Aphrahat

Also: Aphraates, the Persian Sage, Jacob of Mar Mattai

Born perhaps between 270 and 290; the place is not known. Died perhaps between 345 and 360; the place is not known.

A Christian teacher in the Persian Empire, called the Persian Sage. His 23 Demonstrations are the oldest long works in Syriac by a known author.

Wrote in Syriac. A major author.

A late tradition makes him abbot of Mar Mattai near Mosul. Historians do not accept it, so no place is given.

Places lived

No place is known. The page shows no place from guesswork.

1 work, in the order they were written. 1 work can be read here.

Demonstrations337 to 345 · place not known · treatiseTwenty-three short works on faith, prayer, fasting and the Jews, the first large book in Syriac.50,666 words

How we know the dates and places

Born not sure: No ancient source. See Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. rev. (2005), 'Aphrahat'.
Place of birth not known: No ancient source names a place. He lived in the Persian Empire.
Died not sure: Demonstration 23 is dated August 345; nothing later is known
Place of death not known: No ancient source names a place.