The argument · II
The king of Edessa
The gospels call him a king. They give him a treasury, commanders, and Persian Magi at the birth. The books do not treat that as costume. They look for a king of the Jews in the first-century record.
Two names from the Jewish Revolt are joined. Josephus calls one leader Izates, shortens it to Izas, and places him at Adiabene. The king of Edessa in those same years was Manu VI. Adiabene is taken as Josephus’s name for Edessa, because Queen Helena of Adiabene was married to King Abgar of Edessa. The name used here is King Izas Manu, set beside the gospel form King Jesus Em Manuel. On this account he became king of the Jews about AD 60. He is not King Azizas of Emesa. Those two kings, the argument says, were at war.
The Talmud says that royal house was Nazarene, and Matthew 2:23 says Jesus was a Nazarene. The same house is also read as Nazirite, the long-haired order of Samson. The trilogy traces it back to Cleopatra, and moves the drama from the thirties into the Revolt of the sixties. After Jerusalem fell in AD 70, Josephus says three leaders were crucified in the Kidron valley. Two died. One was taken down and recovered. That survivor is read as Izas. The Edessan kings, on this account, wore the plaited crown read as the crown of thorns, and a purple cloak, as the gospel king does.
Schematic · not to scale
Edessa and the first-century Near East
Documented places. Boundaries are not surveyed.
- Rome. West, across the Mediterranean.
- Antioch. On the Orontes, south-west of Edessa.
- Edessa. Modern Şanlıurfa, in Osroene.
- Jerusalem. In Judaea, to the south.
- Arbela. The usual centre of Adiabene, east of Edessa. Not drawn as the same place.
Ellis reads Josephus’s Adiabene as Edessa, because he joins Queen Helena’s house to King Abgar. That joining is his. The gospel king is not marked. The Roman–Parthian frontier is not drawn.
The record. Josephus on Izates of Adiabene. The king-list of Edessa for Manu VI. Josephus on the three men crucified after the fall of Jerusalem, of whom one recovered. Matthew 2:23 for “Nazarene.”
Ellis’ reading. The distinction from Azizas of Emesa, and the joining of the two names, are his, in Jesus, King of Edessa.
Continue Exploring
1 · Understand the argument
This page is that introduction.
2 · Watch an introductory lecture
51:10
3 · Examine the research and evidence
- Jesus, King of Edessa · Research Journal
- Suetonius, Vespasian 4 · Evidence Library
- The Estoire del Saint Graal, Joseph’s forty-three years · Evidence Library
4 · Explore the relevant book
The first volume of the King Jesus Trilogy. Jesus, King of Edessa is the third.
Explore the book behind this research
Continue with the Books
Cleopatra to Christ
Jesus, the great-grandson of Cleopatra
Jesus, King of Edessa
A first-century king in the historical record