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Osroene or Osrhoene (; ) was an ancient kingdom and region in Upper Mesopotamia. The Kingdom of Osroene, also known as the "Kingdom of " ( / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to the name of its (now , ), existed from the 2nd century BC, up to the 3rd century AD, and was ruled by the .

(2025). 9780521301992, Cambridge University Press. .
(2025). 9780028659435, Macmillan Reference USA. .
(2025). 9780199936762, Oxford University Press. .
(1996). 9789231028120, UNESCO. .
They were generally allied with the .


History
The Kingdom of Osroene enjoyed semi-autonomy to complete independence from the years of 132 BC to AD 214. The kingdom's population was of mixed culture, being -speaking from the earliest times. The city's cultural setting was fundamentally , alongside strong Greek and Parthian influences, though some Arab cults were also attested at Edessa.

The ruling dynasty was deposed by the Romans during the reign of Roman Emperor (211–217), probably in 214 or 216, and Osroene was incorporated as , but it was briefly reestablished during the reign of Roman emperor (238–244). Christianity came early to Osroene. From 318, Osroene was a part of the Diocese of the East. By the 5th century, Edessa had become a main center of Syriac literature and learning. In 608, the emperor, (590–628), took Osroene. It was briefly reconquered by the Byzantines, but in 638 it fell to the Muslims as part of the Muslim conquests.


Background and context
Osroene, or Edessa, was one of several states that acquired independence from the collapsing through of the nomadic tribe from Southern Canaan and North Arabia, the Osrhoeni, from 136 BC. Osroene's name either derives from the name of this tribe, or from Orhay ( Urhay), the original name of . Arab influence had been strong in the region.

Osroene endured for four centuries, with twenty-eight rulers occasionally named "king" on their coins. Most of the kings of Osroene were called Abgar or Manu and settled in urban centers.

Osroene was generally allied with the . After a period under the rule of the Parthian Empire, it was absorbed into the in 114 as a semiautonomous vassal state, and incorporated as a simple in 214.


Christianity in Edessa
Edessa was celebrated as the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its official religion. There were two main Christianizing movements at Edessa, one that came from in the east in the first century and the second that came from in the west in the end of the second century. There is a mention of a Christian synod in Osroene in 197 CE but scholars have doubted its authenticity. At the end of the second century a bishop of Edessa was consecrated in but had to go to Antioch to be confirmed. The connection between Antioch and Edessa became close by the end of the second century and the see of Edessa became subject to Antioch in the early third century.
(1980). 9780720115123, Mansell.

Edessa was regularly described as the 'capital of Mesopotamia' in early Syriac manuscripts. The earliest dated Christian literary manuscript in any language was written in November 411 CE, a fragment of Isaiah is dated 459-60 CE, a manuscript containing Genesis and Exodus is dated 463-4 CE, and the earliest dated Gospels in any language were completed in October 510 CE, although there are undated Gospel manuscripts which probably are from the fifth century.

(2025). 9781593333003, Gorgias press.
(2025). 9783447068857, Harrassowitz.
(2025). 9789042929623, Uitgeverij Peeters.


"First Christian kingdom" claim contested with Armenia
There is an legend, the Doctrine of Addai (late 4th or early 5th century), and an anonymous history, the Chronicle of Edessa (mid-6th century), claiming that Osroene was the first state to have accepted as ,
(1984). 9780884021155, Dumberton Oaks research library and collection.
(1998). 9789004111271, BRILL. .
but some scholars believe there is not enough evidence to support that claim.
(2025). 9780415113762, Psychology Press. .

By the end of the second century Christianity was well established in Edessa in various forms, some texts belong to the early third century and provide unambiguous evidence for Christianity at Edessa, such as the account of the flood at Edessa in 201 CE which is preserved in the Chronicle of Edessa, fragments of Bardaisan's works preserved by later writers and the Book of the Laws of the Countries written in the School of Bardaisan. By the end of the third century Christianity had spread to surrounding villages.

(1992). 9780814323618, Wayne State Univ. Press.

By c. AD 200, the Church in Edessa must have been of some size to judge from the expansion of Christianity in the early third century in Osroene and neighboring , as according to the Chronicle of Arbela there were more than twenty bishoprics in the region bordering the in AD 224. Edessa was known as a Christian city at a very early date, but the countryside was only Christianized during the 4-5th centuries by Syrian monks and ascetics.

(1999). 9780860781462, Variorum.

General opinion is that the official adoption of Christianity happened during the reign of the Great (177 – 212), who was either Christian himself or not at all hostile to Christians, as the Christian writer Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240) stayed at Abgar the Great's court in 195, and a Christian inscription was produced in Edessa, which is from the same period or few decades later than the Inscription of Abercius from 216.

(2025). 9781607240747, Gorgias Press.
It is estimated that Christianity was preached in Edessa since 160 – 170,
(2025). 9781443885812, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
and a flood in 201 destroyed "the temple of the church of the Christians", indicating a community large enough to have had a building of notable importance to the city at the time.
(2025). 9780521812399, Cambridge University Press.
The earliest known Syriac writer, (154-222), was active, and contemporary coins dated 179-192 clearly show Abgar VIII the Great wearing a with a cross.
(1999). 9789004112841, Brill.
(2025). 9780191554841, OUP Oxford.
The dates and circumstances of the Christianization of the kings and the Kingdom of Osroene are still debated
(2025). 9780521460835, Cambridge University Press. .
(2025). 9789004691797, Brill.
and the claim of becoming the first Christian kingdom is contested by Armenia.
(1980). 9780527037031, Kraus Reprint.
(2025). 9783700130161, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
(2025). 9781907318009, East & West Publ..

In the Church of the Virgin in Dayr al-Suryān in Egypt, built in the middle seventh century and monumental paintings applied in later centuries, a number of narrative scenes of conversion as the central theme were painted. There are remains of a painting of King Abgar of Edessa with the mandylion, while on the same wall there is a painting of Constantine the Great on horseback holding the sign of the cross in his first battle as a Christian. The paintings are making a clear statement: Constantine was the first Christian Roman emperor but Edessa had a Christian king almost three centuries before. On an opposite wall fragments are preserved of Gregory the Illuminator's conversion of the Armenians. The unique conversion scenes were probably painted as a carefully planned addition after the eight century, covering scenes of the Pentecost, and it is possible that the church building had a geographical symbolism as Ethiopia is equaled with the south, Armenia with the north, and Byzantium and Edessa with the east.

(2025). 9781108492096, Cambridge University Press.
The first Armenian Christian king Tiridates the Great is absent from the depiction.


Population and culture
Though most of Osroene's rulers were of Arab origin from the , the kingdom's population was of mixed culture, being -speaking from the earliest times. Though Arab cults were attested at Edessa (the twins and ), its cultural setting was fundamentally , alongside strong Greek and Parthian influences. Thus, according to : "It would hence be absurd to regard Edessa as solely an Arab city, for its culture owed very little to the nomadic Arabs of the region". Later, within the Roman Empire, Edessa was the most important center of Syriac Christianity. Under the Nabataean dynasties, Osroëne became increasingly influenced by Syriac Christianity, and was a centre of local reaction against Hellenism.

In his writings, Pliny the Elder refers to the natives of Osroene and as and the region as Arabia.H. I. MacAdam, N. J. Munday, "Cicero's Reference to Bostra (AD Q. FRAT. 2. 11. 3)", Classical Philology, pp.131-136, 1983. is called "an " by , while is described as "king of the " by .Guscin, Mark (2016). The Tradition of the Image of Edessa. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 13.

The Edessene contains many names. The most common one in the ruling dynasty of Edessa being Abgar, a well-attested name among groups of .Retso, Jan (2013). The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads. Routledge. p. 419."Abgar, is a well-known name among Arabic-speaking groups in antiquity, the Nabataeans included." Some members of the dynasty bore Iranian names, while others had names. notes that the names ending in "-u" are "undoubtedly Nabatean". The Abgarid dynasts spoke "a form of ".

It was in the region in which the legend of originated.


In Roman sources
The area of the kingdom was perhaps roughly coterminous with that of the Roman province of Osrhoene. The great loop of the Euphrates was a natural frontier to the north and west. In the south Batnae was capital of the semi-autonomous principality of until its annexation by Rome, in AD 115. The eastern boundary is uncertain; it may have extended to Nisibis or even to Adiabene in the first century AD. Ḥarrān, however, only 40 km south of Edessa, always maintained its independent status as a Roman colonia.

Edessa, the capital of the ancient kingdom, was a fortress of considerable strength and a staging post both large and nearest to the Euphrates. It was an important road junction; an ancient highway, along which caravans carried merchandise from China and India to the West, meeting there a north–south road connecting the Armenian Highlands with Antioch. Inevitably, Edessa figured prominently on the international stage.

In 64 BC, as waged war on the , of Osrhoene had sided with the Romans when Lucius Afranius occupied Upper Mesopotamia. The king was initially an ally of the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus in his campaign against the Parthians in 53 BC, but Roman historians allege that he betrayed Crassus by leading him to deviate from his safe route along the river and instead into an open desert, where the troops suffered from the barrenness and thus were vulnerable to cavalry attack. Abgar is said to have met with Surenas, the Parthian general, and informed him of the Roman movements. The enormous and infamous Battle of Carrhae followed and destroyed the entire Roman army. Just prior to the battle, Abgar made a pretext to ride away. However, modern historians have questioned whether Abgar intended to betray the Romans and instead may have simply been leading them along an old Arab trade route.Sheldon, Mary Rose, "Intelligence Activities in Ancient Rome: Trust in the Gods But Verify", pg. 92 According to a Syriac source, Abgar died later that year.

In the early 2nd century AD, King joined the Emperor 's campaign into Mesopotamia and entertained him at court. The king later rebelled against the Romans, however, which led to the Roman general sacking Edessa and putting an end to Osrhoene's independence in 116. In 123, during the reign of , the Abgarid dynasty was restored with the installation of Ma'nu VII, and Osroene was established as a client kingdom of the Empire.Ball, W (2001). Rome in the East: the transformation of an empire. Routledge. p. 90. After the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 under , forts were built and a Roman was stationed in . In 195, following a civil war in which the kingdom had supported his rival , Septimius Severus mounted an invasion and annexed the territory as a new province, making Nisibis the capital.Southern, Pat, "The Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen", 2009: pg. 36 However, the emperor did allow the king, Abgar XI, to retain the city of Edessa and a small territory surrounding it.Birley, Anthony, "Septimius Severus: The African Emperor", 1999: pg. 115 In 213, the reigning king was deposed by , and the remaining territory was incorporated into the Roman province of Osroene.Sinclair, T.A., "Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume IV: pg. 196

According to legends (without historical justification), by 201 AD or earlier, under King Abgar the Great, Osroene became the first Christian state.Cheetham, Samuel (1905). A History of the Christian Church During the First Six Centuries. Macmillan and Co. p. 58.Lockyer, Herbert (1988). All the Apostles of the Bible. Zondervan. p. 260. . It is believed that the Gospel of Thomas emanated from Edessa around 140. Prominent early Christian figures have lived in and emerged from the region such as the , who came to Edessa from Hadiab (). He made a trip to Rome and returned to Edessa around 172–173. Tatian was the editor of the , which was the primary sacred text of -speaking Christianity until in the 5th century the and suppressed it and substituted a revision of the Old Syriac Canonical Gospels (as in the Syriac Sinaiticus and Curetonian Gospels).L.W. Barnard, The Origins and Emergence of the Church in Edessa during the First Two Centuries A.D., Vigiliae Christianae, pp.161-175, 1968 (see pp. 162,165,167,169).

Then, Edessa was again brought under Roman control by and it was made a center of Roman operations against the . Amru, possibly a descendant of Abgar, is mentioned as king in the Paikuli inscription, recording the victory of in the Sassanid civil war of 293. Historians identify that Amru as Amru ibn Adi, the fourth king of the , which was then still based in , not yet moved to in southern Mesopotamia.A. T. Olmstead, "The Mid-Third Century of the Christian Era. II", Classical Philology (1942): 398-420 (see p. 399)

Many centuries later, Dagalaiphus and Secundinus duke of Osrhoene, accompanied Julian in his war against the Sasanian emperor, , in the 4th century.E. Gibbon, The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, Vol. I, Chapter XXIV [1] .


Roman province
The independence of the state ended probably in ; during 's reign the monarchy was abolished by the and Osroene was incorporated it as a province ( colonia). It was a frontier province, lying close to the Persian empires with which the Romans were repeatedly at war, and was taken and retaken several times. As it was on the frontier it had a Roman legion stationed there. Legio III Parthica and its Castrum (homebase) may have been , but that is uncertain.

Following Emperor 's reform during his reign (284-305), it was part of the diocese of the East, in the praetorian prefecture of the same name.

According to the late-4th-century Notitia Dignitatum, it was headed by a of the rank of , and it was also the seat of the dux Mesopotamiae, who ranked as and commanded (c. 400) the following army units:

  • Equites Dalmatae Illyriciani, garrisoned at Ganaba.
  • Equites Promoti Illyriciani, .
  • Equites Mauri Illyriciani, .
  • Equites Promoti indigenae, Banasam
  • Equites Promoti indigenae, Sina Iudaeorum.
  • Equites Sagittarii indigenae, Oraba.
  • Equites Sagittarii indigenae, Thillazamana.
  • Equites Sagittarii indigenae Medianenses, Mediana.
  • Equites Primi Osrhoeni, Rasin.
  • Praefectus legionis quartae Parthicae, .
  • (an illegible command, possibly Legio III Parthica), Apatna.
as well as, 'on the minor roll', apparently auxiliaries:
  • Ala Septima Valeria Praelectorum, Thillacama.
  • Ala Prima Victoriae, Tovia -contra Bintha.
  • Ala Secunda Paflagonum, Thillafica.
  • Ala Prima Parthorum, Resaia.
  • Ala Prima nova Diocletiana, inter Thannurin et Horobam.
  • Cohors Prima Gaetulorum, Thillaamana.
  • Cohors Prima Eufratensis, Maratha.
  • Ala Prima Salutaria, Duodecimo constituta.

According to 's Ecclesiastical History, "there were some very learned men who formerly flourished in Osroene, as for instance , who devised a heresy designated by his name, and his son . It is related that this latter was deeply versed in Grecian erudition, and was the first to subdue his native tongue to meters and musical laws; these verses he delivered to the choirs" and that , a more successful heresy, met with opposition there.


Rulers
+Kings of Edessa/Osroene !width="220px"Comments
Ruled alone
Ruled together
Ruled together
Ruled alone
1st tenure
2nd tenure
Ruled together
Ruled alone
First tenure
Installed by the Parthians
Second tenure
Deposed by the Romans; Osroene incorporated as a Roman province ( colonia)
Ruled only in name
Ruled only in name


See also


Notes

Sources
  • (2025). 9781107244566, Cambridge University Press. .
  • (1980). 9789004060500, Brill. .
  • (1986). 9780813205960, CUA Press.
  • (2025). 9789004229433, Brill.
  • (2025). 9780192562463, Oxford University Press.
  • (1967). 9780440017691, Delacorte Press. .
  • (1993). 9780674778863, Harvard University Press. .
  • (2025). 9780807855201, University of North Carolina Press. .
  • (2025). 9780520253919, University of California Press. .
  • (2025). 9780807876657, University of North Carolina Press. .
  • (2025). 9780521301992, Cambridge University Press.
  • Sommer, Michael (2018). Roms orientalische Steppengrenze. Palmyra – Edessa – Dura Europos – Hatra. Eine Kulturgeschichte von Pompeius bis Diocletian Rome's. 2nd edition. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, , esp. pp. 227–271.


External links

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