* Abgar IX the Great becomes King of Edessa.

The king in question is, therefore, Lucius Ælius Septimus Megas Abgar IX, of Edessa, a Christian king, as is well known.

The reference was to Abgar IX of Edessa.

Osroene was arguably the first state to have a Christian king when Abgar IX is thought to have accepted Christianity under the guidance of Bardaisan.

Osrhoene attempted to throw off the Roman yoke, however in 216, its king Abgar IX was imprisoned and exiled to Rome and the region became a Roman province.

Abgar IX ( 179-186 AD ) was the first Christian King of Edessa.

* Abgar IX ( the great ) ( 177 – 212 )

* Abgar ( X ) Severus Bar Abgar ( IX ) Rabo ( 214 – 216 )

* Ma ’ nu ( IX ) Bar Abgar ( X ) Severus ( 216 – 242 )

* Abgar ( XI ) Farhat Bar Ma ’ nu ( IX ) ( 242 – 244 )

Traces of Hellenistic culture were soon overwhelmed in Edessa, whose dynasty employs Syriac legends on their coinage, with the exception of the Syriac client king Abgar IX ( 179-214 ), and there is a corresponding lack of Greek public inscriptions.

Yet various sources confirm that the Abgar who embraced the Christian faith was Abgar IX.

Among the illustrious disciples of the School of Edessa Bardesanes ( 154-222 ), a schoolfellow of Abgar IX, deserves special mention for his role in creating Christian religious poetry, and whose teaching was continued by his son Harmonius and his disciples.

In 179 Birtha was ruled by the Christian-friendly Roman client king of Osroene whose full title was Lucius Aelius Megas Abgar IX.

" Priesthood ", however, may merely imply that he ranked as one of the college of presbyters, for he remained in the world, had a son called Harmonius, and when Abgar IX, the friend of his youth, ascended the throne ( 179 ) he took his place at court.

The Romans under Caracalla, taking advantage of the anti-Christian faction in Edessa, captured Abgar IX and sent him in chains to Rome.

Nor was he always critical about the material that he reproduces ; he includes in the Ecclesiastical History letters supplied to him by a Syriac source purporting to be written back and forth between King Abgar and Jesus.

He relates that King Abgar of Edessa sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness.

He appears to have known Abgar VIII, the Christian King of Edessa ( 176 – 213 ).

The belief in the existence of authentic images of Christ is connected with the old legend of King Abgar of Edessa and the apocryphal writing known as the " Mors Pilati " (" the Death of Pilate ").

* Abgar V of Edessa, King of Osroene, 4 BC – AD 7, 13 – 50

* Abgar V, King of Osroene, r. 4 BC-AD 7, 13 – 50

As the price for his withdrawal, Kourkouas obtained one of Byzantium's most prised relics, the mandylion, the holy towel allegedly sent by Jesus Christ to King Abgar V of Edessa.

The more common tradition claims that St. Thaddaeus, one of the Twelve Apostles, was sent to Armenia from nearby Edessa by Abgar ( uncle of King Sanatrook of Armenia ) to evangelize.

King Abgar V | Abgar holding the Image of Edessa.

According to a legend first reported by Eusebius in the 4th century, Syriac King Abgar V Ukāmā was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples, sent to him by " Judas, who is also called Thomas "..

The Image of Edessa, also known as the Mandylion, was allegedly sent by Jesus himself to King Abgar V of Edessa to cure him of leprosy, with a letter declining an invitation to visit the king.

According to the legend, King Abgar V of Edessa | Abgar received the Image of Edessa, a likeness of Jesus.

According to the legend, King Abgar of Edessa wrote to Jesus, asking him to come cure him of an illness.

This records a letter written by King Abgar of Edessa to Jesus, asking him to come cure him of an illness.

A 10th century codex, Codex Vossianus Latinus Q 69 found by Gino Zaninotto in the Vatican Library contains an 8th-century account saying that an imprint of Christ's whole body was left on a canvas kept in a church in Edessa: it quotes a man called Smera in Constantinople: " King Abgar received a cloth on which one can see not only a face but the whole body " ( in Latin: tantum faciei figuram sed totius corporis figuram cernere poteris ).

The more common tradition claims that Thaddaeus, one of the Seventy Apostles was sent to Armenia from nearby Edessa by Abgar ( uncle of King Sanatrook of Armenia ) to evangelize.

Among the Eastern Orthodox faithful, Saint Addai was a disciple of Christ sent by St. Thomas the Apostle to Edessa in order to heal King Abgar V of Osroene, who had fallen ill.

The legendary tale of how King Abgarus V of Edessa and Jesus had corresponded was first recounted in the 4th century by the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea In the origin of the legend, Eusebius had been shown documents purporting to contain the official correspondence that passed between Abgar and Jesus, and he was well enough convinced by their authenticity to quote them extensively in his Ecclesiastical History.

According to tradition, during his youth he shared the education of a royal prince who afterwards became King of Edessa, perhaps Abgar X bar Manu ( reigned Osroene 202-217 ).

The story of how King Abgar and Jesus had corresponded was first recounted in the 4th century by the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea in his Ecclesiastical History ( i. 13 and iii. 1 ) and it was retold in elaborated form by Ephrem the Syrian.

* Abgar II, prince of Osroene

* Abgar II becomes ruler of Osroene.

* Abgar III of Osroene is succeeded by Abgar IV Sumaqa.

Most of the kings of Osroene are called Abgar or Manu and they were Syriac kings who settled in urban centers.

In the second half of the 2nd century BC, as the Seleucid monarchy disintegrated in the wars with Parthia ( 145 – 129 ), Edessa became the capital of the Abgar dynasty, who founded the Kingdom of Osroene ( also known in history as Kingdom of Edessa ).

According to the Roman historian Cassius Dio, Pacorus sold the kingdom of Osroene to Abgar VII, and according to Ammianus Marcellinus he enlarged the Parthian capital Ctesiphon and built its walls.

Abgar II ( ruled 68 – 53 BC ) was an Assyrian / Syriac king of Edessa in Osroene ( today part of eastern Turkey ).

pt: Abgar II de Osroene

sh: Abgar II od Osroene