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Abgarids

The Abgarids were a Hellenized Aramaic royal dynasty that ruled the kingdom of Osroene with its capital at Edessa in Upper Mesopotamia. Traditionally founded by Abgar the Great in the 2nd century BCE, the dynasty controlled a frontier kingdom that acted as a political and cultural bridge between the Hellenistic world, Parthia, and Rome. The rulers maintained an urban and administrative culture that blended Syriac Aramaic traditions with Greek influences and minted coins in various languages.

Among the Abgarids, Abgar V the Great (reigned in the late 2nd to early 3rd century CE)

In the 3rd century, Osroene faced increasing pressure from neighboring powers, and the Abgarid line ultimately

is
the
best
known.
The
court
at
Edessa
is
associated
in
Christian
tradition
with
the
legend
of
correspondence
between
Abgar
and
Jesus;
according
to
Eusebius,
Abgar
sent
a
letter
requesting
healing,
and
Jesus
allegedly
replied
with
a
promise
to
visit
after
the
Resurrection.
The
story
is
regarded
by
modern
scholarship
as
a
late
Christian
legend
rather
than
a
verifiable
historical
event,
though
it
contributed
to
Edessa’s
reputation
as
an
early
Christian
center.
ceased
to
rule
independently
as
the
region
came
under
the
influence
of
the
Sassanian
Empire.
Edessa
remained
a
contested
frontier
city
and
later
continued
to
figure
in
the
broader
history
of
the
Syriac
Christian
world.
The
Abgarids,
for
their
part,
left
a
legacy
in
the
political
and
cultural
landscape
of
Edessa
and
in
the
early
Christian
imagination
surrounding
the
city.