RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIESnastic or clerical party was just as willing to make use of the power
of the state against its rivals when it could. The family of Yazdln, who
was called the "head of the believers" (Syr. r"shii dhe mhaymenii), is
a good example of powerful Christian officials and landlords who
were on the side of the clerical party in the early seventh century.72
This pattern seems to emerge with the elevation of Babai to the
patriarchate in 497. He was married, had served as secretary to the
marzban of Beth Aramaye, and was related to the court astrologer,
Miisa.^73 The factional alignments were formed in the time of Elisha
(521-36), who was a native of Mada'in but had received his medical
training in the Byzantine empire. Upon his return, he found favor with
the monarch and his courtiers as a physician and became influential
with the Magians. He married the daughter of the current catholicos
who designated him as his successor. The aristocratic faction at the
capital favored Elisha's election to the patriarchate partly because of
his influence with the Magians, but his election caused a schism because
the other faction elected Mar Narse as rival catholicos. Elisha spent
his entire term in office using the power of the state in an attempt to
crush his opponents: he imprisoned Mar Narse and many of his fol-
lowers as well as those who had resisted him at Rayy and Marv; in
Fars, Khuzistan and Bahrayn, he deprived his opponents of their of-
fices; and he consecrated his own metropolitans and bishops. But
Elisha was unable to force his will on Kaskar even with a royal edict
and the aid of the army. When Mar Narse died in prison and the royal
physician Biriin requested that Elisha be confirmed in his office, Anii-
shirvan instead ordered Elisha's deposition and replaced him with Paul
of Susa in 537. The members of the other faction then returned to
their sees,?4 Fifteen years later, ]oseph used his medical knowledge
and gifts to win the favor of the marzban Zadhanfarriikh and obtained
the royal appointment to the patriarchate. Once in office, he sought
the aid of the marzbiin in depriving of their sees those bishops and
metropolitans who opposed him. The bishop of Anbar was imprisoned
and the bishop of Zawabi was deposed and replaced by a courtier
named I:Iazqiyal who had studied medicine, knew Persian, and was
in favor with the monarch. Because the party of ]oseph remained
recalcitrant after he was deposed in 567, Khusraw Aniishirvan forbade
72 Chabot, "Jesus-Sabran," pp. 490, 520; Fiey, Assyrie chretienne, Ill, 25-26; Thomas
of Margha, Governors, I, 47; H, 82.
73 Scher, "Histoire nestorienne," H(1), 129.
74 Ibid., pp. 148-52.