MARTYRES SUB JULIANO APOSTATA, I

THE ACTUAL SITE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF SAINTS MANUEL, SAVEL AND ISMAIL

The three martyrs commemorated in the Orthodox Church on June 17/30 are said to have suffered under the Emperor Julian the Apostate, i.e. around 362-363. ¹ The Bollandist scholar Baudouin de Guefier once placed these saints in the most complex and poorly documented category of martyrs, "sub Juliano Apostata" ^.2 Reviewing the documents related to the so-called "dossier" of these martyrs is not particularly difficult due to their small number. The dossier usually includes:" ancient " (pre-metaphrastic) martyrdom BHG 1023 ³, published by Bollandist D. Papebroch ⁴ (VA); metaphrase BHG 1024, compiled by Rev. Simeon Logothete in the second half of the tenth century, found and published by V. V. Latyshev ⁵ on the list of the royal minaea and two epitomes, or abbreviations BHG 1024d and 1024e, based mainly on ancient martyrdom, one  is in the National Library in Paris Cod. Paris. 1488, and the other is published by the same V. V. Latyshev ⁶ . To this, perhaps, it is necessary to add a number of further epithets, or rather long short hagiographies, compiled at different times on the basis of the above versions ⁷ . The difference between the two forms of hagiography, pre-metaphrasic and metaphrase, is quite significant and cannot be reduced to the usual systematizing editing of Metaphrastus, as O. I. Deleuze imagined, ⁸ but it probably involves a more serious problem. Modern research shows that the metaphrases of Simeon and his successors did not represent the forced "stuffing" of ancient documents into the Procrustean bed of the hagiographic scheme. As the researchers note, Rev. Simeon was extremely careful in his handling of the factual material contained in the ancient pre-metaphysical versions (the so-called qimen), it would simply be incorrect to assume that he deliberately distorted the hagiographic legends. Most likely, the two martyrdom dates back to different hagiographic prototypes, that is, ultimately to different ways of hagiographic interpretation.

I have previously tried to show that these three martyrs must have been associated with one of the Arab tribal groups on the border of Persia and the Byzantine Empire ^.10 My interpretation was based on the fact that in a number of sources when-

^{Preosv. St. Sergius.} 1 The Complete Month of the East. Vol. II. Holy East. Vladimir, 1901. P. 183.

^{Gaiffier B.de.} 2 "Sub Juliano Apostata" dans Ie Martyrologe Remain // Analecta Bollandiana. 1956. 74. P. 5-49. For a review of the dossier, see also Sauget J.-M. Manuele, Sabele e Ismaele / / Bibliotheca Sanctorum. Roma, 1983. s.v.

^{Halkin F.} 3 Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca. Bruxelles, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as BUG), a traditional repertory of Byzantine hagiography.

⁴ Acta Sanctorum Junii, III. Antwerp, 1701 (hereinafter-AASS). P. 233-237.

^{Latyshev V. V.} 5 Unpublished Greek hagiographic texts / / Memoires de l'Academie des Sciences de Russie. SPb., 1914. V. XII. N 2. P. 28-39.

^{Latysev В.} 6 Menologii anonymi byzantini saec. X quae supersunt. Fasc. 2. Petropoli, 1912. P. 67-72.

⁷ On the basis of one of these versions, the literary life in the modern Menaea, ed. By the Moscow Patriarchate.

^{Delehaye N.} 8 Saints de Thrace et de Mesie / / Analecta Bollandiana. 1912. XXXI. P. 233.

^{Hogel С.} 9 The Redaction of Symeon Metaphrastes: Literary Aspects of the Metaphrastic Martyria // Metaphrasis. Redactions and Audiences in Middle Byzantine Hagiography. Bergen, 1996. P. 7-21.

¹⁰ For a justification of this hypothesis, see my article: Three Martyrs of Chalcedon and the Persian Campaign of the Emperor Julian // Studia Patristica. Proceedings of the XII Intern. Patristic Conference. 1996. 29. P. 94-100.

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there is no Saracen motif, which, according to some researchers, is also associated with the ethnonym of the emperor who struck with a spear ¹¹ . As a matter of fact, in historiography there are two interpretations of Julian's death-from the Saracen hand (as in Libanius and Ammianus Marcellinus ¹²) and from the spear sent by the hand of the heavenly avenger Cyrion / Mercury (the latter form of the name was formed in the Syriac environment with the characteristic preformant mar, which roughly means "saint"): This is the case with most Christian authors from the fifth century onwards. The "Cirion line" is most clearly expressed in the so-called "Syriac Romance of Julian", which was written at the beginning of the fifth century, presumably in Antioch13 . In the second tradition, represented by Romanus, there is no trace of an Arab javelin thrower, although there are references to Arab soldiers in the army of Julian. The Romanos was supplemented and edited several times, and there is reason to believe that the last (now lost) Greek version of it, the one from which the Arabic translation was made, which has come down to us in a manuscript from the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, written at the beginning of the eighth century, was created precisely in the reign of Theodosius the Younger. In this revision, two villains are mentioned, for whom Map Kyrias has prepared heavenly arrows, apparently referring to Flavius Eugenius, the last Caesar of the East, who was killed in 394, and Andragathius, who killed Gratian and Valentinian II in 383. The two evildoers who are destined for heavenly punishment can be contrasted with the two martyrs, Eugene and Macarius, whose martyrdom also dates back to the time of Julian ¹⁴.

One of the mysteries of this dossier is the exceptional veneration of Persian martyrs in the Byzantine Empire. Apart from the fact that we find mention of them in the Synaxar of Constantinople [¹⁵], there is evidence that already in the fifth century the Emperor Theodosius the Youngest erected a basilica in Constantinople dedicated to the "three Persian brothers", and the monk Herman (later Patriarch of Tsaregrad) wrote a canon to them in the eighth century, so that they became one of the first Orthodox churches in the world. of the first saints to have canons in the history of Byzantine hymnography ¹⁶ . Generally speaking, the Persian martyrs inspired quite a rich hymnography, but all in Greek ^.17 In the Christian East, however, we find no trace of the "Persian brothers"outside of Greek proper. This is all the more surprising since, as we have already said, the Persian martyrs were apparently Arabs. Nor do the Constantinople historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Philostorgius write anything about them. Strange is the silence about them in the Syriac sources, since it was at this time that the persecution of Christians took place in Persia, the acts of which have come down to us in abundance not only in the original language, but also in the transmission of Byzantine historians ^.18

The three martyrs, as Metaphrastus explains, were messengers to the Roman emperor, but not from the shahanshah (which would be logical), but from the ruler of the Ala region-

¹¹ We may be talking about the Tanuh tribe: Shahid I. Byzantium and the Arabs in the IV-th Century. Washington, 1984. 202- 221; Parker S.T. Romans and Saracenes. A History of the Arabian Frontier. Eisenbranus. Winona Lake, 1985. P. 143-147.

¹² See Muraviev. Thee Martyrs... P. 97.

¹³ For more information, see Muraviev A. The Syriac Julian Romance and its Place in Literary History // Христiанскiй Востокъ. 1999. 1(7). P. 194-206.

¹⁴ For a more detailed account of these twists and turns, see Der arabische Julianroman / Hrsg. M. van Esbroeck, A. Muraviev / / Subsidy Kristianskij Vostok 1 (in print).

¹⁵ Synaxarium Constantinopolitanum [e cod. Sirmondianoj / Ed. by N. Delehaye. Bruxelles, 1902 (hereinafter-SynCL). P. 753-754.

¹⁶ Analecta hymnica sacra. X. Canones lunii // Ed. I. Schiro. Roma, 1972. P. 100-116; Sergius. Uk. soch. p. 255.

¹⁷ Analecta hymnica sacra... P. 354. Cf. Follieri Е. Santi persiani nell innografia bizantina // La Persia e il mondo greco- romano. Accad. Naz. dei Lincei. N 76. Roma, 1966. P. 229-230.

^{Devos P.} 18 Les martyrs persans a travers leurs actes syriaques // Ibid. P. 213-242.

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mundara ¹⁹ . In the" ancient " life, the name of Alamundar is strangely not mentioned, but it does mention a certain king Beltane (we will talk about this strange name later). As the martyrdom narrates, they arrived in Constantinople to conclude a peace treaty Their arrival was preceded by correspondence (sic!) between Julian and Alamundar, who is quite correctly named in the metaphrasical martyrdom, i.e., the head of the region ²⁰ .

When ambassadors arrive in the capital of the Roman Empire, they are received with proper honor, but this, as the hagiographer explains, "was not done in truth by a tyrant, it was not in his nature to do so." ²¹ Going soon to the feast  on the occasion of the conclusion of the contract, Julian orders to take the three brothers. During the festival, the emperor finally reveals his true face, first by persuasion, and then under torture, tries to force them to sacrifice to the gods. The martyrs point out their ambassadorial rank, but the tyrant judges them mercilessly and inexorably, and finally puts them to a cruel death. Of course, the hagiography contains almost all the elements of the hagiographic scheme, including lengthy dialogues. The martyrs denounce Julian, bravely enduring various tortures and tortures, because the Lord himself comforts and heals them. In the last prayer, the martyrs turn to the Lord and ask: "Deliver us from the fetters of sin and make us partakers of Your kingdom." Despite all the efforts of the impious tsar, the brothers ' will remains unyielding, and they, as befits the soldiers of Christ, are finally granted a martyr's death at the hands of the executioners.

Here we are concerned with the following question: where did these svs suffer? the martyrs? The answer would seem obvious: where the festival took place, i.e. somewhere in Bithynia, near Chalcedon. However, the situation is somewhat more complicated: the metaphor speaks of torment in a certain place   , This topography is no longer Bithynian at all, but clearly Constantinople. It is interesting that in the "ancient acts" after the mention of the mysterious "Crimn" and the wall of Constantine, the words follow::  as if to assure the reader that for the murder of Sts. the tyrant specifically returned to stolny grad, and then returned to Bithynia.

The ambiguity with the mysterious Crimn is fortunately resolved quite simply: it is obviously just a corrupted word that, as a result of the usual Byzantine Itacism, changed "itu" to "ypsilon". In a similar metaphor, the related word "stony, rocky"is used in a similar place.

The issue with Constantinople is more complicated. The fact is that the veneration of Manuel, Savel and Ismail in the capital is very ancient ^.25 According to the patriographers, there was a basilica dedicated to Sts. At the same time, questions arise: why does the hagiographer mention the topography of Bithynia in such detail, if the martyrs died in Constantinople? where was this basilica located? why was the cult of saints characteristic of the capital, and in other regions nothing is known about them? Topography of Asia Minor-

¹⁹ In the metaphrastic edition, there is a person who clearly is (al-)Mundir probably refers to the famous king Mundir of the Lakhmid dynasty (late IV-early V c.), who received the name Alamundar in Greek literature.

^Latyshev. 20 Uk. soch. p. 30.

²¹ Ibid.

²² AASS. Cap. 3. p. 233.

^Latyshev. 23 Uk. op.

²⁴ Ibid., pp. 21-22.

^{Janin R.} 25 La geographic ecclesiastique de l'empire byzantin. V. I (Le siege de Constantinople et Ie Patriarchat cecumenique). P., 1969. P. 322.

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Two names are used in the hagiography: first, the crossing of Chalcedon, ²⁶ and, second, the pagan temple.This temple, in turn, is a mystery, since there is nothing even remotely resembling such a name in the sources available to us. The word itself is supposed to be one of the sacred epithets of Dionysus, especially in orphic texts ^.28 In all likelihood, we should look for a pagan temple dedicated to Dionysus somewhere on the Asian coast of Constantinople. Julian's route is also unclear. Hagiographers speak of a crossing at Chalcedon, but there is still little clarity. As you know, in the city of Chalcedon itself there were three ports - western, eastern and the so-called Eutropium. If we take into account the ports of Chrysopolis (modern times). Scutari), which probably belonged to Chalcedon, and Jeria, then it turns out five ²⁹ . It is known that the port of Ieria is often called by Byzantine authors , which can be tried to bring together metaphrases in the text.

The festival, organized by Julian, results in a pagan procession followed by a sacrifice. It is in the vicinity of the church that the classic hagiographic literature "interrogation" of the martyrs takes place. In our opinion, the mention of both the ferry and the temple (in technical jargon, this is called "binding") indicates that the torment of Sts. Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael did not happen directly in Bithynia, but at least they began there. What, then, is the meaning of the emperor's return to the European coast with his brothers, who were "not domuchili" in Chalcedon? The text of both editions of the hagiography does not contain an answer to this important question.

Location of the church dedicated to Sts. Manuel, Savel, and Ismail in Constantinople are also unclear. We read about this temple, which seems to have been built during the time of the Emperor Theodosius, from the patriographers:   From this fragment it is clear that the basilica must have been located somewhere near the old Constantine wall, which explains the mysterious from the metaphrastus edition. Apparently, it was located near the temple of the prophet Elisha and the cistern of Vona.

In this section, we find another patriographical account of the basilicas of Manuel, Savel, and Ismail:    these accounts are extremely important, but the somewhat unclear historiographical status of the collection known as or Scriptores Originum Constantinopolitanarum is somewhat disconcerting to the researcher ^.32 If the information about the basilica's construction really goes back to the chronicle of Hesychius of Miletus, which served as the basis for this collection, one can almost certainly postulate the historical basis of martyrdom. Thus, if under Theodosius the Great, that is, some 30 or 40 years after the reign of Julian, a basilica dedicated to Sts. to the martyrs, this may mean

²⁶ AASS. P. 233:  Latyshev. Uk. op.  

  (Latyshev. Uk. op.).

²⁸ RE. Bd XIII. Col. 142.

^{Janin R.} 29 Le banlieu asiatique de Constantinople. Etude historique et topographique // Echos d'Orient. 1922. XXI. P. 362.

³⁰ Scriptores Originum Constantinopolitanarum (Patria) / Ed. Th. Preger. Lpz, 1901 (hereinafter-Patr.). P. 142.

³¹ Patr. P. 279.

^{Dagron G.} 32 Constantinople imaginaire. Fitude sur Ie receuil des "Patria". P., 1984. P. 23 et pass.

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one of two things: either the torment really took place in Constantinople, and not on the coast of Asia Minor, or the relics of the martyrs were transferred from Chalcedon to the newly built basilica under Theodosius. Even if we are dealing here with the replacement of the name of Theodosius the Younger (who came to the throne in 408) by Theodosius the Great, this does not change the situation much.

The historical realities of martyrdom don't really seem as ludicrous as they did to previous scholars. Fr Jeannin once remarked that Julian often lived in the Chalcedonian residence and loved it ^.33 It was there that the famous "Chalcedonian trials" of Julian took place, the victims of which were many prominent military leaders, in particular from the loviani and Herculani families. Noteworthy is his meeting with the Arian bishop of Chalcedon, Maris, and their famous dialogue ^.34 Ammianus Marcellinus also tells us that Julian passed through Chalcedon on his way to Antioch, i.e., on a campaign against the Persians ^.35 If the "Arab" hypothesis is accepted, we must consistently reject the Persian" part " of the hagiography and assume that the hagiography reflects possible negotiations between the Arabs (possibly Tanuhids) and Julian. In this case, we are inevitably faced with the question: why was it necessary to invent the Persian king Beltane and make Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael envoys of Sasanian Persia?

We have already tried to answer the question of where the name Beltane came from in the text of the Ancient Acts . ³⁶ Our hypothesis was that Beltane is a corruption of Bahram, which probably dates back to the era of the struggle between Sasanian Persia and Byzantium. It is not clear on what basis such a change could have taken place, since the name Bahram had to be transmitted from Middle Persian to Greek , and only in one language a replacement is possible, namely in Armenian, but the Armenian tradition does not contain traces of such a transformation, as already mentioned, Eastern hagiography does not know Persian brothers at all, so it is impossible to assume Armenian mediation. You can also try to decompose the name Baltan into components, then you will get something like This already-something closer to Persian realities. Thus, it is known that the Georgian name Vakhtang is a transfer of the Persian Varan-Xosrov-T'ang, and Shah Shapur II was called  "like Khosroi" ³⁷ . In this case, the name of the Persian king is not a hindrance to us, and it becomes possible to actually imagine Bahram there ^.38 The question remains whether there are no traces of Persian brothers in the ancient Georgian calendars. As is known, the early Georgian calendar tradition was that of Jerusalem and used a different church calendar, known in the version of John Zosimus ³⁹ . However, as we have already pointed out, we have no reason to believe that our brothers were venerated outside of Constantinople, nor are they in the ancient Georgian tradition.

Thus, it remains to be assumed that the figures of the Persian martyrs became deeply symbolic in religious and political terms, which predetermined their veneration in the capital. The hope of converting Persia to Christianity - the main enemy of Byzantium for a long time - never faded in the Byzantines and continued to feed their thoughts. Persian martyrs, whose martyrdom was collected by Bishop Maruta of Maiferkat later - a "living" martyr

^Janin. 33 Le banlieu... P. 362.

^{Hermeius Sozomenus.} 34 Historia Ecclesiastica. V. 4.

^Amm. Marc. 35 Res Gestae. XXII. 9 [Ammianus Marcellinus Rornische Geschichte / Hrsg. von W. Seytarth. Ill Teil. V., 1986. S. 34-35.]: praetercursa Calchedone et Libyssa.

^Muraviev. 36 Three Martyrs... P. 95-96.

 Tbilisi, 1955. P. 161. Cf. Toumanoff K. Studies in Christian Caucasian History. Georgetown, 1963. P. 358-360; Esbroeck М. van. Lazique, Mingrelie, Svanethie et Aphkhazie du IV ^e au IX ^e siecle // II Caucaso: cerniera fra culture dal Meditarraneo alia Parsia. Spoleto, 1996. P. 195-218.

^{Justi F.} 38 Iranisches Namenbuch. Hildesheim, 1963, s.v.

^{Garitte G.} 39 Le calendrier palestino-georgien du sinaiticus 34. Bruxelles, 1958.

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St. Golindukha (Golindukht) ⁴⁰ , St. Anastasius the Persian ⁴¹, or our three martyrs were for the Romans heralds of the coming conversion. In other words, we are dealing with a trend for which it was the Persian origin of the brothers that was important. It is known that in ancient times and the Middle Ages, one nation was often called by the name of another, more ideologically and historically significant, more "speaking" by its own name - this is how the Greeks called the Persians Medes and the Byzantines Turks - Persians for a long time. In our opinion, the obvious modification of the ethnicity of Manuel, Savel, and Ismail, which is present in both versions, means that the hagiographic tradition was created at a time when the Persian Kingdom of the Sassanids was still a real threat, and the hope of its conversion was of political significance. In search of such a period, one can look at the end of the fourth century, i.e., at the time of the reign of Theodosius ⁴² . At this time, tension was again building up on the eastern borders, which was somewhat eased by the peace treaty of Jovian in 363. With the accession of Bahram V Horus (Varahran of Byzantine sources), the peace was broken. The latter began a large-scale persecution of Christians in Persia, which immediately caused a flow of refugees to the borders of the empire ⁴³ . Theodosius moved troops under the command of Ardaburius to the Persian border. The war, which lasted for several years, ended in a Byzantine victory and a peace treaty was concluded in 442. ⁴⁴ It is interesting that the Arabs took an active part in this Persian-Byzantine war on both sides. Even before the death of Shahanshah Yezdigerd, the filarch of the Lakhmid Arabs, Mundir I, supported Prince Bahram, who was brought up and raised among the Arabs in Khira Naamanova. Scholars have suggested that Bahram was exiled to Khira for scheming against his father Ezdigerd. In 421, after the death of the latter, the Persian nobility appointed Khosrow shah, although he was not the direct heir of Ezdigerd, but he was still more desirable than the Arab pupil Bahram. Alamundar, then, is quite in its place in the metaphrastic life. We can hypothetically reconstruct the following picture: the Arabs took part at Bahram's request in a military campaign aimed at saving Nisibin and even conquering Antioch. As you know, this idea ended in complete failure, the Arabs fled for some unknown reason, but the Romans could not take advantage, as described in the" History " of Socrates ⁴⁵ . And in the years after the Ardaburian campaign and the defeat of the Persian Arabs by Vician, relations between the two great powers became very complicated ^.46 Knowing that there were many Christians among the Lakhmid Arabs, Bahram could have instructed the lord of Hira, the same Christian philarch Mundir ibn Na'aman, to settle the issue with the Romans. This is a possible reason for the names of Alamundar and Valtan appearing in the dossier texts. Note that all these events took place in the reign of Theodosius the Younger. The construction activities of this emperor are known: the new wall in the capital, the famous forum of Arcadia and a number of other public buildings and temples. One can imagine that at the same time the foundation of a church dedicated to the "Persian" martyrs was laid, which also met the interests of the empire in the East. Further, we can assume that the life in its original form was somehow connected with the construction of the basilica and the transfer of relics from Chalcedon to the European part of Constantinople. However, as we have pointed out, it is also possible to assume some confusion with the names of the emperors, when in place of Theodosius II, Hesychius or in another source appeared his great namesake. The further history of the life is hidden from us, we can

⁴⁰ BHG. 700-702b.

^{Flusin В.} 41 Saint Anastase Ie Perse et I'histoire de la Palestine au debut du VII ^e siecle. V. II. P., 1992. P. 390-391.

^{Williams S., Friell G.} 42 Theodosius. The Empire at Bay. L, 1994. P. 51-67.

^{Labourt J.} 43 Le christianisme dans I'empire perse sous la dynastie Sassanide. P., 1904. P. 104-118.

^{Kulikovsky Yu} 44 History of Byzantium, Vol. I. Kiev, 1913, pp. 268-270.

^{Socrates Scholasticus.} 45 Historia Ecclesiastica. VII. 18 (Russian translation: Socrates Scholasticus. Church History, Moscow, 1996, p. 273).

⁴⁶ .Pigulevskaya N. V. Arabs at the borders of Byzantium and Iran in the IV-VI centuries. Moscow-L., 1964. p. 64.

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just assume that when the Rev. Simeon Metaphrastus created his own version of martyrdom; he had at his disposal not only the tradition presented in the Acta vetera, but also some other source. In any case, the cult of martyrs in Constantinople is a historical fact, and it is interesting that this cult fits well into Byzantine sotiriology, for which the saint of "foreign" origin is a symbol of the conversion of the entire ikumen and its final salvation through this. Martyrs, however, who have suffered all the more at the hands of a tyrant, that is, a king who violates his duty to God and to the empire, are figures who rise in their symbolism to true tragedy. We must not forget that hagiographies are literature of didactic nature and purpose.

The history of this "dossier" is a lot of incomprehensible, in particular, why none of the Eastern sources mention the three Persian martyrs. This question is difficult to answer in view of our ignorance of the spread of the tradition of these martyrs in the East ^.47 Our impression is that their veneration was not widespread outside the capital at all. As for the metropolitan historians, the question is more complicated. As F. recently showed: According to Skorz - Barcellon, Constantinople historians made a kind of "filtering" of the hagiographic material available to them, meaning to take into account only those cases that seemed to them well documented ^.48

What happened to the basilica in later times, why is there no evidence of later authors about it? The answer to this last question is a very complex matter. Our information about the construction of Constantinople, although numerous, is not always reliable and often lacunar. Here we can imagine two reasons: either the church was demolished during the construction of the Blachernae palace complex, or it was destroyed during the Avar invasion of 626. Other explanations are also possible, but they do not change the essence of the subject. In any case, nothing seems to prevent us from assuming that during the reign of Theodosius II, precisely in the early 20s of the fifth century, a set of measures was implemented that should ideologically support the Byzantine struggle against Sasanian Iran. Then the Church of sts. Ma-nuil, Sabel and Ismail between the fourth and fifth hills of Constantinople, near the Wall of Constantine, where the relics of Sts. the martyrs were apparently transferred from the suburbs of Asia Minor. At the same time, probably, the prototype of the lives of Manuel, Savel and Ismail was created, which contained the main elements of the tradition preserved in oral form: embassy rank, Persian origin, etc. Subsequently, the evolution of the text, which was inevitably reduced, led to the fact that the Persian Arabs turned into Persians, the Constantinople topography got into the text (to tell the truth, in a rather vague and truncated form), and the purely Greek elements prevailed over the Eastern ones ^.49

Of course, this hypothesis is conditional, like any hypothesis, but it seems to us that the current level of hagiographic research no longer allows scientists to simply call a life that is not quite clear and at first glance not quite plausible "creation of high fantasy", as it was done before. The tradition of the Church, in addition, is not a simple accumulation of historical material of varying degrees of authenticity, it is akin to a living organism, where everything has its own reason in one way or another, which is sometimes extremely difficult to find. However, it is worth trying, because by understanding the cause, we comprehend the function, and by understanding the function, we approach the whole comprehension of the historical phenomenon.

⁴⁷ O. P. Peeters does not indicate anything in the EIT: Peeters P. Bibliotheca Hagiographica Oreintalis. Bruxelles, 1910 (Subsidia Hagiographica 10). Ср. Ehrhard A. Uberlieferung und Bestand der hagiographischen und homiletischen Literatur der griechischen Kirche. Lpz., 1937. S. 659.

^{Scorza-Barcellona Е.} 48 Martiri e confessori dell'eta di Giuliano l'Apostata: dalla storia alia leggenda // Pagani e Cristiani da Giuliano l'Apostata al sacco di Roma / A cura di Р.Е. Consolino. Rubettino, 1995. P. 83.

⁴⁹ For the typicality of this process, see Peeters P. Le trefonds oriental de I'hagiographie byzantine. Bruxelles, 1950.

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MARTYRES SUB JULIANO APOSTATA I: THE REAL PLACE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF SAINT MANUEL, SABEL AND ISMAEL

A.V. Muravyov

Three Martyrs who underwent torture and death in 362 under Julian the Apostate are interesting in many respects. To all probability they were Christian Arabs, presumably from Tanuh tribe who were sent to deal with Julian on the eve of the Persian Campaing. Their dossier has been re-used during the ideological campaign of Theodosius II. At this time the prototype of metaphrastic Passion (BHG P24) was composed and the place of their death was transfered to Constantinople itself. Thus this fictitious Passion proves to be a result of the imperial policy in its ideological struggle against Sasanid Iran in the beginning of the 5th century.

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