Sextus Julius Africanus
First Christian author of a universal chronology
- Born
- c. 180, Jerusalem
- Died
- c. 250
- Lived
- Mainly at Emmaus (Nicopolis), Palestine
- Main work
- Chronographiai, five books, completed 221 CE
- Date of Creation
- 5499 BCE in his scheme
Third-century Christian scholar whose five-book world chronology, now lost, preserved versions of Manetho's Egyptian king lists.
What is Sextus Julius Africanus known for?
Sextus Julius Africanus was a Christian scholar born around 180, probably in Jerusalem, who lived mainly at Emmaus in Palestine. Britannica calls him the first Christian historian known to produce a universal chronology.
His Chronographiai, in five books finished in 221 CE, set biblical, Egyptian, Chaldean, Greek and Jewish history on one timeline from Creation, which he placed in 5499 BCE, to his own day. He also wrote a letter reconciling the different genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. The Chronographiai itself is lost and survives only in quotations, chiefly in Eusebius and in the Byzantine chronicler George Syncellus.
Through those quotations Africanus is one of the two main witnesses to the dynasty lists of Manetho, the Egyptian priest who wrote a history of Egypt in Greek around 280 BCE. His version and Eusebius' often disagree on reign lengths and names, so scholars compare them. Syncellus also credits Africanus with discussing the Watchers and the giants of Genesis 6.
His lost chronicle is one of the main sources for Manetho's Egyptian king lists, preserved through George Syncellus.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeManetho
- PersonEusebius of Caesarea
- PersonGeorge Syncellus
- PersonSeth (son of Adam)
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Sextus Julius Africanus'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Sextus Julius Africanus'Reference
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