Edessa G
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EDESSA (Aram. and Syr. Urhai/Orhāi; Ar. Rohāʾ), now Urfa in southeastern Turkey, former capital of ancient Osrhoene ( Figure 1 ). It is situated on a limestone ridge, an extension of the ancient Mount Masius in the Taurus mountains of southern Anatolia, where the east-west highway from Zeugma (in the vicinity of modern Birecik) on the Euphrates to the Tigris met the north-south route from Samosata (Somaysāṭ) to the Euphrates via Carrhae (Ḥarrān). Edessa was held successively by the Seleucids, Parthians, and Romans. The history of pre-Hellenistic Urhai is unknown, but the name may have been derived from Persian Ḵosrow (Gr. Osróēs; Procopius, De Bello Persico 1.17.23-24). It may have been the abundant sources of water at Urhai that inspired Seleucus Nicator, who founded the Greek settlement there in about 303 B.C.E., to name it after the old Macedonian royal city, which was also well supplied with water (Appian, Syriaca 57; Stephanus Byzantius, s.v . Edessa). The name was later changed, probably by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-64 B.C.E.), to Antiochia on the Callirhoe (a local fishpond), but after his reign it reverted to Edessa and Urhai.
The fact that coins were minted at Edessa under Antiochus IV suggests a degree of autonomy and importance in the Seleucid period. Greeks were never predominant in the population, however, as attested by the epithet “half-barbarian” (Gk. mixobárbaros ; Malalas, pp. 418-19). Arab influence was strong in the region, and when Seleucid power declined in the late 2nd century B.C.E. Edessa became the capital of a small kingdom, ruled by the so-called “ Abgar dynasty,” generally allied with the Parthians, and under strong Parthian cultural influence. Pliny the Elder (5.85) called the inhabitants of Osrhoene “Arabes,” and the ruler was also known as “phylarch” or “toparch” of the Saracens (Festus, 14). It was upon entering Edessa in 114 C.E. that the Roman emperor Trajan received the title Arabicus. From that time onward Edessa came increasingly within the Roman sphere.
In the Roman civil wars of 193-94 Edessa supported Gaius Pescennius Niger, governor of Syria, who made peace with the Parthians before being defeated by Septimus Severus (193-211). At some time between 195 and 199 Severus created two new provinces out of the conquered territories beyond the Euphrates, to serve as buffers for the province of Syria. According to a fragmentary inscription from the ruined fortress at Eski Hasr, about 70 km west-northwest of Edessa, it had been built “between the province of Osrhoene and the kingdom of Abgar” (Wagner), evidence that Abgar VIII (177-212) had retained his domain, though it must have been reduced to a small area around Edessa. The kingdom of Osrhoene was finally abolished in 249 (Michael, V/5, pp. 77-78).
Christianity must have been established in Edessa before the end of the 2nd century C.E., as a “church” was among the buildings destroyed in a disastrous flood in about 216 ( Chronicle , pp. 1-2). The city had its martyrs (Guria and Shamona being the best known) during the persecutions under Diocletian (284-305). After they ceased Christianity quickly became the dominant religion in Edessa, which was a favorite stopping place for pilgrims on their way to nearby Carrhae. Abgar IX (214-40) was a patron of the gnostic teacher Bardesanes , who played an important role in the life at court. A letter from Mani (d. 274) to the community at Edessa, cited in the Cologne Mani Codex , indicates that Man-icheans were also active in the city even during his lifetime.
Although the Sasanian Šāpūr I (240-70) won a great victory near Edessa in 260, capturing the Roman emperor Valerian, in his inscription at Kaʿba-ye Zardošt near Persepolis the city is not listed among those captured in that campaign. This omission and the fact that he had to bribe his way past the garrison at Edessa during his withdrawal suggest that the city either held out against him or was under his control for only a short time. After Galerius Maximianus’ victory over the Persians in 298 Edessa became the capital of the new province of Osrhoene. Its military importance was emphasized by the Roman turncoat Antoninus, who pointed out to Šāpūr II (309-79) in 359 that, if Edessa were not captured, his rear would not be secure (Ammianus Marcellinus 18.5.7). While Nisibis was the major fortress in the Mesopotamian limes, Edessa served as a base, providing fresh supplies of men and material to the forward position. It was probably during Diocletian’s reorganization in 293 that a state factory was built there to provide arms and equipment for the troops deployed on the frontier (Malalas, p. 307; Notitia Dignitatum [east] 11.23). Edessaδs own defenses were never tested by the Persian army during the reign of Šāpūr II. There is no indication that it had a regular garrison, apart from soldiers seconded to serve on the staff of the commander of the province ( dux Osrhoenae ).
When the Roman emperor Jovian surrendered Nisibis to the Persians in 363 a flood of refugees, mainly Christians, poured into Edessa. Among them was the poet Ephraim the Syrian, who helped to found a seminary popularly known as the “school of the Persians.” In the christological controversies of the late 4th century the school took the side of Nestorius and, as the population of Edessa increasingly adopted the Monophysite view, was finally forced to move to Nisibis, which was still held by the Persians. Edessa withstood a fierce siege in 544 (Procopius, De Bello Persico 2.26.5-2.27.46) but fell to Ḵosrow II Parvēz (590-628, with interruption) in his sweep across Mesopotamia in 609 ( Chronicon , p. 699). A number of leading Monophysites were deported to Persia (see DEPORTATIONS ii ). The Byzantine emperor Heraclius retook Edessa in 628 and restored orthodoxy. In 18/639 the Byzantine general Ptolemaius surrendered the city to the advancing Arabs.
For some centuries after the Muslim conquest Edessa was inhabited by a substantial Christian population, despite the damage inflicted by sieges, sacks, and predatory governors. In about 421/1030 the town was retaken by the Byzantines, who held it until 479/1086, when it was recaptured by the Saljuqid Malekšāh (465-85/1072-92); he lost it to an Armenian adventurer a few years later. In 492-538/1097-1144 the city was the capital of the Crusader county of Edessa. In 658/1260 it surrendered to the Mongols, becoming one of the westernmost towns of the Il-khanid and Timurid empires. It was taken from the Āq Qoyunlū by Shah Esmāʿīl I (907-30/1501-24).
Urfa (1965 population 73,400) is now the capital of the Turkish province of the same name.
Chronicle of Edessa , ed. I. Guidi et al., CSCO 1, Louvain, 1955.
Chronicon Paschale , ed. L. Dindorf, Bonn, 1832.
H. J. W. Drijvers, “Hatra, Palmyra und Edessa,” ANRW II/8, 1978, pp. 799-906.
E. Honigmann [C. E. Bosworth], “al-Ruhā,” in EI 2 VIII, pp. 589-91.
Ioannis Malalas, Ioannis MalalaeChronographia , ed. L. Dindorf, Bonn, 1831.
E. Meyer, “Edessa,” in Pauly-Wissowa V/2, cols. 1933-38.
Michael the Syrian, Chronique de Michel le Syrien , ed. J. B. Chabot, 3 vols., Paris 1899-1904.
J. B. Segal, Edessa the Blessed City , Oxford, 1970.
J. Wagner, “Provincia Osrhoenae. New Archaeological Finds Illustrating the Military Organization under the Severan Dynasty,” in S. Mitchell, ed., Armies and Frontiers in Roman and Byzantine Anatolia , BAR 156, Oxford, 1983, pp. 103-30.
Originally Published: December 15, 1997
This article is available in print. Vol. VIII, Fasc. 2, pp. 174-175
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Known as the "Holy Mandylion" to Orthodox Christians, the Image of Edessa is a piece of cloth that is said to have been miraculously imprinted with the face of Jesus Christ . According to legend, the Image of Edessa was given to King Abgar of the ancient city of Edessa, and cured him of illness. In the early fourth century, Eusebius of Caesarea transcribed correspondence in which the King requests a visit from Christ, who promises to instead send an apostle to visit him. Apostle Thaddaeus later visited the King which reportedly resulted in his miraculous healing.
Although legend indicates that King Abgar received the Image of Edessa as a gift from Christ, the correspondence translated by Eusebius of Caesarea in History of the Church does not mention the image. In further documentation, the Doctrine of Addai (Thaddeus) it is mentioned that the King sent a court artist to Christ to paint his image. A resulting legend embraced as fact by the Christian Orthodox church, considers the Image of Edessa a work of God and not humans; what the Greek described as “Akheiropoietos” or “Icon Not Made by Hands.”
In the tenth century, the Image of Edessa was sent from Edessa (now the city of Urfa) to Constantinople, where it disappeared in the 1204 sacking of the city during the Fourth Crusade. The Image of Edessa later resurfaced in Paris, as part of King Louis IX of France's Sainte Chapelle, only to be lost again during the French Revolution. In the 19th century, reproductions of the Image of Edessa were carried by the Russian armies as “Khorugvs” or religious banners, and proliferated several Byzantine churches.
As one of many religious relics reportedly bearing a miraculous image of Christ, such as the Veil of Veronica; the Image of Edessa is often confused with the Shroud of Turin –- a large cloth said to be the full-body imprint of Christ. Journalist, Ian Wilson, has theorized that the object touted as the Image of Edessa between the sixth to thirteenth century was, in fact, the Shroud of Turin, folded and framed so that the face was visible. The Vatican Library’s Codex Vossianus Latinus seems to support this theory through its eighth-century account that “King Abgar received a cloth on which one can see not only a face but the whole body”.
Today, there are two remaining relics attributed to the legend of the Image of Edessa. The Holy Face of Genoa, kept in the Church of St. Bartholomew of The Armenians; and the Holy Face of San Silvestro, kept in the Vatican’s Matilda chapel.
For further information of the Mandylion of Edessa, please read "Jesus, King of Edessa".
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“ We enjoyed so much our stay at this cozy apartment, everything is right next to it and is super value for money! We totally recommend to other fellow travelers to stay at George's & Georgia's place. ”
“ Very convenient location, comfortable for our 1 night stay and Georgia was very kind guiding us by phone to the parking location! ”
“ We got the feeling we stay in a nice family apartment, well organized. Not like in a simple hotel room or guesthouse.
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“ Close to the city, everything at walking distance. Nice that you can make tea and coffee and more if you want. ”
“ very clean and spacious apartment, perfectly located. excellent communication with the owners. ”
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