Isho'yahb III of Adiabene

Isho'yahb III of Adiabene was the patriarch of Seleucia Iraq from 648 till 660.^[1]

His letters during that period open a glimpse into the early period of Islam as seen through non-muslim eye witnesses.

The heretics are deceiving you [when they say] there happens what happens by order of the Arabs, which is certainly not the case. For the tayyaye mhaggre (Muslim Arabs) do not aid those who say that God, Lord of all, suffered and died. And if by chance they do help them for whatever reason, you can inform the mhaggre (Muslims) and persuade them of this matter as it should be, if you care about it at all. So perform all things wisely, my brothers; give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.

In a letter addressed to Simeon of Rewardashir :

You alone of all the peoples of the earth have become estranged from every one of them. And because of this estrangement from all these, the influence of the present error came to prevail with ease among you. For the one who has seduced you and uprooted your churches was first seen among us in the region of Radan, where the pagans (hanpe) are more numerous than the Christians. Yet, due to the praiseworthy conduct of the Christians, the pagans were not led astray by him. Rather he was driven out from there in disgrace; not only did he not uproot the churches, but he himself was extirpated. However, your region of Persia received him, pagans and Christians, and he did with them as he willed, the pagans consenting and obedient, the Christians inactive and silent. As for the Arabs, to whom God has at this time given rule (shultana) over the world, you know well how they act towards us. Not only do they not oppose Christianity, but they praise our faith, honour the priests and saints of our Lord, and give aid to the churches and monasteries. Why then do your Mrwnaye [inhabitants of a city in Persia] reject their faith on a pretext of theirs? And this when the Mrwnaye themselves admit that the Arabs have not compelled them to abandon their faith, but only asked them to give up half of their possessions in order to keep their faith. Yet they forsook their faith, which is forever, and retained the half of their wealth, which is for a short time. (

[edit] References

This religion-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.