TITUS Texts: Georgius Monachus, Chronicon

The Chronicle of George the Monk [Book One.] [Concerning Adam.] ...the second stone, a hard one, and they wrote upon them all the celestial [lore] transmitted by their ancestor Seth, for they said: "If the world should be destroyed by water, this stone pillar will remain, and the letters carved upon it; but [if] it should be destroyed by fire, the brick [pillar will remain] and the inscriptions upon it." That pillar remained after the Flood upon Mount Sirion [and exists] to this day, as Josephus writes. Concerning Nimrod. After these things, [a certain hunter] appeared, named Nimrod, son of Cush the Ethiopian, from the tribe of Ham, who built the city of Babylon and introduced hunting and magic, and taught the Persians; and he taught them astronomy and astrology, and the motion of the heavens... the nature of the conjunction of births, from which the Greeks learned the art of genethlialogy... concerning astrology... the nature of births, as of the customary kind. And thus astronomy and astrology and genethlialogy among the Persians took their beginning.

Those who speak of the deification of Nimrod and of his being among the stars in the heavens, concerning whom Moses says: "The beginning of his kingdom was Babylon and Chalan in the land of Sennaar, whence the Philistine came forth." [Concerning Cronos.] But from the tribe of Shem and of Assur—from whom the Assyrians descend—who subdued Assyria and Persia and other regions of the East, there also appeared another man, a hero by lineage, named Cronos, after the name of that errant star. And he too became very mighty and subdued and ruled over many, and first introduced kingship and dominion over other men, and he became the beginning of the kingship of the Assyrians for forty-two and eighteen years; and he subdued the whole land of Persia, beginning from Assyria. And he had two sons and one daughter: and he called one Dia, after the name of that errant star, and the other he named Ninos; and the daughter Ira, whom Picos, who was also called Zeus, took as wife, his own sister Ira. [Concerning Ninos.] And after Cronos, Ninos, his son, became king for forty-two and twelve years, who took his own mother Semiramis as his wife; and the Persians adopted as law the taking of a mother and a sister, because of Dia's taking of his own sister Ira.

Now as for Ninos, who became ruler of Assyria and built there a great city at a place three days' journey distant, which they named after his own name, Nineveh, he first became king there; from whose lineage appeared Zoroaster, that renowned astrologer of the Persians, who, desiring to accomplish something, prayed to the sky that he might become impervious to fire, and said to the Persians: "If fire burns me, take the bones from my burnt remains and preserve them, and kingship shall not vanish from your land as long as you preserve my bones"; and, as he prayed to Orion, he was consumed by aerial fire, and the Persians took those evil-made bones, which they preserve to this day. [Concerning Turras.] After Ninos, a certain Turras by name became king of Assyria for thirty years, to whom they gave the name of that erring star, Ares, and for whom the Assyrians first erected a statue; and until this day, as his worshippers, they call him in Persian Baal, which is God, whence he is the god of battles, whom Daniel also mentions as worshipped and served by the Persians.

After Lames, Laminis became king for twenty years, and after Laminis, the great Sardanapalus reigned for twenty-five years and was killed by the Persians. His flatterers and those who emulated his love of the flesh, his gluttony, and his love of pleasures inscribed upon his tomb, as if found written by him, these words: "I ate and I drank, and with love and delight I lived in the city; all that I now have, all consider my wealth, and now I have become ashes, the king of great Nineveh." But those his scribes wrote this falsely, for none of what he ate and drank remains for him in his completed state; rather, all that has turned to putrid decay. Only the vileness of his lawless life remains, which perpetually makes the afflicted and pitiable soul mournful through the remembrance of those things which he, through intemperance and lawlessness, did to that wretched one. After Sardanapalus, Perseus became king, son of Pikus; this is the same as Dionysus, who fought and overcame the Lycaonians, built a city there, erected his own monument, and named that city Iconium after his own image.

He also subdued other regions, and crossing from his own territory into Isauria and Cilicia, he set the sole of his foot upon the ground, where he built a city, and called it Tarson, because of his foot, for the part of the foot adjacent to the toes is called Tarson. And he set out for Assyria, killed Sardanapalus, seized Assyria, and reigned over it for forty-nine years, after which the recipient of his name from the Assyrians called it Persia, both the kingdom and the name; and he taught them the abominable practice of sacrifice and the magic called Magian, from which the land was named Media because of that abominable teaching, on account of which fire descended from heaven into Persia. When he saw this, he marveled, and from it he kindled a lamp, built a temple, placed that fire within it, and called that temple the Temple of the Undying Fire. And he appointed within it men set apart, to serve and to tend it unceasingly, whom he named Magi.

the custom of which, up to the present, the Persians have held in great honor, and they are servants of fire, according to the command of their king Perses. Now first, before the Assyrians—that is, the Babylonians—there was a kingdom; and second, the Persians, who are neighbors to those called Assyrians and Babylonians. Concerning Sostris. After Perses and the times and kings that followed him, a king arose in Egypt, first from the lineage of Ham, a certain man of many abilities, by name Sostris, for twenty years, who made war on the Assyrians and subdued them, and the Chaldeans and Persians as far as Babylon; likewise he made war on Asia, Europe, and Scythia and subdued them. In his time there was a certain Hermes Trismegistus, an Egyptian man, wondrous in wisdom among the pagans. Concerning Pharaoh. After Sostris, a king arose in Egypt, Pharaoh, who was called Narachotsa, for forty-two years, from whom all the kings of Egypt were named Pharaoh. And in the times of those first-mentioned Pikos, that is, Dios, there appeared from the western parts, from the tribe of Japheth, in the land of the Argives, a certain Inachos, who first became king in that land, where he also built a city in the name of the moon and called it Iopolis.

Then Lyvia, the daughter of Dios, who was united with someone named Poseidon, bore Bilon and Ancyora. And Bilon went forth to Egypt and took a wife named Sida. And he bore a son and called him Egyptus, from whom Egypt received its own name, and he became king there. But Ancyora arrived in Phoenicia and took a wife named Tyro, and built a city named after her, in which he also ruled as king. And he bore three sons and one daughter: Phoenicia, Assur, Cilicia, and Europa, whom King Taurus of the Cretans carried off as a captive and brought to his own land of Thrace; and because she was a virgin and beautiful, he took her as his own wife and called those regions Europa after her name.

When the death of Ancyorus was approaching, he ordered that all the land under his dominion be divided into three parts among his three sons: and Phoenica received Tyre and its borders and called it Phoenicia; and to the land allotted to Assur he gave the name Assyria; likewise Cilica gave his own name to the portion of land that is Cilicia. And in the time of the reign of Phoenicus there was Heracles of Tyre, a philosopher, who discovered the purple dye: for as he was walking along the seashore of Tyre, he saw a shepherd’s dog eating the shell called the murex. And the shepherd thought that blood was coming from the dog; for this reason he took a fleece of wool and wiped the discharge from its mouth, and when the wool was dyed, Heracles realized that it was not blood but a dye, and he was amazed; and as if it were a great gift, he presented it to King Phoenicus, who was even more amazed and ordered that wool be dyed from the murex and garments be made from it.

And when he first put on the purple garment, all were amazed at the strange appearance of that vestment; for this reason King Phoenix issued a decree that no one among his subjects should dare to wear his garment, but only he himself and the subsequent kings of Phoenicia; by this they would be recognized as king from among the cavalry and from the entire multitude by the color of that garment. For previously men did not know how to dye garments in colors, for which reason the king was not easily distinguished from his subjects. Concerning the Hellenes. But after those times and kings, a certain Pelops the Lydian became king of Hellas, who built a city there and called it Peloponnesus, by which the Hellenes are called Peloponnesians. Concerning Cyrus the Persian and Croesus. Now then, Cronos and Ninus and Sardanapallus became kings of Assyria, and after them others in succession until Marodach and Nebuchadnezzar and his sons. But after them and Darius, Cyrus the Persian became king for twenty-two years and was killed in Persia.

And when Crisus, king of the Lydians, rose up against him for the subjugation of his neighboring villages and distant principalities, he sent word to Cyrus, either to cede to him the kingship of the Persians, or to meet him in battle as he advanced. But when Cyrus heard this, he became utterly troubled and perplexed, and he gave some answer to the envoys and sent them away, while he himself contemplated flight to the land of India. When his wife learned of this, she said to him: "Why have you become so perplexed and powerless, and why do you wish to do this without due consideration?" And he said to her: "And who else can advise me what to do?" And she answered: "In the time of Darius, my first husband, there was a certain Hebrew prophet, by name Daniel, from among the captive children of Israel, mighty in word and deed. He was held in great honor and very highly esteemed by Darius for his counsel, and now, because of his old age, he dwells in the land allotted to him, living by himself. If you also would listen to his counsel, it would be well." When Cyrus heard this, he immediately sent his nobles to bring him with great honor to him.

For it is more pleasing in many hardships to consider the swiftness of the strength of mothers and fathers, and to cling to the love of God more intimately and more unwaveringly. But after the retreat of those sent by him to Cyrus, Crisus sent trustworthy men to Delphi, so that they might inquire of the Pythia whether he would be mightier than Cyrus. And when he entered and prayed, he received a revelation from the Pythia: "Crisus, crossing the Halys River, will destroy a great dominion." This he wrote on a tablet and gave to those sent by Crisus. But the divine Daniel, when he came to Cyrus, Cyrus said to him: "Tell me, O wisest one, whether I will be mightier than the proud and arrogant Crisus." Daniel said to him: "Be confident that you will defeat Crisus and lead him captive, for concerning you the prophet Isaiah said: 'Thus says the Lord to the anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken to subdue before him the nations and to scatter the power of kings. He shall rebuild my city and bring back the captivity of my people, said the Lord of Hosts.'" And when Cyrus heard this, he fell at the feet of Daniel and said: "Alive is the Lord God of yours.

I will release Israel from my land, so that they may serve their God in Jerusalem." And having armed himself, he set out against Croesus. But when Croesus heard of that reception of his own chrism, he set out against Cyrus with a multitude of his forces and crossed the river Halys, and having encountered Cyrus in the great severity of winter, he was defeated; and he intended to flee with his people, but because of the fullness of the waters of that river he was unable to cross. For this reason he was taken captive and a multitude of four hundred thousand fighters fell, of whom the survivors were led away captive by Darius. But Croesus, bound, was raised on a stake and shown as condemned to the whole multitude of his own horsemen. After this he was taken to Persia and there given over to death. And the soothsayer of foreign and superhuman powers destroyed both himself and his own by a multitude of excesses. But all the sons of Israel were immediately released with Zerubbabel to go up to Jerusalem. And thus by Cyrus the captivity of the Lydians, which had been made captive for two hundred and twelve years, was ended. Concerning Darius. But after Cyrus, Darius, his son, who was also called Cambyses, became king for eight years. Concerning Artaxerxes.

After Camyses, Artaxerxes, called Longimanus, became king for twenty years. In his time there was a certain ruler of one principality in Italy, named Pallas, who built an exceedingly great house, the like of which was not to be found in the surrounding villages, and he named it the Palace. Because of this, the royal residence of Rome is called the Palace. Then after these, Romus, the builder of Rome, and Rimus, his brother, became kings. They renewed and built the house of the royal palace called the Palace, and erected a great temple and named it the Capitolium of Rome, which in Roman means the head of the city. For during their reign they came into enmity with each other: and Rimus was killed by Romus, and Romus reigned alone. And when he had completed the walls and adorned the city, and built the temple of Ares, and in the month of March completed his reign, he called that month March, which was previously called Trimon, which is Ares. On whose festival the Romans, celebrating year by year, name the day of the festival the turning of March. He also built a hippodrome, so that the multitude of the Roman people might be entertained, for the Romans, in their turmoil, rose up against him because of the death of his brother.

And first in Rome he completed the hippodrome, which is the horse-racing track. And he established it as a festival of the sun and the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water, and he called the first green, the second white, the third red, and the fourth blue. And he taught them that concerning this fate... [of Alexander of Macedon.] ...and he examined what it was like to behold and knew that he was not tall in stature and that his teeth were large and projecting beyond his lips; and that one of his eyes was blue, while the other was black; and within his own head he grasped this creation of his own form as if learned. And behold, he went to him with the messengers sent by him and was recognized by him from those signs previously uttered, and immediately he seized him and said: "King Alexander, you have conquered the world and are captured by a woman." But he said to him: "For the sake of your great skill and cleverness of knowledge, I will keep you unharmed, you and your sons and your kingdom, and I will take you as my wife." He brought her forth, and having arrived in Egypt, he built great Alexandria in his own name, but he himself returned again to Babylon, where he died at the age of thirty-two years.

Twelve years of his reign had passed, and there are many and various other victories, triumphs, and indescribable feats of valor that he accomplished and performed. For this reason, the prophet likened him to a winged tiger, immediately with the swiftness of fire's form... if he heard from some philosopher speaking that "the virtues are countless." At this he greatly rejoiced in spirit and said: "If from the countless virtues I cannot seize even one..." So great was his intellect, his spirit, and his valor, that on every side he was praised and marveled at, even more so for his love of purity, his prudence, his great wisdom, and his intelligence. For, having become a disciple of Aristotle, he learned from him every rational art of measure. And he was valiant and bold in battles. Once, when he saw one of his fellow soldiers, a youth, become fearful in battle, he said: "Young man, either change your conduct, or your name.

But he showed his love of chastity even more clearly after his victory: for when he brought the daughters of Darius captive, who were possessed of wondrous beauty, he not only did not look upon them, but considered it most unseemly that if he, victorious in valor, should be conquered by women, the fathers would be pitied by the daughters. He went as far as the most remote India and around the whole great earth... of faith. And this among the neighboring Indians, who are all given to evil deeds through depravity. And those most remote tribes, man-eating and slayers of strangers, are even more ravening than dogs. Again, the law of the Chaldeans and Babylonians is the mixing with beasts, bloodshed, and the doing of every god-hating deed as if it were virtue. Then again, the law of the Gilicians is the labor and building of women and the doing of manly works, and also going after the desire of their hearts without any hindrance or disturbance from their husbands, who are also strong warriors, and they have considered it not shameful to be more bestial than beasts, and they have power and rule over their own husbands.

But in Britain, many men often consort with a single woman, and likewise many women consort with a single man, and this lawless practice they fulfill without shame or hindrance, as if it were a good and ancestral custom. Among the Amazons, however, no man is to be found; but like wild beasts, once a year at the time of the spring equinox they leave their own borders and consort with the neighboring men, as if for some gathering and great festival, being highly esteemed at that time. Those among them who become pregnant, when they give birth, they destroy the males, but spare the females, and raise them with haste and bring them to maturity. Thus, after the death of Alexander, his kingdom was divided into many principalities. And Arrhidaeus, the brother of Alexander, who was also called Philip, became ruler of Macedonia. Antipater took possession of the kingdom of Europe, Ptolemy son of Lagus of Egypt, Seleucus of Phoenicia and Assyria, Philotas of Cilicia, Antigonus of Asia, Cassander of Caria, Leon of the Hellespont, Eumenes of Paphlagonia, and Lysimachus of Thrace. And they did not cease from mutual warfare until the reign of the Romans abolished the principalities that held power over these regions.

Now after this, having said thus much, I consider it fitting to return again to the course of the narrative. And so, beginning again from Adam, let us briefly set forth the years of the lives of each of the notable men, and then in succession let us recall the rulers and kings of Israel who appeared afterwards, albeit only a few. And thus let us join them to the very order of the chronicle's historical work, while we shall make the reckoning of the years in the manner of the blessed Moses, who, first and most wisely and most truthfully of all those ancient pagan sages and chroniclers, rightly studied it. For Moses is recognized as the first wise man, as Eupolemus writes, and he became the first giver of the written law to the Hebrews. That law the divine Abraham brought from the Chaldeans, for Josephus says thus: "First Abraham proclaimed God as creator, and first he went down into Egypt and taught the Egyptians wisdom of arithmetic and astrology." For these were first possessed by the Chaldeans, and from the Hebrews the Phoenicians received them, from whom Cadmus then brought them to the Greeks; but Hesiod more beautifully composed them and made them intelligible to the Greeks.

Now Clement, Africanus, and Tatian, and those from the circumcision, Josephus and Justus, speak concerning the time of the great Moses, for each of them from the ancient narratives made his manifestation; but the learned Eusebius, who was versed in many narratives and was a maker of a most exact chronicle, found Jacob manifest in the time of Inachus, and Moses in the time of Cecrops. For the compiler of the chronological canon, having joined together and brought into one and the same time those made powerful, gathered the years of the reigns of the Chaldeans, Lacedaemonians, Corinthians, Thessalians, and Macedonians, which anciently were called the Ceteans by the Latins, from their king Latinus, and the Italians who were made rulers over them by someone named by this name, and those later called Romans from Romus and Remus, the builders of Rome. These times and years he gathered together and joined the years of the kings of each nation one to another, and set as contemporary the years of the king of the Assyrians, the years of Semiramis with the years of Abraham, for Abraham was known in the time of Semiramis; and Jacob in the time of Inachus, and Moses in the time of Cecrops the double-natured, who first was established as king of the Atticans by the Hellenes.

Now concerning this, Moses is found to be more ancient than those ancient wise men of the pagans, I speak of Homer and Hesiod and the Trojans, Heracles and Musaeus; and further, of the Lydians and Orpheus and the Dioscuri and Asclepius, Dionysus and Hermes, Apollo and the pagan mysteries and sacrificial rites, and even the deeds of Zeus himself. For concerning whom, some among them are found to be more recent, as those who have written of his deeds. For all these appeared after Cecrops, and those who were far later in time than Homer and Hesiod. Thus Moses is studied as teacher by all the wise, as one who recounts unspoken deeds and as the most godly revealer of truth.

For the one who disdained the wisdom of the Egyptians, and who more eminently undertook the writing concerning the construction of this world, it is evident that he surpassed all and all created things by the wisdom of the Creator God, through the truth of antiquity, for he said: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Against this, many of the Greeks who dared to speak were swallowed up in the depth of ignorance and impiety, and quite justly so: for the laws acquired by human reason are weak and senseless, concerning which not one of them stood upon a firm word, but always the second was the destroyer of the first; but it is not now fitting for us to refute them, for they themselves are sufficient to refute each other's own inventions. And because they were seized by ignorance of God, one imagined one thing and another another as the beginning and cause of the being, standing, and motion of things. And indeed they became like weavers of the web of an old woman, those writers, and so many beginnings of heaven, earth, and sea they foolishly prophesied, for they could not say: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.