Stewards Of The Poor: The Man of God, Rabbula, and Hiba in Fifth-Century... Jesus, King of Edessa: Jesus discovered in the historical record, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. [6][7] The ridge in turn was an extension of Mount Masius, part of the Taurus Mountains of southern Asia Minor. Count Baldwin II and future count Joscelin of Courtenay were taken captive after their defeat at the Battle of Harran in 1104. According to Joshua the Stylite, a shrine to some martyred saints was built outside the city walls in 346 or 347. Edessa was an ancient city (polis) in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (r. 305–281 BC), founder of the Seleucid Empire. The Roman soldier and Latin historian Ammianus Marcellinus described the city's formidable fortifications and how in 359 it successfully resisted the attack of Shapur II (r. [6] The city was located at a crossroads; the east–west highway from Zeugma on the Euphrates to the Tigris, and the north–south route from Samosata (modern-day Samsat) to the Euphrates via Carrhae (modern-day Harran) met at the ridge where Edessa was located.[6]. King Abgar & the Mandylionby Unknown Artist (Public Domain). This school, largely attended by the Christian youth of Persia, and closely watched by Rabbula, the friend of Cyril of Alexandria, on account of its Nestorian tendencies, reached its highest development under bishop Ibas, famous through the Three-Chapter Controversy, was temporarily closed in 457, and finally in 489, by command of Emperor Zeno and Bishop Cyrus, when the teachers and students of the School of Edessa repaired to Nisibis and became the founders and chief writers of the Church of the East. Zebra Whisperer: Haleplibahce Mosaics of Edessaby Ronnie Jones III (CC BY-NC-SA). Orpheus Mosaic: Edessa/Urda/Haleplibahçe Mosaicsby Ronnie Jones III (CC BY-NC-SA). Around 1078 CE, the Seljuks created the Sultanate of Rum, but the gifted general Philaretos Brachamios managed to keep Edessa in Byzantine hands. At the same time that Edessa was the subject of imperial rivalries, the city still managed to become a great centre of culture and learning, especially of Christian scholarship. But why didn't the county call itself a duchy? Although the kingdom was, in reality, a vassal state of Parthia, it proved a useful buffer zone between that empire and the emerging Roman Empire. The Mandylion icon was actually a scarf or shroud which was considered to have on it the image of Jesus Christ. County of Edessa 1135 locator-es.svg 787 × 959; 130 KB. It resisted the attack of Shapur I (r. 240–270) in his third invasion of Roman territory. Ancient Edessa is the predecessor of modern Urfa (Turkish: Şanlıurfa; Kurdish: Riha‎; Arabic: الرُّهَا‎, romanized: ar-Ruhā; Armenian: Ուռհա, romanized: Urha), in the Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. An unsuccessful Sasanian siege occurred in 544. Unable to visit in person, Christ pressed his face against a cloth, which left an impression, and then sent the cloth to Abgar. Under the Sasanian emperor Kavad I (r. 488–531), the Persians attacked Edessa, and according to Joshua the Stylite the shrine outside the walls set up in the 340s was burnt. Once again the city was sacked to celebrate Nur ad-Din's new power. Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII . Gûrja, Shâmôna, Habib, and others under Diocletian. It is not clear whether Baldwin issued any coins during his reign as count of Edessa, which lasted until 1100 when he became the king of Jerusalem. Among the illustrious disciples of the School of Edessa, Bardaisan (154–222), a schoolfellow of Abgar IX, deserves special mention for his role in creating Christian religious poetry, and whose teaching was continued by his son Harmonius and his disciples. County Of Edessa Objectives Kill Enemy Lord ‘March the enemy eastwards and reinforce Bira. The county was established under dubious circumstances by Baldwin of Boulogne in March 1098 CE. According to the late-6th-century Frankish hagiographer and bishop Gregory of Tours, the relics had themselves been brought from India, while in Edessa an annual fair (and alleviation of customs duties) was held at the church in July in the saint's honour (the feast of St Thomas was observed on 3 July) during which, Gregory alleged, water would appear in shallow wells and flies disappeared. Joscelin was captured a second time in 1122, and although Edessa recovered … However, there is no doubt that even before AD 190 Christianity had spread vigorously within Edessa and its surroundings and that shortly after the royal house joined the church. Christianity is attested in Edessa in the 2nd century; the gnostic Bardaisan was a native of the city and a philosopher at its court. In the 2nd century BCE, Edessa became the capital and royal residence of Osroene, a region of the Seleucid Empire in north-west Mesopotamia which declared itself an independent kingdom (traditional date 132 BCE). Following its capture and sack by Trajan, the Romans even occupied Edessa from 116 to 118, although its sympathies towards the Parthians led to Lucius Verus pillaging the city later in the 2nd century. Further, Edessa was a strategically important shield to Antioch further west and a strong platform from which to launch raids deeper into Muslim-held Mesopotamia. Joscelin II of Edessa (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa.. … Edessa was at first more or less under the protectorate of the Parthians, then of Tigranes of Armenia, Edessa was Armenian Mesopotamia's capital city, then from the time of Pompey under the Roman Empire. [3], Edessa was rebuilt by Justin I (r. 518–527), and renamed Justinopolis after him. He said: "God promised that country to Abraham and to his son after him, for eternity. Then a more permanent political situation was arrived at when the Seljuk Muslims won significant victories in Asia Minor against Byzantine armies, notably at the Battle of Manzikert in ancient Armenia in August 1071 CE. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. [citation needed]. From there it was taken to the Great Palace of Constantinople. Have you ever wonder? The County of Edessa Latin: Comitatus Edessanus was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century. [citation needed] Sebeos writes of a Jewish delegation going to an Arab city (possibly Medina) after the Byzantines conquered Edessa: Twelve peoples [representing] all the tribes of the Jews assembled at the city of Edessa. There are some portions of the city’s fortification walls still in situ and many tombs and mosaics from Late Antiquity and early-medieval Edessa. Perhaps most striking are two columns, each around 18.2 (60 ft) high, which stand on the city’s citadel. The city was situated on the banks of the Daysan River (Latin: Scirtus; Turkish: Kara Koyun), a tributary of the Khabur, and was defended by Şanlıurfa Castle, the high central citadel. A city within the Seleucid Empire, then capital of the kingdom of Osroene, then a Roman provincial city, Edessa found itself perennially caught between empires, especially between Rome and Parthia. [3] From 212 to 214 the kingdom was a Roman province. The Byzantine Empire often tried to retake Edessa, especially under Romanos I Lekapenos, who obtained from the inhabitants the "Image of Edessa", an ancient portrait of Christ, and solemnly transferred it to Constantinople, August 16, 944. The officers (or great officers) of the County of Edessa were the appointed officials in charge of various aspects of the government of the county. 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