Mar Qardagh
Encyclopedia
Mar Qardagh according to his legend was a Sassanid prince who was martyred for converting to Christianity.
during the 4th century. King Shapur II
visited his parents’ estate and was impressed with Qardagh’s handsome appearance and athleticism. Qardagh was appointed as a governor for a large region in northern Persia, there he met the Syriac hermit Abdishu and converted to Christianity.
Upon learning this, the king sentenced him to be stoned and Qardagh fled with his guards to the mountains where he was able to repel the Persians for months.
One night Saint Stephen
appeared to him and told him that it was better to give his life for his faith than to continue fighting.
He surrendered to the king and it was his own father who threw the first stone.
He was buried in Adiabene
(Arbil
) where a church holding his was later erected.
Legend of Mar Qardagh
According to Syriac tradition Qardagh was born to noble family in the Sassanid empireSassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
during the 4th century. King Shapur II
Shapur II
Shapur II the Great was the ninth King of the Persian Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379 and son of Hormizd II. During his long reign, the Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since the reign of Shapur I...
visited his parents’ estate and was impressed with Qardagh’s handsome appearance and athleticism. Qardagh was appointed as a governor for a large region in northern Persia, there he met the Syriac hermit Abdishu and converted to Christianity.
Upon learning this, the king sentenced him to be stoned and Qardagh fled with his guards to the mountains where he was able to repel the Persians for months.
One night Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
appeared to him and told him that it was better to give his life for his faith than to continue fighting.
He surrendered to the king and it was his own father who threw the first stone.
He was buried in Adiabene
Adiabene
Adiabene was an ancient Assyrian independent kingdom in Mesopotamia, with its capital at Arbela...
(Arbil
Arbil
Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
) where a church holding his was later erected.