David of Basra
Encyclopedia
David of Basra, sometimes rendered Dudi of Basra or David of Charax, was a 3rd- and 4th-century CE Christian Metropolitan bishop
who undertook missionary work in India around the year 300 (295 in some sources). He is among the earliest documented Christian missionaries in India, perhaps later only than the apostle Thomas, who may have visited India in the 1st century, though sources for the period are fragmentary and sometimes confused.
-language Chronicle of Seert
, a history of the Nestorian Church. The Chronicle was compiled some time after the 9th century from a number of Syriac sources, and constitutes a major early source on the history of eastern Christianity. The original document was also translated by the Assyrian historian Alphonse Mingana
in his Woodbrooke Studies collection of early Christian Documents in Syriac, Arabic, and Garshuni. It states that, during the patriarchate of Shahlupa and Papa, David visited and travelled throughout India, rather than settling there, and that he won converts to the Christian church.
Historians have suggested that David's mission may have targeted communities in Southern India, on the assumption that an existing church there - either descended from the missionary work of the apostle Thomas, or founded by migrant Christians from elsewhere in the region - was in difficulties and required support.
; others characterize him as a Persian
doctor. He came from the Sassanid empire, then a young and expanding polity under the rule of Narseh
. Researchers have argued that David's mission should be seen in the context of that empire's expansionist political activities. Though David's mission indicates the extension of the Persian church into India, the Seert chronicle is the only surviving reference to David's activities and there is no evidence that his mission led to the establishment of a lasting Indian church in contact with Christianity elsewhere in the region. Later evidence of a sustained Christian church on the subcontinent dates instead to at least 50 years after David's mission, with the somewhat contradictory reports of a Christian settlement on the Malabar coast
led by the Syrian merchant Thomas of Cana. This settlement is dated in some sources to around 350 CE, but in others is attributed to the 8th century. Later in the 4th century, Byzantine sources attest to the dispatch, under Emperor Constantius, of one Theophilus as a missionary to India after 354. David's mission was, though, an early sign of the nascent role of the diocese of Basra as a hub of missionary activity extending into southern Asia.
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
who undertook missionary work in India around the year 300 (295 in some sources). He is among the earliest documented Christian missionaries in India, perhaps later only than the apostle Thomas, who may have visited India in the 1st century, though sources for the period are fragmentary and sometimes confused.
Sources
The account of David's mission comes from an originally Syriac-language source that appears in the ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
-language Chronicle of Seert
Chronicle of Seert
The Chronicle of Seert is an anonymous historiographic text written in Arabic by the Nestorian Church in Persia and the Middle East, possibly as early as the 9th century AD....
, a history of the Nestorian Church. The Chronicle was compiled some time after the 9th century from a number of Syriac sources, and constitutes a major early source on the history of eastern Christianity. The original document was also translated by the Assyrian historian Alphonse Mingana
Alphonse Mingana
Alphonse Mingana; was an Assyrian theologian, historian, Syriacist, orientalist and a former priest who is best known for collecting and preserving the Mingana Collection of ancient Middle Eastern manuscripts at Birmingham...
in his Woodbrooke Studies collection of early Christian Documents in Syriac, Arabic, and Garshuni. It states that, during the patriarchate of Shahlupa and Papa, David visited and travelled throughout India, rather than settling there, and that he won converts to the Christian church.
Historians have suggested that David's mission may have targeted communities in Southern India, on the assumption that an existing church there - either descended from the missionary work of the apostle Thomas, or founded by migrant Christians from elsewhere in the region - was in difficulties and required support.
Mission context
Some sources describe David as an ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
; others characterize him as a Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
doctor. He came from the Sassanid empire, then a young and expanding polity under the rule of Narseh
Narseh
Narseh was the seventh Sassanid King of Persia , and son of Shapur I ....
. Researchers have argued that David's mission should be seen in the context of that empire's expansionist political activities. Though David's mission indicates the extension of the Persian church into India, the Seert chronicle is the only surviving reference to David's activities and there is no evidence that his mission led to the establishment of a lasting Indian church in contact with Christianity elsewhere in the region. Later evidence of a sustained Christian church on the subcontinent dates instead to at least 50 years after David's mission, with the somewhat contradictory reports of a Christian settlement on the Malabar coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
led by the Syrian merchant Thomas of Cana. This settlement is dated in some sources to around 350 CE, but in others is attributed to the 8th century. Later in the 4th century, Byzantine sources attest to the dispatch, under Emperor Constantius, of one Theophilus as a missionary to India after 354. David's mission was, though, an early sign of the nascent role of the diocese of Basra as a hub of missionary activity extending into southern Asia.