Tur Abdin

syriac-aramaic

Where the lands of Mardin, Hasankeyf, Cizre and Nusaybin meet, shining like a star of history, lies the Tur Abdin. For the Syrian Christians the region manifests their identification with the realities of history. This rooted past is manifested in churches and monasteries reaching to heaven, surrounded by vineyards and gardens, and enriched by the works of creative literature penned and studied there within. The syriac melodies and hymns of old blow the breath of inspiration upon the region to this day. No historian would deny that the Tur Abdin, like other Syrian Christian regions within Mesopotamia, has a deeply rooted cultural history that predates the Christian era by hundreds of years. Wether we speak of "B.C." or "A.D.", the Tur Abdin occupies a large place in authentic Syriac culture. In the midst of the adverse experiences springing from the strategic nature of the place, Syriac culture has preserved extant a traditional lifestyle thousands of years old.

Through the dark mists of the unremembered past, various peoples settled and warred in Tur Abdin, but the land betrays its ancient bond with the Syriac speaking peoples by the etymology of her place names. Patriarch Aphrem Barsaum writes that there could be as much as 150 settlements with Syriac roots in their names. However most Syriac historical sources mention a total of 243 settlements (towns, villages and hamlets) in the Tur Abdin that carry essentially Syriac names.

In terms of the general history of Christianity, the Tur Abdin carries a considerable significance. In the dawn of Christianity, the radiance and the life-giving power of Jesus Christ illuminated this land soon after Antioch and Edessa had received the Gospel. The Syrians of Tur Abdin were quick to build churches and monasteries throughout the area, according to their own traditions and religious canons. Examples remain - monasteries and churches and their ruins, a tangible extension of a Syrian civilization kneaded together with Mesopotamian, ancient Greek, and Christian architectural arts. The spiritual schools established in the churches and monasteries propagated a virtual empire of religious influence, almost always without being aided and polluted by the sword of temporal government. The fame of the scholars trained there in Syriac, Persian and Greek, shines upon the pages of oriental history. Throughout history, the Tur Abdin has raised up for the Church hundreds of spiritual leaders and scholars of stature. The humility of the ancient ruins adds a transcendent quality to the historical value and cultural fabric of the region. From underneath the cover of obscurity and underdevelopment, the ruins cry out to the world concerning a spiritual cultural treasure, and the experience of the centuries. All the while, they tell us of the destruction, ruin and trouble that have passed over the land. The cross roads and classing point of sundry empires -the Tur Abdin- has been the stage of many a war, many a raid, many an attack. The Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, the Arab powers, and others like them have all come, ruled, and gone leaving deep wounds in the historical memory of the Christians of Tur Abdin. If we are to look at history justly, we need to perceive the effects of this memory, taking care not to deny its reality.

With the entrance of Islam into the Tur Abdin, difficulties for the residents of the Region increased. The ruling Islamic powers often reacted with hostility to the devotion of the Syrian Christians to their faith. Theit instinct to Islamicize the people whenever possible, ran deep. In spite of the present chronic migration of Christians from the region, those who remain work at surviving in their ancient homeland under hard conditions and worse memories. From the sixth to the eleventh century there was only one metropolitan diocese in the Tur Abdin (established in 397 at Mar Gabriel Monastery). In the latter of the 13th Century, this increased to three and after 1364 there were seven. The decades before World War I saw the development of bitter events. During and after the War, there was an intensification of complex causes and effects accelerating the mass removal and migration of Syrian Christians from the region. In 1923, Patriarch Elias III restructured all the dioceses and consolidated them under the the ancient Metropolitan See of the Tur Abdin. The diocese is presently under the direction of Metropolitan Archbishop Mor Timotheos Samuel Aktas.

If, as other Syriac cultural regions, the Tur Abdin with its deeply rooted cultural and historical treasures falls into the abyss of forgotten history, it will be a pitiable loss for Christianity in general but especially for Syriac culture. The landscape of the clouded history of the Tur Abdin, with its dramatic colors and dark tones, with its bright lights of on going and defiant beauty, call forth from us a response. The identity of our past with the Age of Miracles extending from the time of the Apostles, challenges us to work for the renaissance of our faith in Jesus Christ, our thought, art and life in the Tur Abdin - and as we work against all odds, to expect miracles from God for a radiant future.

sources:
History of Tur Abdin, Patriarch Aphrem Barsawm
History of Deyrulumur, Mor Yuhanon Dolabani, 1959, Mardin