Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

228 7 Religion: Christianity and Zoroastrianism
known, but because the truth about what has happened has been acknowledged
and the many favours and benefactions that I have received from you. For I am
lucky that my name may be displayed on your sacred vessels. (3) During my stay
at Berthemaïs, 97 I asked from you, holy man, to come to my help and that Seirem
conceive a child in her womb. And as Seirem is a Christian and I am pagan, our
law does not allow us the freedom to have a Christian wife. (4) I wanted to be
considerate to you and because of this I disregarded that law: I held and hold her
among my wives every day in legitimacy, and therefore I resolved now to ask your
goodness that she conceive a child in her womb. (5) And I asked you and at the
same time gave instruction in order that, if Seirem conceived a child in her womb,
I would send the cross that she wears to your most holy house. And in order that I
and Seirem have this mark for the remembrance of your name, holy man, we hold
on to this cross. (6) We have resolved to send instead of the cross its value, which
does not extend 4300 milaresia staters, 98 5000 staters. (7) And from when I held
this wish within me and was considering this until we got to Rhesonchosron 99
not more than ten days passed, and you, holy man, not because I was worthy
but because of your goodness, appeared to me in a vision during the night, and
three times you said to me that Seirem had conceived in her womb. (8) And in
the same vision I answered you three times, saying, “Good, good.” And because of
your sanctity and mercy, because of your most holy name, and because you grant
what you have been asked for, from that day on Seirem did not experience what
is customary for women. (9) I, however, was not in doubt with regard to this but
trusted your words because you are holy and truly grant what you have been asked
for. When she did not have to bear womanly matters anymore, I learned from this
the power of the vision and the truth of what you had said. (10) Immediately I
dispatched the same cross and its value to your most holy house, giving order that
from its value one patten and one drinking vessel be made for the praise of the
divine mysteries, but of course also that a cross, which is owed, be fixed to the
revered table, and an incense burner, solid gold, and a Hunnic curtain decorated
with gold.’
The fact that Xusrō II married a Christian woman is certainly remarkable.
In the later Persian literature this wedding received much attention and
became the subject of many later Persian romances. 100 Many sources call
Seirem (or Shirin) Greek but she was actually from Khuzistan. 101 Syrian
sources even give a detailed description of the wedding ceremony and reveal,
97 Euagrius and the vulgate MSS falsely give the reading Beramaïs; it must be the area of Bēt Arāmāyē
in lower Mesopotamia; see Whitby and Whitby 1986: 151 n. 73 and Schreiner 1985: 318–9 n. 770.
98 ‘Stater’ is used in the sense of ‘coin’, whereas ‘milaresion’ refers to the type of metal, in this case
silver coins.
99 This place has not been identified; Peeters 1947: 31–2 suggests upper Mesopotamia, a town close to
Dārā.
100 Bosworth 1999: 312 n. 729.
101 Christensen 1944: 475–6; Bosworth 1999: 312 n. 729 refers to the authority of the Anonymus Guidi,
who claims that she was of Aramaean origin, from the district around what was later al-Basrah; on
the author see below.