History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria

The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria is a major historical work of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.^[1] It is the only continuous narrative on the history of the Non-Chalcedonian Alexandrian Patriarchate. It is written in Coptic, but draws extensively on older biographical Greek and Coptic sources.^[2] It was ultimately compiled in the tenth century in Arabic by the Coptic bishop of Hermopolis, Severus Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ.

The earlier portions of the text are derived mainly from Eusebius and Coptic tradition. But from the 6th century onwards, the biographies grow longer and often seem to derive from documents written by eyewitnesses of the events recorded. The portion on the 6th century history of the Coptic patriarchs, as well as the Muslim conquest of Egypt, the biographies of Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria and his four successors until Pope Simeon I of Alexandria, are recorded by George the Archdeacon in the early eighth century.^[3][4] A vivid eyewitness account of the overthrow of the last Umayyad Caliph, Marwan II, is also included.

In the tenth century, the Coptic bishop of Hermopolis, Severus Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ, compiled the book in Arabic. Severus also relates the famous miracle of moving the Mokattam Mountain during the ruling of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Muizz around 975 (as an eyewitness of that period).

It was subsequenrtly continued by others including Michael, bishop of Tinnis (11th century, writing in Coptic, covering 880 to 1046), Mawhub ibn Mansur ibn Mufarrig, deacon of Alexandria, and Pope Mark III of Alexandria (for 1131 to 1167). The complete text has since then been expanded with appendices and continuations running up to 1894. Indeed, one unpublished manuscript continues the text until 1923.

In 1713 Eusèbe Renaudot published the Latin translation Historia patriarcharum alexandrinorum jacobitarum. A scholarly Arabic edition was started by Christian Friedrich Seybold (1904).^[5]

The first half of the Arabic text was edited and translated into English by Basil Thomas Alfred Evetts under the title History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria. The remainder was published by O.H.E.Burmester with English translation. This work presents a compilation of the history of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria. Evetts stopped with the 52nd Patriarch, Joseph, who died in 849. Subsequent material was published and translated by various scholars led by O. H. E. Burmester, in Cairo.

• Coptic history
• Coptic Orthodox Church

• The History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Orthodox Church to 849 AD
• Johannes Den Heijer (1989), Mawhub ibn Manṣǖr ibn Mufarrig et l'historiographie copto-arabe

• Heijer, Johannes Den (1989). Mawhüb ibn Manṣǖr ibn Mufarriğ et l'historiographie copto-arabe: Étude sur la composition de l'Histoire des Patriarches d'Alexandrie. Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, Subsidia 83. Louvain.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Khater, Antoine; O. H. E. KHS-Burmester, eds. (1974). History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church, Known as the History of the Holy Church According to MS. Arabe 302 Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Textes et Documents. Vol. IV.1-2. Cairo.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Abd al-Masih, Yassa; O. H. E. Burmester; Aziz S. Atiya; Antoine Khater, eds. (1943–1970). History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church, Known as the History of the Holy Church of Sawirus ibn al-Mukaffa^c, Bishop of al-Asmunin. Textes et Documents. Vol. II–III. Cairo.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Evetts, B., ed. (1906–15). History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria I-IV. Patrologia Orientalis, vol. I.2, I.4, V.1 and X.5. Paris.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Parts are available online (see below).

• Evetts' translation online: [1] at the Tertullian Project:
  • Preface to the online edition
  • Translator's Introduction
  • Part 1 -- St. Mark to Theonas (AD 300)
  • Part 2 -- Peter I to Benjamin I (661)
  • Part 3 -- Agathon to Michael I (766)
  • Part 4 -- Mennas I to Joseph (849)
• Continuation online:
  • Part 5 -- Khael II - Shenouti I (880) Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
  • Part 6 -- Khael III - Shenouti II (1066) Archived 2010-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
  • Part 7 -- Christodoulous - Michael IV (1102) Archived 2021-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
  • Part 8 -- Macarius II - John V (1167) Archived 2010-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
  • Part 9 -- Mark III - John VI (1216) Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
  • Part 10 -- Cyril III - Cyril V (1894) Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
  • Part 11 -- Cyril Ibn Laklak, part 1 Archived 2010-11-16 at the Wayback Machine
  • Part 12 -- Cyril Ibn Laklak, part 2 Archived 2010-11-12 at the Wayback Machine
• Preface Archived 2007-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
• C. Detlef G. Müller (1995). "Severos (Sāwīros) ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (= Sohn des Eingeschrumpften), als Laie 'Abū Bišr ben al-Muqaffaʿ". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 9. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 1515–1523. ISBN 3-88309-058-1.