accounts, the death of Grigor, the general of the Sasanian king’s armies and a convert from Zoroastrianism to Christianity, triggered the conversion of other Zoroastrian notables, including the courtier ʿAwira and Yazd-panāh, a judge who also died as a martyr three years after Grigor. This volume provides a critical text and commentary, as well as the first translation into English, of these two East Syrian texts, which have received little scholarly attention, although they are among the few Syriac martyr accounts from this period. These texts demonstrate how Persian Christians, despite sporadic persecution, were able to maintain a distinct identity while simultaneously acculturating to the norms of Iranian society, even taking on significant offices within the Sasanian administration.

The History of Holy Mar Ma‘in of Sinjar tells the story of a Sasanian general during the time of Shapur II (309-79) who suffered persecution after his conversion to Christianity. In this volume, the first in this new series from Gorgias Press, Sebastian P. Brock provides the first edition ever of the Syriac text of the History of Ma‘in as well as the first full translation of it. This volume also includes a basic guide to the whole corpus of Persian Martyr Acts as well as useful indices to these numerous texts.

The first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of a fascinating text which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher. After converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’), he is martyred by his father. In a detailed introduction, Butts and Gross challenge the use of this text by previous scholars as evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians, reevaluating its purpose and situating the story in its Late Antique Babylonian context.

This volume presents five vivid tales of Christian martyrs from the fifth century. These accounts thematize the conflict between the martyrs' identity as Persian subjects loyal to the Zoroastrian king and their devotion to Christianity.

The Martyrs of Mount Ber’ain is the poignant tale of three noble Iranian siblings who are martyred under Shapur II. Composed in the seventh century, it demonstrates enduring concerns of Christian self-definition in Iran, especially with respect to the Zoroastrian priesthood.

The Martyrdom, and the later History, of Simeon bar Sabba’e narrate the death of the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon who was killed around the year 340 C.E. at the beginning of King Shapur II’s “Great Persecution” of Christians in Sasanian Persia.

This volume contains the Syriac Life of Mar Pinhas, a purported martyr under the Sasanian Empire. This edition contains the Syriac text (first published in 1894 by Paul Bedjan), an English translation, explanatory annotations, and Addai Scher's Arabic version of the story.