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Joshua (1) Stylites, a Syrian Monk

Wace's Dictionary of Early Christian Biography

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Joshua (1) Stylites, a Syrian monk; a native of Edessa, entered the monastery of Zuenin near Amida in Mesopotamia. After some years he determined to imitate St. Simeon and live the rest of his days on a column, from which he derives his distinguishing name. Before this he had written in 507 the history of his times from 495, entitled, History of the Calamities which befel Edessa, Amida, and all Mesopotamia . A full description, with quotations from the original Syriac, is given by Assemani (Bibl. Or. i. 260). It was published at Leipzig in 1878, in the Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes , in the original Syriac, with a French trans. by Abbé Paulin Martin. The translator describes it as the most ancient history extant in Syriac, and specially valuable because of Joshua's personal share in the events. His text corrects many omissions and mistakes in Assemani's abstract. He fixes its composition between 510–515, and classes Joshua as a Monophysite, while Assemani regarded him as orthodox.

[I.G.S.]

[G.T.S.]