Saʻīd Ibn Baṭrīq, the Theologian: New Considerations on his Historical Work, “The Annals”

After the publication of the Ms Sinai Arab 580, M. Breydy, the text’s editor, arrived to a new interpretation regarding the existing edition of the Annals by Eutychius of Alexandria (Saʻīd ibn Baṭrīq), prepared by L. Cheikho. In Breydy’s opinion this version of the Annals would not be the original work of Ibn Baṭrīq. He suggested that someone else elaborated and completed the original and shorter text in Antioch. Therefore Breydy called it the “Antiochian version”, while he labelled the text published by himself the “Alexandrian version” which he regarded as the original of Ibn Baṭrīq’ Annals. This opinion was accepted by other scholars and gave reason to doubt the authenticity of another work attributed to Eytuchius called the Book of the demonstration (Kitāb al-Burhān), which was later attributed to Peter of Bayt Raʼsa. In this paper we would like to open again the discussion on the original text of the Annals and the authenticity of the Book of the demonstration. We will attempt to show that the text edited by L. Cheikho is the original text by Ibn Baṭrīq. This will be achieved by studying the relations between the three theological insertions found in the historical work and the relation found between these insertions and the theological terminology in the historical work. A new consideration will also be given with respect to the Book of the demonstration and its attribution to Ibn Baṭrīq. The paper’s aim is also to consider Ibn Baṭrīq not only a historian but also a theologian.