JOSHUA THE STYLITE

flourished 6th century AD monk of the convent of Zuknin and the reputed author of a chronicle covering mainly the period 495506. Incorporated in a history that some have ascribed to Dionysius Telmaharensis but others regard as anonymous, the chronicle was written at the request of Sergius, abbot of a convent near Edessa (modern Urfa, in Turkey), immediately after the war between the Persian and Byzantine empires (502506), by one who had lived in Edessa and witnessed many of the events described. It contains an elaborate dedication to Sergius, a brief recapitulation of events from the death of the Roman emperor Julian in 363, and a fuller account of the events of his own time.