Syriac Identity of Lebanon part 15: Syriac Maronite Squarish and Cross Epigraphs

It was possible to have all four sides equal by making use of the Tetraskelion, meaning the swastika shape. This swastika was very commonly used since antiquity in Greek, Roman and Byzantine mosaics. This simple design allows us to obtain four equal sides. It was wide-spread all across Lebanon and seen in the mosaics in numerous ruins of byzantine basilicas.

What if we leave Lebanon to visit another Syriac area? And let us leave the seventeenth century to go back to the Middle Ages. Above is the Chair of Bennaoui presented by epigraphist Chabot. Again, it shows a Tetragonos (square). It also shows a cross in the center just like in Gosta and Daraoun. And once more, the text on the top uses the entire length, whereas the text to the right occupies only half the height.

We are witnessing two different eras and two different areas. And yet the same design! If there is no coincidence, if this is intentional, what would be its purpose? Probably the Tetraskelion or Swastika design makes it difficult to designate the beginning of the text because all sides are equal. But by managing different dimensions for each side, the sculptor defines clearly the beginning and the end of the text.

Watch episode 15 of the associated Nour Al-Sharq TV-series (article continues below).

Group 4: The Slivo – Cross Epigraphs

The fourth and last group of epigraphs is the “Slivoyo”. It is called this way because it is composed around a “Slivo” which is the Syriac term for Cross. One of the oldest Slivoyo examples is from the Middle Ages in the monastery of Mor Sergius and Mor Bacchus in Ehden (Image 4). Its text is on the upper and lower part of a marble slab. But more to the center, an inscription is directly related to the Cross. It is the Psalm 44:5 of King David. It reads:

“Bokh ndaqar la b‘eldvovayn.” / “Through you we push back our enemies.”

This psalm is completely part of the Slivo, the Cross, that generates the entire composition and gives it its name; Slivoyo. The same phenomenon is repeated in 1276, in Our Lady of Ilige (Image 5). Its text is suddenly interrupted by Psalm 44:5 that became inseparable from the Cross. So the two vertical phrases in the center are totally independent from the text. We read in them:

“Bokh ndaqar lab‘eldvovayn – wmétoul shmokh ndoush lsonayn”. / “Through you, we push back our enemies – and through your name we trample our foes”.

The rest of the text is about the restoration of the monastery.

In the eighteenth century, in the Mor Doumit Church in Zouq (Image 6), the Psalm 44:5 of King David is on the lintel, on both sides of the cross. Still in the eighteenth century, in Saint Elias of Geita (Image 7), we find a very interesting use of Psalm 44:5. Because on one side of the entrance’s lintel, a cross is surrounded by the inscription in its Syriac version while to the other end of the lintel, appears the same cross, the same Serto script, and the same Psalm 44:5, but now in Garshouné. It is the Arabic translation of King David’s Psalm, written in Syriac letters.

Mor recently, in the nineteenth century, Our Lady of Sharfé (Image 8) provides another interesting display of the Psalm 44:5 of King David. On its South entrance, the cross of the lintel shows the first half of the Psalm:

“Bokh ndaqar lab3eldvovayn.” / “Through you we push back our enemies.”

And on the North entrance (Image 9), another cross gives the second half of the Psalm:

“Wmétoul shmokh ndoush lsonayn.” / “And through your name we trample our foes.”

As usual, architecture, art, sculpture and inscriptions in Lebanon are always related to Syriac manuscripts.  Whether on parchment, or in the stone, whether in Mount Lebanon or in Tur Abdin, the crosses (Image 10) present Psalm 44:5 of King David, sometimes vertically, sometimes diagonally. There is a total correlation between the sign of the Cross and the verse of the Psalm.

Image 4: Cross, St Sergius and St Bacchus, Ehden, (1500) (1188)

Image 5: Cross, Ilige (1276)

Image 6: Cross, Zouq Doumit, (1728)

Image 7: Cross with Syriac script, St Elias of Geita, (1747)

Image 8: Cross, Our Lady of Sharfé, southern entrance (1877)

Image 9: Cross, Our Lady of Sharfé, northern entrance (1877)

Image 10: Cross, Tur Abdin

What we have seen are the four groups showing the types of epigraphs:

• The Historical group;
• The “Gliloyo” or Circular epigraph;
• The “Tetragonos” or squarish epigraph;
• And the “Slivoyo” or Cross type epigraphs.

In each group, the composition, the design and the content show a continuous tradition that covers different areas and several eras. This continuity and this consistency informs us about the existence of a tradition that we can not ignore any longer. There is a treasure of forms, of signs, of expressions and of messages that defines an artistic and theological culture.

Dr Amine Jules Iskandar is an architect and the former president of the Syriac Maronite Union-Tur Levnon. Amine Jules Iskandar has written several articles on the Syriac Maronites, their language, culture, and history. You can follow him @Amineiskandar2.

From the book: “Epigraphie Syriaque au Liban – vol 1”, Amine Jules Iskandar, NDU Press, Louayzé, Lebanon, 2008

For the article in Spanish and French. Also read in the series: