Annianus of Alexandria

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Annianus of Alexandria (Greek form of name Annianos), better known as Annianus , was an Alexandrian computist and monk of the early 5th century AD, in the time of Theophilos of Alexandria .

Most of it is known from the chronicle of the Byzantine monk Georgios Synkellos (8th century / early 9th century AD) who described the work of his forerunners as a chronograph (besides the Alexandrian monks Annianus and Panodoros, this was mainly Eusebius of Caesarea and Julius Africanus ) criticized and explained. According to Synkellos, he left a writing for calculating the Easter date (Paschoualion) in the form of a chronicle in tabular form, which began at the beginning of the universe postulated by him (5492 BC) and progressed in periods of the Easter cycle of 532 years, each with short historical entries in the margin. He was a contemporary of Panodorus and criticized the chronology of Eusebius because he left out some biblical periods. In the only surviving direct quotation from Annianus in the work of Synkellos, he criticized a date (cosmic date for the 20th year of Constantine's reign) in Eusebius' essential use of his Easter cycle. Annianus criticized his contemporary Panodorus for relying too heavily on non-biblical sources. That was also the main reason why Annianus was preferred by Christian writers alongside Eusebius and Julius Africanus (for example, all three were named as the main sources in the Syrian Chronicle by Mar Michael, Patriarch of Antioch, as late as the 12th century), while Panodoros was essentially only through Synkellos was handed down. In the Byzantine literature of the 9th century, Annianus and Pandoros were not mentioned by name except by Synkellos (not even by Photios I ). Fragments of Annianos are also preserved from the Syrian chronicler Elias of Nisibis , who wrote a chronicle up to the year 1018 AD and mentions him in the chronology of the patriarchs and the Assytian and Median rulers.

A historically very important application of the Metonic cycle in the Alexandrian calendar and later in the Julian calendar was the Metonic 19-year lunar cycle. Around AD 260, the Alexandrian computist Anatolius was the first to construct a version of this efficient computist instrument for determining the date of Passover Sunday (originally) or (later) Easter Sunday. But it was Annianus who discovered that every version of the Metonic 19-year lunar cycle generates a 532-year Passover cycle (i.e. Easter cycle) (because of 19 × 7 × 4 = 532), and he was so far known to be the first to include this cycle in the Easter calculation brought in. In the west, the 532 year cycle was independently introduced by Victorius of Aquitaine in AD 457. It was Annianus 'version of the Metonic 19-year lunar cycle which ultimately, via Bishop Cyril of Alexandria ' s Passover table (around the year 425) and Dionysius Exiguus 'Passover table (around the year 525), as the basic structure of Beda Venerabilis ' Easter table (725 AD) was to prevail throughout Christianity for a long time, at least until 1582, when the Julian calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar .

literature

  • Georges Declercq: Anno Domini. The Origins of the Christian Era. Brepols, Turnhout 2000, ISBN 9782503510507
  • Jan Zuidhoek: Reconstructing Metonic 19-year Lunar Cycles (on the basis of NASA's Six Millenium Catalog of Phases of the Moon). JZ, Zwolle 2019, ISBN 9789090324678
  • Alden Mosshammer: The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era, Oxford UP, 2008
  • William Adler: Time immemorial: archaic history and its sources in Christian chronography from Julius Africanus to George Syncellus, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Washington DC 1989
  • William Adler, Paul Tuffin (eds. And translator): The chronography of George Synkellos: a Byzantine chronicle of universal history from the creation , Oxford University Press, 2002
  • Heinrich Gelzer : Sextus Julius Africanus and die Byzantinische Chronographie , Leipzig, 2 volumes, 1880, 1885, 1898, reprint Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1978, New York 1967
  • D. Serruys: Les Canons d'Eusebe, d'Annianos et d'Andronicus d'apres Elie de Nisibe , Byzantine Journal, Volume 22, 1913, pp. 1-36

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The entry on Annianus in Pauly-Wissowa, Volume 1, Col. 2258, reads: Monk and chronological writer, mentioned by Georg. Syncell., P. 34 A, 35 A and others .
  2. ^ William Adler, William Adler, Paul Tuffin (eds. And translator): The chronography of George Synkellos: a Byzantine chronicle of universal history from the creation, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. XXXI
  3. ^ Adler, Tuffin, S. LXIX. Synkellos took over the beginning of the calendar from Annianus as March 25, 5492 BC. Chr.
  4. ↑ Mosshammer, 2008, pp. 198, 200. The so-called Alexandrian date of creation. According to Panodoros, on the other hand, the creation date was August 29 (first day in the Alexandrian month of Toth) 5493 BC. Chr.
  5. ^ Adler, Tuffin, p. LVII
  6. ^ Adler, Tuffin, p. LXIII
  7. ↑ Moshammer, 2008, p. 199
  8. ^ Adler, Tuffin, p. LXIV
  9. ^ Mosshammer, 2008, p. 359
  10. ^ Adler, Tuffin, p. LXVIII
  11. ↑ Further Byzantine, Syrian and a possible mention of Annianos in an Arabic source are cited in Alden Mosshammer: The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era, Oxford UP, 2008, p. 359
  12. ↑ Zuidhoek (2019), pp. 16-17
  13. ↑ Declercq (2000), pp. 65-66
  14. ↑ Zuidhoek (2019), p. 67
  15. ↑ Mosshammer, 2008, p. 199
  16. ↑ Zuidhoek (2019), pp. 67-70

Web link

personal data
SURNAME Annianus of Alexandria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Annianus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Alexandrian computist
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century
DATE OF DEATH 5th century