Cyrus II ( Syriac: ''Qiyore''Adam H. Becker
"Edessa, School of"
in ''Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition'', edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts,

George A. Kiraz George Anton Kiraz (; born 1965) is a Syriac scholar, best known for his contribution to modern Syriac studies. Early life George Kiraz was born in Bethlehem to a Syriac Orthodox merchant family which traces its roots back to Elazığ in Anato ...

and Lucas Van Rompay (Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018). or ''Qūrā'';Theresia Hainthaler, "The 'School of Antioch' and Theological Schools in the Area of the Patriarchate of Antioch", in

Aloys Grillmeier Aloys Grillmeier (1 January 1910 – 13 September 1998) was a German Jesuit priest, theologian and cardinal-deacon of the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II created him cardinal-deacon of San Nicola in Carcere on 26 November 1994. Life Aloys ...

, Theresia Hainthaler, Tanios Bou Mansour and Luise Abramowski, ''Christ in Christian Tradition, Volume 2: From the Council of Chalcedon (451) to Gregory the Great (590–604), Part 3: The Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch from 451 to 600'' (Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), pp. 241–242. died 498) was the archbishop of Edessa and

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Osrhoene 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 Şanlıurfa, Turkey), exi ...

from 471 until his death.F. R. Trombley and J. W. Watt (eds.), ''The Chronicle of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite'' (Liverpool University Press, 2000), p. 26 and n. Cyrus succeeded

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis (, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century AD) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century AD. He i ...

as bishop in 471. He was opposed to the Antiochene theology of the school of the Persians in Edessa and he successfully appealed to the Emperor

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

to have it shut down. Its leading scholars, including

Narsai Narsai (sometimes spelt ''Narsay'', ''Narseh'' or ''Narses''; , name derived from Pahlavi ''Narsēh'' from Avestan ''Nairyō.saȵhō'', meaning 'potent utterance'; ) was one of the foremost of the poet-theologians of the early Church of the East ...

, went into exile in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and founded the

school of Nisibis The School of Nisibis (, for a time absorbed into the School of Edessa) was an educational establishment in Nisibis (now Nusaybin, Turkey). It was an important spiritual centre of the early Church of the East, and like the Academy of Gondishapur ...

. The date of this event is disputed. It took place either before 486 or, as per the ''

Chronicle of Edessa The ''Chronicle of Edessa'' () is an anonymous history of the city of Edessa written in the mid-6th century in the Syriac language. "''Chronicle of Edessa''" is a conventional title; in the manuscript it is titled ''Histories of Events in Brief' ...

'', in 489. A church dedicated to the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

was built on the site of the school, according to

Simeon of Beth Arsham Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. It is a cognate of the name Simo ...

.Theresia Hainthaler, "The Persian Debater Simeon of Beth Adam and his Anti-Nestorian Position", in Aloys Grillmeier, Theresia Hainthaler, Tanios Bou Mansour and Luise Abramowski, ''Christ in Christian Tradition, Volume 2: From the Council of Chalcedon (451) to Gregory the Great (590–604), Part 3: The Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch from 451 to 600'' (Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), p. 261. In the year 809 of the

Seleucid era The Seleucid era ("SE") or (literally "year of the Greeks" or "Greek year"), sometimes denoted "AG," was a Calendar era, system of numbering years in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic period, Hellenistic ...

(either 496 or 497), during an outbreak of the "disease of tumours", Cyrus urged the people to make silver litter for carrying the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

ic vessels during the commemorations of martyrs. Eutychianus, husband of Aurelia, gave 100 ''

denarii The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It continued to be mi ...

'' for its construction. The "disease of tumours", which is said to have made some blind, has not been securely identified. It may have been an early outbreak of

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

before the first pandemic began in the 540s. According to the '' Chronicle of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite'', Cyrus died on 5 June 498 (Seleucid 809) and was succeeded by

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. The chronicle gives him the Syriac title '' mar'' (saint, reverend).Trombly and Watt (2000), p. 31.

References

{{Reflist 498 deaths 5th-century Mesopotamian bishops Bishops of Edessa