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Amir Harrak, Syriac and Garshuni Inscriptions of Iraq

Lucas Van Rompay
p. 448-451
Référence(s) :

Amir Harrak, Syriac and Garshuni Inscriptions of Iraq (Répertoire des inscriptions syriaques 2) Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Paris, 2010, 2vol.: I. Texte, 737p.; II. Pl., 285p. ISBN: 978-2-87754-221-0.

Texte intégral

1This momentous two-volume publication deals with the Christian history of Iraq. The collection of ca. 600 inscriptions reflects in multiple ways the history of the Christian communities from the early days under the Parthians and the Sassanians, through the Islamic and Ottoman period, until the present day. Throughout their history Iraqi Christians have lived as minorities in a non-Christian and non-Syriac environment. They have had to respond, therefore, to the challenges and opportunities that the majority culture presented to them. Furthermore, from the 5th or 6th cent. onwards Syriac Christianity became divided between the followers of the Dyophysite dogma associated with the names of Nestorius and Theodore of Mopsuestia and those that adopted Miaphysite beliefs – both regarded as heretical by the Chalcedonian Roman and later Byzantine Imperial Church (as well as by Western Christianity). In the modern period, all communities were exposed to missionary efforts by the Western Churches, which led to the creation of “Uniate” Churches. The inscriptions studied here, therefore, belong to four different ecclesiastical traditions: the Church of the East or Assyrian Church (Dyophysite, previously known as “Nestorian”); the Syriac Orthodox Church (Miaphysite, previously known as “Jacobite”); the Chaldean Church, which is the Uniate offshoot of the Church of the East; and the Syriac Catholic Church, which separated from the Syriac Orthodox tradition.

2The ca. 600 inscriptions in Syriac and Garshuni (i.e. Arabic in Syriac script), of various length and belonging to different genres, are listed according to the governates of present-day Iraq. By far the largest number of inscriptions is from the Governate of Nineveh (A: 474 inscriptions). Much smaller numbers are from the governates of Dehok (B: 34), Erbil (C: 26), Sulaimāniyya (D: 3), Kirkuk (E: 1), Baghdad (F: 41), Kerbala (G: 14), and al-Najaf (H: 4). The actual study of the inscriptions (p. 59-659, providing for each inscription the basic information, the Syriac or Garshuni text, translation, and notes) is preceded by an Introduction (p. 25-56) and is followed by indexes of: Biblical references and quotations (p. 661-663), Personal names (p. 665-692), Geographical names (p. 693-700), Authors and acknowledged names (p. 701-703), Subjects (including the names of patriarchs and dignitaries, p. 705-723), and Dated inscriptions (p. 725-730). The accompanying volume of plates contains more than 700 photographs, including a small number of drawings. Most of the photographs are by the author himself; they cover the large majority of the inscriptions. For a small number of inscriptions existing photographs were used.

3The Syriac and Garshuni inscriptions provide most welcome and often fascinating additions to what we know about Syriac Christianity in Iraq from literary sources (in Syriac and Arabic) and from the material remains. In spite of its extraordinary richness and great significance, the present corpus unfortunately also confronts us with the fact that so much of Syriac Christian culture in Iraq has been lost. Iraqi Christians lived through many periods of utter devastation, including the Mongol invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries, the military campaigns of Nadir Shah in the mid-18th cent., and – it is sad to say – the loss and demolition of Syriac Christian heritage in the late 20th cent., continuing even today. This state of affairs gives an extra dimension to the present publication: it fully documents the inscriptions that are known today and hopefully will serve as a protection against further losses as well as an incentive for future discoveries.

4Syriac inscriptions from the first millennium are extremely rare and were all uncovered in archaeological excavations. This is true of the inscriptions from Takrit (FA, between the 8th and the 12th or 13th cent.) and from the Kerbala (G) and al-Najaf (H) regions (ca. 9th cent.). Even the first half of the second millennium is poorly represented except for the treasures of the Mor Behnam Monastery and Martyrium (AE), both of which preserve several 13th-cent. inscriptions, from the days when the Christians of the Mosul region shared in the prosperity under the Atabeg dynasty. The bulk of the inscriptions date from the Ottoman period (1534-1918), with a great number belonging to the 19th cent.. This high productivity continues throughout the 20th cent., with the most recent inscription dated to the year 2000 (BL. 03.01, p. 568). Many churches in Iraq went, often more than once, through the cycle of building, destruction, and rebuilding. This multilayered history is reflected in the inscriptions.

5The author should be commended for his very meticulous work in transcribing and translating the texts. Typos and errors are extremely rare. The following corrections are borne out by a comparison with the photographs (except in one case): AA.17.08 (p.183), A.1: ܠܡܥܡܪܝܢ ] read ܠܕܥܡܪܝܢ , as in Ps. 83:5 – AO.01.10 (p. 419), A.1: ܐܬܝܐ] read ܐܝܬܝܐ – same typo in AO.01.15 (p. 426), C.1 and in AO.02.05 (p. 436), 1 – AO.02.03 (p. 434), 1: ܕܐܘܕܐ] read ܕܐܘܕܝ – BA.01.03 (p. 536), 13: ܢܘܪܬ ܕܟܝܬܐ (also p. 537)] read ܢܘܪ ܬܕܟܝܬܐ , the first term being in the construct state and the whole expression intended as a translation of “purgatory” (“Fegefeuer”) – CA.01.18 (p. 587), 2: ܛܠܝܘܬ] read ܛܠܝܘܬܝ – FA.01.19 (p. 624), 1: ܘܪܘ[ܚܐ]] probably read ܘܪܘ[ܚܦܐ], as exactly the same combination is found in another Takrit-related obituary inscription preserved in Dayr al-Suryān (see Mitteilungen zur Christlichen Archäologie 4 [1998], p. 101 “May the Lord provide mercy and pity [lit. brooding, cf. Gen. 1:2]” – FA.02.03 (p. 629), 1: ܡܬܝܢ] read ܘܢܬܝܢ (for w-nētyān).

6As for the translations, the following minor comments may be made: AA.04.13 (p. 109), 10: “inside the city gate” (rather than: “outside”) – AA.08.06 (p. 133), A.1: “From our state of misery, let us salute …” (rather than: “Despite our foolishness, we salute …”) – AD.03.07 (p. 266), A.3: “well-built Jerusalem” may be a better translation than “prosperous” (ܡܒܢܝܬܐ, cf. Ps. 121:3), as the 19th-cent. pilgrim Maryam is praised for her building activities (the “building” root occurs three more times in the inscription) – AE.01.21 (p. 325): the Syriac text and translation are at variance here and the photograph is of insufficient quality to reconstruct the correct text – AH.01.06 (p. 382), 1: “testing death” must be a typo for “tasting death” (ܛܥܡ ܡܘܬܐ) – AK.01.01 (p. 394), A.1: the word ܐܪܘܢܘܣ is most likely a borrowing of Greek ορανος rather than the Syriac word ܐܪܘܢܐ “ark” with a Greek ending; hence: “The Church is like heaven”.

7The notes are mostly limited to technical information, to the identification of historical figures, and to biblical references. One area in which the reader would have benefitted from some further guidance is the identification of little-known local saints. A simple reference to J.M. Fiey’s recent inventory Saints syriaques (Princeton, NJ, 2004) would have been helpful. This book is occasionally mentioned (e.g. p. 94, on Qawma Shemʿun), but should have been referred to in the following instances as well: AA.05 (p. 114) on Meskinta Shirin, see Fiey, no. 424 – AA.15 (p. 173) on Eliya of Ḥirta, see Fiey, no. 140 – AA.16 (p. 175) on Michael, the companion of angels, see Fiey, no. 309 – AC.01 (p. 204) on Barbāra, see Fiey, no. 71 – BH (p. 553) on Sulṭān Mahdokht, see Fiey, no. 280 – EA.01 (p. 604) on Tahmasgird, see Fiey, no. 434.

8The Syriac inscriptions are a most eloquent testimony to the vitality not only of the Classical Syriac language, but also of the Syriac literary tradition next to, and partly inspired by, the continued use of Classical Syriac in the liturgy. Many of the longer inscriptions indeed have a distinct literary flavor and employ sophisticated style and vocabulary. While some examples may be understood within the context of revival that took place among the Chaldeans and Syriac Catholics around the middle of the 19th cent., other examples are Syriac Orthodox and go back to an earlier period. Elaborate literary compositions are also found in the East-Syriac tradition, first in the (mostly funerary) inscriptions of the Monastery of Rabban Hormizd, near Alqosh (AP.01, p. 456-502, between the early 16th and the early 20th cent.) and subsequently in the inscriptions of the nearby Chaldean Monastery of Our Lady of the Seeds, which was built in 1858 (AP.02, p. 502-532).

9Among the many interesting lexical features in the literary inscriptions I would like to point to the use of Greek loanwords that are not common in Classical Syriac, such as θεός (AA.01.05 [p. 65], 6, dated 1870; AA.12.09 [p. 157], 9, 1724; AF.01.01 [p. 355], A.2 and 3, 1858; CA.01.01 [p. 575], 8, 1715; CA.01.06 [p. 580], 4, 1510), σταυρός, written either ܐܣܛܒܪܘܣ (AH.01.01 [p. 379], B.2, 1884) or ܐܣܛܘܪܘܣ (CA.01.01 [p. 575], 8, 1715) and φῶς, in the phrase ܐܣܛܠ ܦܘܣ “a garment of light” (AA.04.13 [p. 109], 4, ca. 1853). The term ܫܟܝܢܬܐ is used for saints and holy men: the shekhinto of Mor Behnam (AE.02.07 [p. 352], A.2, translated “reliquary”); the shekhinto of blood (AO.03.02 [p. 439], 1, “relic of blood”); your shekhintā (AP.01.10 [p. 465], 3, “your place”, i.e. of the deceased abbots). Perhaps the sphere of holiness that surrounds holy men and their relics is meant, carrying some connotations of Arabic sakīna (see T. Fahd, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., 8 [1995], 888-889 as well as Bar Bahlul, Lexicon, ed. R. Duval, 1975-1976, note).

10Several inscriptions from the Ottoman period illuminate the shift of allegiance away from the traditional Churches toward the Roman Catholic Church and the emergence of the Uniate Churches. The building or rebuilding of churches and the production of building inscriptions clearly were part of the strategies for gaining control and power. The inscriptions in several churches reflect this period of transition and tension. While throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the Syriac Orthodox Church was able to offer some resistance to the Catholic advance, to build its own churches, and to produce its own inscriptions, the Church of the East seems to have been much less active in this respect, at least in Iraq. While a number of original East-Syriac inscriptions prior to the 18th cent. have survived, and often were incorporated or preserved in later Chaldean Churches, the Church of the East is largely absent from the later inscriptions, with only a few exceptions, most notably the 1995 inscription in the Assyrian Church of Mar Giwargis in Dūrē, near ʿAmādiyya, which was built with German help (BL.02.01 [p. 567]).

11Among the many other interesting aspects of the inscriptions, I would like to draw attention to the terminology of self-identification of individuals and communities. In addition to the village identity (e.g. b-genseh Alqoshāyā, translated as “Alqoshite by race”, AP.02.33 [p. 528], A.2, dated 1544/5), the Syriac Orthodox use Suryoyē or bnay Suryoyē (AF.01. [p. 355], B.1 and C.1, 1858), while they also call themselves “old Syrians” (Suryoyē qadmoyē: AG.01 [p. 370], B.2, 1890), nicknamed Yaʿquboyē “Jacobites” (ibid.), or simply “Jacobite Syrians” (Suryoyē Yaʿquboyē: AH.01.01 [p. 378], A.1, 1884). Compare also “Jacobite congregation” (knushto Yaʿquboyto: AB.01.07 [p. 192], A1, 1922) and the abstract suryoyutho “Syriac-dom,” connected with the Aramaic language (AB.02.05 [p. 199], 7 and 8, 1931). The Chaldeans use sharbtan Kaldāytā “our Chaldean tribe” (AO.02.01 [p. 431], 5, 1854). Interestingly, in a long inscription, dated 1739, in which the local Syriac Orthodox bishop commemorates the digging of a well in Qaraqosh, he refers to the “Assyrian monastery (dayro aturoyo) of Mor Behnam,” which was under his control (AD.04.01 [p. 268], 11-12); for another connection between the town of the Holy Mor Behnam and the land of Atur, see AE.01.20 (p. 323, A.4-5).

12This is a publication of exceptional richness and depth, which brings to life an important aspect of the history and literary creativity of Syriac Christians in Iraq. With his profound knowledge of Syriac Christianity’s history, literature, liturgy, and geography the author serves as an ideal guide and as a brilliant interpreter. Moreover, he has carried out his work with such perseverance, commitment, and love that every Syriac scholar and layperson interested in the history of Syriac Christianity in Iraq will be deeply impressed and humbled. We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the author for this exemplary work, which will be an invaluable resource for many years to come.

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Lucas Van Rompay, « Amir Harrak, Syriac and Garshuni Inscriptions of Iraq »Syria, 89 | 2012, 448-451.

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Lucas Van Rompay, « Amir Harrak, Syriac and Garshuni Inscriptions of Iraq »Syria [En ligne], 89 | 2012, mis en ligne le 01 juillet 2016, consulté le 12 février 2025. URL : http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/syria/1110 ; DOI : https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.4000/syria.1110

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