Syriac Sindban
From The Seven Sages of Rome
The Syriac Sindban only survives in one fragmentary manuscript, Berlin Staatsbibliothek Petermann I 24. Entries in the manuscript mentions the date 1579CE (as well as the date 1583, and elsewhere the date 1660), which led its German translator Baethgen (1879) to presume that is was written some time before 1579CE. Krönung (2016) follows that dating, as does Perry (1960). Sachau's catalogue of the Berlin library (1899), however, considers these entries to be a later addition, and dates the manuscript to 1400-1450CE. The current digital Berlin library catalogue follows this dating.
There is credible evidence that the text itself must have been composed much earlier: Michael Andreopoulos plausibly claims to have translated his Greek Syntipas from a Syriac text. The text of his Greek Syntipas is close to the surviving Syriac manuscript, leading most academics to assume that both were based on a common source (Perry 1960, Krönung 2016). Krönung 2016 assumes that the Syriac version was composed some time in the ninth, tenth or eleventh centuries.
The frame narrative in this version is set at the court of King Cyrus, the prince is taught by Sindban alone, who reads the prophecy in the stars. The seven philosophers who come to the defence of the prince are the king's counsellors.
Entered by Bettina Bildhauer
Identification & General Information
Tradition & Lineage
Branch of the tradition
Adapted into (version)
Source for composition and adaptation information
Recorded Secondary Versions
Connected Manuscripts
Language & Composition
Language of version
Regional or specific language of version
Translated into (languages)
Place of composition
Date of Composition
801 - 1100
Source for date of composition
Modern Scholarship & Editions
Modern research literature
Modern Editions
Pattern of Embedded Stories in This Version