As to what concerns the founding of the present convent at Gebel Mûsa, it is certainly ascribed to the twelfth or thirteenth year of the Emperor Justinian, as in the inscriptions, by Saïd ben Batrik (Eutychius), who wrote about 932-953 (_d’Herbelôt_, s. v.), but he is contradicted by the much more trustworthy, and here particularly important testimony of Procopius, the contemporary of Justinian, in the most express manner. He says, in his particular treatise on the buildings founded by Justinian (_Procop. ed. Diod._ vol. iii. _de œdif. Just._ p. 326), that the emperor built a _church_ to the Mother of God, “not on the top of the mountain, but _a good piece below_ it” (παρὰ πολὺ ἔνερθεν, which, according to the locality, can only mean on the platform half way down the mountain, where the chapel of Elias now stands). Separated from it, he also found at the foot of the mountain (ἐς τοῦ ὄρους πρόποδα) a very strong castle (φρούριον), with a good garrison, in order to prevent the incursions of the Saracens from the peninsula to Palestine. As Procopius just before and after, as in the whole treatise, makes a careful distinction between convents and churches, and military posts, it is evident, that according to him, Justinian did not found the convent with its church. Probably, however, the military fort was at a later period used as a convent, and built up anew. And the church above, built by Justinian, was not dedicated, like the present one, to St. Katherine (_vide Le Quien_, vol. iii. p. 1306), but to Maria. What Eutychius (cited first by Robinson, though placed by him somewhat too early in the tenth century) relates, as well regarding the founding of the convent as in direct contradiction to Procopius, concerning a church on the _top of the mountain_, is therefore no more worthy of credence than the conversation between the emperor and the architect. As little should the convents of Râyeh (near Tôr) and Kolzum (a _bishop_ of Clysma, named Poemen, was present already at the Constantinopolitan council of 460; _vide Acta Concil. ed. Harduin_, vol. ii. p. 696, 786), be ascribed to Justinian, on the authority of Ben Batrik, as in such a case Procopius would undoubtedly have spoken of it. Pharan is not mentioned by Procopius. On the other hand, however, he informs us of the important fact (_de bell. Pers._ 1, 19, 164, _de œdif._ 5, 8), that the Saracen prince, Abocharagos, reigning there, presented the emperor Justinian with a great palm-grove (φοινικῶνα), situated in the middle of the land (ἐν τῇ μεσογαίᾳ). On a more careful examination of that narrative, there can remain scarcely a doubt, that the palm-grove of Pharan is intended here, not the place on the sea called φοινίκων κώμη by Ptolemy (vi. 7, 3), or a palm-grove quite unknown to us, also situate in the middle of a desolate waterless wilderness. According to Ammonius and Nilus, the whole population of Pharan was at that time Christian,