against this warlike queen of Egypt and Syria. For her part, she had to prepare herself for war with the king of the north by an exceedingly great and mighty army under her two generals Zabdā and Zabbai. Aurelian first recovered Egypt for himself by Probus. Then he got ready for a big expedition into Asia Minor and Syria. Zenobia with her two generals was defeated at Emesa (now Homs) and retreated to Palmyra. Although this city was bulwarked by the desert, Aurelian finally formed and kept up a siege of the strongly fortified and well-provisioned city. Under the siege the courage of Zenobia cracked. She and her son got out of the city and fled toward Persia for help. The Romans captured them on the bank of the Euphrates River. The besieged Palmyrenes lost heart and surrendered their city, A.D. 272. Aurelian spared the life of Zenobia and took her to Rome to be his prize feature in his great triumphal march through the imperial capital A.D. 274.c After that she was permitted to spend the rest of her life as a Roman matron.

73. How was it that the king of the north did not stand, those who ate of his food bringing about his downfall?

⁷³ Not only had Queen Zenobia in the role of king of the south not stood before the armed might of Rome, but even her conqueror, Emperor Aurelian, did not stand against conspirators. The Roman Senate rightly conferred upon him the title Restorer of the Roman Empire. He was the first Roman emperor to wear the diadem, and on medals he was entitled Lord and God. Toward the end of his triumphal year he set out on an expedition against the Persians. While waiting in Thrace for the opportunity to cross the straits into Asia Minor, those who ate his food carried out their evil plans against him and broke him. He was going to call his secretary Eros to account for certain irregularities. Eros incited certain officers to conspire against the emperor by forging a list of men who were marked out for death and including these officers. The sight of this list moved them to devise his assassination.

74. As regards the further representation of the king of the north, how did the “army of the other” overflow, so that many fell down slain?

⁷⁴ The career of the king of the north did not end with Emperor Aurelian. Other emperors followed him, and for a time there were an emperor of the west and an emperor of the east, within the one empire. Under these the army of the king of the north was swept away and many fell down slain, as prophesied, due to the invasions of barbarians from the north. These invasions were thrown back until the fourth century, when the barbarians successfully broke through. The Goths or Germans found out that the armed legions of Rome were invincible no more. Now that they had broken the Roman frontiers, invasion followed invasion. By the beginning of the sixth century they had shattered the Roman Empire in the West, and German kings bore rule in Italy, Britain, Gaul, Spain and North Africa. In the eastern part of the empire, Constantinople (Byzantium) had failed to fall before the threatening Attila the Hun, who then went west.

75. How did the Roman Empire finally become divided into two parts, with two emperors, and how did Egypt eventually come under British domination?

⁷⁵ Emperor Constantine (324-337) gave state recognition to the popular form of Christianity and even presided over the Council of Nice in Nicomedia, Asia Minor, less than a hundred miles from Byzantium, A.D. 325. Later he moved the imperial residence from Rome to Byzantium. There, on May 11, A.D. 330, he founded the new imperial capital and dedicated it as New Rome or Constantinople. But there was still one Roman Empire. On the death of the later emperor, Theodosius, January 17, 395, the empire was finally divided between his sons, Honorius receiving the western section and Arcadius the eastern, with his capital at Constantinople. Egypt fell to the lot of Constantinople and became a province of the eastern division of the Roman Empire. In 641 (A.D.), when Heraclius was the emperor of the East, the Egyptian capital, Alexandria, fell to the Mohammedan Saracens and Egypt became a province of the caliphs or successors of Mohammed. Long afterward, in 1516-1517 Egypt became a Turkish province, governed by a pasha. When World War I broke out in 1914, Egypt belonged to Turkey and was ruled by a khediv or viceroy. Because of siding with the Germans, the Khedive Abbas Pasha was deposed on December 18 that year, and Egypt was declared a British Protectorate, particularly with a view to protect the Suez Canal.

76. When and how was the Eastern Roman Empire ended?

⁷⁶ Constantine P. XII was the last emperor of the East, ascending the throne in 1448. The Mohammedans had repeatedly tried to capture Constantinople. After centuries of attempts they at last succeeded. It was besieged fifty-three days by Turkish Sultan Mahomet (Mohammed) II and was taken on May 29, 1453. With its capture the Eastern Roman Empire definitely ended.

77. In what line of bishops did a new political religious figure arise, and when did it become proper to speak of an Eastern Empire and a Western Empire?

⁷⁷ In the western part of the Roman Empire a new religious political figure arose in the Catholic bishop of Rome, particularly with Pope Leo I, the Great, who is noted as the real founder of the papacy in the fifth century. In course of time the pope took it upon himself to crown the emperor of the Western Roman Empire. This occurred when Pope Leo III crowned Frankish King Charles (Charlemagne) on Christmas Day, A.D. 800, at Rome, as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Pope Leo III said: “To Charles the Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, life and victory.” So from then on the political ruler was supposed to rule “by the grace of God.” However, says one recent history: “The coronation of Charlemagne was a usurpation, for the government at Constantinople was still the legal governing authority in the Empire.”d This was true even though at the time a woman usurper, Empress Irene (780-802), sat on the throne at Constantinople. From this point forward it is proper to speak of the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire, both claiming to be Christian. Charlemagne added a second head to the eagle in his insignia, to denote that the Empires of Rome and of Germany were united.

(To be continued)

Canon of the Scriptures

Said Dr. Oscar Cullman in the New York Times: “Again and again we must marvel at the fact that from the large number of primitive Christian writings only those were accepted as canonic which really came from the oldest time and which were free from heretical tendencies.”