ܡܦܩܬܐ ܕܩܪ̈ܬܡܝܢܝܐ ܛܝ̈ܝܐ ܡܢ ܕܝܪܐ ܕܝܠܕܬ ܐܠܗܐ ܕܚܐܚ ـ ܛܘܪܥܒ̈ܕܝܢ / The Expulsion of the Muslims of Qarṭmin from the Syrian Monastery of the God-Bearer of Ḥāḥ in Ṭūr ʿAbdīn

Kurzfassung/Abstract

The Muslims of Qarṭmin occupied the monastery of the God-bearer in Ḥaḥ and confiscated its lands. The date of this event is still unknown. However, it may have been a few centuries ago. They used the church as a shed for their cattle and lit fires in it in winter; the soot could be seen on the walls until the renovation in 2000. The Syrian Bakos family from Ḥaḥ sacrificed one of its family members before it was possible to expel the occupiers from the monastery. A member of the Bakos family, a priest and administrator of the church, was identified and documented in a manuscript and in two other inscriptions from the 1720s. The monastery church of the God-bearer, which can be considered the landmark of Ṭūr ʿAbdīn and the jewel of Mesopotamia, is said to have been built in the first century by the 12 magi after the return of three of them from Bethlehem. The church's interior and exterior architecture is unique in the region. It was and is a place of pilgrimage for many people from near and far. The upper part of the church dome was set in its present state in 1939 and the interior was renovated in 2000. Abbots and administrators identified since the beginning of the 19th c. took care of the monastery. Ḥaḥ was an ancient historical city whose name is documented in cuneiform as Ḥabḥi in the first millennium BC. It was Christianised early and was the first episcopal see of Ṭūr ʿAbdīn. It is believed that there were about 40 churches and monasteries in Ḥaḥ and its vicinity. Of these, it has been possible to identify and locate 29 churches and monasteries, i.e. 14 or 17 more than were previously known; these are listed in the present paper. Apart from the monastery mentioned, the Mor Sobo Cathedral from the 4th or 5th century is of great importance. It forms a large church complex in Ḥaḥ and is the largest place of worship in Ṭūr ʿAbdīn. The two churches were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021 and Ḥaḥ to the Upgrade Programme of UNTWO's Best Tourism Villages in 2022. Ḥaḥ, which is surrounded by many ruins from ancient times, is now a small village, consisting of 23 Syrian Orthodox families. About 500 families from Ḥaḥ (as of 2009), including the Bakos family, now live in the Western diaspora.