The Nicene Age · AD 313–400 · External witness
Atharidus
fl. AD 372 (death unrecorded) · Son of a Gothic petty king · Persecutor · Gothia (beyond the Danube)
External witness
Who Atharidus was
Son of the petty king Rothesteus, and the man who gave the order for Sabbas’ death. The Passion records that he had Sabbas tortured with cart-axles, sent him to be drowned in the river Musaeus, and was told by his own soldiers that the man had done nothing worth killing — which he ignored. He is a named Gothic persecutor from inside the Gothic nobility, not a Roman official.
Named once, in the Passion of St Sabbas the Goth — a letter written within months of the events of April 372; no other ancient source names him.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Atharidus active?
Atharidus is dated fl. AD 372 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Atharidus in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Atharidus?
Atharidus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from The church of Gothia. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Atharidus from?
The archive associates Atharidus with Gothia (beyond the Danube).
Who were Atharidus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Atharidus to 3 other figures, including Sabbas the Goth, Sansalas and Athanaric. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Passion of St Sabbas the Goth — written within months of the martyrdom and sent to Cappadocia with the relics
c. AD 372[Atharidus, son of the petty king Rothesteus, ordered Sabbas racked and then drowned in the Musaeus, though his own men said he was innocent.]The church of Gothia · Passio S. Sabae Gothi · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Atharidus.
- 1Gothiaprovince only