Editing Sextus Julius Africanus

{{Short description|Greco-Roman Christian traveller and historian (c.160–c.240)}}
{{redirect|Julius Africanus|the 1st-century orator|Julius Africanus (orator)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Sextus Julius Africanus
| birth_date= c. 160
| birth_place = possibly [[Jerusalem]]
|death_date= c. 240 (aged c. 80)
| nationality        = Greek
| occupation         = Historian, Christian traveler
}}

'''Sextus Julius Africanus''' ({{Circa}} 160 &ndash; c. 240; {{langx|grc|Σέξτος Ἰούλιος ὁ Ἀφρικανός or ὁ Λίβυς}}) was a [[Christianity|Christian]] traveler and [[historian]] of the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. He influenced fellow historian [[Eusebius]], later writers of Church history among the [[Church Fathers]], and the Greek school of chroniclers.

==Descriptions==
The [[Suda]] claims Africanus was a "[[Ancient Libya|Libyan]] philosopher," and [[Heinrich Gelzer|Gelzer]] considers him of [[Roman people|Roman]] and [[Black people in ancient Roman history|Ethiopian]] descent.{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|pp=4f}} Julius called himself a native of [[Jerusalem]] &ndash; which some scholars consider his birthplace<ref>{{cite journal| url = http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2008/2008-04-43.html| title = Martin Wallraff (ed.), ''Iulius Africanus: Chronographiae. The Extant Fragments'', reviewed by Hagith Sivan (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)| journal = Bryn Mawr Classical Review}}</ref> &ndash; and lived at the neighbouring [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Emmaus]]. His chronicle indicates his familiarity with the topography of historic [[Judea]].{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|p=10}}

Little of Africanus's life is known, and all dates are uncertain. One tradition places him under the Emperor Gordianus III (238&ndash;244), others mention him under [[Severus Alexander]] (222&ndash;235). He appears to have known [[Abgar VIII]] (176&ndash;213).

Africanus may have served under [[Septimius Severus]] against the [[Osroene|Osroenians]] in 195. He went on an embassy to the emperor [[Severus Alexander]] to ask for the restoration of [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Emmaus]], which had fallen into ruins. His mission succeeded, and Emmaus was henceforward known as [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Nicopolis]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Secord |first=Jared |date=2017 |title=Julius Africanus, Origen, and the Politics of Intellectual Life under the Severans |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44509122 |journal=The Classical World |volume=110 |issue=2 |pages=211–235 |issn=0009-8418}}</ref>

Africanus traveled to Greece and [[Rome]] and went to [[Alexandria]] to study, attracted by the fame of its catechetical school, possibly about the year 215.{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|p=11}} He knew Greek (in which language he wrote), Latin, and Hebrew. He was at one time a soldier and had been a pagan; he wrote all his works as a Christian.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Whether Africanus was a layman or a cleric remains controversial. [[Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont]] argued from Africanus's addressing the priest [[Origen]] as "dear brother" that Julius must have been a priest himself<ref>Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire ecclésiastique'', III, Paris, 1693, 254</ref> but Gelzer points out that such an argument is inconclusive.{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|p=9}}

==Writings==
Africanus wrote ''Chronographiai'', a history of the world in five volumes. The work covers the period from Creation to the year 221 AD. He calculated the period between [[Dating Creation|Creation]] and [[Jesus]] as 5,500 years, placing the [[Incarnation]] on the [[March equinox|spring equinox]] in [[Anno Mundi|AM]] 5501 (25 March, 1 BC).<ref>{{cite book|title=La chronologie|author1=Vernance Grumel|author2=Paul Lemerle|publisher=Presses universitaires de France|year=1958|series=Traité d'études byzantines|location=Paris|quote="...the number of 5500 years as the period up to the advent of the Word of salvation, that was announced to the world in the time of the sway of the Cæsars" (Africanus, Chronology 1).}}</ref> While this ''implies'' a birth in December, Africanus did not specify Jesus's birth date.<ref>Hijmans, S.E., ''Sol: The Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome,'' 2009, p. 584. "[Several authors] claim that as early as 221 Julius Africanus calculated the date as December 25 in his fragmentarily preserved Chronicle, but provide no reference. Wallraff, who directed the project that recently produced the first critical edition of all preserved fragments of the corpus of Julius Africanus (Wallraff 2007), has kindly informed me that he does not know of any such calculation by Africanus".</ref> This method of reckoning led to several Creation eras being used in the [[Greek language|Greek]] Eastern [[Mediterranean]], which all placed Creation within one decade of 5500 BC.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Reading in the Byzantine Empire and beyond|others=Shawcross, Clare Teresa M., 1975-, Toth, Ida, 1968-|isbn=9781108307901|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|pages=252|oclc=1050360793}}</ref>

The history, which had an apologetic aim, is no longer extant, but copious extracts from it are to be found in the ''Chronicon'' of [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]], who used it extensively in compiling the early episcopal lists. There are also fragments in [[George Syncellus]], [[Cedrenus]] and the ''[[Chronicon Paschale]].'' Eusebius gives some extracts from his letter to one Aristides,<ref>{{harvnb|Chisholm|1911}} cites: ''Hist. Ecc.'' i. 7; vi. 31</ref> reconciling the apparent discrepancy between Matthew and Luke in the genealogy of Christ by a reference to the Jewish law of [[Levirate marriage]], which compelled a man to marry the widow of his deceased brother, if the latter died without issue. His terse and pertinent letter to [[Origen]] impugning the authority of the part of the [[Book of Daniel]] that tells the story of [[Susanna (Book of Daniel)|Susanna]], and Origen's lengthy answer, are both extant.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

The ascription to Africanus of an encyclopaedic work entitled ''[[Kestoi]]'' (Κέστοι "Embroidered"), treating of agriculture, natural history, military science, and other subjects, has been disputed on account of its secular and often credulous character. [[August Neander]] suggested that it had been written by Africanus before he had devoted himself to religious subjects. A fragment of the ''Kestoi'' was found in the [[Oxyrhynchus papyri]].<ref>{{harvnb|Chisholm|1911}} cites: Grenfell and Hunt, iii. 36 ff.</ref> According to the ''[[New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge]]'', the Kestoi "appears to have been intended as a sort of encyclopedia of the material sciences with the cognate mathematical and technical branches, but to have contained a large proportion of merely curious, trifling, or miraculous matters, on which account the authorship of Julius has been questioned. Among the parts published are sections on agriculture, liturgiology, tactics, and medicine (including veterinary practise)."

==Verification of Moses==
The Kestoi survives only in fragments, chiefly those preserved by Eusebius and Georgius Syncellus. In turn Africanus preserves fragments of the work of [[Polemon of Athens]]' Greek History.

* FRAGMENT 13: From Georgius Syncellus, ''Chron.'', Third Book. In Euseb., ''Præpar.'', X. 40:
** 6. And from Moses, then, to the first Olympiad there are 1020 years, as to the first year of the 55th Olympiad from the same are 1237, in which enumeration the reckoning of the Greeks coincides with us.
:: [...] Polemo, for instance, in the first book of his Greek History, says: In the time of [[Apis, king of Argos]], son of Phoroneus, a division of the army of the Egyptians left Egypt, and settled in the Palestine called Syrian, not far from Arabia: these are evidently those who were with Moses.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Colavito|first1=Jason|title=The Chronography: Sextus Julius Africanus after 221 CE trans. in the Ante-Nicene Christian Library 1869|url=http://www.jasoncolavito.com/julius-africanus-chronography.html|website=JasonColavito.com|publisher=Jason Colavito|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Grotius|first1=Hugo|author2=John CLARKE (Dean of Salisbury.)|title=The Truth of the Christian Religion ... Corrected and illustrated with notes by Mr. Le Clerc. To which is added, a seventh book, concerning this question, What Christian church we ought to join ourselves to? By the said Mr. Le Clerc. The ninth edition, with additions. Particularly one whole book of Mr. Le Clerc's against indifference of what religion a man is of. Done into English by John Clarke|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lgheAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA64|year=1809|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lgheAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA64&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U1tgDASrmRhsUDRjhgNLjxIvskxnA&ci=209%2C542%2C723%2C292&edge=0 64]|quote=Polemon, &c.<nowiki>]</nowiki> He seems to have lived in the Time of ''[[Ptolemy V Epiphanes|Ptolemy Epiphanes]]''; concerning which, see that very useful Book of the famous ''[[Gerardus Vossius|Gerrard Vossius]]'', of the ''Greek'' Historians. ''Africanus'' says, the ''Greek'' Histories were wrote by him; which is the same Book ''[[Athenaeus|Athenæus]]'' calls, Ἑλλαδικόν. His Words are these: "In the Reign of ''[[Apis, king of Argos]]'' the Son of ''Phoroneus'', Part of the ''Egyptian'' Army went out of ''Egypt'', and dwelt in ''Syria'' called ''Palestine'', not far from ''Arabia''. As ''Africanus'' preserved the Place of ''[[Polemon of Athens|Polemon]]'', so ''[[Eusebius]]'' in his Chronology preserved that of ''Africanus''.}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Julius Africanus|volume=8}}
*{{cite book |first=H. |last=Gelzer |year=1898 |title=Sextus Julius Africanus und die Byzantinische Chronographie |publisher=Leipzig  |url=https://archive.org/details/sextusjuliusafr03gelzgoog|language=de}}
*{{cite book |first1=M. |last1=Wallraff |first2=L. (hg)|last2=Mecella |title=Die Kestoi des Julius Africanus und ihre Überlieferung |location=Berlin and New York |publisher=de Gruyter |year=2009|language=de}} 395 S. (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, 165).
*{{cite journal |first=E. |last=Habas (Rubin) |title=The Jewish Origin of Julius Africanus|journal= Journal of Jewish Studies|volume=45 |year=1994 |pages=86–91|doi=10.18647/1735/JJS-1994 }}

'''Attribution:'''
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Africanus, Sextus Julius|volume=1|page=361}}

== Further reading ==
* Martin Wallraff (ed.), ''Iulius Africanus: Chronographiae. The Extant Fragments. In collaboration with Umberto Roberto and Karl Pinggéra, William Adler. Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte, NF 15. Translated by W. Adler''. Berlin-New York:  Walter de Gruyter, 2007. {{ISBN|978-3-11-019493-7}}
* {{Cite book |title=Julius Africanus and the early Christian view of magic |last=Thee |first=Francis C. R. |publisher=[[Mohr Siebeck|J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck)]] |year=1984 |isbn=978-3-161-44552-1 |location=Tübingen |pages=1–551 |language=en |url={{Google books|plain-url=y|id=ONSPL0puLtcC}} |series=Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie |volume=19}}
* Wallraff, Martin; Scardino, Carlo; Guignard, Christophe; Mecella, Laura (eds.), ''Iulius Africanus. Cesti: The Extant Fragments (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte, N.F. 18). Translated by William Adler''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2012. {{ISBN|978-3-11-028680-9}}

== External links ==
* {{Librivox author |id=16448}}

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