History of Karka

The History of Karka^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a sixth-century text which describes the persecution and killings of Christians in Kirkuk (formerly known as Karka de Beth Selok) in the year 446.^[1] This outbreak of violence occurred in the Sasanian Empire under Yazdegerd II.^[1]

Before discussing the martyrdoms of 446, it gives a short account of the history of the region.^[3] The History extends back as far as ancient Assyrian figures such as Sargon II and mythological characters such as Nimrod, Ninus, and Belos.^[4] It presents a confused account of the history's origins, mixing history and mythology.^[5]

The persecution which makes up the core of the History of Karka^[6] came as a part of Yezdgard II's efforts to ensure obedience among his aristocrats, and his demands included participation in religious observances that Christians were forbidden to participate in.^[2] As a result, the persecution fell on aristocratic Christians, rather than specifically upon clergy or members of the general population.^[2] The aim was not so much to destroy Christianity as it was to enforce loyalty among the nobility.^[2]

Notes

1. Or more fully History of Karka de Beth Selok.^[1] Each of the words de, Beth, and Selok can be transcribed in more than one way. An even longer version of the title is History of Karka d-Beit Slok and Its Martyrs.^[2]

References

1. H.A. Drake (5 December 2016). Violence in Late Antiquity: Perceptions and Practices. Taylor & Francis. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-351-87574-5.
2. Richard E. Payne (5 August 2016). A State of Mixture: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity. Univ of California Press. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-0-520-29245-1.
3. Richard E. Payne (5 August 2016). A State of Mixture: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity. Univ of California Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-520-29245-1.
4. Clemens Gantner (3 March 2016). Visions of Community in the Post-Roman World: The West, Byzantium and the Islamic World, 300–1100. Routledge. pp. 214–215. ISBN 978-1-317-00136-2.
5. Muriel Debié; David Taylor (25 October 2012). "Syriac and Syro-Arabic Historical Writing". In Andrew Feldherr; Sarah Foot; Daniel R. Woolf (eds.). The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 2: 400-1400. OUP Oxford. pp. 163, 170. ISBN 978-0-19-923642-8.
6. Philip Wood (29 August 2013). The Chronicle of Seert: Christian Historical Imagination in Late Antique Iraq. OUP Oxford. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-19-967067-3.