Tour Guide, Urfa, Turkey
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According to legend, two Roman soldiers, Sergius and Bacchus, were captured by the enemy around the Resafa (Rusafa) castle on the banks of the Euphrates River in Syria; first Bacchus was killed, and Sergius was taken prisoner. Then, the spirit of Bacchus tells Sergius not to give up his beliefs (Christian). Finally, Sergius was beheaded which gave birth to the legend that all Roman and Byzantine soldiers narrated for centuries.
It is known that these 2 Roman soldiers were 2 officers during Maximianus.
Another legend related to these figures is that of Justinian. Justinian lived in Hormisdas Palace, where the church is located, between 518-527. During the Byzantine era, the church was part of a complex of palaces and large reception halls used by the imperial palace. It is known that the blue-veined white Proconnesian marble used in the church was brought from the island of Marmara. It is known that some mosaics found in the church were victims of Iconoclasm. Also, Justinian's wife Theodora hosted and owned some monophysite priests here.
While he was preparing to assassinate Anastasius I with his uncle Justin I, Justinian was caught and sentenced to death. But the emperor Anastasius saw two heroic soldiers in his dream and gave up his death. Some sources say that I. Justinianus built the church in the name of two saint soldiers because of this incident. When the great black plague started in 543, thousands of people died. Thanks to the money the emperor donated to the church, the priests of the church saved many lives.