Rabban Hermizd Monastery

 temple, christianity, place with historical importance

A Huge Assyrian Fortress and monastery of Notre-Dame des Semences, built on 640 A.D. (Rabban Hormizd)

The following introduction (here translated into English) was given by the Chaldean Archbishop and Assyrian scholar Addai Scher[1] (Killed by the Turks in 1916) in his 1906 catalogue of the books of the monastery.

Nine hours north of Mosul on the mountain of Beth Edri is one of the most ancient Chaldean abbeys. It was founded around the end of the 6th century by Rabban Hormizd, disciple of Rabban Bar Edta. It flourished until the 10th century. At the beginning of the 15th century the Nestorian patriarchs moved their residence there, since there were no longer any Christians in Baghdad. The tombs of 9 such patriarchs from 1504-1804 can be found there.

At the end of the 18th century, the convent was abandoned. A man named Gabriel Dambo repaired it. He had been one of the richest merchants of Mardin. Renouncing his wealth, he became a monk in Alqosh in order to live in the convent. He encountered numerous difficulties with the patriarchal family which he overcame with patience and confidence in God. He thus attracted a number of disciples who followed with him the rule of St. Anthony.

Dambo was murdered in 1832 by the soldiers of Mohammed Pasha, the Kurdish emir of Rawandouz. These had revolted against the Ottoman government and gone on a spree of pillage and massacre (see the note at the end of codex 94).

The library of the convent of Rabban Hormizd was rich in Syriac manuscripts. In 1828 many of these manuscripts were looted and broken up by Moussa Pasha, who had imitated the emir of Rawandouz in revolting against the Turk. In 1868 147 volumes, manuscript and printed, suffered the same treatment from Ismael Pasha, the successor of Moussa Pasha. Most of the manuscripts now (1906) in the convent have been acquired and brought here since 1842."

Addai Scher visited the library in 1902 and took notes on each manuscript, although not noting the size or number of pages in every case.

Fr. William F. Maccomber tells us that, as late as January 1966, the last professional scribe at Alqoš, the Deacon Pawlos Qaša, was still at work copying manuscripts.

The collection of manuscripts is of very great importance for the study of Syriac literature, and mss. from it feature in almost every discussion of Syriac texts.