ISBN (set)9781780764467 (3-volume set)
1780764464 (3-volume set)
Author/Editorattributed to Sawirus b. al-Muqaffa
edited, translated and annotated by B. Evetts
introduction by Hugh Kennedy.
Alternative TitleThe history of the Patriarchs of Alexandria
Note (Text Language)"Avertissement" in French.
Arabic original with parallel English translation below.
Note (General)"First published as History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria by Firmin-Didot & Co., Paris, 1904, in Patrologia Orientalis"--Title page verso.
Note (Content)A History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria" presents a series of biographies of the Coptic patriarchs from the beginning (St Mark) to 849 AD. Ascribed to Sawirus b. Al-Muqaffa (died 987), Bishop of Hermopolis Magna in Upper Egypt, many are in fact older Coptic works translated into Arabic and edited by Sawirus. The events recorded, which include the Muslim conquest of Egypt, the overthrow of the last Umayad ruler Marwan II, Arab-Christian relations, histories of the various countries, are often based upon eyewitness accounts by contemporary authors. As such they provide an essential source for the religious, economic and social life of Egypt in the early Islamic period. This important text remains unavailable even in many libraries. This edition contains both the Arabic text and the English translation of B. Evetts, together with an Introduction by leading contemporary scholar Hugh Kennedy.