Christians knew what Jews were, but Samaritans were a puzzle, and often a source of friction. Pressed hard enough, they rioted in 484 in Nablus, and full-scale revolt broke out in 529. The historian John Malalas told the story this way later in the sixth century:
In the month of June of the seventh indiction [529] a riot broke out among the local people when the Samaritans fought with the Christians and Jews, and many parts of Scythopolis were set on fire by the Samaritans. On hearing of this the emperor was angry with the governor Bassus, and so he relieved him of his office and had him beheaded. When the Samaritans learnt of the emperor's anger against them, they rebelled and crowned a bandit chief, a Samaritan named Julian, and they burnt estates and churches and killed many Christians. On entering Neapolis Julian watched chariot races [like an emperor] with a large number of Samaritans, and the first event was won by a certain Nikeas, a Christian charioteer. There were other charioteers at Neapolis, both Samaritans and Jews, whom the charioteer Nikeas defeated.
When he approached the rebel to be honored as was his due, he was asked what his religion was. When Julian learned that he was a Christian, he took the fact that the very first victory had gone to the Chris-tians as an ill omen against himself, which in fact it proved to be, and so he immediately sent for the charioteer and had him beheaded in the circus. He also abused the bishop of the city. When the governors of Palestine and the general Theodoros the Snub-Nosed learned of this, they immediately reported the daring rebel to the emperor Justinian. The general set out against Julian with a large force, taking with him the phylarch of Palestine. On learning of this, Julian, the Samaritan rebel, fled from Neapolis. The general pursued him with his army, and they joined battle. The general cut down a large number of the Samaritans and captured Julian, whom God delivered into his hands.
Emperor Justinian
He beheaded Julian and sent his head with the diadem to the emperor Justinian. The news of the rebellion of the Samaritans and the ill-fated Julian arrived at Constantinople at the same time as the rebel leader's head. 20,000 fell in the battle. Some of them fled to the mountain known as Gerizim, and others to Trachon, to what is known as the Iron Mountain. The Saracen phylarch of the Romans took 20,000 boys and girls as plunder from the Samaritans. He took these as prisoners and sold them in Persian and Indian territory.17
To say 20,000 in both cases is doubtless an exaggeration, but the defeat was decisive. Bad as that was, worse lay ahead in 566, when one last revolt led to a decisively crushing response from Justin II. Though the Samari-tans survived and found tolerance again from the Muslim Arabs, their days as more than an insignificant minority were over.
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