The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Usthazades
d. AD 341 (martyr) · Royal eunuch and tutor · Martyr · Seleucia-Ctesiphon
The Nicene Age
Who Usthazades was
The aged chief eunuch and former tutor of Shapur II who, having lapsed into sun-worship to please the court, was shamed back to Christ by Simeon bar Sabbae's public reproach and beheaded — asking only that a herald proclaim he died for God and not for treason, lest others fear to follow. Sozomen sets his death at the very head of the Persian martyrdoms.
Sozomen II.9 alone (from the lost Persian acta).
Also listed in martyrs.
Common questions
When did Usthazades die?
Usthazades is dated d. AD 341 (martyr) in the archive, which places Usthazades in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Usthazades?
Usthazades is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Sozomen. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Usthazades from?
The archive associates Usthazades with Seleucia-Ctesiphon.
Who were Usthazades’ contemporaries?
The archive links Usthazades to 3 other figures, including Simeon bar Sabbae, Shapur II and Azad. 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.
Sozomen, Church History II.9 (c. AD 443; original Greek, working translation)
c. AD 445[First narrated ~100 years later.] Usthazades, the aged eunuch who had reared Sapor from childhood, had lapsed and worshipped the sun; but shamed by the reproach of Symeon as the bishop was led past, he repented and wept. Condemned, he asked one favor of the king he had served: that a herald proclaim that Usthazades died not for any treason, but because he was a Christian. The king granted it, thinking to frighten the rest; it emboldened them.Sozomen · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- 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
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Usthazades.