Background and Biography
Jeffries et al (1986:xxi) reports that
everything that is known about Johannes Malalas (~491 – 578 CE)
has to be gleaned from the chronicle itself, except that later writers refer to him as
'John the Rhetor',
'John Malalas' or 'Malelas', and 'John of Antioch'
. Jeffries et al (1986:xxi-xxii) further reports that
as a 'rhetor' or
'scholastikos'
(which is the meaning of the Syriac word 'malal' from which the name Malalas is derived) Malalas
possessed the education designed to equip one for the mainstream of government service, and so he was fairly well
educated by contemporary standards
.
His Book Chronographia was written in Greek and is a valuable and
frequently unique reservoir of information
however Malalas himself
has been has been dismissed as entirely naive, ignorant and incompetent
(Jeffries et al, 1986:xxii). For example,
Olmstead (1942:22)
states that John Malalas was undoubtedly the world's worst chronicler ... but [the historian] must use him for Malalas has preserved a great amount
of the most important data...
and Vasiliev (1958:184) characterizes his work as
confused in content, mixing fables and facts, important events and minor incidents
which was clearly intended not for educated readers but for the masses
.
Fluent in Syriac, Latin, and Greek, Malalas was presumably educated in Antioch but at some point in his life moved to Constantinople perhaps between 535 and 540 CE
(Jeffries et al, 1986:xxii). He probably continued his bureaucratic career in Constantinople until he died there in
578 CE (Jeffries et al, 1986:xxii).
His chronicle was composed and circulated in two editions. The first edition
was put together in Antioch in the 530s CE and most likely reached the end of Book 17 (AD 527)
(Jeffries et al, 1986:xxiii). It is not so clear where the final edition of the chronicle ended,
although the most likely point is the end of Justinian's reign in 565 CE
(Jeffries et al, 1986:xxiii).
Presumably, everything from Book 18 forward was composed in Constantinople after 535-540 CE. Despite the chronological problems Chronographia is noted for,
Malalas appears to produce accurate chronology for some earthquakes - likely due to the source(s) he accessed for the event.
Excerpts
Malalas described an earthquake which struck
Antioch in 130 BCE and/or 148 BCE
(and/or possibly the 1st century BCE) relying at least partially on the currently lost early 6th century CE chronicle written by Domninos
(who he cites). In Malalas' book, the expression variously translated as the "wrath of God" or the "anger of God" usually refers to an earthquake.
Full names of the ruling Kings along with their reigns are placed in parentheses for clarity
1.
Footnotes
1 A great many members of these royal families had the same name (e.g. Laodice, Antiochus, Seleucus, Ariarathes) and Malalas did not provide
suffixes (e.g. Laodice V, Antiochus VII) to help identify them. Further, the understanding of familial relations between these royal family members appears to be at least a bit murky.
So for the purposes of dating this event, focus is placed on identifying the succession of
Seleucid Kings in Antioch during this time period which appears to be better defined. Questions marks within a parentheses (?) were placed after some names in Malalas' quote where the
identification of the personage contains a degree of uncertainty. Several of personages linked to in Malalas' passage are based on speculation by
Downey (1938)
English from Jeffries et al (1986)
24. After him
Demetrianos (Demetrius I Soter - 162-150 BCE),
son of
Seleukos (Seleucus IV Philopator - 187-175 BCE), reigned for eight
years. A man named Judas (
Judas Maccabeus ?), a Jew by race, came to Antioch the Great
and begged and entreated the emperor
Demetrianos (Demetrius I Soter - 162-150 BCE), and the emperor turned
over to him the temple and the Maccabees' remains. He buried them in
Antioch the Great in the place known as the Kerateon; for there was a
Jewish synagogue there. Antiochos had executed them just outside the
city of Antioch, on the Ever-Weeping Mountain, opposite Zeus Kasios.
After purifying the temple and rebuilding Jerusalem, Judas celebrated
the Paschal festival in honour of God. This was the second capture of
Jerusalem, as Eusebios Pamphilou has written in his chronicle.
25. After
Demetrianus (Demetrius II Nicator - 145-138 BC),
Antiochus (Antiochus VII Sidetes - 138-129 BC),
grandson of
Grypus (?) and son of
Laodice (V?), daughter of Ariarathes (?), emperor of the
Cappadocians, reigned
for nine years.
At that time
Antioch the Great, suffered from the wrath of God, in
the eighth year of his reign, in the time of the Macedonians, 152 years
after the original laying of the foundation of the wall by (208)
Seleucus Nicator,
at the tenth hour of the day, on 21st
Peritios-February. It was completely rebuilt, as Domninos the
chronicler has written. It was 122 years after the completion of the
walls and the whole city that it suffered; it was rebuilt better.
Another English translation
25. After Demetrianus (Demetrius II Nicator - 145-138 BC),
Antiochus (Antiochus VII Sidetes - 138-129 BC) the offspring of
Grypus (?) became king for 9 years; he was the son of
Laodice (V?), the daughter of Ariarathes (?),
king of the Cappadocians. In the eighth year of his
reign, Antioch the great was destroyed by the anger of god, in the time of the Macedonians.
This happened 152 years after the foundations of the walls were laid by Seleucus Nicator, on the 21st day of the month of
Peritius, which
is the same as February, at the tenth hour of the day. And the whole city was restored, as Domninus the chronicler has recorded. It suffered [this disaster]
122 years after the walls and the whole city were completed; and afterwards it became yet more splendid.
Latin
Mortuus deinde est Antiochus; post quem regnavit filius ejus, Antiochus Glaucus, Hierax vocatus, annis II.
Honc excepit Demetrianus, Seleuci F. qui regnavit, annos VIII. Judaeus vero quidam, nomine Judas, Antiochiam veniens,
a Demetriano Precibus suis obtinuit, ut templum sibi iterum et Maccabaeorum concetur reliquiae; quas Judas in Antiochia
magna sepelivit, in loco qui dicitur, Cerateum: ubi etiam erat synagoga Judaeorum. Hos enim prope ab urbe, e regione
Jovis Cassii, neci dederat Antiochus, in Monte semper lachrymanti. Judas autem gepurgato Templo, urbeque instaurata,
Pascham Deo celebravit. Erat haec secunda Judaeorum captivitas: utl in Chronicis tradidit Eusebius Pamphili
Demetriano successit in regno Antiochus, Grypi nepos, filius Laodioes, Ariarathi Cappadocum regis filiae; Et regnavit annos
ΧΙ. Ánno autem octavo imperii ejus Macedonici, terrae motum passa est Antiochia
Aécidit hoc ad horam X diei XXI mensis Perittu, sive Februarii; anno pest jaeta a Seleuco Nicatore prima moenium fundamenta CLII,
post moenia autem absoluta, ipsamque urbem totam, annis CΧΧII. Tum vero de integro restituta est, tota in melius redacta:
sicuti Domnus Chronographus scriptum reliquit.
English from Jeffries et al (1986) - embedded
Greek with a Latin translation (embedded)
Chronology
Although Malalas provides a time and date -
~4pm on 21 February, the year is in question as the passage is chronologically inconsistent.
Possible years are shown in the table below.
| Year |
Reference |
Corrections |
Notes |
| 130 BCE |
The 8th year of Antiochus' (Antiochus VII Sidetes - 138-129 BC) reign |
none |
Demetrianus (Demetrius II Nicator) had two reigns. The first lasted from 145 BCE until
138 BCE. In 138 BCE, he was captured by the Parthian King Mithridates I and remained
in captivity until 130 BCE when the new Parthian King Phraates II released him.
Demetrius II Nicator then ruled a second time from 130 BCE -125 BCE. Between Demetrius' reigns, his brother
Antiochus VII Sidetes ruled from 138 - 130 BCE.
Note : The years presented here may differ by up to a year compared to other historical accounts. They are simplified in the interest of clarity. |
| 148 BCE |
152 years after the foundations of the walls of Antioch were laid by Seleucus Nicator |
none |
The founding of Antioch is commonly assigned to the spring of 300 BCE based on Eusebius and Malalas. 300 minus 152 leads to 148 BCE.
See Downey (1938:108 n. 2) for details and references on the founding of Antioch. |
| unknown |
122 years after the walls and the whole city was completed |
none |
leads to an unknown date because it conflicts with the "known traditions" in which construction of Antioch was completed
Downey (1938:109-110). |
Guidoboni et. al. (1994)
noted that this passage could refer to two separate earthquakes (148 BCE and 130 BCE) while
Downey (1938:109-110) suggests it could be conflating up to 3 earthquakes
(148 BCE, 130 BCE, and sometime in the first century BCE).
Downey (1938)
further noted that in 130 BCE, Antiochus VII Sidetes marched his army east
to fight (and lose to) the Parthians - timing that seems odd if his capital city (Antioch) was ravaged by an earthquake. This casts doubt on either the 130 BCE date, the extent
of damage, or that this passage even describes an actual earthquake.
Downey (1938) further noted that
when Malalas states that Antioch suffered a disaster and had to be rebuilt, he could have been referring to the
disaster that befell the city of Antioch when the last
Seleucid King
Antiochus VII fell to the
Parthian King Phraates II rather than to a disaster caused by an earthquake.
Seismic Effects
- Antioch the Great, suffered from the wrath of God [in Malalas lexicon this refers to an earthquake]
Locations
Sources
Source for the Malalas Confusion Quake
Malalas cites his source as Domninos.
Sources according to Jeffreys et al (1986)
Jeffreys et al (1986:xxiii) describes Malalas's sources as follows:
As indicated in its preface the chronicle may be divided, in terms of sources of information,
into two parts. For the period before the emperor Zeno, Malalas had to rely on written records
and therefore cites, largely at second hand, numerous Greek and Latin authors, including some
that are otherwise unknown. For the period from Zeno onwards (that is, for his own lifetime),
he claims reliance on oral sources of information: The preface makes specific mention of
Julius Africanus, Eusebios and others, and their use in the chronicle is well signposted. These
were among his major sources, along with the chroniclers Domninos and Nestorianos and the
'City Chronicles' of Antioch and Constantinople. Sources are rarely cited in Books 15-18,
covering material derived from oral sources and dealing with events likely to have been within
the author's personal experience. Still it is possible to identify the origin of certain portions of
this material; for example, Marinos the Syrian is likely to have been the source for the
rebellion of Vitalian (Bo 402.3-406.8), Julian for the embassy to the Axoumite court (Bo
456.24-459.3) and Hermogenes for the first Persian war of Justinian (Bo 445-477). In addition
Malalas clearly made use of documentary sources such as imperial laws, decrees and letters
(Scott, 1981 and 1985).
Online Versions and Further Reading
