Edessa - ܐܘܪܗܝ
http://syriaca.org/place/78
A city of Mesopotamia, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Osrhoene, modern Urfa.
Names
Place Type
settlement
Location
Descriptions
“ܡܕܺܝܢܬܐ ܗܳܝ ܛܒܝܒܬܳܐ ܠܡܰܕܢܚܳܐ ܕܚܳܠܳܒ ܚܰܡܫܳܐ ܝܰܘܡ̈ܝܢ ܘܡܶܫܬܰܡܗܐ ܝܰܘܡܳܢ ܐܘܪܦܰܗ̈”3
“مدينة مشهورة خمسة ايام عن حلب شرقا وتسمى اليوم اورفه.”4
“183. Edessa”1
A city of Mesopotamia, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Osrhoene, modern Urfa.
Events
Renamed Edessa by Seleucus I Nicator.
1
Flood of the river Daiṣan destroyed part of city.
1
Full incorporation into the Roman Empire.
1
Closure of the "School of the Persians."
1
Edessa conquered by the Arabs.
1
Edessa conquered by the Crusaders.
1
Edessa conquered by Zengi of Mosul.
1
Edessa incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.
1
Massacres of some of Armenian and Syriac Christians during World War I.
1
Emigration of remaining Armenian and Syrian Christians to Aleppo.
1
Attestations
Attestation of Christian church in Edessa according to the Chronicle of Edessa
[http://syriaca.org/work/119]
.
10
Attestation of anti-Chalcedonian bishop in Edessa according to the Chronicle of Edessa
[http://syriaca.org/work/119]
.
10
Attestation of Chalcedonian bishop in Edessa according to the Chronicle of Edessa
[http://syriaca.org/work/119]
.
10
Attestation of Chalcedonian author in Edessa according to the Chronicle of Edessa
[http://syriaca.org/work/119]
.
10
Attestation of name ܐܘܪܗܝ in the anonymous Chronicle of 1234
[http://syriaca.org/work/113]
.
ܐܘܪܗܝ
9
Attestation of Syrian Orthodox church in Edessa in the anonymous Chronicle of 1234
[http://syriaca.org/work/113]
.
9
Attestation of names الرُّهاء and أَذاسا in the Muʿjam al-buldān of Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī.
الرُّهاء12
أَذاسا12
12
Attestation of Syrian Orthodox metropolitan for Edessa according to Barsoum's Scattered Pearls
[http://syriaca.org/work/215]
.
5
Notes
GEDSH article identifies its river as the Balikh, but the identification is contested.
Known Religious Communities
This list is not necessarily exhaustive, and the order does not represent importance or proportion of the population. Dates do not represent starting or ending dates of a group's presence, but rather when they are attested. Instead, the list only represents groups for which Syriaca.org has source(s) and dates.
- Christians
(attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- Syriac
(attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- West Syrian
(attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- Melkite (attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- Syrian Orthodox (attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- West Syrian
(attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- Latin (attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- Syriac
(attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- Jews (attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
- Muslims (attested as early as 201, as late as 1624)
Status: published
Is this record complete?
See Also
View in Pleiades
View in Google Maps
"Edessa" in WikipediaWorks Cited
Any information without attribution has been created following the Syriaca.org editorial guidelines.
- 1 A. Harrak, "Edessa." in Sebastian P. Brock et al. (eds.), The Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2011)., p: 138-139.
- 2 Sebastian P. Brock et al., Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2011)., p: 1, 4, 5–6 (with fig. 1), 9–10, 13, 15–16, 18, 26, 29, 31, 33–34, 36, 37–38, 41,
46, 54, 56, 60, 64, 69, 71, 74, 84, 86, 90, 97–98, 99, 102, 107–108, 126, 127, 128,
132–133, 138–139 (with fig. 47), 145, 153, 155, 162, 163, 164, 178, 191–192, 195–196,
197, 199, 201–202, 209, 213, 220, 229, 237, 249, 252, 260–261, 262, 266, 267, 268,
270, 271–272, 273, 284, 287, 288, 303–304, 314, 316, 317, 322, 327–328, 332, 335,
343, 346, 348, 350, 351, 352, 356, 361, 363, 367, 376, 377, 384, 390, 392, 398, 401,
403, 407, 410–411, 419, 431, 432, 433, 438–439, 444, 446, 448, map: Map I B1, II B1,
III.
- 3 Ignatius Afram Barsoum and ܐܝܓܢܐܛܝܘܣ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܒܪܨܘܡ, ܒܪ̈ܘܠܐ ܒܕܝܪ̈ܐ ܕܥܠ ܡܪܕܘܬ ܝܘܠܦܢ̈ܐ ܣܘܪ̈ܝܝܐ ܗܕܝܪ̈ܐ, ܚܬܳܡܳܐ ܬܪܰܝܳܢܳܐ2nd ed. (Holland: ܡܛܒܥܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܒܪܝܐBar Hebraeus Verlag, 1991)., p: 556.
- 4 Ignatius Afram Barsoum and اغناطيوس افرام الاول برصوم, كتاب اللؤلؤ المنثور في تاريخ العلوم والأداب السريانية, الطبعة الرابعة4th ed. (Holland: مطبعة ابن العبري بدير مار افرام السريانيBar Hebraeus Verlag, 1987)., p: 516.
- 5 Ignatius Aphram Barsoum, The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, 2nd revised (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2003)., p: 553.
- 6 Sergey Minov (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013)., entry: Edessa.
- 7 David Wilmshurst, The Ecclesiastical Organisation of the Church of the East, 1318–1913, CSCO 582, Subs. 104 (Louvain: Peeters, 2000), p: 53, 65, 361, 362.
- 8 William Wright, Catalogue of Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum, Acquired since the Year 1838 (London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1870-1872)., p: 2:912.
- 9 Jean Baptiste Chabot and Ignatius Aphram Barsoum, Anonymi auctoris Chronicon ad annum Christi 1234 pertinens, praemissum est Chronicon anonymum ad annum Christi 819 pertinens, CSCO 81, 82, 109, Syr. 36, 37, 56 (Paris: Typographeo Reipublicae, 1916, 1920, 1937), p: 2:136.
- 10 Ignazio Guidi, Chronica minora. Pars prior, CSCO Syr. III.4 (Paris: Typographeo Reipublicae, 1903), p: 1:2, 11, 13.
- 11 Han J. W. Drijvers, "Jews and Christians at Edessa." Journal of Jewish Studies vol. 36:1 (1985)., p: 90, 102.
- 12 Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī and ياقوت الحموي, معجم البلدان (Beirut: دار الكتب العلميةDār al-kutub al-ʿilmiyya, 1990)., p: I:155; III:120.
- 13 Ernest Walter Brooks, Iohannis Ephesini historiae ecclesiasticae pars tertia, CSCO Syr. III.3 (Louvain: L. Durbecq, 1935-1936), p: 119; 155; 157; 165; 313, chapter: 3.3.27; 3.3.28; 3.3.29; 3.3.33; 3.6.17.
- 14 Ernest Walter Brooks, Iohannis Ephesini historiae ecclesiasticae pars tertia, CSCO Syr. III.3 (Louvain: L. Durbecq, 1935-1936), p: 156, chapter: 3.3.28.
- 15 Ian Mladjov, "Diachronic Maps of Syriac Cultures and Their Geographic Contexts." in Daniel King and David A. Michelson (eds.), The Syriac World (London-New York: Routledge, 2018)., map: 1, 2, 7.
- 16 William L. Potter and David A. Michelson, "Index of Maps." in Daniel King (ed.), The Syriac World (London-New York: Routledge, 2018)., p: 827.
- 17 Emma Loosley, "The Material Culture of the Syrian Peoples in Late Antiquity and the Evidence for Syrian Wall Paintings." in Daniel King (ed.), The Syriac World, Routledge Worlds (London: Routledge, 2019), p: 460-475.
- 18 p: 88-104., p: 88-104.
- 19 p: 205-221., p: 205-221.
- 20 p: 47-67., p: 47-67.
- 21 Jonathan Andrew Loopstra, "The Syriac Bible and Its Interpretation." in Daniel King (ed.), The Syriac World, Routledge Worlds (London: Routledge, 2019), p: 293-308.
- 22 p: 770-782., p: 770-782.
- 23 Susan Ashbrook Harvey, "Women and Children in Syriac Christianity: Sounding Voices." in Daniel King (ed.), The Syriac World, Routledge Worlds (London: Routledge, 2019), p: 554-567.
How to Cite This Entry
Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Edessa — ܐܘܪܗܝ
” last modified July 11, 2025, http://syriaca.org/place/78.
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Bibliography:
Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Edessa — ܐܘܪܗܝ .”, edited by ., edited by David A. Michelson et al.. Syriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portal, 2025. Entry published July 11, 2025. http://syriaca.org/place/78.About this Entry
Entry Title: Edessa — ܐܘܪܗܝ
Additional Credit:
- Data merging for Syriac World maps data by William L. Potter
- Syriac World maps edited by David A. Michelson
- Syriac World maps data revised by William L. Potter
- Syriac World maps cartography by Ian Mladjov
- Connection to the Syriac World identified by Emma Loosley
- Connection to the Syriac World identified by Florence Jullien
- Connection to the Syriac World identified by Holger Gzella
- Connection to the Syriac World identified by John Healey
- Connection to the Syriac World identified by Jonathan Loopstra
- Connection to the Syriac World identified by Nathanael Andrade
- Connection to the Syriac World identified by Susan Ashbrook Harvey
- Data from John of Ephesus added by Silvio Roggo
- Record validation, normalization, and revisions for the second edition (2.0) by Daniel L. Schwartz
- Record validation, normalization, and revisions for the second edition (2.0) by William L. Potter
- Record validation, normalization, and revisions for the second edition (2.0) by David A. Michelson
- Wilmshurst index information entry by Anthony Davis
- Arabic description entry by Dayroyo Roger-Youssef Akhrass
- Syriac description entry by Robert Aydin
- Data merging, Pleiades and Wikipedia linking, and XML by Thomas A. Carlson
- Initial Barsoum entry creation by David A. Michelson