Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/888

 852 SYRIAC LITERATURE [12TH CENT.- have written an ecclesiastical history, which is entirely lost to us. At least Bar-Hebraus 1 speaks of his recording certain matters in his "Ekklesiastike," which do not appear in the Chronicle. Theo- A thorn in the side of Michael was his disciple Theodore bar dore bar Wahbon. He first appears on the stage in 1170,- when the emperor Wahboii. Manuel sent Theorianus to the Armenian catholicus and the Jacobite patriarch with letters. Michael declined an interview, but sent John of Kaisfun to see Theorianus at Kal'at ar-Rum, and on his coming a second time to the same place selected Theodore bar WahbSn as his representative. 3 Ten years afterwards, in 1180, when Michael was at Antioch, Ibn Wahbon was made anti-patriarch at Amid by certain malcontent bishops, under the name of John. 4 Michael, however, at once took energetic measures, 5 got hold of the anti-patriarch, formally deposed him, and shut him up in the convent of Bar-sauma, whence he was afterwards allowed to make his escape by some of the monks. He fled to Damascus, where he tried in vain to bring his case before Salah ad-din, and thence to Jerusalem, after the fall of which city in 1187 he joined Gregorius Degha, the Armenian catholicus, at Kal'at ar-Rum and went with him to Cilicia, where the king, Leo, made him patriarch of the Jacobites in his territories. He died in 1193. According to Bar- Hebneus, Theodore bar Wahbon was a good scholar, and could speak and write three foreign languages, Greek, Armenian, and Arabic. 6 He compiled an anaphora, 7 wrote an exposition of the Eucharistic service, 8 and a statement of his case against Michael in Arabic. 9 Elias III. Of Nestorian writers there are scarcely any worth naming in this century, for the historian and controversialist Mare bar Shelemon, otherwise Marl ibn Sulaimun, wrote in Arabic 10 ; and Elias III., 11 Abu Halim ibn al-Hadithl, of Maiperkat, metropolitan of Nisibis and catholicus from 1175 to 1190, chiefly used the same language in his homilies and letters. 12 He is best remembered for having compiled and arranged the prayers in one of the service books, which is still called by his name, "the Abu Halim." 13 Isho'- Isho'-yabh bar Malkon was ordained bishop of Nisibis in 1190 yabh by the catholicus Yabh-alaha II. (1190-1222), was present at the bar consecration of his successor Sabhr-isho' IV. (1222-25), and died Malkon. under Sabhr-isho' V. (1226-56), his follower at Nisibis being Makki- kha, who was afterwards catholicus (1257-65). 14 He wrote on ques- tions of grammar, besides homilies, letters, and hymns, in which, however, he chiefly, if not exclusively, employed the Arabic language. 1 Chron. Eccles., i. 589. 2 Ibid., i. 549, 551, where 1172 is an error, as remarked by Abbeloos in note 1. John of Kaisum, who was present on the occasion, died in 1171 (p. 559). 3 The disputations held on these occasions were of course utterly fruitless. See Leunclavius, Legatio Imp. Cxsaris Manuelis Comneni Aug. ad Armenia.?, slve Theoriani cum Catholico dis-putatio, &c., 1578, and in Galanus, Concilia- tionis Ecclesix Armenie cum Romana. . . pars i., 1690, p. 242 sq. ; Disp. Theoriani secundfi, in Mai, Srriptt. Vett. Nova Coll., vi. pp. xxiii. and 314 sq., and in Migne, Patrol. (Jr.,cxxxiii.ll4sg.; also Bar-Hebra:us, Chron. Eccles., i. 549-557; Langlnis, Chroniqve, pp. 329-331; comp. Abbeloos's notes on Bar-IIebrams, pp. 550-552, and B.O., ii. 3o4-365. 4 Bar-Hebraus, Chron. Eccles., i. 575 sq.; B.O., ii. 213. 5 Bar-IIebrseus, Chron. Eccles., i. 579 ; B.O., ii. 214. 6 Chron. Eccles., i. 581. 7 See Renaudot, ii. 409 ; B.O., ii. 216 ; Payne Smith, Catal., p. 241, note c. 8 B.O., ii. 216. 9 Bar-Hebrffius, Chron. Eccles., i. 581, at the foot. 10 He flourished in the first half of this century (B.O., iii. 1,554-555,582). II is work is extant in the Vatican Library in 2 vols., cviii. and cix. (Mai, Scriptt. I ~ett. Nova Coll. , iv. 219-223), with the title Kitdb al-Majdal or "the Tower, " wrongly ascribed to 'Amr ibn Matta of Tirhan. The first volume, transcribed in 1401, is theological and dogmatical ; it comprises the first four sections. The second volume is theological and historical. The series of patriarchs ended with " 71," 'Abhd-isho' bar Mukl of Mosul (1138-47), but is continued down to Yabh-alaha bar Kayoma of Mosul (1190), "qui mine sedem tenet," i.e., in 1214, when this volume was written. His epitomizer 'Amr ibn Matta of Tirhan lived in the first half of the 14th century (B.O., iii. 1, 580, 586). To him is ascribed Cod. Vat. ex., which "autographus esse vidctur" (Mai, Scriptt. Vett. Nova Coll., iv. 224-'_"J7). It consists of five parts, of which the first is wanting in this MS., which has therefore no title. The series of catholics in pt. v., fundam. 2, is continued down to Yabh-alaha (1281-1317). In_pt. v., fundam. 3, sect. 6, we find the confession of faith of Michael, bishop of Amid and Maiyafurikin (B.O., iii. 1, 557), translated into Arabic by the priest iSaliba ibn Yohanna, whom G. E. Khayyath, archbishop of 'Amadia, asserts to 'be the real author of the whole work (see his Syri Orientales seu Chaldxi Nestorianiet Romanornm Pontijlnim I'rimatus, 1870, and comp. Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 6). Cod. Vat. dclxxxvii. (M.ii, f>p. cit., v. 594) contains part of the same work as Cod. Vat. ex. (though the Catalogue calls it the Majdal, and ascribes it to Man), viz., pt. v., fundam. 1 and 2 (" usque ad Ebediesum Barsaumae successorem, qui obiit die 25 novem- bris an. Christi 1147. Continuat eandem historiam Amrus Matthici nlius, a Jesuiabo baladensi, Ebediesu successore, usque ad laballahum III. Timothei secundi successorem, qui obiit die 31 ianuarii an. Christi 1222" !). Cod. Vat. dclxxxviii. is also said to contain " Historia Patriarcharum Chaldseorum sive Nestorianoruni," from Addai and Marl down to Yabh-alaha bar Kayoma, by 'Amr ibn Matta. " Hsec autem historia longe fusiorest atque omeiidatior ilia, quam Mares f. Salomonis conscripsit, de qua in pracedente codice" ! And to add to the perplexity, Sachau describes his Cod. 12 (Arab.) as "Theil einer grossenKirchengeschichtederNestorianer. of a<Vi ,l nisse. Alte Papierhandschrift (14 Jh.). Es ist das BucherderGeheirn- lj v von 'Amr b. Matta aus Tlrhan." Possibly the MS. in the collection of the S.P.C.K. may give some light. 11 B.O., ii. 450, iii. 1, 287 ; Bar-Hebraus, Chron. Eccles., ii. 367-369. 12 B.O., iii. 1,290. 1 3 Badger, The Nestorians, ii. 23 : " The Aboo Haleem contains a collection of collects appointed to be read at the conclusion of the Nocturns of all the Sundays throughout the year, of the festivals, and the three days of the Baootha d'Ninwaye, before the commencement of the Matins." See B.O., iii. 1, 291-295. 14 B.O., iii. 1, 295, note 1. 15 Ibid., iii. 1, 295-306. He is the same as Joseph bar Malkon, bishop of Mardin, whose metrical tract on the points, entitled MMdhtd dhe-Nukze, or " the Net of the Points," is found in MSS., along with the grammatical writings of Elias bar Shinaya and John bar Zo'bi. 16 This tract must therefore have been composed before 1190. Simeon ShankelabhadhiorShankelawi, of Shankelabhadh or Shan- Simeon kelawah, 17 near Irbil, must have been a contemporary of Bar Malkon, Slianke- aud perhaps somewhat senior to him. He was the teacher of John lawT. ' bar Zo'bi, for whom he wrote a Chronikon or chronological treatise in the form of questions and answers, explanatory of the various eras, the calendar, &c. There is a MS. in the British Museum, Add. 25875, 18 and several at Berlin. 19 He was also the author of a moral poem in enigmatical language, of which 'Abhd-isho' thought it worth his while to write an explanation for his disciple Abraham. 20 To him is likewise ascribed "the questions of Simon Kepha concerning the Eucharist and Baptism, which he appears to have introduced to the notice of his pupil John bar Zo'bi.- 1 John bar Zo'bi flourished about the end of the 12th and the be- John ginning of the 13th century. He was a monk of Beth Kuka (or bar Kuke) in Hedhaiyabh, and numbered among his pupils Jacob bar Zo'bi. Shakko, or Severus, bishop of Mar Matthew (see below). 22 He wrote metrical homilies, partly in seven-syllable, partly in twelve-syllable verse, on the chief points of the Nestorian faith. 23 One of these is mentioned byAssemani, B.O., iii. 1, 309, note I 24 ; another, on the four problems of philosophy, is in Berlin, Sachau 72, 15. Bar Zo'bi is, however, better known as a grammarian. 23 The larger of his two grammars is based on the works of previous writers, such as Severus Sebokht and Denha, commentators on Aristotle, and the grammarians Elias I., the catholicus, and Elias bar Shinaya, bishop of Nisibis. 26 The smaller grammar is an epitome in verse, accom- panied by a metrical tract on the four chief marks of interpunction.- 7 He seems also to have continued the treatise of HonainDeSynonymis^ so that he may perhaps be Hoffmann's "analecta anonymus." 29 As the lamp flares up before it expires, so the 13th century wit- nessed a faint revival of Syriac literature before its extinction. David bar Paul is cited by Bar-Hebrseus in the Ausar Raze, 30 and David may therefore be supposed to have lived early in the 13th century, bar Paul. He was evidently a man of considerable culture, and a versifier. We have from his pen a poem on the letters of the Syriac alphabet, 31 a note on the mutable letters, 32 and a brief enumeration of the cate- gories of Aristotle, 33 a moral poem in twelve-syllable verse, 34 another on repentance in an Arabic translation, 35 and specimens of a third in Cardahi's Liber Thesauri, p. 138. Theological are a dialogue between a Malkite and a Jacobite on the hymn Trisagion 38 and a tract in Arabic on matters in dispute between the Jacobites and Malkites. 37 Jacob bar Shakko (Shakkiiko ?), 38 or 'Is t a, bar Mark, of Bartellai or Jacob Bartullfi, near Mosul, was a monk of the famous convent of Mar or Sev- Matthew, of which he afterwards became bishop by the name of erus bar Severus. 39 He was trained in grammar by John bar Zo'bi (see above) Sliakko. in the convent of Beth Kuka (or Kuke) in Hedhaiyabh, 40 and in dialectics and philosophy by Kamal ad -Din Musa ibn Yunus at Mosul. 41 He composed one of his works, the Book of Treasures, 16 E.fi., Cod. Vat. cxciv. (copied from a MS. written in 1246), and Brit. Mus Add. 2587(5, f. 27Gb (note the colophon, f. 290b, Wright, Cntnl., p. 1178); sou B.O., iii. 1, 308, col. 1, No. viii., and the Abbe Martin, De la Metriijue chez / Syriens, 1879, p. 70 (at p. 68, 1. 14, read .*lua9, " the bishop of Nisibis "). 17 See Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 231, and note 1847. 18 Wright, Catal., p. 1007. W Sachau 108, 1, 121, and 153,1,3. 20 Cod. Vat. clxxxvii. (Catal., iii. 404) ; MS. Ind. Off. No. 9, "Tracts in Syriac," f. 204. It has been published by Cardahi, Liber Thesauri, p. 89. Cardahi calls the author as-Sankalabarl, blindly copying Assemani's Sancalabarensis, and places his death in 780 (see B.O., iii. 1, 225, note 5, p. 226, note 7 ; and Catal. Vat., iii. 405). 21 B.O., iii. 1, 562. 22 Bar-Hebneus, Chron. Eccles., ii. 409. 23 Brit. Mus. Or. 2305 ; and apparently Berlin, Sachau 8. 2 < It has been translated by Badger, The Nestorians, ii. 151-153. 25 110., iii. 1, 307. 2 Part of this work, namely, the portion that deals with the marks of inter- punction, has been edited and translated by Martin, Traile sur I' Accentuation chez les Syriens Orientaux, 1877. 27 MSS. of these grammars, Cod. Vat. cxciv., ccccl.; Brit. Mus. Add. 25876 ; Or. 2314 ; Berlin, Alt. Best. 36, 16, and Sachau 216, 2, and 306, 2. 28 Berlin, Sachau 72, 14. 2 Ojntsc. Nestor., p. iv. so H.O., ii. 243. 31 Cod. Vat. ccxvii. (Catal., iii. 505) ; Paris, Auc. fouds 118 (Zoteuberg, Catal., p. 166), 157 (Hid., p. 147). 32 Paris, Anc. fonds 164 (Zotenberg, Catal., p. 213). 33 Berlin, Alt. Best. 36, 13. 34 <jod. Vat. xcvi. (Catal., ii. 522). 35 Cod. Vat. Iviii. (Catal., ii. 351). 36 Cod. Vat. cxlvi. (Catal., iii. 268), ccviii. (Catal., ii. 498); Paris, Anc. fonds 134 A (Zotenberg, Catal., p. 154), with an Arabic translation. 37 Bodl. Hunt. 199 (P. Smith, Catal., p. 449), Poc. 79 (ib., p. 459). 38 Written 0^3^ and GiOA. 39 Bar-Hebncns, Chron. Eccles., ii. 409 (a contemporary). In Cod. Vat. ccccxi. (Mai, Scriptt. Vett. Nova Coll., v.) he bears the name of Jacob bar Talia, a corrup- tion of Bartellaya. In MS. Berlin, Alt. Best. 38, 1 (if the Catal. be correct), he is called "metropolitan of the convent of St Matthew near Arbela," confusing Mar Matthew at Mosul with Beth Kuka, where he wag trained. Assemani and others have identified him with Jacob, bishop of Maiperkat (Medhinath Sahde). With Taghrith he never had anything to do. 4< Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 215, note 1715. 41 Bom 1156, died 1224; Bar-Hebra-us, Chron. Eccles., ii. 411; Wustenfelil, Gesch. d. arab. Aerzte, No. 229 ; Ibn Khallikan, ed. Wustenfeld, No. 757 ; Ibn Abi Osaibi'ah, ed. Muller, i. 300.