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Document Details : Title: Anti-Manichaean Propaganda in Syriac Literature Author(s): HARRAK, Amir Journal: Journal of Eastern Christian Studies Volume: 56 Issue: 1-4 Date: 2004 Pages: 49-67 DOI: 10.2143/JECS.56.1.578694 Abstract : Syriac literature contains several references to the ‘Manichaeans’ of Îarran,describing them as generally uncultured, and specifically violent and even blood-thirsty. These allegations are found in accounts which have been uncritically integrated by Syriac writers in their histories and chronicles. The accounts, containing familiar toponyms and names of famous rulers which help to date them, appear historical to the unwary reader. Careful analysis of their contents, however, suggests that they are more propaganda than fact, and that they circulated among religious groups with the aim of defaming the Manichaeans. In the present paper we will present the anti-Manichaean accounts in translation, and proceed to analyze their contents so as to highlight their propagandistic nature. |
