Martyrs of Palestine

On the Martyrs of Palestineis a work by church historian and Bishop ofCaesarea,Eusebius(AD 263 – 339), relating the persecution of Christians in Caesarea under Roman EmperorDiocletian.The work survives in two forms, a shorterrecensionwhich formed part of hisEcclesiastical History,and a longer version, discovered only in 1866. Eusebius was present in Caesarea at the time of the persecutions he recounts.

Antique engraving of Eusebius of Caesarea

Background

The shorter version ofMartyrs of Palestinewas probably a revision of the longer recension. It is possible that both extant versions are only fragments of a now lost longer work.The long recension was composed sometime after 311, when the persecutions in Caesarea had ceased, and published in 315–316.

Short recension

Although shorter than the other version, there are accounts of martyrdoms in Caesarea that are not contained in the long recension, such as the voluntary martyrdoms ofTimolaus and Companions.

Long recension

The cruelty of the persecutors, the endurance and suffering of the martyrs, are entered into in greater detail in the longer version.

Reliability

Eusebius openly states that he is not going to discuss anything that does not "vindicate the divine judgement" and will relate only those things "which may be useful first to ourselves and afterwards to posterity", which caused 18th-century historianEdward Gibbonto distrust the work altogether.However, in the 19th century, historianJoseph Barber Lightfootcommended Eusebius in such passages for his honesty.

See also

Martyrs from Eusebius' book with Wikiperdia articles:

• Agapius (died 306)
• Agapius of Palestine,killed in 303 or 304 along withTimolaus and companions(two by the name Alexander, Dionysius, Plæsius, and Romulus), and another Dionysius.