The Joan Palevsky Imprint in Classical Literature In honor of beloved Virgil— “O degli altri poeti onore e lume . . .” —Dante, Inferno The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution to this book provided by the Classical Literature Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation, which is supported by a major gift from Joan Palevsky. The Legend of Mar Qardagh THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL HERITAGE Peter Brown, General Editor i Art and Ceremony in Late Antiquity, by Sabine G. MacCormack ii Synesius of Cyrene: Philosopher-Bishop, by Jay Alan Bregman iii Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity, by Kenneth G. Holum iv John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late Fourth Century, by Robert L. Wilken v Biography in Late Antiquity: The Quest for the Holy Man, by Patricia Cox vi Pachomius: The Making of a Community in Fourth-Century Egypt, by Philip Rousseau vii Change in Byzantine Culture in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, by A. P. Kazhdan and Ann Wharton Epstein viii Leadership and Community in Late Antique Gaul, by Raymond Van Dam ix Homer the Theologian: Neoplatonist Allegorical Reading and the Growth of the Epic Tradition, by Robert Lamberton x Procopius and the Sixth Century, by Averil Cameron xi Guardians of Language: The Grammarian and Society in Late Antiquity, by Robert A. Kaster xii Civic Coins and Civic Politics in the Roman East, a.d. 180–275, by Kenneth Harl xiii Holy Women of the Syrian Orient, introduced and translated by Sebastian P. Brock and Susan Ashbrook Harvey xiv Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection, by Carole Straw xv “Apex Omnium”: Religion in the “Res gestae” of Ammianus, by R. L. Rike xvi Dioscorus of Aphrodito: His Work and His World, by Leslie S. B. MacCoull xvii On Roman Time: The Codex-Calendar of 354 and the Rhythms of Urban Life in Late Antiquity, by Michele Renee Salzman xviii Asceticism and Society in Crisis: John of Ephesus and “The Lives of the Eastern Saints,” by Susan Ashbrook Harvey xix Barbarians and Politics at the Court of Arcadius, by Alan Cameron and Jacqueline Long, with a contribution by Lee Sherry xx Basil of Caesarea, by Philip Rousseau xxi In Praise of Later Roman Emperors: The Panegyrici Latini, introduction, translation, and historical commentary by C. E. V. Nixon and Barbara Saylor Rodgers xxii Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital, by Neil B. McLynn xxiii Public Disputation, Power, and Social Order in Late Antiquity, by Richard Lim xxiv The Making of a Heretic: Gender, Authority, and the Priscillianist Controversy, by Virginia Burrus xxv Symeon the Holy Fool: Leontius’s “Life” and the Late Antique City, by Derek Krueger xxvi The Shadows of Poetry: Vergil in the Mind of Augustine, by Sabine MacCormack xxvii Paulinus of Nola: Life, Letters, and Poems, by Dennis E. Trout xxviii The Barbarian Plain: Saint Sergius between Rome and Iran, by Elizabeth Key Fowden xxix The Private Orations of Themistius, translated, annotated, and introduced by Robert J. Penella xxx The Memory of the Eyes: Pilgrims to Living Saints in Christian Late Antiquity, by Georgia Frank xxi Greek Biography and Panegyric in Late Antiquity, edited by Tomas Hägg and Philip Rousseau xxxii Subtle Bodies: Representing Angels in Byzantium, by Glenn Peers xxxiii Wandering, Begging Monks: Social Order and the Promotion of Monasticism in Late Antiquity, by Daniel Folger Caner xxxiv Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century a.d., by Noel Lenski xxxv Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middle Ages, by Bonnie Effros xxxvi Quùayr ‘Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria, by Garth Fowden xxxvii Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity: The Nature of Christian Leadership in an Age of Transition, by Claudia Rapp xxxviii Encountering the Sacred: The Debate on Christian Pilgrimage in Late Antiquity, by Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony xxxix There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ: Religious Violence in the Christian Roman Empire, by Michael Gaddis xl The Legend of Mar Qardagh: Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq, by Joel Thomas Walker xli City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria, by Edward J. Watts xlii Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination, by Susan Ashbrook Harvey The Legend of Mar Qardagh Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq Joel Thomas Walker UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles London University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2006 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Walker, Joel Thomas, 1968–. The legend of Mar Qardagh : narrative and Christian heroism in late antique Iraq / Joel Thomas Walker. p. cm. (The transformation of the classical heritage ; 40) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-520-24578-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Qardagh, Mar. 2. Tashºita de-Mar tardagh sahda. 3. Nestorian Church—Iraq—History. 4. Iraq—Church history. I. Tashºita de-Mar tardagh sahda. II. Title. III. Series. bx159.q37w35 2006 275.67'02'092—dc22 2005006212 Manufactured in the United States of America 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on New Leaf EcoBook 60, containing 60% post-consumer waste, processed chlorine free; 30% de-inked recycled fiber, elemental chlorine free; and 10% FSC-certified virgin fiber, totally chlorine free. EcoBook 60 is acid-free and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/astm d5634-01 (Permanence of Paper). For my parents, Dr. Rhett P. Walker and Corinna Thomas Walker, with love and gratitude