__NOTOC__ Abgar VIII of

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

, also known as Abgar the Great, or Abgar bar Ma'nu, was an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

king of

Osroene Osroene or Osrhoene (; ) was an ancient kingdom and region in Upper Mesopotamia. The ''Kingdom of Osroene'', also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" ( / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to the name of its capital city (now Urfa, Şanlıurfa, Turkey), ...

from 177 CE to 212 CE. Abgar the Great was most remembered for his alleged conversion to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

in about 200 CE and the declaration of Christianity as the official religion of the city at that time. It has been suggested that a cross shown on the tiara of Abgar VIII in coins he minted has a Christian meaning. Osroene was a

client state A client state in the context of international relations is a State (polity), state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

at this time. Prior to Abgar VIII taking the throne, in the Roman military had reinstated Ma'nu VIII and they continued to have a significant presence in the region. Nevertheless, Abgar VIII's initial actions suggest that he was not wholly loyal to Rome nor was closely monitored by Rome. While Abgar VIII's

coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

bear the image of the Roman Emperor Commodus, Abgar's goals were to maintain a degree of independence and to extend his influence geographically as much as possible without disturbing the greater powers of Rome and

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

. Abgar VIII supported

Pescennius Niger Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 135 – 194) was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of Pertinax and the elevation of Didius Julianus, but was defeated by a ...

as Roman Emperor in . However Pescennius Niger was swiftly challenged and deposed by Emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

. Abgar VIII's submission to Septimus Severus is portrayed on the Arch of Severus in Rome. He was not deposed, but Osroene was made a

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

and Abgar's kingdom was reduced to a

rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state that was reduced in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case, a government st ...

containing just the city of Edessa. Abgar was fully reconciled with Severus and was later received with honour as a guest of the Emperor in Rome. In an additional display of loyalty, Abgar VIII took on the Roman name Lucius Aelius Aurelius Septimus. Christianity spread in Edessa significantly during Abgar VIII's reign. The '' Chronicle of Edessa'' () reports that a Christian church building in Edessa was damaged in a flood in November . The Christian philosopher

Bardaisan Bardaisan (11 July 154 – 222 AD; , ''Bar Dayṣān''; also Bardaiṣan), known in Arabic as ibn Dayṣān () and in Latin as Bardesanes, was a Syriac-speaking Prods Oktor Skjaervo. ''Bardesanes''. Encyclopædia Iranica. Volume III. Fasc. 7-8. . ...

was a member of Abgar VIII's court. In 1904

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

proposed that

Lucius of Britain Lucius (Welsh language, Welsh: Lles map Coel, Lleirwg, Lleufer or Lleufer Mawr) was a supposed 2nd-century List of legendary kings of Britain, king of the Britons traditionally credited with introducing Christianity into Great Britain, Britain. L ...

, a ruler mentioned in the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'' as contemporaneous with Pope Eleutherius, actually was Abgar of Edessa. Harnack argued that ' Britanio' was written as an erroneous expansion for ' Britio', a citadel of

. Harnack's proposal has been challenged by British archaeologist David J. Knight, who argued that Abgar of Edessa was never called Lucius of Britio/Birtha in contemporary sources.'King Lucius of Britain' by David J. Knight () Upon his death in 212 CE, Abgar the Great was succeeded by his son

Abgar IX Abgar IX Severus was king of Osroene. Abgar succeeded his father, Abgar VIII in 212. In 213 Abgar IX and his son were summoned to Rome and murdered at the orders of Caracalla. A year later Caracalla ended the independence of Osroene and incorpora ...

. However, Abgar IX was summoned with his son to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 213 CE and murdered on the orders of

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

. A year later Caracalla ended the independence of Osroene and incorporated it as a province into

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