The history of the Holy Mar Maʻin : with a guide to the Persian martyr acts

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. Composed probably in the sixth century, this text is of a higher literary quality than most of the other texts describing martyrdoms under Shapur II. 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 Persian Martyr Acts are a series of Syriac martyrological texts composed from the fourth century into the Islamic period. One of the only of these martyr acts never before published is the History of Holy Mar Ma‘in of Sinjar, which tells the story of a Sasanian general during the time of Shapur II (309–79) who suffered persecution after his conversion to Christianity. Composed probably in the sixth century, the life of this confessor and holy man is of a higher literary quality than most of the other texts describing martyrdoms under Shapur II. Like several other similar documents, such as the History of Mar Qardag, it appears to be a legendary projection back onto the great age of Christian martyrs of the fourth century. In this volume, the first in this new series from Gorgias Press, Sebastian P. Brock provides the first edition of the Syriac text of the History of Ma‘in and the first full translation of it, as well as a textual and historical commentary. In addition to these materials, this volume also includes a basic guide to the bibliography, both primary and secondary, of the whole corpus of Persian Martyr Acts as well as useful indices to these numerous and diverse texts. This will serve as a basic handbook to any future literary or historical work on the Martyr Acts."-- Publisher's website Introduction and outline Synopsis Literary models Date of composition : the linguistic evidence Fiey's dating of the life Topography The chronological data Historicity The manuscript The present edition Apparatus Translation Annotation A guide to the Persian martyr acts Syriac texts Under Vahran II (276-293) Under Shapur II (309-379) Late fourth century Under Yazdgard I (399-420) Under Vahram V (421-438) Under Yazdgard II (439-457) Late fifth century Under Khosro I (531-579) Under Khosro I/Hormizd iv/khosro II Under Khosro II (591-628) Concordance with Bedjan, AMS II and IV Early manuscripts Greek translations Personal names, excluding biblical Biblical personal names Place names (alphabeticized according to the Syriac alphabet) Names of Persian martyrs listed at the end of British Library, add. 12,150 (copied in Edessa and dated November, AD 411).

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.