Stylite

Decay in the 7th Century.

"With the 7th century," as Wright remarks, "begins the slow decay of the native literature of the Syrians, to which the frightful sufferings of the people during the great war with the Persians in its first quarter largely con tributed." The same process of decay was greatly promoted by the Arab conquest of Persia, achieved through the victory of Pdisiya in 636-637. The gradual replacement of Syriac by Arabic as the vernacular language of Mesopotamia by degrees transformed the Syriac from a living to a dead language. Apart from a few leading writers—such as Jacob of Edessa, the anony mous historian whose work has passed under the name of Dionysius of Tell-Mahre, Thomas of Marga, Dionysius bar Salibi, and Barhebraeus (qq.v.)—there are few names of interest.

1. Theology.—Here we may first mention George, bishop of the Arabs (d. 724), who wrote commentaries on Scripture, and tracts and homilies on church sacraments, and finished the Hexaemeron of Jacob of Edessa. Babhai the Elder, a leading Nestorian in the beginning of the 7th century and a prolific author, wrote many commentaries and theological discourses. Ishatyabh III., Nesto rian catholicus from 647 to 657/8, wrote controversial tracts, religious discourses and liturgical works. Elias of Merv, who belongs to the 2nd half of the 7th century, compiled a Catena patrum on the Gospels and wrote many commentaries. Timothy I.. catholicus 779-823, wrote synodical epistles and other works bearing on church law. Moses bar Kepha (d. 9o3), one of the most fertile of 9th-century authors, wrote commentaries, theo logical treatises and many liturgical works. Other important con tributors to this sphere of literature were IshO' bar Non (d. 827/8), John bar Zo'bi (beginning of the 13th century), Jacob bar Shakko (d. 1241), and the great Nestorian scholar tAbhdishee (d. 1318).

2. History.—Besides the important writers treated in separate articles, we need mention only f our. Elias bar Shinaya, who in 1008 became Nestorian bishop of Nisibis, was the author of a valuable Chronicle, to which are prefixed numerous chronological tables, lists of popes, patriarchs, etc., and which covers by its nar rative the period from A.D. 25 to 1018. Of this work, which exists in only one imperfect copy, the later portion was edited by Baeth gen in 1884, and the earlier by Lamy in 1888. Another important Chronicle is that of Michael I., who was Jacobite patriarch from 1166 to 1199. Its range extends from the Creation to the author's

own day, and it was largely used by Barhebraeus in compiling his own Chronicle. Till recently it was known only in an abridged Armenian version which was translated into French by V. Langlois (Venice, 1868) : but the Syriac text was found in a ms. belonging to the library of the church at Edessa, and has been published by J. B. Chabot. A work rather legendary than historical is the Book of the Bee, by Solomon of al-Basrah, who lived early in the 13th century. Lastly, acknowledgment must be made of the great value of the Catalogue of Nestorian writers, by `Abhdishot of Nisi bis, the latest important writer in Syriac. It was edited by Assemani in the 3rd part of his Bibliotheca orientalis, and has been translated into English by Badger.

3. Biography, Monastic History, etc.—Besides the important work by Thomas of Marga (q.v.) the following deserve special mention. SandOna, who was a monk in the Nestorian monastery of Beth 'Abbe (the same to which Thomas of Marg5, belonged two centuries later) and afterwards a bishop early in the 7th century, wrote a biography of and a funeral sermon on his superior Mar Jacob who founded the monastery, and also a long treatise in two parts on the monastic life of which all that survives has been edited by P. Bedjan (Paris, 1902). Whilst accompanying the catholicus isholyabh II. (628-644) on a mission to Heraclius, SandOna was converted, apparently to Catholicism (see H. Gous sen, Martyrius-Sandonas Leben and Werke, Leipzig, 1897), and thereby caused much scandal in the East. The chief events in his life are narrated by Isho'clenah. Another Nestorian who, a few years later, wrote ecclesiastical biographies and other theological works was Sabhrishal Rustam, who lived at Mount Izla and other monasteries. In the beginning of the 8th century David of Beth Rabban, also a Nestorian monk, wrote, besides a geographical work, "a monastic history, called The Little Paradise, which is frequently cited by Thomas of Marga." A more important work is The Book of Chastity, by Ishatdenah, who according to (Abh disho' was bishop of Kasra—but read Basra—about the end of the 8th century. This work is a collection of lives of holy men who founded monasteries in the East, and is a valuable historical source. The work itself, or an abridgment of it, was discovered and published for the first time by J. B. Chabot (Rome, 1896).