Abgar IX

Who is Abgar IX?

Lucius Aelius Megas Abgar IX was a Syriac ruler of Osroene from AD 177 to 212.

Andrew Louth in his "Who's Who in Eusebius" at the end of G. A. Williamson's translation of Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History gives the dates of Abgar's reign as from 179-214.

During the reign of Abgar the Great, Christians were favored in the realm of Osroene. It is thought by some that this led to the story of the letters between Abgar V and Jesus of Nazareth. Adolf von Harnack and many later scholars believe a corruption of a story of Abgar IX corresponding with Pope Eleuterus was the origin of the legend of King Lucius of Britain, who supposedly introduced Christianity to his realm.