city
Arbela (Adiabene)
Erbil, Iraq (Kurdistan Region) · Persia & Church of the East
36.191, 44.009
Attested. The metropolitan see and martyrs of Adiabene are attested in synod acts and martyr acts. Early bishop lists come from the Chronicle of Arbela, which e-GEDSH calls 'late and dubious', so the 1st-2nd century start is traditional.
Arbela was the capital of Adiabene, whose 1st-century royal family (Queen Helena and King Izates) converted to Judaism according to Josephus. It became an early Christian center and later the metropolitan see of Adiabene in the Church of the East. Its Christian beginnings are told in the Chronicle of Arbela, a text whose authenticity is doubted.
Added from later research
abrahamic
Adiabene (royal converts; cross-ref Arbela)
Queen Helena of Adiabene and her son King Izates converted to Judaism in about 30 CE. Josephus says the merchant Ananias taught them, and an Eleazar of Galilee urged circumcision. Helena sent grain to Jerusalem during famine and built palaces there. Arbela itself is covered in the Persia batch.
attested. Attested by Josephus (Antiquities 20) and rabbinic sources. This record is a cross-reference for the Jewish royal story. For the city record, see Arbela in the Persia batch.
Source stance: insider. Josephus (neutral, Jewish historian) for the royal conversion; church chronicles (insider) for the Christian story.
People and groups named here
- Helena of Adiabene (Jewish convert, per Josephus)
- Izates II
- Pqida (first bishop, per the Chronicle of Arbela)
- Helena of Adiabene
- Monobazus II
- Ananias (merchant)
Sources
- ARBELA
Encyclopaedia Iranica. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Arbela (e-GEDSH)
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage, electronic ed., Beth Mardutho. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Erbil Citadel (UNESCO World Heritage List no. 1437)
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Pleiades place 874341: Arbela/Arba-ilu
Pleiades Gazetteer (ISAW, NYU). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- "Helena", Jewish Encyclopedia (1906)
Jewish Encyclopedia / Funk & Wagnalls (public domain). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Adiabene (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.