From Tigris to Jerusalem

Stanzas on exile (SMMJ 159, fol. 130v-131r)

The stanzas ascribed to ʿAbdīšōʿ, bishop of Ātēl published here are written on the blank leaves that are found between the main texts. They are continued on the following leaf (fol. 131r), where they are rubricated in red ink, unlike the initial ones that are entitled in black (fol. 130v). Both parts seem to be written in the same hand or in very similar ones. They are clearly a later addition to the manuscript written by ʿAbdīšōʿ of Gāzartā in 1566. Thematically, stanzas on both folia concern the motif of exile, and have similar imagery. No less important is that in the title it is mentioned that the author composed them while he was visiting Jerusalem in 1643/4 (fol. 130v; see also here below). Thus, one can be sure that these short pieces were copied in association with pilgrimage.

The motif of exile was rather common for the late Syriac poetry and is well-known since the time of the Syriac Renaissance. Thus, Khāmīs bar Qardāḥē (active late 13^th century) composed a poem full of nostalgia for Arbela, his native city. Another piece, a long mēmrā on the same subject was composed by Dāvīd Pūnīqāyā (active late 15^th century), a West Syriac poet.28

See A. M. Butts, “The Afflictions of Exile: A Syriac Memrā by David Puniqāyā.” Le Muséon 122: 1-2 (2009): 53-80.

It is quite possible that the biographic events of the author’s life, namely, his pilgrimages to Jerusalem made him write these stanzas. In all likelihood, it is for that reason that wandering and living in exile are treated not merely negatively (see below, poem 1, 2, 3), as is usual for such type of poetry, but also as useful and even necessary for the personal development. Thus, one may point out that this small set of texts exemplifies a reflection of a pilgrim’s experience, where a common complaint motif alternates with admitting a great significance of pilgrimage or any kind of travel (see below, poem 4, 5, 6). It is also noteworthy that the attitude towards the subject – wandering and exile – changes in this small text collection, starting from its second half (see below, poem 4). One can only guess whether it is a result of the author’s concept, coincidence or just a reflection of the chronological sequence the pieces were composed.

The poems contain a number of Persian loan-words (poem 1ܫܹܟܵܪ ‘sugar’; poem 1 ܦܲܪ̈ܣܚܹܐ ‘farsaḫ’). As in the vocalization of the stanzas by Ṭalyā of Qūrānā published here (see below), these lines demonstrate absence of clear quantitative opposition of a-ā (poem 1 ܫܹܟܵܪ ‘sugar’ for Persian šakar).

[1]

ܬܲܪ̈ܥܹܐ ܕܥܲܒܼܕܝܼܫܘܿܥ ܐܲܦܸܣܩܘܿܦܵܐ ܕܐܵܬܝܹܠ [fol. 130v] ܕܲܥܒܼܕ ܐܸܢܘܿܢ ܒܐܘܿܪܫܠܹܡ ܒܲܫܢܬܸ ܐܨܢܵܗܿ ܠܝܵܘܢ ܀

ܒܒܼܵܥܘܼ ܐܘܿ ܡܵܪ̈ܝ ܨܲܠܵܘ ܥܠܝ ...

ܗܲܟܲܢܵܐ ܣـــــܗܸܕܘ ܡـــــــܢܲܣܝ̈ܢــــــܐ ܕܥܲܩܸܒܼܘ ܘܫܲــܪܪܘ܇ [1] ܕܐܲܝܢܵܐ ܕܡ̣ܢ ܒܝܹܬܼ ܐ̄ܚܝܢ̈ܘܗܝ ܘܪ̈ܚܡܘܗܝ ܦܪܝܼܫ ܗܘ̣ ܒܲܦܓܼܪ. ܚܲܫܝܼܫ ܒܟܼܠܝܘܿܡ ܘܠــــܐ ܣܿܟ ܡܸܬܦܨܚ ܠܸܒܹܿܗ ܠـــــܓܼܡܵܪ܇ ܘܡܲܪܝــــــܪ ܚܸܢــــــܟܹܗ ܐܵܦܸܢ ܢܹܐܟܼܘܿܠ ܕܸܒـــــــܫܵܐ ܘܫܹܟܵܪ ܀ ܗܟܼܢ ܐܲܡـــــܝܼܪ ܡ̣ܢ ܩܲܕܡ̈ܝܹܐ ܕܠܸܒܿ ܒــــــܠܸܒܵܐ ܪܓܝܼܫ܇ [2] ܘܐܵܦܸܢ ܦܲܪ̈ܣــــܚܹܐ ܕܠܵܐ ܡܸܢــــܝܵܢܵܐ ܡ̣ܢ ܚܲܒܼـــܪܹܗ ܦـــــܪܝܼܫ. ܡــــܐ ܪܲܒܼܬܼܵܘܵܢ ܠܸܒܵܐ ܗܵܘܢܵــܐ ܡـــــــܠܸܟ ܢܲܦܼܫܵܐ ܚـــــܒܼܝܼܫ܇ ܡܸܚܕܵܐ ܪܵܚܡܹܗ ܩܕܡܵܘܗܝ ܡܸܬܬܿܨܝܼܪ ܘܡܸܢܹܗ ܡܸܬܬܿܡـــܝܼܫ ܀

Madrāšā (DCA 00065, fol.129v-130r)

The piece is a typical sample of a mourning (or funeral) madrāšā addressed on the death of the poet’s brother (see fig. 2a-b). As it is usual for this genre, it has a refrain of short lines (ʿūnāyā), and several stanzas (bātē) of a rather complex and variable metrical structure. The evolution of the madrāšē was recently discussed in detail by Murre-van den Berg.56

Murre-van den Berg, Scribes and Scriptures, 176-181.

The genre itself, which previously included a broad range of strophic hymns, was reused by the Syriac Renaissance authors for funeral services. Such poets as patriarch Elīyā III (1176-1190) and Īšōʿyahb bar Malkōn, metropolitan of Nisibis (active late 12^th-early 13^th century), are known to have contributed to this development. Numerous madrāšē were composed not only in Syriac, but also in Arabic and Neo-Aramaic.57

Ibid, 177.

Most of these hymns have a marking for what kind of persons they are meant to be performed: priests, deacons or laymen, male or female.

Later on, in the 15^th-16^th centuries, this new use of this type of poems was employed by numerous authors, among whom are Īšōʿyahb bar Mqaddam, a 15^th-century metropolitan of Arbela,58

Ibid, 177.

ʿAbdīšōʿ of Gāzartā, the second patriarch of the East Syrian Uniate Church, and Israel of Alqosh (active 1575-1630).59

Ibid, 178.

The former composed a number of funeral madrāšā on different persons, which might have been the further development of using this genre. Although mourning poems on the death of a precise person are not unknown to earlier Syriac tradition, and such a famous poet as Khāmīs bar Qardāḥē (active late 13^th century) addressed one to his dead son,60

See Manna, J. E., ed.  Morceaux choisis de littérature araméenne (Mosul: Imprimerie des pères dominicains, 1901), vol. 2, 340; Ḥōšabbā, Š. Ī., ed.  Kāmīs bar Qardāḥē. Mīmrē w-mūšḥātā (Iraq, 2002), 329-330; Pritula, A. D., “Khamis bar Qardahe (kon. XIII v.) i arbelskiy literaturiy krug.” Khristianskiy Vostok 6 (12) (2012): 233-236.

they usually belong to a different type of poem in terms of form and structure. The present piece is rather close to the poems composed by ʿAbdīšōʿ of Gāzartā, and in all likelihood, was impacted by his works. Among the Chaldean patriarch’s madrāšē, is the one on the death of Yōḥannān Sūlāqā, the first Chaldean patriarch, who died in 1553, as well as a funeral hymn on the ‘martyrs of Union with Rome’.61

Murre-van den Berg, Scribes and Scriptures, 178.

Since the poem is a later addition to the manuscript – an autograph of ʿAbdīšōʿ of Gāzartā – the space on the folio was not enough for it, and the last lines of the text (see stanza 9) were written in the right and upper margins with a few glosses inserted there from outside, in the same hand as the rest of the text.

The text consists of nine six-line stanzas, making a variable rhythmic pattern. Thus, each verse within the stanza has nine to twelve syllables. Each stanza has its own rhyme at the end of each line that uniting all the lines within it. The poem’s content is rather typical for its genre that combines a lamentation and a prayer for the deceased person.

ܡܕܪܫܐ ܕܥܒܝܕ ܠܩܫܝܫܘܼܢܐ ܛܠܝܵܐ [fol.129v]

ܥܠ ܐܚܘܼܗܝ ܟܝܵܢܵܝܵܐ܇ ܬܵܘ ܚܒ̈ܝܼܒܝ ܫܵܘܝܐܝܬܼ܇ ܢܸܣܓܿܘܿܕ ܠܹܗ ܠܡܪܢ܇ ܘܢܫܒܿܚ ܠܹܗ ܥـܦܝܼܦܐܝܼܬ. ܕܗܘܼܝܘܼ ܫܘܒܼܗܪܢ܇ ܒ̈ܬܐ܇

ܢــــܒܼܟܹܿܐ ܘܢܲܝܠܹܠ ܘܢܸܬܿܬܿܢــــܚ ܒـــــܕܡ̈ܥܐ ܚܢܝ̈ܓܼܬܐ.[1] ܥܲــــــــܠ ܥܲܒܼܕܵܐ ܕܪܵܥܝܼ ܠـــــܡܪܹܗ ܒــــܟܠܗܝܹܢ ܘܲܠܝ̈ܬܼܐ. ܕܕܲܒــــــܪܗ ܡܵـــــــܘܬܵܐ ܡܼــــــــܢ ܓܵـــــܘ ܐܵܚـــــــܘܼܬܐ. ܘܚܲܒܼـــــــܫܹــܗ ܒــــܩــܒــܪܐ ܐܲܝܟ ܥــــܝܵܕ ܐ̄ܢـــܫــــܘܼܬܵܐ. ܘܐܲܠܒܿܫܵܢـܝ ܚــــܫܵܐ ܘܡܪ̈ܪܐ ܥܲܡ ܣــــܘܿܓܼ ܟــــــܪܝܘܼܬܐ. ܘܠܵܐ ܦܲܫ ܒܝܼ ܚܲܝــܠܵܐ ܕܐܗܡܘܿܣ ܡ̣ܢ ܝܲܕ ܡـܚܝܼܠܘܼܬܼܐ ܀

ܢܸܒܼܟܿܘܿܢ ܥܲܡܝ ܥــܠܲܝܟ ܒ̈ܢܝ ܛܼܘܗܡܵܐ ܕܝܼܠܵܟ ܘܕܼܵܕ̈ܬܐ. [2] ܘܢـــــܠܒܿܫܘܼܢ ܐܒܼܠܵܐ ܥܲܡ ܚܲܫܵܐ ܟــــܠ ܒ̈ܢܝ ܪܲܚܡܘܼܬܐ. ܕܫـــــܘܒܼــــܗܪܐ ܗܘܸܝـــــــܬܿ ܠـــــــܟܠܗ̇ ܐ̄ܚܝܵܢــــܘܼܬܐ. ܘܐܲܦ ܪܘܼܡــــــܪܵܡܐ ܠــــــܟܼܠܗܘܿܢ ܒـــــــܢ̈ܝ ܫــــܪܒܬܐ. ܥܲܠ ܗܕ ܡܒܲܣܸܡ ܠܵܟ ܝܘܼܣــــܛܘܿܣ ܒܲܓܢܘܿܢ ܓـــــܐܘ̈ܬܐ. ܘܬܡܵܢ ܥܲܡ ܚـــــــܢܘܿܟ ܘܐܠܝܼܵܐ ܢܸܥــܒܕ ܠــــܟ ܡܢܵܬܐ ܀

ܒــــــܥܢ̇ܐ ܡـــــܢܵܟ ܡــــــــܪܢ ܡـــــܪܐ ܕܥــــܠ̈ܝܐ. [3] ܘܡܦܝܼܣܢܵܐ ܠܪ̈ܚܡܐ ܕܝܼܠــــܟ ܕܝܹܢ ܝـــــܫـــــــܘܥ̈ܝــــــܐ. ܐܡܲܬܼܝ ܕܐܬܝܹܬܿ ܠـــــܢـــــܘܼܚܵــــــܡ ܡ̈ܠـــــܝܼܠـــــܝܹـــــܐ. ܘܲܠܡܸܬܕܵܢــــــܘܼ ܠـــــــܟܼـــــܠ ܥــــــــܦـــܪ̈ܢـــــܝـــــܐ. ܗܲܢ ܥــــܒܕܐ ܕܲܥܢܲܕ ܒܲܫــــܡܵܟ ܠܵܐ ܢــــܬܼܚــܙܹܐ ܒــــܘܵܝܹ̈ܐ. ܘܢــܫܡܲܥ ܡܸܢܟ ܕܬܹܐܡܼܵܪ ܠܹܗ ܕܬܵܐ ܥـܘܿܠ ܠܵܟ ܠـܚ̈ܝܐ ܀

ܒـــܝـܘܡܵܐ ܕܡـــܒܘܼ̈ܥـــــܐ ܓــܝ̈ܙܝܢ ܡ̣ܢ ܓܵܘ ܝܵܬܹܒܼܬܵܐ. [4] ܘܡـܝܵܐ ܕܒܝܡ̈ܡܐ ܝــܒܫ̇ܝܼܢ / ܥܲܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܘܬܐ.[fol. 130 r] ܘܐܲܪܥـــــܐ ܟـــــܠــــܗ̇ ܦܲܝܫـــــܐ ܐܝـــــــܟ ܚܲـــــــܒܿـܬܐܵ. ܘܡܸـــܬܼܩܲـܦـــــܠܵܐ ܠܵــــܗ ܘܗܲܘܝܵـــــܐ ܐܲܝــــܟ ܡــــܓܲܠܬܐܿ. ܒــــــــܗܘ̇ ܝܘܵܡܵܐ ܚܘܼܢ ܚــــــܢـܢܐ 62

Added above the line in the same hand.

ܠܗܵܢ ܒـــܪ ܐܲܕܡܬܵܐ. ܘܲܠــــܚܘܒ̈ܘܗܝ ܗܘܼܝ ܡܚܲܣܝܵܢܐ ܒـــــــܪ̈ܚܡܐ ܘܛܲܝܒܘܼܬܐ ܀

ܒܝܵܘܡܐ ܕܗܵܢ ܥـــــــܠܡܵܐ ܡܸܫܬܿܓܹܫ ܘܙܝ̇ܥܝܢ ܒܪ̈ܝܬܐ. [5] ܘܡــــــــܬܼܒـــــܠܗܹܐ ܐܟܼܠܩܲܪܣܵܐ ܣܲܢــــــܐܵܐ ܕܐ̄ܢــــܫܘܼܬܐ. ܘܢܦ̇ܠ ܒــــــــــــܒܸܗܬܐ ܐܲܦ ܒــــــܪܥــــــܝܼܠــــــــܘܼܬܼܐ. ܘܛ̇ܪܹܦ ܠــــܚܲــــــܕܝܹـــــــــܗ ܘܦܵܐܹܿܫ ܒܲــــــܗܝܼـــــــــܬܵܐ. ܗܵܢ ܥܲܒܼܕܵܐ ܢـــܥܘܿܠ ܥܲܡܵܟ ܠــܓܼܵܘ ܗ̇ܝ ܡܸــــܫــــــܬܘܼܬܵܐ. ܘܢܸܬܒܲܣܲܡ ܒــــܓܼܵܘ ܗܘ̇ ܣܡܵܟܼܵܐ ܕܒــــܢ̈ܝ ܡــܠـــܟܿܘܼܬܵܐ ܀

ܒܝܘܡܵܐ ܕܢــܗܝܪ̈ܐ ܟـــܠܗܘܿܢ ܐܝـــــܟ ܛܪ̈ܦܐ ܢܬܪܝܼܢ. [6] ܡ̣ܢ ܫــــــܡܝܐ ܒܦܘܩܕܵܢ ܡـــــܪܢ ܘܥܲܠ ܐܪܥـܐ ܢܵܚܿܬܼܝܼܢ. ܛـــــܒ̈ܐ ܒـــــــܪܡــــܙܵܟ ܠـــــܫܡܲܝܵܐ ܣܲܠـــــــــܩـــــܝܼܢ. ܘܒـــــܝــــܫ̈ܐ ܒــــــܐܪܥܵܐ ܫــــــܢ̈ܝܗܘܿܢ ܡــــــܚܲܪܩـــܝܼܢ. ܒـــــــܗܘ̇ ܝܵܘܡܵܐ ܚـــــܘܼܢ ܚܲܢܵܢܵܐ ܠـܗܵܢܵܐ ܒܲܪ ܐܢـــܫ̈ܝܼـــܢ. ܘܐܲܣܹܩܵܝܗܝ ܠـــــܥܹܠ ܡ̣ܢ ܟـــܝܼܡܵܐ ܘܐܲܦ ܡ̣ܢ ܡܲܠܘܫ̈ܝܼܢ ܀

ܒܝܵܘܡܐ ܕܐܣܛܘܿܟܼܣ̈ܐ ܐܪܒܥܐ ܕܛܲܟܹܣ ܗܸܘܐ ܐܲܣܛܘܲܣ. [7] ܩــــــــܢܿܝܢ ܠܲܝܬܵܝܘܼ ܟـــܠܗܘܿܢ ܘܐܲܦ ܚܲܪܒܿܝܼܢ ܩـــܘܪ̈ܝܣ. ܘܬܼܠــــــــܚـــــــܝܼـܢ ܛـــــܘܼܪ̈ܐ ܡܼـــــܢ ܡܵܟܹܗܹܢܵــــــــܣ. ܕܟܐܹܢـــــܘܼ ܘܩــــܝ̇ܡـــܝܢ ܒـــــــܢـܝܢ̈ܫـــــܐ ܠܲܡــــܛܵܣ. ܘܙܲܡـــــܪܝܼܢ ܩܕܵܡܝـــــܟ ܪ̈ܘܚܵܢــــܐ ܐܲܝـــܟ ܙܡܵܪ ܣܹܝـܪܢܵܣ. ܗܵܢ ܥܲܒـــܕܐ ܢܸܙܡܲܪ ܥܲܡـܗܘܿܢ ܫــــܝܼܪܬܼ ܘܕܘܼܟܿܣــــܝܼܣ ܀

ܒـــــܝܘܡܸܐ ܕܒܹܗ ܟـــܘܼܪ̈ܣـܘܬܐ ܬܪ̈ܥــܣܪ ܣܵܐܹܡ ܐܵܢܬܿ. [8] ܘܠܫܠــــܝܚ̈ܐ ܒܢ̈ܝ ܬܪܒܝܼܬܵܐ ܥــܠܝـܗܘܿܢ ܡܵܘܬܿܒܼ ܐܢـــܬ. ܘܠـܝـــــܗܼ̄ܘܕܝ̈ܐ ܒــــــܐܹܕܢـــــــܗܘܿܢ ܡــــــܪܦܹܐ ܐܢـــــܬ. ܕܢـــــܬܒܲܥــــܘܼܢ ܥــــܝܲـܪܬܗܘܿܢ ܘܲܠـــــܗܘܿܢ ܕܐܢــــــܬ. ܒـــــܗܘ̇ ܝܵܘܡܐ ܡـܪܢ ܝــــܫܘܿܥ ܚܘܼܢ ܐܝܟ ܕܲܡܥܕ ܐܢܬ. ܘܪܲܚܹܡ ܥܲܠ ܥــــܒܕܟ ܗܢܐ ܐܝـــܟ ܕܐܢـــܬܿ ܝ̇ܕܥ ܐܢܬ ܀

ܒܗܘ̇ ܝܵܘܡܐ ܕܬܘܼܒ ܠܵܐ ܡܪܲܡܸܫ ܘܐܦܠܵܐ ܣܵܟ ܥـܪܹܒ. [9] ܘܠــــــܝܬܿ ܐܟــــــܘܬܗ ܒـــــܐܝــــܡ̈ــــܡــــܐ. 63

Starting with this line, the text of the poem continues in the margins with the insertion of some extra words. For this reason, the line division is not quite clear here, which also follows from meter and rhyme problems.

ܘܠــــــــــــܐ ܢــــــــܦܵܠ ܬܚܝܬ ܕܢــــܝܲܒܹܫܗܝ ܫـــــܪܸܒ. ܥܲܒܕܟ ܗܢܐ ܐܫܘܵܝܗܝ ܘܐܓܪܹܗ ܒــܛܝܒܘܼ ܡܢ ܐܝܕܵܟ ܢܣ̇ܒ. ܕܐܫܬܝ ܠܕܡܵܟ ܡ̣ܢ ܟــــܣܵܐ ܘܪܐܙܐ ܕܦـــــܓܼܪܟ ܩــــــܪܹܒܼ. ܢܥܘܿܠ ܥـܡܟ ܠــܓܢܘܢܵܐ ܘܬܡܵܢ ܫـــܡܹܗ ܢــــܬܼܟܿܬܹܒܼ ܀

[fol.129v] Madrāšā composed by young priest Ṭalyā on his natural brother

Come, brothers, properly, worship our Lord, and glorify Him with a double strength, for He is our boast!

Verses:

[1] Let us cry, sob and weep with sorrowful tears about a servant that pleased his Lord in all appropriate ways. For death has robbed him from brotherhood and imprisoned him in a grave according to human custom. And it dressed me in bitter sufferings and sad mourning. 64

Literally: mourning of sadness.

And there is no power in me left so to escape weakness.

[2] Your family and aunts 65

On the father’s side.

are weeping with me about you. And all the friends are dressed in grief and passion, since you were the boast of all your kinsmen and a glory of all your family members. That is why Justus 66

I.e. Jesus; cf. Colossians 4:11.

pleases you in the chamber of delights, and there He gives you a share with Enoch and Elijah.

[3] I ask you, oh Lord of the heights, and plead also the friends of yours, 67

Or: mercies of yours.

Jesus, when you come to resurrect the rational ones, and to judge all the earthly ones, may that servant, who died in Your name, not be seen in sorrows. And may he hear You say to him: “Come and enter the life!”

[4] On the day streams cease on the inhabitable earth, [fol. 130r] And the water in the seas dries up, as well as in rivers, and the earth stays deserted, and gets rolled together as a parchment scroll, on that day be clement, oh the Clement one, to this son of the soil, and be absolver of his transgressions through your mercy and grace.

[5] On the day this world is disturbed and the creatures terrified, and the slanderer, the hater of the humankind is scared, and falls into shame and shivering, beats his breast and he stays ashamed, may this servant of yours enter the banquet with you and rejoice at this feast for the sons of the Kingdom.

[6] On the day when all the orbs fall down, like leaves, from the sky at the order of our Lord, and go down to the earth, the good ones will arise to heaven at your command, and the evil ones will gnash with their teeth on the earth. On that day be clement, oh the clement one, to this son of humans, and elevate him above the Pleiades and the Zodiac.

[7] On the day, when the four elements that were forming support come to non-existence, and villages are ruined, mountains are destroyed by the device of the justice, and people fly up, and the spirits sing before you like Sirens, may this servant sing an ode and doxology with them.

[8] On the day you set the twelve thrones, and You will seat the Apostles, the sons of the teaching, there. And you will enfeeble the Jews’ ears, so that they demand the revenge for you to them, and you judge them. On this day, be clement, our Lord, as you are accustomed, and have mercy on this servant of Yours, as you (better) know.

[9] On that day, when it never becomes evening or dusks, and none is like it among other days. And it won’t fall down to be dried by drought, 68

The verse seems to be rather obscure.

Hold your servant worthy of reward out of grace, and may he take it from your hand. Since he drank Your Blood from the chalice and approached the mystery of your Body, may he enter the chamber with you, and may his name be written there.

Quatrains (DCA 00065, fol. 144r-144v)

On the rear flyleaves of the same manuscript, five quatrains ascribed to the same author, the priest Ṭalyā, are written in the same hand (see fig. 3a-b). They represent the clear influence or even an imitation of the Syriac Renaissance poetic models. First of all, it is at that time that this form was first exploited by this literary tradition. Such renowned authors of the 13^th century as Yūḥannōn bar Maʿdanī (died 1263), Grīgorīūs bar ʿEbrōyō (1226-1286) in the West Syrian Church and Khāmīs bar Qardāḥē (active late 13^th century) in the East Syrian tradition contributed to its development, and the first of the three seems to have been the inventor of this new poetic style.

By the time this small set of texts was written in the earlier manuscript, the quatrain form became very popular and widely circulated, in particular being very suitable for poetic additions on various subjects due to its brevity. The five short poems under discussion, nevertheless, are close the Syriac Renaissance not just in its formal features, but also in its style. They all are addressed to a beloved, in a physical or mystical understanding or, more likely, using both these semantic layers, that were the contents of the quatrains by Khāmīs bar Qardāḥē, carefully studied by Mengozzi.69

A. Mengozzi, “Persische Lyrik in syrischem Gewand: Vierzeiler aus dem Buch des Khamis bar Qardaḥe (Ende 13. Jh.).” Geschichte, Theologie und Kultur des syrischen Christentums: Beiträge zum 7. Deutschen Syrologie-Symposium in Göttingen, Dezember 2011. Ed. by Tamcke, M. and Grebenstein, S. Göttinger Orientforschungen, I. Reihe: Syriaca 46 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014): 155-176; Mengozzi, A., “Quatrains on Love by Khamis bar Qardaḥe: Syriac Sufi Poetry.” Christsein in der islamischen Welt: Festschrift für Martin Tamcke zum 60. Geburtstag. Ed. by Griffith, S. H. and Grebenstein, S. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2015): 331-344; see also an edition of the whole poem collection ascribed to Khāmīs: Ḥōšabbā, Š. Ī., ed. Khāmīs bar Qardāḥē. Mēmrē w-mūšḥātā (Iraq, 2002).

This East Syriac author is also known to have composed a wine ode of mystical character in the summer residence of the Ilkhans – a Mongol dynasty that established its power over Iraq and West Iran after 1258.70

See Taylor, D. G. K., "‘Your Sweet Saliva is the Living Wine’: Drink, Desire, and Devotion in the Syriac Wine Songs of Khāmīs Bar Qardāhē" The Syriac Renaissance. Ed. Teule, H., Tauwinkl, C. F, et al., Eastern Christian Studies (Leuven / Paris / Walpole, MA: Peeters, 2010): 46-47; Pritula, A., "Zwei Gedichte des Ḫāmīs bar Qardāḥē: Ein Hochgesang zu Ehren von Bar ‘Ebrōyō und ein Wein-Gedicht für die Khan-Residenz" Geschichte, Theologie und Kultur des syrischen Christentums: Beiträge zum 7. Deutschen Syrologie-Symposium in Göttingen, Dezember 2011. Ed. Tamcke, M. and Grebenstein, S., Göttinger Orientforschungen, I. Reihe: Syriaca 46 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014): 424-426.

It is well-known that two bilingual poems – a Syro-Persian71

See Mengozzi,“Persische Lyrik in syrischem Gewand“: 173-174.

and a Syro-Turkish one72

See Pritula, A., "Syroturcica: A Bilingual Poem from the Mongol Time" Christsein in der islamischen Welt: Festschrift für Martin Tamcke zum 60. Geburtstag. Ed. Griffith, S. H. and Grebenstein, S. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2015): 345-357; a critical edition of the text with a detailed commentary on the Syriac and Turkic stanzas is planned to be published by myself in co-authorship with Peter Zieme.

that were recently studied and edited – are also ascribed to Khāmīs. In the quatrains published below Persian, Arabic, Turkic and Kurdish words are used, and all of them are often met in a same short poem. In contents and style, the group of the poems being discussed here is very close to the Syro-Persian poem ascribed to Khāmīs. The latter is also present in the earliest manuscript of his poems (CCM 419, olim Diyarbakir 91) dated 1394/5, and was published by Mengozzi.73

Mengozzi, “Persische Lyrik in syrischem Gewand”: 173-174; see also W. Heffening, “Liturgische Texte der Nestorianer und Jakobiten in Süd-Türkischen Mundarten.” Oriens Christianus 11 [33] (1936): 232–235; Mingana, A., “The Early Spread of Christianity in Central Asia and the Far East: A New Document”, Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester 9, no. 2 (1925): 338.

It is obviously an imitation of popular Persian poetry focusing on wine and love topics. The influence of this Syriac Persianized poetry that developed in the Mongol period is even emphasized in the quatrains by priest Ṭalyā. Thus, in the first one published here, ܟܼܐܢܝܼ ܬܼܿܬܼܿܪ (‘khan of the Tatars’) is mentioned, as an expression of extreme beauty. Grammatically, this is a typical Persian collocation using two glosses of this language connected with iẓāfe (classical Pers. -i, modern Pers. -e), a particle used in the Persian language to link two words together. It is met in these pieces a few times (quatrain 1, ܒܲܕܪܝܼ ܩܡܪ ‘full moon’; quatrain 4, ܫܐܵܗܝܼ ܐܲܟܿܒܲܪ ‘the greatest shah’), as well as lar, Turkic plural formant, is used here for Turkish loanwords. Obviously, this small group of texts was meant to reflect and demonstrate the multilingual and multicultural interaction in the Near East of the Ottoman period, but exploiting the parallelism with the similar situation in the Mongol empire in late 13^th century. This also confirms an observation that the Syriac Renaissance literary style was treated as a model for imitation by numerous writers using this language in the later centuries.

In the poems under discussion, both the madrāšā and the quatrains, the instability of opposition of a/ā is clearly seen in the vocalization. Thus, zqāpā is used even in cases when one normally assumes short a (madrāšā, stanza 1 ܐܵܚܘܼܬܐ ‘brother-hood’), while ptā ḥā is met even in some words with ā (quatrain 1 ܛܲܒܼ; here: ‘very’). This uncertainty is valid for the Persian and Arabic loanwords as well (quatrain 1 ܬܼܿܬܼܿܪ ‘Tatars’, cf. Pers. tātār; quatrain 3 ܒܝܼܡܲܪ ‘sick’; cf. Pers. bīmār). The same may be noted about the opposition of e/ē (madrāšā, stanza 1 ܢܲܝܠܹܠ ‘we will cry’). The reason for such a drift in rendering vowels in the text might be the spread of Neo-Aramaic, where the phonematic significance of the quantitative opposition disappeared, and the difference had only a positional character.74

See Tsereteli, K. G., Sovremennyi assiriiskii jazyk . Jazyki narodov Azii i Afriki (Moscow: Nauka, 1964), 22-23.

The situation certainly varied in different dialects.75

Ibid, 23.

ܬܪ̈ܥܐ ܕܡܘܼܫܚ̈ܬܐ ܕܲܥܒܝܼܕܝܼܢ ܠܩܫܝܫܐ܇[fol.144r] ܛܲܠܝܵܐ܇ ܒܢܝܼܫܐ ܕܚܘܒܿܐ ܥܲܠ ܡܫܬܝܵܐ ܕܚܡ܊

Versed stanzas composed by the priest Ṭalyā on the subject of love to drinking wine

[1]

ܒܐܝܼܡܵܡ ܘܠܠܝܵܐ ܣܵܘܹܢܵܐ ܣܲܓܝܼ ܠـــܕܼܝܠܵܟ ܕܝܼܢܕܵܪ܇ ܘܲܠܗܝܼܩܢܵܐ ܛܲܒܼ ܠܫܘܼܦܪܐ ܕܐܦ̈ܝܟ ܒܲܕܪܝܼ ܩــܡܪ܇ ܕܲܓܼܗܲܪ 76

In the ms: ܕܲܗܓܼܗܲܪ ; obviously, a mistake.

ܥܝܢ̈ܝ ܠܲܡܚܪ ܒܫܘܼܦܪܟ ܟܼܐܢܝܼ ܬܼܿܬܼܿܪ܇ ܗܵܐ ܟܲܝܦܝܼܢ ܠܵܟ ܒܿܫܐ ܘܨܘܵܪܐ ܫܲܗ ܘܟــــܘܼܢܕܟܵܪ܇

Day and night, I, a debtor 77

Or: your believer.

of yours, want you very much. And strongly desire the beauty of your face, full moon. My eyes got dimmed by gazing at your beauty, khan of the Tatars! Behold, a shah and a sovereign bow their heads and necks before you.

Loanwords

ܕܝܼܢܕܵܪ Pers. dīndār 1 ‘debtor’; 2 ‘honest, righteous’

ܒܲܕܪ Ar. badr ‘full moon’

ܩܲܡܲܪ Ar. qamar ‘moon’

ܟܼܐܢܝܼ ܬܿܬܿܪ Pers. ḫān-i tātār ‘Khan of the Tatars’

[ـܐܵ]ܒܫـ Turk. bāš ‘head’; with the Syriac post-positive article –ā (displaying St. Emph.) attached

ܫܲܗ Pers. šah ‘shah, king’

ܟܼܘܼܢܕܟܵܪ Pers. ḫūndkār ‘lord, sovereign’ (</ ḫudāvandgār)

[2]

ܬܪܥܬ ܐܚܪܢܐ

ܘܟܼܠ ܒܢ̈ܝ ܐܕܲܡ ܐܝـܬܼܲܝܗܘܿܢ ܠܵـــــــܟ ܩܲܪܵܫܘܼܟܼܠܲܪ܇ ܐܸܡܲܬܼܝ ܕܩـܝܿܡــܝܼܢ ܠ...ܠܪ ܩܵܘܡܬ̄ܲܟ ܗܵܝܵܐܦܸܣـــܝܵܪ܇ ܘܦــــܘܼܡܵܟ ܕܡܿܐ ܠـــــܡܵܐܢܵܐ ܕܕܲܗܒܼܵܐ ܝܵܐ ܫܲܗܣܘܼܘܵܪ܇ ܥܕܲܡܵܐ ܠܐܸܡܲܬܼܝ ܣܢܲܝܬܵܢܝ ܘܠܒܵܟ ܡܹܢܝ ܐܼܝܬܘܗܝ ܣܵܪ܇

Another stanza

And all sons of Adam are connected with you (?) When they stand to … your statue very much (?). Your mouth resembles a vessel full of gold, oh, king of horsemen. How long will you hate me, and your heart will be grieved because of me?

Loanwords

ܩܲܪܵܫܘܟܼ Turk. qarāšūḫ ‘mixed, mingled’

ܦܸܣܝܵܪ Pers. besyār ‘very much’ (?)

ܫܲܗ ܣܘܘܵܪ Pers. šah suvār ‘king of horsemen’

ܣܵܪ Pers. sār ‘grief, sorrow’

[3]

ܐܚܪܢܐ

ܝܵܐܹܐ ܙܝــــــܘܵܟ ܘܲܡـــــــܬܼܝܼܚ ܩܵܘܡܵܟ ܐܲܝـܟ ܨܲܢـܘܼܒܲܪ܇ ܕܒܲܣܝܼܡ ܛܲܥܡܵܟ ܘܲܚܠܹܐ ܠــܚܸܟܵܐ ܐܝܟ ܡـܝܲ ܟـܘܵܣܲܪ܇ ܘܡ̣ܢ ܪܝܹܚ ܣܵܘܩܵܟ ܡܸܬܼܚـܠܸܡ ܦܓܼܪܵܐ ܕܐܝܼܬܼܘ̄ ܒܝܼܡܲܪ܇ ܘܐܢ ܠܵܐ ܐܚܙܹܝܟ ܡܸܬܿܛܲܠܩ ܠܸܒܿܝ ܟܠܝܘܿܡ ܨܲܕ ܓٕܵܪ܇

Another one

Your brightness is honorable, your stature is high like a pine tree. And your taste is pleasant and sweet for palate, like water of Kawther.78

Apparently, the Quranic sacred stream is meant (Qur’an, 108:1), one of the most popular subjects in Islamic exegetic and poetic tradition.

And from the scent of your breath, a body that is sick obtains healing. And if I don’t see you, my heart would fail one hundred [and] four [times] (?) a day.

Loanwords

ܨܲܢܘܼܒܲܪ Ar., Pers. ṣanawbar ‘pine tree’

ܟܵܘܣܲܪ Ar. kawṯar ‘Kawther’ (sacred stream; Qur’an 108:1); rendering ṯ of the Arabic word as s apparently speaks for its borrowing in the Persian pronunciation.

ܒܝܼܡܲܪ Pers. bīmār ‘sick’

ܨܲܕ ܓٕܵܪ Apparently, Pers. ṣad ‘hundred’ + čār ‘four’ = one hundred [and] four; or four hundred, which would be an inversion though.

[4]

ܐܚܪܢܐ

ܙܝܼܘܵܟ ܦــــــܐܝܵܐ ܡܝܲܬܿܪ ܡܸܢܗ ܕܦــــــــܝܼܪܘܿܙܹܐ ܙܲܝܪ܇ ܘܣܘܿܠܘܓܼܝܼܣܡܵܟ ܛܲܒܼ ܗ̄ܘܼ ܡ̣ܢ ܠܥܲܠ ܫܐܵܗܝܼ ܐܲܟܿܒܲܪ܇ ܘܨܲܠܡܵܟ ܡܦܲܬܲܟ ܒܠܘܠـܘ ܘܐܲܠـــܡܲܨ ܘܕܸܪ ܓٕܵܘܗܪ܇ ܘܪܝܹܚܵܟ ܒܣܝܼܡ ܒܲܕܡܘܼܬܼ ܪܝܹܚܵܐ ܕܡܸܣܟ ܘܥܲܢـــــــܒܲܪ܇

Another one

Your brightness is beautiful and more precious than a turquoise necklace. Your syllogism is better than a ruby of the greatest shah. 79

Or, rather: ‘Shah Akbar’. The latter was the famous emperor (1542-1605) of the Great Moghuls’ dynasty in India, which was famous for its precious stones, especially rubies.

And your image is mixed with pearls, diamonds and gems. Your scent is pleasant, like the scent of musk and ambergris.

Loanwords

ܦܝܼܪܘܿܙܹܐ Pers. p(/f)īrōze ‘turquoise’

ܠܥܲܠ Ar. laʿl ‘ruby’

ܫܵܐܗ Pers. šāh ‘shah, king’

ܐܲܟܿܒܲܪ Ar. akbAr.‘the greatest’

ܠܘܠܘ Ar. lu’lu’ ‘peAr.’

ܐܲܠܡܲܨ Turk., Pers. almās ‘diamond’

ܕܪ Ar. durr ‘peAr.’

ܓٕܵܘܗܪ Ar. jawhAr.‘gem’

ܡܸܣܟ Ar., Pers. misk ‘musk’

ܥܲܢܒܲܪ Ar., Pers. ʿanbAr.‘ambergris’

[5]

ܐܚܪܢܐ [fol. 144v]

ܬܵܘ ܚـــــــܒܝܒ̈ܝ ܒܢ̈ܝ ܥܸܢܝܵܢܝ ܐܲܦ ܩܲܪܕܲܫܠܲܪ܇ ܕܢܚܕܐ ܘܲܢܕܘܼܨ ܘܐܲܦ ܢܸܬܼܒܿܣܲܡ ܥܲܡ ܠܸܦ ܫܲܟܿܪ܇ ܕܫܢ̈ܐ ܕܦܘܡܹܗ ܕܡܿܝܢ ܠܸܠܘܼܠܘܼ ܕܕܨܘܼܠܛܵܢܠܲܪ܇ ܕܠܸܒܿܝ ܐܸܬܼܡܗܝܼ ܡ̣ܢ ܣܵܘܝــــܘܬܹܗ ܘܝܼܩܕ ܓٕܝܓܲܪ܇

Another one

Come, my beloved ones, my companions and brothers, to rejoice and take pleasure in the sugar lips. The teeth of his mouth resemble pearls of the sultans. So my heart is boiled from the desire of him, and the liver has burnt.

Loanwords

ܩܲܪܕܲܫ Turk. qardaš ‘brother’

ܠܸܦ Kurd. lēv ‘lip’

ܫܲܟܲܪ Pers., Turk. šakar ‘sugar’

ܠܘܠܘ Ar. lu’lu’ ‘pearl’

ܨܘܼܠܛܵܢ (sic!) = ܣܘܼܠܛܵܢ Ar., Pers., Turk. sūlṭān ‘sultan’

ܓٕܝܓܲܪ Pers. jegar ‘liver’