The Nestorians and their Rituals/Volume 1/Chapter 20
CHAPTER XX.
May 16th.—Left Diarbekir at 7 a.m. through the Mardeen Gate, and after passing through the pretty gardens which cover the valley on the south of the city, ascended the level plain, and travelled towards the northern extremity of Karajah Dagh. In one hour and a half we crossed the Tcarookhia Soo over a bridge of three arches, and following the road, which is here very devious and stony, and frequently intersected by streams which find their way into the Tcarookhia, or Kara Soo, we took shelter at half past 11 a.m. in a Coordish encampment from a threatening storm. We had hardly got off our horses when the rain descended in torrents, and glad indeed were we to find ourselves under so good a shelter as a Coordish tent. That into which we were ushered, and which was in form the same as is in general use among this people, was seventy feet long and twentythree wide. The material was of thick cloth, made of goats' hair woven in pieces varying from one and a half to two feet wide. This cloth is supported by four upright poles running down the centre, the middle two eight feet and the side ones six feet high. A second row of four upright poles, six feet high, and in a line with the former, runs down the front part of the tent, and a third row, eight feet high and resting upon the base of the middle poles, project diagonally from the ground, completing the scaffolding of the tent. A cord from the top of each of the centre poles is then tied to those forming the first vow, and is carried thence and fastened to a stake on the outside. These ropes serve to support the cloth. A number of other ropes attached to the rim of the tent are secured by stakes in the common manner. The ends of the cloth are now raised about three feet from the earth, which space is sometimes built up with stones, but more generally enclosed with curtains of reeds, neatly and often fantastically woven together with different coloured threads. These serve also for partitions, a tent of the size now described being frequently divided into four separate apartments: one occupied by the men, another by the women, a third with stores, and the fourth with the domestic poultry, lambs, &c.
The dwellers in this encampment, which is called Alkôs, are Cocher, a name given to the nomade Coords, who seldom reside in fixed habitations, but like the Bedooeen roam about from place to place seeking pasture for their flocks. Some few till the soil, but by far the greater proportion procure what they require of the fruits of the earth by bartering the produce of their sheep, such as milk, butter, cheese, and wool, with the inhabitants of the adjacent towns. They exist in great numbers, scattered over the northern parts of Mesopotamia, and are also to be found along the banks of the Hazir and Gomel to the east of Mosul. Many of them retire into the mountain districts during the winter, and return to the plains at the opening of spring. They appear to be a distinct race, and are so regarded by the town and village-dwelling Coords. Like the Arabs they are divided into tribes, and are remarkable for certain peculiarities, a careful investigation of which might result in connecting them with some of the ancient sects of the Magi. Orthodox Mussulmans, who question the religion and safety of the Coords generally on account of their attachment to Ali, look upon the Cocher as little better than infidels or pagans, and there is reason to doubt whether some of them acknowledge the mission of the False Prophet. A branch tribe, who frequent the district about Jezeerah, are suspected, like the Druses of Mount Lebanon, of worshipping a calf and of holding nocturnal assemblies, which are kept secret from all but the initiated. Others called "Shebek" occupy two or three villages in the neighbourhood of Mosul, and are said to deem it a crime worthy of excommunication for one of their number to refer a dispute to the regularly appointed Mohammedan judges. These have certain festivals of their own, which they commemorate by circular dances, resembling those of the Yezeedees. Another sect, found on the banks of the Hazir behind Jebel Makloob, are charged, like some of the African tribes by Niebuhr, with not restricting the rite of circumcision to the males among them. Another called Be-Juan, which I met with in the vicinity of Nimrood, have a peculiar dialect not intelligible to the Coords generally. The following short vocabulary may assist some philologist in ascertaining the probable source of the different words, several of which I recognise as Persian and Arabic.
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After waiting for two hours in expectation of the baggage-mules, and the guards sent with us by the Pasha of Diarbekir, which had been left in the rear of our party, we began to be uneasy about their fate, and despatched messengers in every direction to learn their whereabouts. We could gain no intelligence of them, the rain continued to descend, and so Mrs. Badger, Mr. Fletcher, and I, together with our Greek servant Georgio, were obliged to avail ourselves of the hospitality of the Cocher for food and bedding. The food was good, and as we had often before eaten with our fingers, the absence of knives and forks was no privation; but as to the quilts I need only saythat we passed a restless night, and did not feel at ease again until we had thoroughly changed our clothes. Hoping, therefore, to get up with the stray caravan, we left the encampment at half-past four in the morning, and in two hours reached the foot of Karajah Dagh, after having repeatedly forded a rivulet which rises here and follows a winding course to the Tcarookhia. The Kara Soo takes its rise farther south, and is another tributary of the Tigris, whilst two or three other streams, springing out of the same mountain, find their way to the Euphrates. We now commenced the rugged ascent, and after crossing a pleasant vale and meadow called Esheg Meidân, watered by a serpentine stream, reached the summit. Here the ground was covered with snow, above which a cluster of beautiful scarlet cypripedia, of an uncommonly large size, reared their gorgeous blossoms. Here we were accosted by four savage looking Coords, mounted on horses and carrying spears in their hands, who stopped to take a minute survey of our party. Finding that we were armed they allowed us to pass without any other molestation than bawling after us to stand. Not feeling inclined to humour them in this instance, we pressed on to a ruined Khan where we had hoped to find our mules and baggage. In this, however, we were disappointed, and on sending to inquire after them at the adjacent village of Kara Bagtcha were not a little vexed to learn that there was not an inhabitant in the place. We were now in a predicament, not knowing whether to return or to go forward, and not having tasted any food since the preceding evening; but this is a slight inconvenience compared to some which travellers in these parts must be content to endure. Whilst on the subject I shall give an instance to the point which occurred on our visit to this same village, on our second journey to Mosul in 1849. It was in the month of November, the weather had been unsettled for several days, and when we left the tent of an Arab who had come to live with the Coords at Kainagh, the clouds threatened a storm. Anxious to lose no time we set off from our resting-place, but had not proceeded far when the rain came down in torrents, the wind rushing through the valley drove it violently into our faces, and though we made every effort to gallop over the rugged road we were thoroughly drenched road we reached Kara Bagtcha. The houses in this village are almost subterranean, one narrow passage running through the centre divides every family residence into two wings in which the apartments are ranged one behind the other. The only light admitted comes through a circular orifice in the roof, which serves also for a chimney. Into one of these graves for the living we were ushered, a fire was soon lighted on the ground, and we prepared to change our clothing. It was very difficult to make the Coords understand that Mrs. Badger and I desired to be left alone for a time; they felt that they were masters, and did not like to be ejected notwithstanding our civility. Towards the evening the room was shared by three groups, ourselves at the upper part, our muleteer's servants, and two or three native travellers in the centre, and a calf and sick camel of an immense size at the end opposite our own. The smoke from the fires, as the proprietors said, increased the malady of the camel, and after a long consultation it was decided that the animal should be slaughtered to prevent its dying. This decision brought an influx of the interested villagers to witness the ceremony; four or five held the head while another cut the throat just where the creature lay, and the blood was suffered to flow over the apartment much to our disgust and discomfort. The process of flaying next commenced and lasted for a couple of hours, and then a troop of incipient barbarians, each with a knife in his hand, danced round the carcase, uttering the most unearthly yells, and looking like little demons in the glare of the fires. Every now and then one stooped to cut off such parts as he thought most delicate, and I was given to understand that the whole would be consumed by the villagers on the morrow. This amusement continued till after midnight, and no expostulations of ours could induce the urchins to abandon their sport. They were at length tired out, and then condescended to leave us to—sleep, I was about to say, but this would be a mistake; swarms of fleas replaced the annoyance of the young Coords, and we were glad when the day dawned, and called us to pursue our journey.
But to return to our narrative: we continued our route through the valley, which is here rugged in the extreme, and if an Arab were asked to account for this general feature of the district, he would most probably refer to Solomon and say that the king had employed the genii to collect all the black stones in the Karajah Dagh, and roll them into the plain below. In three hours from the Khan we came in sight of a mound and ruined mill, and on reaching the spot were not a little rejoiced to find the object of our search. Not having seen us diverge from the road to the Cocher encampment, the guards had driven the muleteers onwards, and not suffered them to stop until they had reached their present resting place, a distance of sixteen caravan hours. The poor fellows were dripping wet, as was all our baggage; but the past was soon forgotten in a hearty supper, and the muleteers and guards smoked their pipes, and sung in chorus their wild Coordish songs with as much glee as if nothing had happened.
Towards dusk a man was espied watching our party from some distance, partly concealed in the long grass. This being a deserted district, and rather famous for robbers, the guards took to their fire-arms and prepared for an encounter; but the suspicious individual paused, and then hid himself from our view. The soldiers now rode to the spot, and returned leading with them an unfortunate Christian who had been plundered and well-nigh stripped by the mounted Coords whom we had met near the ruined Khan. On first catching sight of our party he thought we might prove a second edition of his morning adventure, and was attempting to escape when the guards secured him. Shortly after a Beloochistan derweesh walked up to our encampment, and related his tale. He also had been stopped by the Coords, who after examining his wallet, and finding nothing therein but a little bread, returned it and wished him prosperity in his pilgrimage to Mecca. This man had travelled from Beloochistan, his native country, to Muscat, thence to Persia, Baghdad and Mosul, and he was now on his way to join the great Hadj caravan at Damascus. He had not a farthing in his pocket, and all he hoped was to see the tomb of Mohammed and die.
May 18th.—Left the mill at 5 a.m. and in an hour passed the village of Kainagh, situated near a mound, then deserted, but since inhabited by a few Coords of the Milliyeh tribe, and a solitary Arab family, who gain a scanty livelihood by cultivating rice, which is raised in large quantities in this district. At 10 o'clock we forded a considerable stream running towards the south-west, and then re-ascended the high table-land which stretches southward beyond the Euphrates. The road was still very rugged, and strewed over with volcanic rocks; tells were scattered about in every direction, near to which we saw several Coordish villages and encampments. We were within a stone's cast of Sewrek before we were aware of it, the town being situated in a deep hollow. The country in the immediate vicinity is covered with vineyards, from which a tolerable wine is made; the other staple products being wheat, barley, rice, tobacco, and honey. The remains of a fortress are still visible on a mound commanding the town, which from this elevation appears to consist of a few dozen houses, several dwellings being joined together under one roof, as in many of the Coordish villages already described. The town itself, however, contains a population of 500 Mussulman families, with four mosques. The Armenians number 120 houses, with a church and four priests, reckoned within the diocese of Urfah. There are also a few Greek Christians in the town, who are employed as builders; but they have no church or clergy nearer than Diarbekir. Sewrek is reckoned sixteen hours from Semsât, sixteen from Arghana, and forty from Kharpoot; it is considered within the pashalic of the latter place.
From Sewrek we had a good view of the Gerger Dagh, which has already been mentioned as inhabited by Syrian Jacobites. It is situated on the western side of the Euphrates, about twelve hours distant from Sewrek, and Mutrau Matta who visited the district to collect money for the Patriarch, informed me that there are no less than sixty Christian villages in this mountain, which are considered as forming a part of the diocese of Kharpoot. He also told me of many other villages peopled by the same community on the banks of the Euphrates between Malatiyah and Semsât (Samosata,) who, according to his account, (and being a Jacobite himself he was not likely to exaggerate their spiritual destitution,) retained little more than the bare name of Christians. The priests were in an equally degraded condition, scarcely knowing how to read the Syriac of their rituals, and not understanding the meaning of a word of that language. In proof of this the Bishop adduced the case of an ecclesiastic, who, on being asked by him the meaning of Moryo, (Lord, accordmg to the pronunciation of the Jacobites,) replied—water. The people of Gerger form about one-half of the diocese of Kharpoot, the remaining portion, consisting of about forty villages, being scattered about at some distance from that town as far north as Palu on the Euphrates, where I have been told that a Syriac MS. of the New Testament exists, ascribed to the third century.
May 19th.—Having exchanged our Diarbekir guards for five horsemen from Sewrek, we started from that place at 1 p.m. and after fording two or three streams and passing several villages, which will be found noted in the map, we reached Tashlik at half-past five, where we put up for the night. We had now before us in the distance a range of low hills called Karatsh Er-Raha, dividing the level country between Sewrek and Urfah into two plains. On the following morning we set off at 5 a.m., and in three hours reached Kara Joorni, called also Goondi Resh and Kara Goondi. This is a large village situated at the foot of the Karatsh Er-Raha, and inhabited by Milliyeh Coords and a few Yezeedees. These people were most inhospitable, as we also found them on a later visit, and refused us the shelter of their houses. We accordingly pitched our tent by an adjoining stream, and were obliged to be on the alert for fear of being robbed. Not liking to spend a night among such a set of thieves, we started again at 3 p.m., and after travelling for two hours came to a spot where one road turned off to the west, and another towards the south. Our guards finding us determined to pursue the latter, tried to frighten us into acquiescence by recounting several stories of Arab ferocity. The fact was, the fellows were themselves afraid of meeting with the Bedooeen, who had sworn that they would murder any Turk they met in revenge for the treatment which some of them had lately received from the Mutsellim of Sewrek. We now continued our journey through the hills, and at 7 p.m. reached a large Coordish encampment of about 200 tents, where we put up for the night. Immense flocks of sheep were feeding in the rich pasture around, and the Coords readily supplied us with as much milk as we required. I learned in conversing with them, that there are as many as 700 Yezeedee families scattered among the Coords of this district.
Our party now consisted of a motley group: first ourselves, accompanied by three servants, one a Greek from Athens and two Mosuleans; Mr. Rassam's brother; a black confidential slave sent from Mosul by his master, a rich Mohammedan merchant, to bring back his brother who had been absent for the last fifteen years. The slave, like Eliezer of Damascus appears to be an important personage, and was attended on this occasion by a Coordish servant. Next a young Mardeenlee, returning to his office of pipe-bearer to the Pasha of Aleppo after leave of absence; this gentleman had also a juvenile domestic. A Yezeedee, who was converted to Islamism when Hafiz Pasha subdued the Sinjar tribes. This fellow had joined us in the hope of being allowed to cross the Euphrates at Birejik without a passport. His Mohammedanism seemed to consist in constant repetitions of the Fateha, or first chapter of the Koran, and in cursing Melek Taoos, whom he declared to be the Devil. Next a poor Armenian who was fleeing from the tyranny of Bedr Khan Beg to seek a livelihood at Urfah. And lastly our guards, consisting of five horsemen sent with us by Omar Beg of Sewrek, and two Coords from Kara Joorni. These last mentioned individuals were strong lusty fellows, who trudged on foot, keeping pace with our mules, ever and anon laughing at the fears of their mounted companions. Four of these I found to be runaway soldiers from the army of Hafiz Pasha at the famous battle of Nizib. They gloried in their discomfiture and escape, and said as nearly as possible in Turkish:
"He who fights, and runs away,
Will live to fight another day."
And so it will be with them to the end of the chapter, for a more cowardly set of poltroons on horseback than the irregular provincial Turkish cavalry I have never seen. Their glee on leaving Kara Joorni, thinking that we were going by the safer road, was only equalled by their sullen disappointment when they found out their mistake. On leaving the village they played off all manner of warlike antics, discharged their pistols, flourished their lances, and tried to unhorse one another, whilst I feel fully persuaded that the sight of half a dozen Bedooeen would have made them turn their horses' heads and flee for safety to the nearest village.
May 21st.—Left the Coordish encampment at 3 a.m. and travelled in a southerly direction at the foot of the hills already described. The country now began to assume a different aspect: instead of the black volcanic stone of the Diarbekir side, we found ourselves journeying over chalk hills, in which silex was imbedded in great abundance. We had now before us another chain of low mountains running north-east by south-west, and at half-past five passed a village on a mound situated in a wellcultivated valley, overspread with a rich pasturage. Pursuing our former course we reached another Coordish village called Kara Koopri, close to a pretty stream, which we crossed by a good bridge of three arches. At 9 a.m. we entered Urfah by the Semsât gate, and soon found ourselves comfortably lodged under the hospitable roof of Mokdisi Yeshua.
CITADEL OF URFAH.
"I Afteh Nell … the son of … the son of …—shert … this pillar … Hadrianta of the world … was surrendered by the queen, the daughter of Maako …"[1]
The following is a fac-simile of the engraving on a reduced scale:
The next most prominent relic of antiquity is the debris of a large building, supposed to have been a church; besides which there are a number of foundations consisting of massive stones upon which several modern Saracenic structures have been raised, a few Grecian or Roman arches, fragments of columns, pillars, and friezes, but no accompanying inscription to fix their date. The only perfect edifice is a small mosque built by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt during his occupation of the place in 1839 and 1840.
The view of the town from the citadel is extremely picturesque: immediately below is the pool of Sheikh Ibraheem, with its adjoining mosque embosomed in a thick and shady grove. The slender minaret of the mosque peers above the lofty cypress trees, and an ancient belfry has been permitted to remain as an index of the original Christian purpose to which the building was consecrated. The pond or pool deserves a particular description. It stands, as I have already stated, at the foot of the castle, and is supplied by several copious springs flowing from the south-west, and running beneath a pretty summer kioshk situated at the western extremity of the basin. The basin measures eighty paces by fifty, and is about five feet deep, with spacious walks extending round three of its sides, the fourth being occupied by the mosque. The pond swarms with fish, which follow the visitors with open mouths, instinctively seeking their accustomed treat. This generally consists of baked peas, of which there are always several venders squatted in the walks, and who are never in want of customers from among the pious Mussulmans. It was amusing to see the scramblings of the finny tribe when a handful of their favourite food was thrown in among them. The Mohammedans hold this reservoir in high veneration, and a heavy punishment would be inflicted upon any person found guilty of purloining from its sacred waters; even should the culprit escape inamediate chastisement retributive justice it is averred will certainly follow him, and sooner or later deprive him of his intellect. Notwithstanding these awful sanctions, I was told that the Christians often partake of the forbidden dainty, the fish being easily secured in the streams which flow from the pond through the gardens. They generally cook them with wine sauce, and declare them excellent. The mosque already mentioned is called Khaleel Ibraheem, Abraham the Friend [of God]; or Khaleel oor-Rahmân, the Friend of the Merciful.
We next walked towards the Armenian Church, where we were greeted by the Bishop, Mutran Agop, with a kiss on both cheeks. The church stands in a spacious court, used for a burial place, and is a relic of an ancient Roman edifice. Part of the dome over the sanctuary has been destroyed, and has been built up with a plain wall, resting upon the flat roof of the nave, which is also of modern construction. The interior is divided into three aisles by a double row of Saracenic pilasters. One of the aisles is partitioned off by a trellis-work, and forms the accommodation for the female part of the congregation. Near the altar is a picture of the holy Virgin and Child, encased in a rich silver frame, and believed by some to have been painted by S. Thaddeus of the Seventy. Connected with the church is a commodious episcopal residence, and a good schoolroom where we saw upwards of a hundred children receiving instruction from three clerical teachers. Stones were already brought to rebuild the church, and at the Bishop's request I spent a day in drawing out a plan for the new building. I have since heard that the church is completed, and is now one of the most superb Christian temples in the East.
There are 1800 Armenian families within the walls of Urfah, and 200 in the village of Garamoosh, about three hours distant from the town. There are eighteen priests in the city alone.
From the Armenian we went to visit the Syrian Jacobite church, which like the former is situated in a spacious court, with a commodious residence for the Bishop and two priests. Here I returned the visit of Mutran Ibraheem, a simple but good hearted old man, who expressed his desire for the extension of education among his people in the strongest terms. The church is a small building dedicated to S. Peter and S. Paul, and contains four altars within the sanctuary. The school comprised from forty to fifty scholars, to whom the present of a case of books, chiefly from the press of the Church Missionary Society at Malta which I had brought with me, proved very acceptable. From the school we went to the new Syrian church which is being built without the city walls for the convenience of the Jacobites who reside in that quarter. The firman for raising this additional place of worship was obtained chiefly through the influence of Mokdisi Yeshua, our host, who is the richest member of the Syrian community here, and has himself defrayed the greater portion of the sum expended in its erection. At our suggestion he altered the original plan of the building, which was to have a part of the interior separated by a railing for the females, and has since added a gallery for the purpose over the western entrance. The Jacobites of Urfah number 180 families with six priests; there are no villages of this community nearer than Gerger Dagh, about two days distant.
On our way to the Oloor Jamesi we called upon the governor, Bahri Ahmet Pasha, who made many inquiries about our steamers and balloons. He is said to be a great reader, and to pay little attention to his official duties, which are confided to the mismanagement of his lieutenant and treasurer. The serai in which he resides is large, but poor and in bad repair; in the yard we saw one brass cannon and an old phaeton. The citadel is entirely destitute of artillery.
The mosque called Oloor Jamesi was an old Christian church, as is evident from the hexangular belfry which is now converted into a minaret, and from the lower parts of the building. As in the case of the Great Mosque at Diarbekir, the nave of the church has been turned into a court-yard, in which a fountain has been introduced for the religious ablutions of the Mussulmans, and the southern wall of the church is now the northern wall of the mosque. The fountain is surmounted by a dome raised upon four Corinthian pillars taken from some more ancient building.
Issuing forth from the Bâk Kapoosi we took a stroll round the city. Directing our course southward we crossed the bridge over the Kara Koyoon, and entered the gardens, in the walls of which we observed many fragments of sculptures and a few very imperfect Greek inscriptions, apparently referable to the Byzantine period. Passing the Harrân gate on our right we walked towards the Bir-Ayyoob (Job's well), connected with which is a Ziyaret, or shrine, held in some repute by the Mussulmans, and tended by a few miserable looking creatures, who obtain a livelihood by begging from the visitors to the sacred enclosure. According to the Mohammedans this was the well from which Job used to drink, while the Christians believe it to be the place where the painter, who had been sent by Abgarus to take a likeness of the Saviour, dropped the napkin whereon Christ had vouchsafed to bestow upon him a miraculous impression of His countenance. The common tradition of this occurrence is as follows: the painter, on receiving the napkin from our blessed Lord, had been directed not to look behind him until he had delivered it into the hands of king Abgarus; but, on arriving at this well, he forgot the injunction, and suddenly the sound of an army in battle so terrified him, that he let fall the napkin on the spot, which was then a dry ditch, and immediately a spring burst forth bearing on its surface the mysterious image. The water of the well is believed both by Mohammedans and Christians to possess a miraculous property for curing certain cutaneous diseases, and mixed with a little clay is frequently sprinkled over fields of wheat and barley infested with a destructive insect very common in these districts.
From the well we walked to another Mohammedan shrine called Sheikh Maksood, situated to the south-west of the citadel, and built over a grotto said to contain two headless bas-reliefs which we were very anxious to see. To our great disappointment the door was shut, so we proceeded to examine the numerous natural caves in the vicinity, which appears to have been the principal city quarry. In some of these parties of Christians were making keif, i.e., taking their pleasure and drinking arack. In a few others we observed several open sarcophagi, but no inscriptions whatever.
Descending the hill to the western side of the town we came to a chapel belonging to the Armenians, and dedicated to S. Serghees, but commonly called Khudhr Elias, for the same reason that other Christian temples in the East are so called, viz., to secure to them the toleration and respect of the Mohammedans. There is nothing worth noticing in the chapel, which is situated in an inner court, from whence a descent of four steps leads into a grotto containing four recesses, and opening into an adjoining subterranean cave, the roof of which is supported by four irregularly placed pillars. In this latter are eight tombs, the largest of which is said to cover the remains of S. Ephrem Syrus, and another the ashes of Theodorus, both held in high.jpg)
1. Tomb of S. Ephrem Syrus.2. Tomb of Theodorus.
Pursuing our walk through the vineyards we reached a beautiful garden on the north-west of the town, in which is a circular fountain called by the Mohammedans Sooleiman Pyâr, but believed by the Christians to be the spring where S. Thaddeus baptized his first converts.
There are 12,000 Mussulman families at Urfah, who are accounted very bigoted, and are extremely overbearing in their conduct towards the native Christians. Many of them are Hadjis, i.e. have visited Mecca, and the entrances to the houses of these devotees are gaudily painted with the symbols of their pilgrimage, the begging bowl, flag, truncheon, axe, coffee-pot, pipe, censer, &c. What the serpent is intended to represent I know not. The annexed is a specimen of these designs taken from a house opposite to that inhabited by Mokdisi Yeshua.
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HADJI'S HOUSE AT URFAH.
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HEADDRESS OF A CHRISTIAN FEMALE AT URFAH.
The language most commonly spoken at Urfah is Turkish, Arabic being but little known except by those who trade with the neighbouring Bedooeen. The Christians generally converse together in Armenian, very few of the Syrians being acquainted even with the vulgar dialect of their national tongue. The epistolary correspondence of the Syrians is generally carried on in Turkish expressed in Syriac characters, and they possess a few books written in this style. I procured a Syro-Turkish Psalter during my visit in the hope of getting it published for the benefit of the Jacobite Christians of this district, many of whom expressed a strong desire for elementary and other works prepared after this model.
Since our visit Mokdisi Yeshua, whose guest we were, has been appointed British consular agent at Urfah, and I have been pleased to hear of the assistance which he has frequently rendered to English travellers passing this way. He is a man of great influence among the Syrians generally, and is not only well-disposed towards our Church, but joined with the Bishop in expressing the hope that we would use every endeavour to benefit their community, in which he promised his cordial cooperation. It is my firm belief that had it not been for the care which he exerted to prevent the schism, very many of the Jacobites would have listened to the persuasions of the Latin missionaries, who have lately established themselves here, and have seceded to the Church of Rome.
The staple produce of the district is wool, which is sent from here to Alexandretta and thence shipped to Europe. The town is supplied with wheat and barley from the extensive plain south of the road leading to Birejik which is called Serooj. Rice is brought from about Karajah Dagh; and fuel, of which there is a great scarcity owing to the want of wood in the neighbourhood, is imported from Sewrek and Room-Kala on the Euphrates.
Urfah, I believe, is generally acknowledged to occupy the site of Ur of the Chaldees, the reputed birth-place of Abraham. It is styled "Urhoi" in all the ancient Syrian MSS., and the remains of a church dedicated to "Mar Yacoob Urhoyo," (S. James of Ur,) are still to be seen on a hill to the south-west of the town. By the Arabs it was called Raha, or Er-Raha, which owes its etymology to the same root, and by which name it is still known to the Bedooeen. This fact, together with the existence of Harran twenty-five miles to the south, and the plains of Serooj to the north-west, names evidently derived from the patriarchs, the former the brother, and the latter the great grandfather, of Abraham, (see Gen. xi. 22, 27,) go to prove that the whole of this district was comprehended within the limits of ancient Chaldea. It is somewhat singular, moreover, that the Mohammedans have placed the residence of Job in this vicinity, which they evidently do from their tradition attached to the Bir Ayyoob. Job, as we know, dwelt among a people called Sabeans and Chaldeans, (Job i. 15, 17) who destroyed part of his household, and plundered him of his flocks and herds. In connection with this subject it is interesting to find that there are no less than 4,000 Yezeedee families scattered among the 360 Coordish villages of the Serooj, and, as we have already had occasion to state, no less than twice that number in the district between Urfah and Sewrek. The continuance of this sect here, and the connection of some of their doctrines and rites with Sabianism and Magism is another corroborative proof that the whole of this region originally formed a part of the Chaldea of the Bible. It was not my lot to fall in with any of the Yezeedees about Urfah, but I am assured that those near Mosul, the head-quarters of the sect, and the seat of their Sheikh, know little of them; and I am inclined to believe that a careful investigation might result in bringing to light some important differences between the separate communities both as regards language and religion. I deem it not improbable that those of this district have retained in greater purity the doctrines of ancient Sabianism, since according to Gibbon there was a temple of the moon at Harran, to which the Sabeans performed frequent pilgrimages as late as the rise of Islamism.[2]
I think it is clear from the above that the Chaldeans must have existed as a distinct people before the time of Chesed, Nahor's son, (Gen. xxii. 22,) who is regarded by some as the progenitor of the Chasdira or Chaldeans. Ainsworth's idea is that "Chesed only united the scattered tribes of a pre-existing race, or else, by founding a dynasty, created a nation for the land of Ur, which existed in the first years of Abraham, and was only emphatically distinguished by the Hebrews as 'Ur in the land of the Chaldees,' subsequently to the times both of Abraham and Chesed."[3] This view is confirmed by a passage in the Lookâté, the old Syriac MS. referred to in a former chapter, which states that "in the time of Nahor, Terah's father, the books and learning of the Chaldeans, their sorcery and witchcraft, were taken into Egypt."[4] The idea of a Chaldean dynasty, separate from that of Babylon, is also supported by the following additional quotation from the same author: "In his time, [Terah's,][5] Hesron [?] his brother warred with Kesrones king of Babel and slew him, and took the empire from Babel. In his time also reigned the first king of the Assyrians, whose name was Boolsan, [or Boolasan,] and he built many cities."[6]
But I fear to pursue such investigations any further, and shall leave the above remarks to the indulgent criticism of the learned. Ur, or Edessa, as it was then called, and the capital of the kingdom of Osrhoene, finally became a part of the Roman Empire in the East under Severus, A.D. 316. At that time the purest Syriac dialect was spoken here, where it has now almost disappeared, except as the language of the Jacobite rituals. Here, also, about a hundred years later flourished the famous school which gave birth to the most celebrated apostles of Nestorianism. Edessa fell into the hands of the Saracens in the eighth century, from whom it was wrested by Baldwin, A.D. 1097. The Crusaders only kept possession for about sixty years, and were expelled in their turn by the Seljukians under Zenghi the prince of the Atabeks of Syria.
- ↑ Maako among the Jacobites and Armenians of Urfah means Margaret.
- ↑ Decline and Fall, chap. 1.
- ↑ Assyria, Babylonia, and Chaldea, p. 154.
- ↑ If this assertion can be relied on, it settles the question whether the arts and sciences sprang from the Chaldeans or the Egyptians.
- ↑ That Terah was of noble descent, and a person of some consequence in his day, may be gathered from the retinue of his son Abraham, and the respect which was paid him by the kings of Sodom and Salem after he had routed the four confederate kings in the valley of Shaveh. See Genesis xiv.
- ↑ The above quotations are preceded in the original by the following account of Peleg and Arao or Reu. (Gen. xi. 18, 20.)
"Peleg:—In his days the languages were divided, when men designed to build a tower to reach up to heaven.
"Arao:—In his time the mighty Nimrod rose, the first king of Babel, and in Egypt Panopus, who was called Misraim after the name of Misraim their father. Then men first began to use weapons in war."
If the chronology of the above quotations is correct, the first Chaldeo-Babylonian dynasty began with Nimrod, who was succeeded by Kesrones, contemporary with whom was Boolsan the first king of Assyria. It would be an interesting discovery, if in the attempts which are now being made to read the cuneiform monuments, these names could be identified. Several notices of this kind, gleaned during my translation of the Nestorian rituals, have led me to believe that a thorough examination of the few ancient Syriac MSS. now extant, might throw light upon the first dynasties of Babylonia and Assyria, and be useful in aiding and corroborating the studies of those learned scholars who are engaged in deciphering the long-forgotten records engraved upon the monuments of Nimrood and Koyoonjuk.