Chronicon orientale

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The '''''Chronicon orientale''''' (or '''''al-Taʾrīkh al-sharqī''''', both meaning "eastern chronicle") is an anonymous [[universal history]] written in [[Arabic]] by an [[Copts|Egyptian Christian]] between 1257 and 1260. It was mistakenly attributed to [[Ibn al-Rāhib|Abū Shākir ibn Buṭrus al-Rāhib]] in the 17th century, an attribution that has been frequently repeated. Maged Mikhail refers to its author as Pseudo-Abū Shākir, and Adel Sidarus notes that he has often been referred to as Buṭrus (Petrus) ibn al-Rāhib, erroneously combining his name and his father's.

The work is an abstract or epitome of the chronographical chapters (47–50) of Abū Shākir's much longer ''Kitāb al-tawārīkh'', published in 1257. It was written before Abū Shākir's ordination as a deacon in or about 1260. The ''Chronicon'' has often been dismissed as a pale imitation of the ''Kitāb'', but it does have some independent value. Its chronological ordering is generally trustworthy, but its absolute dates are not.

The chronology of the ''Chronicon'' is provided by the [[Old Testament]] down to the time of [[Jesus]], then by the [[Roman emperors]] down to [[Muḥammad]] and finally by the [[List of rulers of Islamic Egypt|rulers of Islamic Egypt]] and [[List of rulers of Damascus|Syria]] down to his own day. It also includes a chronological history of the [[Caliphate]] and the [[Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic patriarchate]] from [[Saint Mark|Mark]] (AD 43–68) to [[Pope Athanasius III of Alexandria|Athanasius III]] (1250–1261). The information on the patriarchs is more substantial than that of [[Jirjīs al-Makīn]], with an emphasis on martyrdom. Besides Abū Shākir's ''Kitāb'', the author of the ''Chronicon'' made independent use of the ''[[History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria]]''.

The Catholic scholar [[Abraham Ecchellensis]] published a [[Latin]] translation of the text in 1651, bringing [[Coptic historiography]] to western readership for the first time. He did not know the identity of the author of the ''Chronicon''. He added his own ''Historia orientalis supplementum'' as an appendix. In the same year, the Protestant theologian [[Johann Heinrich Hottinger]] published his own ''Historia orientalis''. In 1729 [[Giuseppe Simone Assemani]] reprinted Ecchellensis's with some emendations based on the latter's notes and on a manuscript in the [[Vatican Library]]. He attributed it to Abū Shākir and included biographical notes about him.

==Editions==
*''Chronicon orientale'', trans. [[Abraham Ecchellensis]], Paris, 1651 (repr. Paris, 1685).
*''Chronicon orientale Petri Rahebi Aegyptii'' ed. [[Giuseppe Simone Assemani]], Venice, 1729.
*''Petrus ibn Rahib: Chronicon orientale'', ed. [[Louis Cheikho]], Beirut, 1903 (repr. Leuven, 1955, 1960, 1963).

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[[Category:1250s books]]
[[Category:13th-century history books]]
[[Category:13th-century Arabic books]]
[[Category:Coptic literature]]

[[fr:Chronicon Orientale]]

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