Bazaar of Heracleides
5th century work by Nestorius of Constantinople
The Bazaar of Heracleides (Syriac: ܬܰܓܘܼܪܬܳܐ ܕܗܰܪܰܩܠܝܼܕܶܣ) is a theological and historical apologetic work attributed to Nestorius, the 5th-century Patriarch of Constantinople. Composed in 451 or 452, the work survives only in a Syriac translation and constitutes one of the most significant surviving texts authored by Nestorius, whose writings were largely destroyed following his condemnation at the Council of Ephesus of 431.
The work was preserved for centuries in a Church of the East monastery in Qudshanis, Hakkari, and despite suffering significant damage during the massacre of Assyrian Christians by Bedir Khan Beg, it was later rediscovered in the 19th century. Its publication and study renewed scholarly interest in the Christological controversies of late antiquity and provided fresh evidence for reassessing Nestorius's life, thought, and the historical circumstances surrounding his condemnation.
Authorship and composition
According to Socrates, Nestorius was banished to Egypt despite an imperial decree exiling him to Arabia. It was during this later period of his life, in or shortly after 451, that he composed the Bazaar. Specifically, he was placed under house arrest under Shenoute the Archimandrite, a staunch Miaphysite and presider at the Council of Ephesus, at the White Monastery in Upper Egypt.
The surviving Syriac manuscript gives the work the title:"The Book Which Is Called the Bazaar of Heracleides of Damascus Which Was Composed by My Lord Nestorius"It concludes with the statement:"Finished is the writing of the book which is entitled the Bazaar of Heracleides, composed by [him who is] illustrious among the saints and all-blessed, my lord Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, a witness every day and the pride of orthodoxy, a true preacher of the glorious Trinity. And unto Yahweh [be] unfailing glory. Amen."
Transmission and manuscripts
The only known copy of the Bazaar was long preserved in a Church of the East monastery in Hakkari until the Assyrian genocide.
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