Chronicle of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite

The Chronicle of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite is an anonymous Syriac history of the period 494–506 AD. Its actual title as given in the manuscript is A Historical Narrative of the Period of Distress Which Occurred in Edessa, Amid and All Mesopotamia. It is divided between two distressful events that occurred in Edessa and the surrounding region: an outbreak of plague, locusts and famine from 494 to 502 and the Roman–Persian war of 502–506. It is the earliest surviving work of Syriac historiography and provides the most detailed account of the Roman–Persian war. It was written near in time to the events it describes and is thus of the highest historical value.