This one was loooong, hence why I left more word-salad in there than usual.
It is listed first of the Metropolitan epistles. I find difficult to assume that; Ishoʿyahb here writes as an old friend to Marammeh, and as a brother to all the clergy and people of the town. The word "metropolitan" would then suffice to cause this letter to drift ahead. The ʿAbbasi-era compiler would likely respond that this message had more force were its author of higher clout at the time. If it be Ninevene it were one of the last letters thence so belongs alongside #50. That further prompts to reconsider Siʿrt #108.
The letter teaches a few things among the babble. Marammeh is, indeed, replacing a Metropolitan Bishop - one John; further, John was not killed in the Arab attack. Scott-Moncrieff does not summarise this letter but he did read ahead such that he'd seen the name (to misplace it into "L"). It may be that Abu Musa, sending Abraham the Metropolitan of the Furat in front of him, cut a good deal for the Christians of that town, perhaps only extorting a modest mdatta. It was the stress of it all which knocked John down.
SUBTEXT 3/12: Here's the next letter. Ishoʿyahb in #1 is repairing the bridge he'd burned, although by God's grace not burned down. Maremmeh likely took #52 poorly, as the backhanded blessing it was.
FIEY 4/15/23: M. I is summarised ch. V, p. 15 in French. Fiey holds this one to the Metro series, where I'd pull it back.
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