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Summary Being one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East, Assyrians have continued to live in various parts of Turkey for thousands of years. Today, the estimates related to the number of Assyrians living in Turkey vary between 4,000–25,000 while they cannot benefit from the rights put forward by the Lausanne Treaty among which schooling is the most important. Assyrian community can be said to be deteriorating in number. This decline in the number of Assyrians living in Turkey raises the question of whether they could maintain their ethnic identity while maintaining their language (Syriac). No studies so far have been carried out to find out the linguistic practices of Assyrian community living in Turkey, as well as their attitudes toward the languages they use. This study aims at shedding light on the present situation of Syriac used among the Assyrian community living in Turkey. The participants are limited to those living in Istanbul due to practical reasons. In this study, language attitudes and language use practices of Assyrian community living in Istanbul are found out through a language attitudes questionnaire. It is hoped that the results of the study will provide the current situation of the Syriac language in terms of its ethnolinguistic vitality as spoken among the community. It is also hoped that the results of the study will provide useful data for those who would like to help protect the ethnolinguistic identities of Assyrian minority in Turkey, as well as all those dispersed around the world, which seems to have become increasingly important for such a country at the gates of the European Union as Turkey.

The Aksumite Bible, as a cultural product of Late Antiquity, is still relatively obscure. Thus, in spite of the most recent advances in the field of Ethiopian studies—notably, the new radiocarbon dating of Gärima I and Gärima III Gospels—old scholarly opinions, such as the active role played by the famous fifthcentury Syrian Miaphysite refugees in Aksumite Ethiopia, are not only still uncritically repeated, but also used to build up even more extravagant theories. The time has come to reassess some basic issues about the Egyptian and Palestinian origins of the first missionaries and the nature of the Greek texts they brought with them, as well as the Ethiopian identities of the first translators and the chronological framework for their work., Aethiopica, Vol 21 (2018)

This thesis discusses the historical development of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Anti- och based upon its origins in the Tur 'Abdin region up to the time of its believers' emig- ration to Europe. The difficulties with which the Church was confronted are discussed, duly referencing instances of conflict, division and political upheaval. The topic of the persecution of Christians is depicted by way of an excursus. The positive develo- pments, the golden ages through history and the current (continued) subsistence of old traditions and culture in European nations are also addressed. Concomitantly, a picture is presented of the situation of those believers who live in a diaspora and may be affec- ted by discrimination and difficulties in terms of integration. The current situation in the Near East is prompting the westward migration of persecuted peoples of the most diverse ethnicities and faiths. This thesis may serve as the basis for a comparative retro- spective, since it portrays the manner in which integration in Europe was once achieved.

In this article, the two mosaic pavements of Edessa that are introduced were restored in Şanlıurfa Archaeological Museum in 2011. One of them is an Aftuha and family mosaic (funeral mosaic D), the other is a geometric patterned mosaic. There are five figures on the mosaic. These are Aftuha, his wife Šalum and their three children. After the restoration of the mosaic the Edessene Aramaic inscription has been read. Thanks to the inscription, we get information about the rock tomb. Aftuha get this tomb made for himself (and his family) as the “house of eternity”. Aftuha was a common name in Edessa. The householder Aftuha is lying down on the couch according to the tradition of Edessene mosaics, his wife is siting beside him and their three children are standing from left to right. The figures are seen in the local garments.The other mosaic which is dated to 224 AD., has geometric patterns. The rectangular panel are decorated with the four-spoke star patterns. More part of the panel was destroyed. The Edessene Aramaic inscription was previously solved “I Bar‘amta Son of Qašya, made this tomb” (published by Drijvers-Healey 1999: Am9).Although the figures which are on the necropolis mosaics of Edessa are generally seen local style, on the panels and bordure, guilloch line, sequence of triangle with sawtooth, sawtooth lines creates lozenge patterns and lines are cultural of the Roman imperial style, Bu makalenin konusunu Şanlıurfa Arkeoloji Müzesi’nde 2011 yılında restore edilen iki mozaik döşeme oluşturmaktadır. Bu mozaiklerden biri Aftuha ve ailesinin mozaiği (Cenaze şöleni mozaiği D), diğeri geometrik desenli bir mozaiktir. Mozaik üzerinde beş figür yer almaktadır. Bunlar Aftuha, karısı Salum ve üç çocuğudur. Mozaiğin restorasyonundan sonra mozaik üzerindeki Edessa - Aramice yazıt okunabilmiştir. Yazıt sayesinde bu kaya mezarı hakkında bilgi alabilmekteyiz. Aftuha bu mezarı kendisi ve ailesi için bir “sonsuzluk evi” olarak yaptırmıştır. Aftuha Edessa’da sık rastlanan bir isimdir. Aile reisi Aftuha, Edessa mozaik geleneğine uygun olarak bir divan üzerinde uzanmış, karısı onun yanında oturmuş ve üç çocuğu soldan sağa doğru ayakta durmaktadır. Figürler yerel kıyafetler içerisinde görülmektedir.M.S. 224 yılına tarihlenen diğer mozaik geometrik motifler taşımaktadır. Dikdörtgen panel 4 kollu yıldız motifi ile süslenmiştir. Panelin büyük bölümü tahrip olmuştur. Mozaik üzerindeki Edessa - Aramice yazıt önceden çözülmüştür “Qašya’nın oğlu I Bar‘amta bu mezarı inşa etti” (published by Drijvers-Healey 1999: Am9).Edessa nekropol mozaikleri üzerindeki figürler genellikle yerel stil özellikleri göstermekle birlikte, paneller ve bordürler üzerindeki giyoş dizileri, testere dişli üçgen dizileri, lozange motifleri ve dizileri oluşturan testere dişi dizileri Roma İmparatorluk stilini yansıtan özelliklerdir

Die vorliegende Arbeit behandelt den Teil der „Ersten Philosophie“ (Prima Philosophia) des Kompendiums „Rahm der Weisheit“ (Butyrum Sapientiae) des Barhebräus aus dem 13. Jahrhundert. Das Kompendium ist in syrisch-aramäischer Sprache abgefasst. Der Teil der „Ersten Philosophie“ findet sich nur in diesem Kompendium der scholastischen Philosophie, welches zudem nur in zwei Handschriften überliefert ist. Die Behandlung der philosophischen Begriffe in diesem Werk weist Bar Hebräus als einen profunden Kenner der aristotelischen Philosophie aus. Er führt die orientalisch-aristotelische Tradition weiter, wobei er den Spuren christlicher und islamischer arabischer Philosophen folgt. Er ist damit einer der letzten Vertreter der scholastischen Philosophie in der syrischen Tradition. Die arabischen Elemente in seiner Philosophie sind dabei deutlich zu erkennen, was sich durch das Zusammenleben beider Kulturen erklären lässt. Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich weiter mit der Geschichte der Metaphysik bei Syrern und Arabern und zeigt, dass das Buch der ersten Philosophie teilweise übersetzt und kommentiert wurde. Sie zeigt ferner, dass die zahlreichen Übersetzungen und Bearbeitungen des Buches der Metaphysik ihren Anfang im 9. Jahrhundert haben. Die Bearbeitungen sind sicherlich, zumindest unter anderem, auf die Nachfrage und das Verlangen der neuen arabischen Herrscher und Gelehrten zurückzuführen. Die Tatsache, dass einige Teile ins Syrische übersetzt wurden zeigt, dass die syrische Sprache noch als Sprache der Wissenschaft zu betrachten war. Dass es jedoch keine komplette syrische Übersetzung für das Buch der Metaphysik gab, sondern nur Teile ins Syrische übersetzt wurden, zeigt die Bedeutung der syrischen Bearbeitung der Metaphysik durch Bar Hebräus. Der Grund, weshalb Bar Hebräus sich der syrischen Bearbeitung des Buches annahm, war meiner Meinung nach, dass er es einer bestimmten Zielgruppe zur Verfügung stellen wollte. Das Kompendium „Rahm der Weisheit“, und somit auch das darin enthaltene Buch der Metaphysik sollte syrischen Schülern und Studenten der Wissenschaften als Grundlage für das Erlernen der Philosophie dienen. Ein weiteres Anliegen der Arbeit war die Klärung der Herkunft von Bar Hebräus. Speziell wird auf die Diskussion bezüglich seines vermeintlichen jüdischen Ursprungs eingegangen. Die Hypothese jüdischen Ursprungs geht wohl auf Pocockii (1650), galt seiner Zeit allerdings noch als recht unwahrscheinlich. Etwas später, so bei Assemani (1687-1768), war sie schon etablierter und wurde nach ihm bis in unserer Zeit allgemein anerkannt. Gegner dieser These sind vor allem auf orientalischer Seite syrische Literaturforscher wie Šaīḵo, Barṣom und Behnam. Die Frage wurde historisch-philologisch, unter anderem anhand zahlreicher Handschriften aus der Zeit Bar Hebräus untersucht und beantwortet. Zuletzt, doch nicht als geringstes, beinhaltet die Arbeit Edition und Übersetzung. Beides war nicht immer ganz einfach, da es für den Text keine Parallelen gibt und die Sprache nicht einfach ist. Wir hoffen also, dass die Arbeit dadurch ihren besonderen Wert hat und als Grundlage für weitere Studien dienen wird. Ich zitiere aus dem Gutachten von Prof. Dr. W. Schmidt-Biggemann: „Aristoteles Lehre verlang anscheinend geradezu nach einer scholastischen Bearbeitung. Das hier vorliegende Kompendium ist ein vorzüglicher beleg für diese Tendenz. Es gibt in der lateinischen Philosophie des 13 Jahrhunderts noch kein vergleichbares Kompendium; es ist bemerkenswert, dass es hier bis 17 Jahrhundert dauerte, bis ein ähnlicher philosophischer Kursus entstand. Gerade deshalb ist der vorliegender Text seiner systematischen Konzeption wichtig“, The subject of this work is the “First Philosophy” (Prima Philosophia) of Bar Hebraeus’ 13th century compendium “Cream of Wisdom” (Butyrum Sapientiae). The compendium is written in Syriac. The section of the “First Philosophy” is only found in this compendium of scholastic philosophy, of which only two manuscripts are extant. Bar Hebraeus’ dealing with the aristotelian philosophical concepts demonstrate his intimate knowledge of the matter. He continues and develops the oriental-aristotelian philosophical tradition, while following both Christian and Muslim Arabic philosophers. As such, he is one of the last representatives (authors) of scholastic philosophy in the Syriac tradition. Meanwhile the Arabic elements in his philosophy are clearly visible, which comes as no surprise, given the cohabitation of both cultures. This work further looks at the history of metaphysics among Syriac and Arabic speaking populations demonstrating, that the book of the “First Philosophy” was partly translated and commented upon. The numerous translations and revisions of the book of metaphysics start in the 9th century. These translations are certainly, at least in part, due to the inquiries and wishes of the new Islamic rulers and scholars. The fact, that some parts were also translated into Syriac is testimony to the fact that Syriac must be regarded as a language of science and scholarship at the time. The circumstance that there was as yet no complete translation into Syriac, lends special importance to Bar Hebraeus’ work. In our view, Bar Hebraeus’ main aim in translating and editing the “Cream of Wisdom” was to provide a basic introduction to philosophy for Syriac pupils and students. The question of Bar Hebraeus’ origin is also dealt with. Ever since Pocockii (1650) there existed the hypothesis of Bar Hebraeus being of Jewish origin. This hypothesis consolidated already with Assemani (1687-1768) and is dominant to this day. Opponents of the hypothesis are mostly found among Syriac literary scholars such as Šaīḵo, Barṣom und Behnam. The question is being examined and answered by historical-philological means, not least by using numerous manuscripts from the time of Bar Hebraeus. Last but not least, the present work contains an edition and translation of the manuscripts. Both weren’t always easy due to the lack of parallels and the sometimes difficult language of the text. We hope this work derives some special value from this and that it will serve as a basis for further studies. Citing from Prof. Dr. W. Schmidt-Biggemann’s survey: „The teachings of Aristotle apparently almost demanded for a treatment. The present compendium is excellent corroboration of this tendency. In the Latin philosophy of the 13th century, there is no comparable compendium. It is remarkable, that it was only in the 17th century, that a comparable curriculum came into existence. That gives special importance to the present text in its systematic conception.“