Syriac literature

      body of writings in Syriac, an eastern Aramaic Semitic language originally spoken in and around Edessa (Şanlıurfa), Osroëne (modern Şalıurfa, in southeastern Turkey). First attested in the 1st century AD, Syriac spread through the Middle East because of Edessa's position as the intellectual capital of the Christian Orient. Syriac reached its height just prior to the Arab conquest in the 7th century, after which it gradually declined until it was completely superseded by Arabic in the 14th century. Apart from its obvious interest to Semitic scholars, Syriac literature is of importance for the study of Syrian Christianity, for its preservation of Greek Christian texts, and for its role as an intermediary between ancient Greek learning and the Islamic world. Syriac was the language of an extensive literature, including translations of the Bible, hymns and poems, translations of Greek works, biblical commentaries, historical works, laws, compilations of lives of saints, and works about philosophy, grammar, medicine, and science.

      The works of St. Ephraem Syrus (Ephraem Syrus, Saint) (4th century) stood at the beginning of Syrian literature and were never surpassed by any later author. The elegance of his poetry and the beauty of his style earned him the epithet “Harp of the Holy Spirit.” He employed two poetic forms, one for spoken speech in metrical form, whether a narrative or didactic epic, the other a more artful composition in strophes to be sung by a choir or double choir. The most notable Syriac poet after the split between eastern and western Syrian Christianity was Narsai (d. c. 503), a Nestorian Christian. Among the many historical writings in Syriac is the monumental chronicle in 21 books of the patriarch Michael I. The work covers both church and secular history up until 1195 and is valuable because it incorporates many historical sources and forms a veritable depository of lost documents. The last major Syriac writer was Bar Hebraeus (1226–86), a Jewish convert to Syrian Christianity. He wrote extensively in nearly every area of Syriac literature, including grammar, biblical commentary, and science.

      A large portion of extant Syrian literature consists of translations of Greek Christian writings—almost all important Christian authors and documents written in Greek were translated by Syrians. This mass of Greco-Syrian translated literature is an essential source for works of Greek Christian literature that have not survived in their original language. Many secular works also were translated into Syriac, including most of the works of Aristotle and other ancient Greek philosophers, as well as the writings of the chief medical and scientific authors of ancient Greece. These translations were critical to the rise of Islamic civilization, since most Greek works were translated from Syriac into Arabic rather than directly from Greek. For instance, to take the works of Galen alone, 130 were translated into Arabic from Syriac but only 9 directly from Greek originals. It was through the medium of Syriac that many works of Greek learning exerted their influence on the Islamic world.

Additional Reading

An authoritative study of Syriac literature is William Wright, A Short History of Syriac Literature (1894, reprinted 1978).

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