The Acts of Pusai or Martyrdom of Pusai is a Syriac narrative about the martyrdom of a Christian saint named Pusai. English-speaking literature refers to this work by a variety of names, including the Martyrdom of Pusai-Qarugbed, on account of Pusai's title Qarugbed, "Head of the Craftsmen", [1] and as the "Martyrdom of Pusay [2] (or Phusik, [3] Pusayk, [2] Pusices, [4] Pusik", [5] Posi [6]). Other variants include Acts of Mar Pusai [7] and the Passions of Pusay. [8]
The Sassanian Persian kings Shapur I (ruled 239-270 CE [9]) and Shapur II (ruled 309-379 [10]) both struggled against the Roman Empire and deported prisoners of war to other areas within their own empire. [11] [12] The Acts of Pusai seems to have mixed these two rulers into a single "Shapur" in producing the narrative about Pusai, who is said to have descended from Roman captives of Shapur. [13]
According to the Acts, Pusai married a Persian woman, converted her to Christianity, and baptised their children. [7] Pusai and his family were relocated by Shapur to the new settlement of Karka d'Ledan, near Susa. [7] The intention of Shapur was to bring deportees from a variety of regions to the new city so that they would intermarry and therefore lose interest in returning to their homelands. [14] The narrator records that while Shapur did this for self-interested reasons, God used this intermingling to spread Christianity. [14] There Pusai worked as a skilled craftsman in the making of fine cloth. [14] The king took notice of his skills, and promoted him and regularly gave him gifts. [14]
Pusai was martyred in the year 341. [15] Shapur began persecuting Christians, and when Pusai witnessed the martyrdom of one Christian, Pusai encouraged the man, soon to be killed, to close his eyes and think of Christ. [16] Pusai was immediately reported to Shapur, who had him arrested. [16] He was interrogated by Shapur, and argued against Shapur's Zurvanite religious ideas. [17] Instead of renouncing his faith, Pusai announced that he was willing to die for it, and was killed by having his tongue torn from his mouth. [16] His daughter Martha, who had taken a lifetime religious vow of celibacy, was taken into custody and put to death a little later. [18]
The Acts of Pusai or Martyrdom of Pusai is a Syriac narrative about the martyrdom of a Christian saint named Pusai. English-speaking literature refers to this work by a variety of names, including the Martyrdom of Pusai-Qarugbed, on account of Pusai's title Qarugbed, "Head of the Craftsmen", [1] and as the "Martyrdom of Pusay [2] (or Phusik, [3] Pusayk, [2] Pusices, [4] Pusik", [5] Posi [6]). Other variants include Acts of Mar Pusai [7] and the Passions of Pusay. [8]
The Sassanian Persian kings Shapur I (ruled 239-270 CE [9]) and Shapur II (ruled 309-379 [10]) both struggled against the Roman Empire and deported prisoners of war to other areas within their own empire. [11] [12] The Acts of Pusai seems to have mixed these two rulers into a single "Shapur" in producing the narrative about Pusai, who is said to have descended from Roman captives of Shapur. [13]
According to the Acts, Pusai married a Persian woman, converted her to Christianity, and baptised their children. [7] Pusai and his family were relocated by Shapur to the new settlement of Karka d'Ledan, near Susa. [7] The intention of Shapur was to bring deportees from a variety of regions to the new city so that they would intermarry and therefore lose interest in returning to their homelands. [14] The narrator records that while Shapur did this for self-interested reasons, God used this intermingling to spread Christianity. [14] There Pusai worked as a skilled craftsman in the making of fine cloth. [14] The king took notice of his skills, and promoted him and regularly gave him gifts. [14]
Pusai was martyred in the year 341. [15] Shapur began persecuting Christians, and when Pusai witnessed the martyrdom of one Christian, Pusai encouraged the man, soon to be killed, to close his eyes and think of Christ. [16] Pusai was immediately reported to Shapur, who had him arrested. [16] He was interrogated by Shapur, and argued against Shapur's Zurvanite religious ideas. [17] Instead of renouncing his faith, Pusai announced that he was willing to die for it, and was killed by having his tongue torn from his mouth. [16] His daughter Martha, who had taken a lifetime religious vow of celibacy, was taken into custody and put to death a little later. [18]