ON ST. EUSTATHIUS OR EUTYCHIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS AT CARRHAE IN MESOPOTAMIA.
A.D. 741.
CommentaryEustathius, or Eutychius, and his companions, Martyrs at Carrhae in Mesopotamia (SS.)
[1] While God, the avenger of crimes, punishes the impiety of Leo the Isaurian, raging against the most sacred images with impious fury, through the Arabs who were hostile to the Eastern Empire; the palms of the Church Militant were multiplied from a double source: The Arabs hostile to the Romans, for on the one hand, the freedom of the Orthodox, generously opposing their breast to the Imperial wickedness, produced outstanding champions to be proven by the hardships of prisons and exiles for the confirmation of the rest: and on the other hand, among those whom the insane superstition of Muhammad had so demented that the mere profession of the Christian name was believed to be cause sufficient for inflicting death, a new harvest of martyrdoms constantly arose as often as the barbarian enemy carried back some victory over the Romans. And he carried back some every year, reviewed in summary by the most accurate of Chronographers,
Theophanes; under the auspices of his father Isam, under Leo the Isaurian, appointed Emir of the Arabs in the year 725 to replace his deceased brother Izid, with both sons conducting the campaigns: of whom one was named Mavia and the other Suliman. And when Mavia indeed, after inflicting many disasters upon the Christians and driving very many into servitude and captivity, was removed from the living in the year 738, Suliman succeeded to the supreme command of the military, and in his very first year, Theophanes says, he led away very many captives from Asia. Then in the second year, which was the twenty-second of Leo, they lead away many captives, having attacked Romania with arms, he laid waste the fortress called Sideroun, or "of Iron"; and led away captive Eustathius, the son of the Patrician Marianus. In the third year, which was numbered the seven hundred and fortieth from the birth of Christ, having brought out ninety thousand men, he poured his forces into Romania under four generals, of whom those who made incursions into Asia and Cappadocia, having collected a numerous multitude of men, beasts of burden and women, returned home unharmed... the others, attacked by Leo and Constantine, yielded to the victors, whom at last they slaughter to a man: a slight consolation for so many losses. For the aforementioned Isam, Prince of the Arabs, irritated by the slaughter of his own men, in the same year, which was the last for the most impious Leo, killed to a man the Christian captives throughout every city of his dominion: among whom blessed Eustathius, the son of the distinguished Patrician Marinus (he had previously written Marianus, finding both forms, as did Anastasius the Librarian who followed him), having suffered many torments and not on that account abjuring his sincere faith, shone forth in Charan, a celebrated city of Mesopotamia, as an ancient and illustrious Martyr: where his venerable and holy Relics, with the help of God's grace, provide healing of every kind. But many others also were consummated by the shedding of their blood through martyrdom.
Thus Theophanes, and nearly the same words are found in his Latin translator Anastasius, among these Eustathius, son of the Patrician Marcianus, according to the Luparea edition of both, reviewed according to the text of many manuscript codices. Anastasius was transcribed in the Mixed History at the end of book 21 by Paul the Deacon, with the proper names altered, in this manner: In the same year Euelid killed all the Christian captives in every city; among whom Eutychius, the son of the Patrician Marianus, was shown to be a true Martyr at Carrhae in Mesopotamia, where his Relics also work healings through the grace of God, and many others were consummated through their blood. Baronius, following Paul's reading, inserted the said Martyr into the Roman Martyrology for this day, making him a Patrician from a Patrician's son: supposing perhaps that, as among the ancient Romans all sons of Senators were called Patricians, so at Constantinople, by that name, not some particular and special dignity (of which we treat this month in the Acts both of the 42 Holy Martyrs on the 6th and of St. Anastasia Patricia on the 10th) but an appellation of nobler birth was meant: and so he wrote thus: At Carrhae in Mesopotamia, of St. Eutychius the Patrician and his companions, who were put to death by Euelid, King of the Arabs, for the confession of the faith. Among the Greeks there are many Eustathii, Eustachii, and Eutychii, to be commemorated on various days, and indeed with names sometimes confused, even though there is great diversity of etymology in each one: but, remarkably, there is none among them whom one might suspect either to have suffered in this eighth century, or to be venerated as having been slain at Carrhae. We believe, however, that the Most Eminent compiler of the Martyrology did not without foundation establish slain at Carrhae in the year 741, that he either died on this March 14 or is to be venerated on it: although in no calendars of the Saints, Greek or Latin, of which we have collected very many from throughout the world, is this Martyr found to be inscribed. Concerning the time, however, we have no doubt; which for the Greeks is the year 732, not 733, for it was the year 741 of the common era, when Leo, dying on June 18, Indiction 9, Constantine, by the ill-omened name of Copronymus, assumed the Empire on June 27 of the same month, pertaining to the following Indiction 10: and in the same year this martyrdom is established by Theophanes and his compilers Anastasius and Paul the Deacon: but we entirely deny that that year is numbered 733 by the Greeks. For all say that Leo died in the year 732 of the Alexandrian era. When, however, combining the first year of Copronymus with the following year, they add to it June 27, on which Copronymus was crowned; they do not wish to interpose one year between the death of the former and the beginning of the latter; but according to their custom they begin a new year with the new empire, and thus make the first year of Constantine (to which, however, the month of March with which we are dealing by no means pertains) one of fourteen months, namely from August of our year 741 to September of the year 742: whence it comes about that the Alexandrian era, differing by only eight years from the common era, from the Empire of Phocas to the end of the reigning Copronymus, disagrees by nine full years, and how Theophanes then returns to the earlier calculation, adding one year to Copronymus which he had taken from Phocas, we have sufficiently explained in the Prolegomena to this second Volume.
Not only is it credible that Eustathius was killed at Carrhae: however, there is no basis on which we can assert that other fellow-captives suffered death there on the same day as he: nevertheless, we give him companions along with Baronius; while Isam, otherwise Euelid, rules the Arabs, because at least it is established that very many others were slaughtered everywhere throughout the Arab empire by the command of Isam, the son of Izid, whom Paul the Deacon, mostly using names differing in reading and sometimes entirely different, calls Euilid the son of Gizid: then his sons Mavia and Suliman become Michavia and Zulcimin: his successor, who in Theophanes is Valid the son of Isam, he makes Gizid the son of Abdimelech: and for Izid the son of Valid, and his other son Abraim, reigning successively in the same year in which the father was killed until Marvas seized the empire, he has only Hycen the son of Gizid, whom Marvas succeeded. We marvel all the more at this diversity of names in matters that are virtually the same; but most accurately arranged by Theophanes year by year throughout, and more negligently and as if by digression interspersed by Paul, because in the entire Oriental history Paul appears to have done nothing other than to have interpolated Anastasius, the translator of Theophanes, with the addition of Western history: whence he imposed upon his work the name of Mixed History.