The Nicene Age · AD 313–400

Zokomos

fl. fourth century (dates unrecorded) · Saracen phylarch · Eponym of the Zokomid house · the Arabian frontier

The Nicene Age

Who Zokomos was

A Saracen chief who was childless and was promised a son by a monk if he would believe. The son was born; Zokomos was baptised, and Sozomen records that all his subjects were initiated with him — the clearest surviving case in the horizon of an entire tribe entering the church behind one man. His house, the Zokomids, became the dominant Roman federates of the region. The monk who made the promise is not named, and that silence is recorded rather than filled.

Verified single attestation

Named once in the sources within the horizon; no other ancient witness names him.

Common questions

When was Zokomos active?

Zokomos is dated fl. fourth century (dates unrecorded) in the archive, which places Zokomos in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).

Which early sources mention Zokomos?

Zokomos 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 Zokomos from?

The archive associates Zokomos with the Arabian frontier.

Who were Zokomos’ contemporaries?

The archive links Zokomos to 2 other figures, including Mavia and Moses the Saracen. 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.

Ecclesiastical History VI.38

c. AD 445
[Zokomos, being childless, was promised a son by a monk on condition that he believe in Christ; the son was born, and Zokomos was initiated, and all his subjects with him.]
Sozomen · Ecclesiastical History VI.38 · source text

Connected in the archive

People

Named alongside Zokomos in the sources

This figure is placed with Zokomos by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Zokomos naming them in return.

Events in this lifetime

Place