HISTORY

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — Marking a period of natural renewal, fertility, and abundance, the coming of spring has been celebrated by human civilizations around the world through history. In Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia), the cradle of civilization, some of the oldest spring traditions are still practiced. The Syriacs, Kurds and…

In 1902, Saeed Ishaq was born in Qalaat al-Umara, in the province of Mardin, into a deeply rooted Syriac Orthodox family in the Levant. From an early age, he displayed a passion for learning, beginning his education at the village school of Dayro d-Mor Hananyo (Dair al-Zafaran Monastery). There, he…

By Ablahad Saka Bartiloyo Professor Asaad Sauma Asaad states in his article The Aramaic Language and Its Dialects: “The Aramaic language is unique among its Semitic counterparts in that it is the only Semitic language that has been spoken and written for at least three thousand years without interruption. This…

A series about influential Syriacs in the modern history of Syria A Flight from Slaughter Bahdi’s tale starts in Wiranshahr, a city nestled in what is now southeastern Turkey, once a cradle of Syriac heritage. In the early 20th century, the Ottoman state unleashed the horrors of the Sayfo massacres…

Introduction In the corners of Syriac history, there are names of heroes who have been overlooked by official documentation, despite their immense sacrifices. One of these figures is Hanna Yaqub Abdulki, a man who was not just a successful silk merchant, but also a social and political leader who contributed…

SALAH AL-DIN, Iraq — Iraqi and German archaeologists have launched a new excavation project in the ancient city of Assur, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to uncover further insights into the heart of the Assyrian Empire. The excavation, led by a team of specialists from Iraq and Germany, seeks to…

BAGHDAD — Speaking from the National Museum in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein announced the return of ancient artifacts to the Baghdad Museum from Japan and Switzerland. The recovered items include the statue of the sun god, Maran Shamash, rare murals from the 8th century BC linked to ancient…

Naum “Faiq” Palakh was born in Omid (Diyarbakir) in 1868 in the Ottoman Empire. As a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church he was educated at the local Syriac school established by the Brotherhood of Ancient Syrians (Suryani). He learned Classical West Syriac, Ottoman-Turkish, and Arabic. During his formative years…

This article was originally published by This Is Beirut on 26 January 2025. The original can be found here. Related articles: The Codex Rabulensis — Part 1 | Part 2. By Dr. Amine Jules Iskandar President of the Syriac Maronite Union – Tur Levnon Written in the year 586, the Codex…

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – On the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust, the European Syrian Union (ESU) issued a statement calling the Holocaust one of the darkest periods in human history. The ESU “remembers with deep sorrow the millions of Jews and other innocent victims who lost their lives due to the…