John of Nikiû

John of Nikiû was a Coptic bishop of Nikiû/Pashati in the Egyptian Delta and appointed general administrator of the monsteries of Upper Egypt in 696. He was author of a Chronicle extending from Adam to the end of the Arabic conquest of Egypt which contains important historical details otherwise unknown.

According to the History of the Patriarchs by Severus, Bishop of Al-Ushmunain , John of Nikiû lived under the Patriarchs John of Semnûd, Isaac, and Simeon. But when John disciplined a monk guilty of some moral offence so severely that the monk died ten days later, the patriarch Simeon removed John from his office.

John of Nikiû's Chronicle was originally written mostly in Greek except possibly some of the chapters concerning Egypt which may have been written in Coptic to judge from the forms of the names. The work only survives in an Ethopian translation made in 1602 of an Arabic translation of the original. The text is in parts obviously corrupted with unfortunate accidental omissions. In particular 30 years are missing from 610 to 640.

Bibliography

• "La Chronique de Jean de Nikioû", ed. and translated into French by H. Zotenberg in Notices et Extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale, t. XXIV, I, pp. 125–605 (Paris, 1883) and also separately (Paris, 1883).
• The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu, translated by R. H. Charles (The Text and Translation Society, Oxford University Press, 1916).

External links

• The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu, trans. by R. H. Charles
  • Tertullian.org: Introduction and English translation.
  • Early Christian Writings: Introduction and English translation.
• Catholic Encyclopedia: John of Nikiû