Т. 1. «Азия и Африка: Наследие и современность»

Asia and Africa: their Heritage and Modernity. Vol. 1 13 Источниковедение и историография  Ближнего Востока Christides V. (Institute for Graeco-Oriental and African Studies, Kryoneri Attikis, Greece) Hagiographical Works as Historical Sources in the Arab-Byzantine Relations AGeneral Survey concerning (a) the nature of Judaism in the Kingdom of the Him- yaritesand theRoleof Indiansand theirNaval Technology in theSeafaringof theRedSea and the IndianOcean as reflected in theMartyrdomof St. Arethas and his Companions; (b) Hagiographical Works within a Legendary Frame: The Narration of the Discov- ery of the Relics of Saint Valerius, the Bishop, Vincentius, the Deacon, and Eulalia, the Virgin (P. Peeters, Analecta Bollandiana 30.1 (1911), 301–304). (a) The nature of Judaism in the Kingdom of the Himyarites and the Role of Indians and their Naval Technology in the Seafaring of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean as reflected in the Martyrdom of St. Arethas and his Companions There is little doubt that hagiography, which belongs to the realm of Christian edification, abounds with numerous spurious passages, miraculous events and other material. However, according to the present author’s view, the incidental histori- cal information should not be lightly dismissed since it can illuminate historical details omitted in the solid information provided by archaeology and epigraphy 1 . Thus, for example, the hagiographical work The Martyrdom of St. Arethas and his Companions , written by an unknown author, while describing the resistance of the Christians of the semi-independent province of Negran in the Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen against their Jewish king Dhū Nuwās in the sixth century, is simultaneously a significant source of multi-faceted information about this kingdom 2 . The most significant information we gain from this source is that it illustrates the socio-polit- ical structure of the Himyarite Kingdom 3 and demonstrates the unique freedom of international navigation in the Red Sea and beyond at this period 4 . In the first part of the present study, two brief discussions will be undertaken concerning the contribution of The Martyrdom of St. Arethas relevant to the 1 Needless to say, archaeology and epigraphy remain the main indispensable sources in the service of History. 2 The text was edited with an excellent French translation: Le Martyre de Saint Ar é thas et de ses compagnons (BHG 66), ed. by Marina Detoraki, trans. by Joëlle Beaucamp, Centre de Recherche d’Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance, Monographies 27, Paris 2007. 3 Christides, “The Dawn of the Urbanization in the Kingdom of the HImyarites in the 6 th century and in the Light of Byzantine Hagiography”, in Interrelations between the Peoples of the Near East and Byzantium in Pre-Islamic Times , ed. V. Christides, Cordoba 2015. P. 33–36 (article: P. 25–48). 4 V. Christides, “The Himyarite Kingdom on the Eve of and after the Ethiopian Dominance in the Sixth Century A. D. in the Martyrdom of St. Arethas and his Companions and in the Acts of St. Gregentius ”, Journal of Semitics 24.2 (2015). P. 678–700, especially 685–686.