VOL IV.9

The Ancient Kingdoms

that My Lord has forgiven me, and that he has placed me

among the honored ." 412

God was so angry that they considered him of no consequence

that He left none of the people alive? He brought revenge

upon them speedily for having considered Habib easy

prey. God said, "And We did not send down upon his people,

after him, any host out of heaven? nor would We do so." That

is, He dismissed acting through any heavenly mediator, meaning

the matter was slight for Him. "It was only one Cry and lo

and behold, they were silent and still." Thus God brought

perdition upon that king and the people of Antioch. They became

extinct from the face of earth, without a (surviving) remnant. 41

According to Ibn Humayd  ” Salamah ”  Ibn Ishaq ” al-Hasan

b. 'Umarah ” al-Hakam b. 'Utaybah ” Miqsam Abu al-Qasim,

the mawla of 'Abdallah b. al-Harith b. Nawfal ” Mujahid ”

'Abdallah b. 'Abbas, who used to say: The name of the man of

the Surah YaSin in the Qur’an was Habib? his leprosy was well

advanced.

According to Ibn Bashshar  ” Mu’ammal ”  Sufyan ” 'Asim

al-Ahwal ” Abu Makhlad: The name of the man in Surah

YaSin of the Qur’an was Habib b. Mari.

412. Qur’an 36:36.

413. Qur’an 36:27-28.

The Story of Samson 414

t

Among the stories from the time of the regional princes is (that

of Samson). He was an inhabitant of one of the Roman cities

[qaiyah], who had been rightly-guided by God for his integrity.

However, his people were idol worshipers. This is what happened

to him and them, as told by Ibn Humayd  ” Salamah ”

Ibn Ishaq â ” al-Mughirah b. Abi Labld” Wahb b. Munabbih al-

Yamani: Samson was a righteous man (Muslim) among them,

and his mother made him a Nazarite. He was a man from one

of their cities where the people were idolatrous unbelievers.

His abode was a few miles away. Samson would raid them

alone, fighting them in God's name, satisfying his needs at

their expense while killing, taking captive, and seizing possessions.

He would meet them with only the jawbone of a camel.

If they engaged one another in combat and he became tired and

thirsty, sweet water would burst from the stone at Lehi. 415 He

would then drink of it to quench his thirst, and he thus regained

his strength. Neither iron nor anything else could bind

him. In such fashion, he kept fighting them in God's name.

Raiding them, he obtained from them what he needed.

They could do nothing against him until they said, "We will

414. See Judges 13-16.

415. In Judges 15:19, this is a place name; in i$:i$, it means the jawbone (of

an ass).

172

The Ancient Kingdoms

not get at him except through his wife/' They came to his wife,

offered her a reward, and she said, "Yes, I shall tie him for

you." They gave her a strong rope, and said, "When he is

asleep, tie his hand to his neck, so that we may come and take

him." When he was asleep, she tied his hand to his neck with

that rope. But when he awoke, he pulled it with his hand, and

it fell off his neck. He said to her, "Why did you do this?" Said

she, "To try thus your strength. I have never seen anybody like

you." Then she sent them a message, "I tied him with the rope,

|79S] but it was in vain." So they sent an iron ring. They said, "When

he is asleep, snap it on his neck." While he slept she put it on

his neck, then snapped it. But when he awoke, he pulled it, and

it fell from his hand and neck. He said to her, "Why did you do

it?" She replied, "To test your strength; I have seen nobody

like you, O Samson. Is there nothing in the world [with which]

to vanquish you?" "No, except one thing," he said. She asked,

"What is it?" He replied, "I am not going to tell you," but she

continued to nag him about it. He had much hair, (and finally)

he told her, "My mother made me a Nazarite, and I will never

be vanquished nor seized except through my hair." When he

fell asleep, she tied his hand and his neck with the hair on his

head. This fastened him. She sent for the people and they came

and seized him. They lopped off his nose and ears, gouged out

his eyes, and placed him before the people amidst the pillars of

the minaret. Their king and people were watching the minaret

in order to observe Samson and to see what would be done to

him. As he stood there, amidst their jeering, Samson prayed to

God to give him strength against them. He was commanded to

hold on to two pillars of the minaret, above which were the

king and the men with him, and to pull at the pillars. This he

did. God had restored to him his sight and the amputated parts

of his body, and the minaret came crashing down on the king

and the people standing there. They all perished.

*

The Story of Jirjis 416

They say that Jirjis was a righteous servant of God among the

people of Palestine, and that he lived at the time of the last

apostles of Isa. He was a merchant who profited from his

trade, a man of independent means who assisted the unfortunate.

He supplied himself for a journey to a king in Mosul, so

we were told by Ibn Humayd ” Salamah ” Ibn Ishaq ” Wahb b.

Munabbih and other learned men. In Mosul, Dacianus (Dadhana)

was king over all of Syria. He was a fierce tyrant over

whom only God could prevail. Jirjis was a righteous man of the

people of Palestine. He was a believer who was concealing his

faith among a group of like-minded righteous people who concealed

their faith. They had known the last of the apostles,

416. For the story of the martyrdom of saint George, a Roman officer

martyred under a cruel pagan ruler (Diocletian) early in the fourth century, see

£P, s.v. Djirdjis. The martyr is identified with Elijah and al-Khadir in the Islamic tale. Various pre-Islamic elements came to be incorporated into the

story. The oldest versions are: (1 1 The Greek text (from southern Palestine); see

Casson and Hettich, Excavations at Nessana, II, 123-142, with extensive bibliography; (2) The Syriac version; see Brooks, "Acts of Saint George," Le Afuseon 38 (1925), 67-115; (3) The Latin text; see Cumont, "Ldgende de St.

Georges"; (4) The Coptic and Ethiopic versions; see Wallis Budge, George of

Lydda. See also Delahaye, Legendes qrecques, 45-46. The Arabic versions are

discussed by Wallis Budge, op. cit., 26-66. A Muslim Arab version was published by Cheikho in Al-Machriq 10 (1907), 414-420. In this version Jirjis is

called a prophet.

174

The Ancient Kingdoms

heard them speak, and learned from them. Jirjis was a very rich

man, a great merchant and benefactor. Sometimes he would

donate his wealth for charitable purposes until nothing of it remained

and he would become poor ; but then he would strike it

rich again and his wealth would increase manifold. Such was

his material position. He would desire wealth, acquire it, and

amass it for charitable purposes. Were it not for that, he would

have preferred poverty to riches. He was apprehensive of the

rule of the unbelievers, fearful that they might hurt him on

account of his faith, or that they might tempt him away from

it.

He set out for the king of Mosul, carrying money which he

intended to present to him, in order that the king should not

empower any princes to rule under him. Jirjis arrived as the

king was holding court in the presence of the dignitaries and

princes of his people. A large fire, and various other forms of

torture, had been prepared to torture those opposed to him.

Upon his order a statue called Apollo had been erected, and the

people had to pass before it. Whoever did not bow to it was

then cast into the fire and put through various tortures. When

Jirjis saw what was happening, he was horrified, and distressed.

He thought of martyrdom, but God inspired in him anger and

resistance. He thought of the money he had intended to present

to the king. Instead, he divided it among his coreligionists

until nothing was left. He did not want to oppose the king with

money; he preferred to do it personally. His anger and resentment

at their acme, he approached the king saying, "Know,

that you are a slave owned by a master, and that you yourself

own nothing directly or indirectly, and that above you is a Lord

Who owns you and others. This Lord created and sustained

you; he makes you live and die; he harms you and benefits you;

and yet you propose to imitate what is created by Him? God

said unto man, 'Be/ and he was. 417 Deaf, dumb, speechless

and sightless, [an idol) can neither hurt nor benefit. It cannot

help you at all to dispense with God. You decorate it with gold

and silver and make it a temptation unto man. You worship it,

417. Qur’an 3:15 and elsewhere. The next phrase is influenced by Qur’an

1:17.

The Story of Jirjis 175

not God, and you force humans to worship it. You call it the

Lord."

Jirjls addressed the king in this fashion about the greatness

and glory of God, and he denounced the idol and the senseless

worship thereof. The king's answer was to ask him who he was

and from where he came. Jirjis replied, "I am a servant of God,

and the son of a servant of God. I am a son of His community

[ummah], the lowliest of His servants, and the most needy of

His aid. I was created of dust and to dust I shall return." He told

the king what had brought him, and called upon the former to

worship God and to repudiate idol-worship. The king sum-

moned firjis to worship the statue that he worshiped, saying,

"If your Lord were the King of Kings, as you say, His effect

would be visible upon you, as my impact is visible upon my

people's princes around me." Jirjls replied by glorifying divine  

rule, and in the course of his speech, he said, "Where would

you place Tranquillinus, a dignitary of your people under your

rule? And how would you compare him to Elijah under divine

rule? Elijah was originally human,- he ate food, and walked in

the market, but limitless divine favor unto him continued. He

was granted wings and dressed in light, so that he became human

and angelic, terrestrial and celestial, and he floated with

the angels. Tell me, how would you compare Magnentius, a

dignitary of your people, with Christ, the son of Mary? For God

chose him and his mother above the men of the world, and

made them a sign for the believers ( al-mu’tabirin )."

Then he spoke of Christ and how God favored him with miracles.

He also said, "And tell me, how would you compare the

mother of this good spirit, whom God has chosen as His word,

cleansing her body for His spirit, and making her the head of

His women servants? To whom would you compare her and

the divine favor she was granted? To Jezebel 419 and her fate

under your rule? For she was of your faction [shrah] and religious

418. That is, those who duly consider, or observe.

419. See I Kings 21; II Kings 9:21-37. See this comparison in the encomium

on Saint George, the Bishop of Ancyra. The text is translated by Wallis Budge

in George of Lydda. For the Greek prototype, see Rrumbacher, Dei heilige

Georg, 18-26.

176

The Ancient Kingdoms

community [millah], and God made her safe at the home

of the great man of her realm. That is, until the dogs attacked

her at her home and tore her flesh and lapped her blood, and

the foxes and hyenas pulled her limbs. How would you compare

her and her fate to Mary, the daughter of 'Imran, and her

rank in the kingdom of God?"

The king said to him, "But you are talking to us about matters

of which we do not know. Bring to me the two men whom

you have mentioned, so that I may see them, and consider

them. I do not know of such things occurring in humans."

Then Jirjis said to him, "The denial comes to you from her

heedlessness of God. As to the two men, you will not see them

nor will they see you, unless you act like them and reach their

abodes." The king replied, "We pardoned you and your lies became

clear to us, for you boasted of deeds you were able to perform

and could not verify what you said."

The king then offered Jirjis the choice of being punished or

bowing to Apollo, for which he would be rewarded. At this

Jirjis said "If Apollo is he who raised heaven and multiplied

upon it bodies by God's power, you are right and your suggestion

is correct; but if not, then off with you, accursed filth."

When the king heard Jirjis curse him and his deity, he was

mightily enraged. He called for a wooden board which was set

up for torture. The iron rake was passed over Jirjis to tear his

body and maul his flesh and skin and veins, while vinegar and

mustard were sprinkled over him. When the king saw that this

did not kill Jirjis, he ordered six iron nails heated until they

were aglow, and upon the king's order, Jirjis's head was penetrated

with a nail so that his brains oozed out. Now when the

king saw that Jirjis was still alive, he ordered a copper cauldron

to be heated until it was aglow, and Jirjis was placed in it. It

was covered over him, and Jirjis remained in it until it cooled

off. When the king saw that Jirjis was still alive, he called to

him, "Do you not feel the pain of this torture?" At this Jirjis

replied, "Did I not tell you that there is a Lord over you, and he

is closer to you than you yourself?" Then the king said, "Yes,

you told me." Whereupon Jirjis remarked, "It is He who has

lifted your torture and enabled me to endure it, that it be a

proof against you."

The Story of Jirjis

177

As he said it, the king felt sick, and was afraid for himself

and his realm; he decided to keep Jirjis in prison forever. But

the notables of the people said, "If you leave him free to address

the people, he will soon turn them against you; rather,

order that he be tortured in prison to keep him from addressing

the people." Upon the king's order he was thrown on the

ground in prison, four iron poles held his feet and hands, and a

marble column was put over his back. Seven men attempted to

carry that column but could not remove it,- then fourteen men

failed. Finally, eighteen men did succeed. That day Jirjis remained

pegged (to the ground) under the stone. When night

came, God sent an angel to him. This was the first time he was

supported by an angel, and the first time inspiration visited

him. The angel removed the stone from him, removed the pegs

from his hands and feet, fed him and gave him to drink, gave

him glad tidings and comforted him. In the morning he took

Jirjis out of the prison, and said to him, "Stay with your enemy

and struggle with him mightily in the cause of God, for God

says to you, 'Be of good cheer, endure, for I shall put you to the

test at the hand of this enemy of Mine. For seven years he will

torture you and during those years he will kill you four times.

In each case I shall return your life to you, but at the fourth

killing I shall accept your soul and award you your reward.' "

The others did not notice and, lo and behold, Jirjis appeared

over them, calling upon them to turn to God. The king exclaimed,

"Is it Jirjis?" "Yes," said Jirjis. He asked, "Who released

you from the prison?" "He Whose power is beyond your

power," Jirjis answered. When Jirjis said that to the king, the

latter became filled with ire and ordered various tortures. At

the sight of these, Jirjis felt fear and terror. He began to rebuke

himself in a loud voice, and the people heard. When he finished

rebuking himself, they stretched him between two wooden

boards, put a sword over him at his throat, and then sawed his

head off, so that it fell at his feet ” his body was in two pieces.

Then they started cutting those two parts of his body into

smaller pieces. There were seven ferocious lions in a pit ” they

were one kind of torture — and his body was thrown to them.

As he fell toward them, God commanded the lions to lower

their heads and necks; the lions stood on their talons, thus -

178

The Ancient Kingdoms

protecting him from harm. That day he remained dead; it was the

first death he experienced. As night fell, God collected his dismembered

body, rebuilt it, returned it to life, and sent an angel

to take him out of the bottom of the pit. The angel was to feed

him, let him drink, and bring him glad tidings and comfort

him. In the morning, the angel said to him, "O Jirjis." "Here I

am/' replied Jirjis; whereupon the angel said, "Know, that the

power that created man out of dust, took you out of the bottom

of the pit. Stay with your enemy, fight him mightily for the

sake of God, and endure death patiently."

The people were taken unaware when Jirjis appeared while

they were occupied with a joyful celebration of his alleged

death. When they saw him coming toward them, they exclaimed,

"How this man resembles Jirjis; as if it were he." The

king said, "No hiding for Jirjis; that is indeed he! Do you not

notice his unruffled manner, his lack of awe?" Jirjis responded,

"Certainly, it is I. What evil people! You killed and mutilated

[me] but God was truly kinder and more merciful than you. He

revived me, returning to me my life. Turn to this mighty Lord

who showed you His deeds." When he told them that, they

said to one another, "A sorcerer, he enchanted your hands and

eyes, to keep them away from himself." They assembled the

sorcerers that were in their land. When they arrived, the king

said to their leader, "Suggest to me your greatest sorcery that

will dispel my anxiety." The sorcerer said, "Call for an ox."

When this was brought, he blew into one of its ears and it split

in two. Then he blew into the other ear and, lo and behold,

there were two oxen. Then he ordered sowing and ploughing,

and the field was sown. It grew crops that ripened and were

harvested. He then treaded, winnowed, and milled, and he

kneaded, baked and ate; all this within an hour , 420 as you

see . 421

The king asked, "Can you transform him into an animal?"

The sorcerer replied, "Which animal?" The king said, "A dog."

The sorcerer then called out, "Order a goblet of water." When

420. Text: wa-akala dhalika, "and he ate this." Perhaps read instead: wakull dhalika, "and all this within ..."

421. Perhaps: as they were looking on (wa-hum yarauna).

The Story of Jirjis

179

it was brought, the sorcerer blew upon it; then he said to the

king, “Invite him to drink it." So Jirjis drank it all. The sorcerer

asked, “What do you feel?" He replied, "I feel quite well, as I [803]

was thirsty, and by divine kindness I was given this drink, and

strengthened thereby against you." When he said this, the sorcerer

approached the king, and said, “Know, O King, that if you

were contending with a man like yourself you could prevail

over him; but you are contending with the Master of heaven,

who is King beyond contention."

A poor woman heard of firjis and the wondrous things he was

doing. She came to him when he was at the height of his suffering,

saying, "O Jirjis, I am a poor woman. I have neither money

nor provisions, except an ox with which I used to plough, but

he died. I came to you that you might have pity on me, and

pray to God to revive my ox. The eyes of firjis welled up with

tears, and he prayed to God to revive her ox; he gave her a stick

and told her, "Go to your ox, strike him with this stick, and say

to him, 'Live, God willing.'" She said, "O firjis, my ox died

some days ago, and beasts of prey tore him to pieces; and it will

take me some days before I reach home." firjis replied, “Even if

you should find only a single tooth of his to strike with the

stick, he will rise, God willing." She left and reached the spot

where the ox had fallen. The first things she noticed were one

of his horns and the hair of his tail. She put them together,

struck them with the stick she was given, and uttered the

words as instructed. Lo and behold, her ox was alive, and she

put it to work. The news of it spread.

When the sorcerer spoke to the king of what he did, one of

the king's men, the most powerful after the king, said, Listen

to me, O people, I shall tell you." They responded, Yes." Then

he spoke thus, You have attributed sorcery to this man, and

you have asserted that he has, by sorcery, kept your hands and

eyes away from himself. He has shown you that you tortured

him, but it did not touch him; you slew him, yet he did not die.

Have you ever seen a sorcerer able to ward off death or revive

the dead?" He then related to them what firjis had done, and

what they had done to him, as well as the story of the woman

and the ox. He remonstrated against them citing these events,

whereupon they said to him, Your speech is that of a man

i8o

The Ancient Kingdoms

who has been receptive to him." He replied, "Since I have seen

what I have seen of his deeds, his case has seemed wondrous to

me." They replied, "Perhaps he has seduced you." At this, he

declared, "Indeed, I believe, and I testify before God that I do

not share your worship."

The king and his companions attacked him with daggers and

cut out his tongue. Soon he was dead. They said, "The pest affected

him, and God hastened his end before he spoke." When

the people heard of his death, it horrified them, and they suppressed

the story. But when Jirjis saw that they were suppressing it,

he came out and disclosed it, repeating to them the

speech of the slain man. Four thousand men followed Jirjis as

he related the story of the dead man. They said, "He was right.

How wonderful it is what he said! God will have mercy upon

him!" The king now acted against them. He detained them,

and he kept torturing, killing and mutilating them, until he destroyed

them all. Then he turned to Jirjis and said, "Why do

you not call upon your Lord to revive these companions of

yours who were slain because of you?" Jirjis replied, "What

they chose to do was for their bliss."

One of their dignitaries called Majlitis said, " You asserted,

Jirjis, that it is your God who creates and then recreates. Let

me ask something of you. If your God makes it happen, I shall

believe in you, I shall proclaim you truthful, and 1 shall save

you from my people. As you see, there are fourteen platforms

below us, and a table between us upon which there are goblets

and plates, all made of dry wood from various trees. Well then,

pray to your Lord to recreate these vessels and platforms and

the table as He originally created them, so that they again become

green plants which we should recognize each by its color,

foliage, flower and fruit."

Jirjis answered him, "You have asked for a thing that is extremely

difficult for me or for you but is a slight matter for

God." He prayed to the Lord and, lo and behold, instantly those

platforms and all those vessels turned into green trees, rooted

in the ground, covered with bark, branches, foliage, flowers and

fruits, so that each tree could be recognized by name, color,

flower and fruit. When they beheld this, Majlitis, who had requested

it, turned upon Jirjis and said, "I shall devise a torture

The Story of Jirjis 1 8 1

for this sorcerer in a way that will deprive him of his ruse." He

took copper, made of it a huge hollow image of an ox, filled it

with naphtha, lead sulfur, and arsenic. Then he also put Jirjis

into the copper ox, lit a fire under the figure, and kept adding

fuel to the flame until the figure was all aglow and everything

in it had melted entirely. Jirjis died inside. God then sent a

stormy wind that filled the skies with dark clouds, constant

thunder and lightning, and continuous thunderbolts. God sent

whirlwinds that filled their land with smoke and darkness. Everything

from heaven to earth was blackened and darkened,

and for days the people were perplexed in that darkness, unable

to distinguish between day and night.

God sent (the angel) Michael to carry off the figure with Jirjis

in it. When the angel removed it, he struck the ground with it,

with a blow so powerful that it frightened all the people of

Syria, all of whom heard it simultaneously and they prostrated

themselves, dumbfounded by the powerful shock. The figure

broke, and Jirjis walked out of it alive. As he stood talking to

them the darkness disappeared, and all that is between heaven

and earth lit up. Their souls returned to them. One of the men,

Traqbalina by name, said to him, "Jirjis, we do not know if it is

you or your Lord who performs these wonders. If it is He who

does so, pray to Him to revive our dead; for in these graves you

see are some of our dead, some of whom we know, and others

who died before our time. Pray to Him to revive them, so that

they might be as they were and we might talk to them. We

might recognize those we know,- he whom we do not recog-

nize, might tell us his story."

Jirjis answered him, "You know that God grants you this

pardon and shows you these miracles only to complete the

proofs of his [manifest existence] for you. He does this so you

might incur His wrath [later]." Then upon his order the graves

were unearthed; there were bones, mortal remains and rot. He

began praying, and instantly there sat seventeen persons: nine

men, five women, and three boys. One of the men was very

old. Jirjis addressed him, "Old man, what is your name?" The

man answered, "My name is Yubil." Jirjis then asked, "When

did you die?" "At such and such time," he replied. They calcu-

lated he had died four hundred years earlier. When the king and

182

The Ancient Kingdoms

his company saw this, they said, No manner of torture has

been left untried, except hunger and thirst. Torture Jirjls with

these.

They betook themselves to a well-guarded house of a very

old and poor woman who had a son, blind, mute, and crippled.

They imprisoned Jirjls in her house. Neither food nor drink

[807] could reach him. When he suffered from hunger he said to the

old woman, "Do you have any food or drink?" She answered,

"No. By Him in whose name an oath is made, we have not had

food since such and such time. I shall go out and ask for something

for you." Then Jirjls said to her, "Do you know God?"

"Yes," she replied. He now asked, "Do you worship Him?" She

said, "No." Jirjls then summoned her to God. She accepted his

words and left seeking something for him. In her house there

was a dry wooden pillar supporting the wood (structure) of the

house. He began praying, and in no time that pillar flourished

to produce all kinds of known edible fruit, such as liyya’ and

beans. Abu Ja'far relates: Liyya‘ is a Syrian plant with an edible

pit; the back of the pillar extended as a branch (far') over the

house to give it and the place around it ashade. 422

The old woman came and found him enjoying his abundant

food. When she saw from afar what had happened to her home,

she exclaimed, "I believe in Him who fed you in the house of

hunger. Pray to this great Lord to cure my son." Jirjls said to

her, "Bring him close to me." She did, whereupon he spit in the

boy's eyes, and he saw. Jirjls breathed in his ears, and he heard.

At this, she said, "Release his tongue and feet, may God have

mercy on you." Jirjis said to her, "Hold him, it is a great day for

him."

The king went out for a stroll in his city. When he saw the

tree, he said to his retinue, "I see a tree where I did not know

one to be before." They said, "This tree grew for the sorcerer

whom you wanted to punish with hunger. He is, however,

sated by this tree with whatever he desires; the poor woman

(808] has been fed, and he has cured her son. Upon the king's order

the house was destroyed and the tree was to be cut down.

422. A kind of very white chickpea growing in Syria, and perhaps in the

Hijaz,

The Story of firjis 183

When they attempted to cut it down, (however,) God dried it

up and it returned to its former state; so they left it. The king

ordered that Jirjis be thrown to the ground face down, and

pegged to four poles. A column of clay was rapidly loaded over

him with daggers and knifeblades inserted under it. Then he

called for forty oxen. They trampled over it all. Jirjis, under this

burden, was torn in three pieces. The king then ordered that

one be burned in fire until it turned into ashes, and he sent

men to scatter those ashes over the sea. But immediately they

heard a heavenly voice, "Sea, God commands you to guard

what is in you of this blessed body, for I wish to return it to its

former state." God then sent the winds to extract and collect

the ashes from the sea, so that they turn into a heap, as they

were before the scattering. All this while those who scattered

the ashes were still standing there. They saw the ashes rise,

and from these Jirjis emerged, shaking the dust off his head. The

men then returned Jirjis. When they reached the king, they

told him of the voice that had brought Jirjis back to life and the

wind that collected the ashes. The king said to Jirjis, "Would

you like something that would be good for me and you? Were it

not that the people might say that you defeated me and vanquished

me, I would follow you and believe in you. Prostrate

yourself before Apollo just once, or sacrifice to him just one

sheep, then I shall do something to please you."

When Jirjis heard these words of the king, he was seized with

the desire to be brought before the idol so that he could destroy

it. Jirjis hoped that once the idol was destroyed, the king would

despair of it and would believe him. So Jirjis resorted to deception

and said, "Yes, if you wish, but let me come before your

idol to prostrate myself before it, and sacrifice to it." The king

rejoiced. He got up and kissed Jirjls's hand, his feet, and his

head. Then he said, "I suggest that you spend the day and the

night at my home, on my couch, among my family, so that you

might have a respite from suffering torture, and so that the people

might see how you honor me." He vacated his home for

Jirjis, removing those who were in it. Jirjis stayed there until

evening; then he rose to pray and read the psalms”  he had an

exquisite voice. When the king's spouse heard him, she listened.

Jirjis had not been aware that she was behind him and

184

The Ancient Kingdoms

had joined him in weeping. He then appealed to her to embrace

the faith, and she became a believer. Then he ordered her to

conceal her faith. In the morning, he went to the shrine of the

idols to worship them.

The old woman in whose home he had been imprisoned was

told, "Do you know that Jirjis has been seduced and has succumbed

 to worldly temptation, that the king made him covet

his realm, and that he and Jirjis went to the shrine of his idol to

worship?" The old woman went out among others, carrying

her son on her shoulder, chiding Jirjis while the people were

paying no attention to her. When Jirjis entered the shrine

amidst the people, he noticed the old woman with her son on

her shoulder next to himself. He called the old woman's son by

his name, and the boy spoke in reply, though he had never

spoken before, then the boy rushed off his mother's shoulder

and walked on his feet, upright, though he had never before

touched the ground with his feet. When he stood before Jirjis,

the latter said, "Now pray for me to these idols."

The idols were then on platforms of gold, seventy-one of

them — the people worshiped the sun and the moon too. The

boy asked Jirjis, "What shall I say to the idols?" Jirjis replied,

"Tell them that Jirjis asks you and suggests to you, in the name

of God, to come to him." As the boy told them that, they began

to roll down toward Jirjis. When they reached him, he struck

the ground with his foot, they caved in, along with the platform,

and Satan (Iblis) emerged from the body of one of the

idols, running and fleeing from the ignominy. As he passed

Jirjis, the latter seized him by his forelock, so that Satan's head

and neck bowed. Jirjis then addressed him, "Tell me, filthy

spirit, accursed creation, what urges you to destroy yourself

and others while you know that you and your host will go to

hell." Satan replied, "If I had the choice between everything lit

up by the sun, as well as that which is in the darkness of the

night, a choice between this and destroying and misleading

mankind, or even a single human but for one moment, I would

choose that moment above all else. The passion for that seizes

me, and the pleasure is like that enjoyed by all creatures. Do

you not know, Jirjis, that God made all angels bow to your father

Adam, and that Gabriel and Michael and Israfil and all the

The Story of Jirjis

185

angels closest to God and the celestial host did so while I refused;

for I said, 'I shall not bow to this creature as I am better

than he is/ " 423 When Satan said this, Jirjis released him. Since

then Satan has not entered the inside of any idol, out of fear of

collapse; nor will he ever do so, people say.

The king said, "Jirjis, you have deceived and misled me, and

destroyed my deities." Jirjis replied, "I have done so intentionally

so that you might consider and realize that had they been

deities, as you say, they would have been out of my reach; but

how can you believe in deities that cannot escape my reach,

while I am but a bleak creature and possess only what my Lord

has endowed me with." When Jirjis said this, the king's spouse

addressed them, declaring her faith and repudiating their religion,

while enumerating before them the deeds of Jirjis and the

signs he had shown them. She said to them, "What are you expecting

from this man if not a prayer which will make the

earth under you cave in and destroy you, even as your idols perished.

 By God, O people, it is about your lives." The king then

said to her, "Woe upon you, Alexandra! How quickly has this

sorcerer misled you in one night, while I have withstood him

for seven years with no impact on me." She replied, "Have you

not seen how God makes him victorious over you? How God

imposes his power over you? How he triumphs in the dispute

with you in every respect?"

By the king's command, she was carried to the wooden board

on which Jirjis had been hung, and she was hung upon it. She

was tortured with the iron combs from which Jirjis had suffered.

 When she felt the pain of the torture she exclaimed,

"Pray to your Lord, Jirjis, to alleviate my pain." He said to her,

"Look above you!" As she did so, she laughed. He said to her,

"What makes you laugh?" She answered, "I see two angels

above me, and a crown with the jewels of Paradise. They are

awaiting my soul's expiration, and as soon as it expires they

will crown it." Then they earned her soul up to Paradise.

When God took her soul, Jirjis began to pray. He said, "O God,

You have honored me with this tribulation, to grant me the

virtues of the martyrs. O God, this is my last day, the day

423. See El 1 , s.v. Djabra’Il, Israfil; SE 1 , a.v. Malaika, Mikal.

i86

The Ancient Kingdoms

which you have promised me would be a rest from this world's

tribulation. O God, I ask You not to accept my soul, and not to

remove me from this place before You bring upon the arrogant

people Your blows and vengeance which they cannot withstand.

This would console me and delight me, for they have

mistreated and tortured me. O God, I also ask of You that, if after

me any herald of Yours should, amidst tribulation and grief,

remember me and ask You [something] in my name, You

should comfort him, have mercy on him, be responsive to him,

and accept my intercession for him."

As he finished this prayer, God rained fire upon them. In

pain, they turned on Jirjis and struck him with swords. Then

God granted him the fourth death, as promised. When the city

and all within it was burnt down and turned to ashes, God carried

it from the face of the earth. He overturned it, and for a

long time thereafter malodorous smoke issued from under it.

Anybody who inhaled it fell gravely ill. It resulted in a variety

of diseases, each unlike the other.

Those who believed in Jirjis, and were slain with him numbered

thirty-four thousand in addition to the king's spouse,

may God have mercy on her.

Bibliography of Cited Works

*

Qur’an quotations and references follow A. J. Arberry's The Koran

Interpreted London 1935 (reprints; paperback).

All, Jawad, "Mawarid Tarikh al-Tabari" in Majallat al-Majma' al-

Tlmi al 'Iraqi, 1-2. Baghdad, 1950.

Altheim, F., Weltgeschichte Asiens im griechischen Zeitalter. Halle

(Salle), 1947-48.

Altheim, F., und Stiehl, R., Die Araber in der alten Welt. Berlin,

1964-69.

— , — , Christentum am Roten Meet. Berlin, 1971.

, , Geschichte Mittelasiens im Altertum. Berlin, 1970.

al-A'sha, Diwan al-A'sha al-Kabir. Ed. M. M. Husayn. Beirut, 1972.

Bailey, H. W., Zoroastrian problems in the ninth century. Oxford,

1943-

Bal'amI, Ta'rikh-e Bal'aml. Ed., M. Taqi Bahar Melik al-Sho'ara. 2 vol.

Tehran, 1341.

Bidez, J., and Cumont, F., Les Mages hellenises. Paris, 1938.

Blau, O., "Altarabische Sprachstudien," ZDMG, 27 (1873). pp. 2.95—

363.

Boyce, M., History of Zoroastrianism (Handb. d. Orientalistik).

Leiden, 1975.

Brooks, E. W., "Act of Saint George," Le Museon, 1925. pp. 67-115.

Budge, W., George of Lydda. London, 1930.

Butler’s Lives of the Saints. Eds,, Herbert Thurston and Donald Att-

water. Vol. II. London, 1956.

1 88 Bibliography

BSOAS = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.

London.

CHI = The Cambridge History of Iran, Illa-IIIb. Ed., E. Yarshater,

Cambridge, 1983.

Cary, G., The medieval Alexander. Cambridge, 1956.

Casson, L. and Hettich, E. L., Excavations at Nessana. Vol. II. Prince-

ton, 1950.

Cheikho, L., "Athar jadid li- a'mal al-qiddis jirjis al-shahid." al-Mash-

riq, 1907. pp. 414-420.

Christensen, A. L'lran sous les Sassanides. 2nd ed. Copenhagen,

1944 -

, Les Kayanides (Det Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab.

Historisk-Filologiske Meddelelser, XIX, 2). Copenhagen, 1931.

, Les types du premier homme et du premier roi dans l’histoire

legendaire des Iraniens. I, Stockholm, 1918. II, Leiden, 1934.

Cumont, F., "La plus ancienne legende de St. Georges." Revue de

l'histoire des religions, 1936.

Darmesteter, J., Etudes Iraniennes II. Paris, 1883.

Delehaye, Hippolyte, Les Legendes grecques des saints militaires.

Paris, 1909J New York, 197s •

Dozy, R., Dictionnaire detaille des vetements chez les Arabes. repr.

Beirut, 1963.

, Supplement aux dictionnaires arabes. 2 vols. 2nd ed. Leiden,

1927 -

Encyclopaedia Iranica. London, 1982.

El = Encyclopaedia of Islam (1st ed.)

El 2 = Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (see SEI)

Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem, 1971.

Firdawsi, Shahnamah

Friedlaender, I., Die Chadirlegende und der Alexanderroman. Leip-

zig-Berlin, 1913.

Frye, R., The History of ancient Iran (Handbuch der Altertums-

wissenschaft). Munich, 1984.

GAS: See Sezgin

Gehman, H. S. (ed.), New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible. Phila-

delphia, 1970.

Gignoux, Ph. "L'organisation administrative sasanide: le cas du marz-

ban." Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam IV (1984). pp. 1-29.

Ginzberg, Louis, The Legends of the Jews. 7 vols. Philadelphia, 1909-

38.

Gnoli, G., Richerche storiche sul Sistan antico. Istituto Italiano per

il Media ed Estremo Oriente, Reports and Memoirs, X. Rome,

1967.

Bibliography

189

De Goeje, M. J., Glossarium in the edition of Annales quos scripsit

. . . Tabari Vol. 14. Leiden, 1901.

Greenfield, J. C., "Some notes on the Arsham letters," in Irano-

fudaica, ed. by S. Shaked. Jerusalem, 1982.

Hell, J., Neue Hudailiten-Diwane. Vol. II. Leipzig, 1933.

Henning, W, B., Zoroaster, politician or witch doctor! London,

1951-

Herzfeld, E., Zoroaster and his world. Princeton, 1947. Reprint. New

York, 1974-

Hirshberg, H. Z., Yisra'el Ba'arab. Tel Aviv, 1946.

Ibn Hisham, Kitab SIrat Rasul Allah. Ed., F. Wustenfeld. Gottingen,

1858-60.

lrano-Judaica, ed. by S. Shaked, Jerusalem, 1982.

Jackson, A. V. W., Zoroaster. New York, 1901.

Jastrow, M., A dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud . . . and

Midrashic literature. Reprinted, New York, 1950.

fCOI = Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, Bombay.

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews.

JSA1 = Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam.

Justi, F., Der Bundehesch. Leipzig, 1868.

, Iranisches Namenbuch. Marburg, 1895; Hildesheim, 1963.

Khoury, R. G., Wahb b. Munabbih. Wiesbaden, 1972.

Kolesnikov, V., "O termine marzban v sasanidskom Irane," Pales-

tinskii Sbornik. 27(90), pp. 49-56. Leningrad, 1981.

Krumbacher, Karl, Der Heilige Georg in der griechischen Uberliefe-

rung. Abh. d.k. Bayerischen Ak.d. Wiss. philos.-philol. u. hist,

klasse xxxv N.3. Miinchen, i9ti.

Lane, E. G., Arabic-English Lexicon. 8 vols. London, 1863-93.

Lassner, J., Islamic Revolution and historical memory. American

Oriental Series, Vol. 66. New Haven, 1986.

Le Strange, G., The Lands of the eastern caliphate. Cambridge, 1905.

Margoliouth, D. S., The relations between Arabs and Israelites prior

to the rise of Islam. London, 1924.

Markwart, J., "Beitrage zur Geschichte und Sage von Eran." ZDMG

49 {i895h PP- 628-672.

, Wehrot und Arang. Ed. H. H. Schaeder. Leiden, 1938.

Mayrhofer, M., Iranisches Personennamenbuch. Wien, 1977.

> Onomastica Persepolitana. Wien, ^73.

Montgomery, J., Arabia and the Bible. Philadelphia, 1934.

Muhammad Husayn b. Khalaf, Burhan-e Qati’. Ed. M. Mu'In. 2nd ed.,

5 vols. Tehran, r342.

Nagel, T., Alexander der Grosse in der friihislamischen Volkslitera-

tur. Waldorf-Hessen, 1978.

190

Bibliography

Neusner, J., "Baruch b. Neriah and Zoroaster," Journal of Biblical

Research, Vol. 32 (1964).

Nicholson, R. A., A literary history of the Arabs. Cambridge, 1907.

Noldeke, Th., "Beitrage zur Geschichte des Alexanderromans." Denk-

schriften d.k. Akad. d. Wiss. Wien, Vol. 38, 1890.

, Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Poesie der alten Araber. Hannover,

1864.

, Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasanidett.

Leiden, 1879.

, Das iranische Nationalepos. 2nd ed. Berlin, 1920.

, Persische Studien II in Sitzungsberichte der k. Akademie der

Wisscnschaften in Wien, Phil.-hist. Classe. Bd. CXXVI, xii. Wien,

1892.

, "Zur orientalischen Geographic," ZDMG 28 (1874) pp.

93-102.