The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Marutha of Maypherqat
c. AD 350 – c. 420 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) · Bishop of Maypherqat · Physician · Roman legate to Persia · Maypherqat (Martyropolis), Roman Mesopotamia ↔ Seleucia-Ctesiphon
The Nicene Age
Who Marutha of Maypherqat was
Physician, bishop and diplomat, and the man to whom the survival of the Persian martyr literature is owed. He went to the Sasanian court as Roman ambassador in 399/400 and again in 409/410, used his standing as a doctor with the king to win relief for the Persian Christians, and gathered the acts of the martyrs and their relics back to his own see — which took the name Martyropolis, the city of martyrs, from them. With the catholicos Isaac he convened the synod of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 410, where the Persian church formally received Nicaea. Active well before 400 and held at the archive’s ceiling.
Named once in the sources within the horizon; no other ancient witness names him.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Marutha live?
Marutha of Maypherqat is dated c. AD 350 – c. 420 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) in the archive, which places Marutha in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Marutha?
Marutha of Maypherqat is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Synodicon Orientale. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Marutha from?
The archive associates Marutha of Maypherqat with Maypherqat (Martyropolis), Roman Mesopotamia, Seleucia-Ctesiphon. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Marutha’s contemporaries?
The archive links Marutha of Maypherqat to 3 other figures, including Isaac of Seleucia, Shapur II and Yazdegerd I. 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.
Synodicon Orientale — the acts of the Synod of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (410), convened with the catholicos Isaac
c. AD 410[Marutha, bishop of Maypherqat, comes as the envoy of the Roman emperor and, with Isaac the catholicos, lays the canons of Nicaea before the bishops of Persia.]Synodicon Orientale · Synodicon Orientale, Synod of Mar Isaac (410) · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Marutha in the sources
This figure is placed with Marutha by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Marutha naming them in return.
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
- AD 397 · Carthage confirms the canon, AD 397
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Marutha, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Maypherqat
- 2Mesopotamiaprovince only
- 3Seleucia-Ctesiphon