Elijah Archbishop of Nisibis | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Classical Syriac:ܐܠܝܐ |
| Church | Church of the East |
| Archdiocese | Nisibis |
| Province | Metropolitanate of Nisibis |
| Appointed | 26 December 1008 |
| Term ended | 18 July 1046 |
| Predecessor | Yahballaha |
| Successor | Abdisho ibn Al-Aridh ? |
| Other post | Bishop of Beth Nuhadra |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 15 September 994 by Yohannan V |
| Consecration | 15 February 1002 by Yohannan V |
| Rank | Archbishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elijah Bar Shinajah (975-02-11)February 11, 975 |
| Died | July 18, 1046(1046-07-18) (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Assyrian |
| Denomination | Nestorianism |
| Occupation | Cleric,writer,theologian,historian,linguist,scholar |
Elijah,[1]Eliya,[2] orElias of Nisibis[3] (Classical Syriac:ܐܠܝܐ, 11 February 975 – 18 July 1046) was anAssyrian cleric of theChurch of the East, who served asbishop of Beth Nuhadra (1002–1008) andarchbishop of Nisibis (1008–1046). He has been called the most important Christian writer in Arabic—or even throughout non-Christian Asia[4]—during the 11th century.[3] He is best known for hisChronography, which is an important source for the history ofSassanid Persia.
He shares the name of theBiblicalprophetElijah (Hebrew:אֱלִיָּהוּ,Eliyahu), whose name meant "My God isJah".[5][6] TheSyriac form of his name is Ēlīyā or Ēlīyāh (ܐܹܠܝܼܵܐ) in Classical and Eastern Syriac and Ēlīyō (ܐܶܠܺܝܳܐ) in Western Syriac. InLatin translation, this became Elias.
He is usually distinguished as "Elijah of Nisibis" (Latin:Elias Nisibenus;[7]Arabic:Illiyā al-Nasībī) from the location of his archbishopric. He is also known by the patronymicElijah Bar Shinajah (Classical Syriac:Elīyā bar Shennāyā;Arabic:Iliyyā ibn al-Sinnī),[8] meaning "Elijah, son ofShenna", in reference to the place of his birth.[3]
Elijah was born inShenna, just south of theLittle Zab's confluence with theTigris[3] (near present-dayAl-Zab,Iraq) on 11 February 975.[4]
On Sunday, 15 September 994, he wasordained as a priest at the monastery of Mar Shemʿon by Yohannes,archbishop of Fars andbishop of Shenna.[9] He studied throughout northernMesopotamia, includingMosul.[10]
On Sunday, 15 February 1002, he wasconsecratedbishop of Beth Nuhadra (present-dayDohuk,Iraq) by Yohannan, who had become thePatriarch of the Church of the East in 1000[9] by appealing directly to theAbbasid governor atShiraz without regard to the usual election procedures.[11]
On Sunday, 26 December 1008, he succeeded Yahballaha asarchbishop of Nisibis (present-dayNusaybin,Turkey).[9][12]
From 15–29 July 1026, he paid a series of visits—the "Seven Sessions"—to theAbbasidvizierAbu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi to discuss Christian doctrines and other topics.[4] Additional meetings between the two were held in December 1026 and June 1027.[10] Three letters—two by Elijah and one by the vizier—are preserved from their correspondence the following year, showing their continuing good relations.[4]
He died on 18 July 1046 atMayyafariqin.[4]
Elijah is best known for hisChronography orChronology (Arabic:Kitāb al-Azmina;Latin:Opus Chronologicum), which forms an important source concerning the history ofSassanid Persia.[7] It is divided into two sections, achronicle modeled afterEusebius'sEcclesiastical History and a treatment of calendars and calendrical calculations. It is exceptional among Syriac chronicles for the large amount of civil history Elijah included among his ecclesiastical notices.[13] The chronicle includes separate lists of theSassanid dynasty (after the lost 7th-century work ofJames of Edessa) and thepatriarchs of Seleucia[14] (after the lost 5th-century work ofAnnianus of Alexandria).[15] Thepopes andother patriarchs are included in the general annals which begin during the reign of theRoman emperorTiberius and end with the year 1018.[16] His treatment of calendrical systems has tables for computation of theSyriac andPersian new years and includes severalZoroastrian calendars, along with their feasts and holidays. As seen, many of Elijah's own sources, which he thoroughly documents, have now been lost and his own work is preserved in only a singlemanuscript,[17][a] which fortunately includes fewomissions.[b] The manuscript is inSyriac, with most paragraphs in the first section followed by anArabic translation.[7][4] TheChronography was the last East Syrian text to be written in Syriac.[1]
There have been two published editions of the work:
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).(in Latin) &(in Classical Syriac)Elijah'sBook of Sessions orDialogues[19] (Arabic:Kitāb al-Majālis) claims to relate his conversations during his seven visits to theAbbasidvizierAbu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi.[20] Dedicated to the "honorable, believing, elder brother" Abu al-ʿAla Saʿid ibn Sahl al-Katib, the work is intended as a literary apologetic as much as record of the events of the seven meetings, with its epilogue including theimprimatur of the patriarchal secretaryAbu al-Faraj ʿAbd Allah ibn at-Tayyib.[21] In order, the chapters cover:[22]
According to Elijah's account, the vizier asking for the meetings after he had experienced a miraculous cure at the hands of a Christian monk, causing him to reconsider his previous understanding of their faith as polytheistic and unfaithful to God.[22] It is particularly remembered for its statement of Christian monotheism in trinity in its 5th dialogue.[19]
A fullcritical edition of the Book of Sessions along with the correspondence between Elijah and Abu'l-Qasim al-Maghribi was published by Nikolai N. Seleznyov.[24]
Elijah also composed other theological and scholarly works.
He wrote defenses ofNestorianism against bothIslam and otherChristian denominations and treatises on Syriancanon law,asceticism, andethics. His guide to "rational management" of anxiety (Arabic:Kitāb dafʾ al-Hamm) is also dedicated to the Abbasid vizier, whom he claims requested such a book during their sessions together. It advocates cultivating a general thankfulness; treatment of general anxiety through the religious virtues of piety, gratitude, chastity, humility, mercy, and repentance; and treatment of specific anxieties through the philosophical virtues of seeking advice, behaving well, and being generous, just, and forgiving.[25] His "Letter on the Unity of the Creator and Trinity of His Hypotases" (Arabic:Risāla Fī Wahdāniyyat al-Khāliq wa-Tathlīth Aqānīmihi) states the arguments fortrinitarianism for a curious Islamic judge.[4] His "Letter on the Merit of Chastity" (Arabic:Risāla fī Fadīlat al-ʿAfāf) attempts to refuteMuʿtazilī al-Jāhiz's (d. 869) arguments in favor of physical pleasure.[4]
He also composed aSyriac grammar and a Syriac–Arabic dictionary,[7]The Book of the Interpreter (Arabic:ܟܬܐܒ ܐܠܬܪܓܡܐܢ ܦܝ ܐܠܬܥܠܝܡ ܠܓܗ ܐܠܣܪܝܐܢ,romanized: Kitāb al-Tarjumān fī t-Taʕlīm Lughat as-Suryān, 'The Book of the Interpreter for Teaching the Syriac Language'). The Arabic sections of the book were written usingGarshuni, a transliteration of Arabic into theSyriac alphabet.[26] The work was further translated intoLatin byThomas Obicini as his 1636Thesaurus Arabico-Syro-Latinus.[27]
Editions of these works include:
 |
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).In addition to Elijah's importance toPersian history and for his preservation of passages of otherwise lost ancient and medieval authors,[7] he became famed throughout the Islamic world for his studious method and wide-ranging expertise inChristian andIslamic theology,language and literature,philosophy,medicine, andmathematics.[4]
In addition to surviving manuscripts of Elijah's own works, the otherprimary source for his story isMari ibn Sulaiman'sBook of the Tower, as expanded and emended byAmr ibn Matta andSaliba ibn Yuhanna.[4][28]
