The Martyrdom and the History of Blessed Simeon bar Ṣabba‘e by Kyle Smith (review)

The field of Syriac studies has grown in leaps and bounds in recent decades with a host of invaluable new studies, editions, translations, and electronic resources. Progress, though, has been uneven with less attention to the East Syrian tradition and Islamic-era texts. Kyle Smith’s contribution to Gorgias Press’s series on Persian martyr literature is, therefore, particularly welcome. It contains two martyr texts describing the trial of the East Syrian archbishop Simeon bar S≤ abba‘e, who was executed by Sasanian authorities around 339 c.e. These are among the best known and most influential of the nearly seventy surviving Syriac accounts of the Sasanian martyrs, more than two-thirds of them set during the reign of Shapur II (r. 309–79). The shorter of Smith’s two texts, the Martyrdom of Blessed Simeon bar Ṣabba‘e, dates to the early fifth century, while the History covering much of the same material appears to have been composed in the latter part of the fifth century, possibly with “later interventions” (xxiv and xxxi). Smith cautiously avoids any more concrete hypothesis about the texts’ provenance. He focuses instead on delineating the key thematic features that reflect the “very different historical circumstances and perspectives” of the two authors writing a “generation or more” apart (xlix). His discussion thus sets up, but chooses not to tackle, questions such as what the History’s keen interest in Constantine, the “Roman captives,” and relics might suggest about its provenance or reliability. In contrast to earlier approaches, he eschews any effort to dissect the texts in order to identify some parts as more plausible than others.

As with previous titles in this series, the text is presented in a facing-page text format in a beautiful, vocalized Syriac script. This reprints the Syriac edition of both texts published in 1907 in Michael Kmosko’s Patrologia Syriaca, but without the critical apparatus or variant readings. The manuscripts underlying the edition are relatively early: sixth to tenth century in the case of the four manuscripts of the Martyrdom, while the History is preserved in manuscripts of the ninth, late twelfth, and late nineteenth century. Smith’s translations of Kmosko’s texts are exemplary. While scrupulously faithful to the Syriac, his prose is lucid and vivacious. In the dialogues, in which Simeon and other martyrs trade barbs with the Persian king, Smith conveys the powerful aural qualities of the Syriac text. In passages where the author’s style grows lavish, Smith finds the right words to convey the more grandiose tone. The author of the Martyrdom, for instance, likens God’s response to the persecution to the hot sun, which “melted the ice of paganism, dammed the trickling streams of infidelity, dried up the swamp of idolatry, desiccated the sogginess of defilement, cleansed the rotting stench, and tempered the putrid miasma” (12). Elsewhere, Smith shows similar skill in teasing out more subtle nuances, like Bishop Simeon’s explanation of the difference between reh≥mta (“love”) and rah≥muta (“friendship”).

The annotations, usefully printed at the bottom of each page, provide concise but learned guidance on technical terms, word play, and historical context. The clarity of these notes also reflects Smith’s decision on what to exclude; he rarely introduces comparison with other Syriac martyr literature, much less the various translations and parallel narratives in Greek, Armenian, and Sogdian. This leaves ample room for future studies, building on Smith’s superb contribution. Future studies might consider, among many other topics, the texts’ robust angelology, their pervasive sun and light imagery, and the History’s valorization of pious eunuchs.