Severe and Lamentable Persecution, Instituted by Mady, King of the Arabians, in the Year 780

About the year 780, in the fifth year of Leo the Fourth, son of Constantine Copronymus, Mady, King of the Arabians, greatly devastated the church of [n336-1]

God in the East, forcing the innocent and defenseless Christians to apostatize, especially the servants and slaves. To this end he had given full power to one Thesias, surnamed Zelotes, to inflict every kind of oppression upon the Christians. When the latter came to Emesas, he promised to force no one to apostatize, or to be marked with the sign of Mohammed, except the Jews, or those who had long before not been Christians, but unbelievers. But when the Jews and the Christians had been separated, he began to torment the Christians far more cruelly than had ever been done by the Governors Lysias and Agricolaus, under the heathen Emperors; so that he put many of them to death, men as well as women, for the name of Jesus Christ.

In the meantime something remarkable happened here. Certain women whom he afflicted with various torments, to see whether he could not make them yield to his ungodliness, remained steadfast, overcoming his fury with patience, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He had a thousand stripes given them, and had them scourged and tormented to death, until they received from Christ the crown of victory.

Proceeding from there throughout Syria, he demolished all the meeting places of the Christians as far as Damascus, and ravaged the churches, thus breaking the promise the Arabians had made to those of Syria, namely: that under their rule they should live in peace and tranquillity, and enjoy the free and unrestricted practice of their religion. But (as the apostle says) as it was then, when he who was born after the flesh persecuted him who was born after the Spirit, so it was now, Galatians 4, verse 29. See Abr. Mell., 2nd book, folio 306, column 1, compare with Paul. Diac., book 23, Hist. Rot, in Leone 4. Sigibert. [n336-2] Chron., in the year 781; others, however, place it in the year 780.