Syriac Dioceses, Cities, and Communities

Syriac Dioceses, Cities, and Communities

The West Syriac or Syriac Orthodox people historically lived in many cities and communities in the Near East and they played a role in passing the Syriac heritage to the new generations of Syriac people. They established many dioceses in many regions throughout their long history but many of them don't exist anymore. This is a partial list and the work is in progress to document all the settlements that we can documentations about.

The Historical Settlements list

All the settlements on this list are from the the earlier times of Christianity. Some of them still exists in the same or a  different format. Some got bigger and some got small and relegated to be just a small village but many were abandoned and disappeared from the historical records for various reasons. The two main reasons for these changes the conversion of the Syriac people to different religions and the many massacres that happened that they went through in their historical homeland in the Near East. Many of the settlements in these list, were settled by the Arameans in the times BC.

• Tur-'Abdin Region

• Turkey Regions (Outside Tur-'Abdin)

• Iraq Regions

• Persia and Asia Regions

• Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan Regions

• Other Regions:

• Cyprus: It was populated by Syriac refugees from the Levant region coast. Starting at the 13th century groups of merchants settled there including a group of Mosul merchants. All these settlements had attested bishops at some time in their history. They include:

  • • • Amathus: Near Limassol

      • Carpasia

      • Kition

      • Kitros

      • Lapithos

      • Ledra

      • Neapolis

      • Paphos

      • Salamina

      • Soli

      • Tamassos

      • Theodosiana

      • Trimithus

• Egypt: There was a large Syriac communities living in many Egyptian cities but it doesn't look like they had a formal dioceses. All the known locations are monasteries and they are listed in the Syriac Monasteries section

• Yamen: It was populated by Syriacs in the first few centuries on Christianity. Few of the cities and town where Syriacs lived are: 

  • • • Dafar

      • Hadramout: A city in Yamen. Had attested bishops

      • Hajran

      • Hazbah

      • Ma'ad

      • Maareb

      • Najran: A city in Yamen. Had attested bishops

      • Sabaa

      • Taimant

      • Thi Ridan

• Madina: A city in Saudi Arabia. One bishop attested

• Najed: A region in Saudi Arabia. One bishop attested

• Yamama: A region in Saudi Arabia

Unlocated

• Beth Gabin: Unlocated

• Beth Hur: Unlocated

• Deboratia: Unlocated

• Dirig: Unlocated. One bishop attested

• Dula: Unlocated. Three bishops are attested

• Errha: Unlocated.

• Harara: Unlocated

• Kafr 'Abdin: Unlocated

• Kafr 'Uzil: Unlocated

• Kunnaki: Unlocated

• Maroneus: Unlocated. One bishop attested

• Qarmanaye: Unlocated

• Ramtashir: Unlocated

• Shalabdin: Unlocated

• Shimshat: Unlocated

• Tell Rumnin: Unlocated

The Modern List

The list of cities, villages, and communities at the end of 19th century under the Ottoman rule, is arranged in districts according to the last administrative boundaries for the districts in Ottoman Empire. At the end of it's reign, the Ottoman Empire was divided in large districts called "Vilayet," that encompassed sub-districts called "Sanjak," and even smaller districts called "Kaza." Usually, the name of of the any size district was the name of the biggest city in that district. There are variations in how the names of some of the districts were written

• District of Aleppo

• Distrcit of Bitlis

• District of Damascus

• District of Diyarbakir

• District of Mosul

• District of Mamuret-ul-Aziz

Communities in the 20th and 21st Century

India:

• Kandanad: a town in the northeastern part of Malabar, in India.

• Malabar: A territory in southwest India, on the coast of the Indian Ocean; it includes the provinces of Travancore and Cochin.

Sources: 

1. Patriarch Ignatius Aphram I Barsoum (2003), The Scattered Pearls, A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, Translated and Edited by Matti Moosa, New Jersey

2. Patriarch Ignatius Aphram I Barsoum (2009),  The Collected Historical Essays of Aphram I Barsoum, Translated and Edited by Matti Moosa, New Jersey

3. Bcheiry, Iskandar (2009), The Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Register of Dues of 1870. An Unpublished Historical Document from the Late Ottoman Period, New Jersey.

4. Bcheiry, Iskandar (2010), Collection of Historical Documents in Relation With the Syriac Orthodox Community in the Late Period of the Ottoman Empire: The Register of Mardin MS 1006, New Jersey.

5. Bcheiry, Iskandar (2010), A List of Syriac Orthodox Ecclesiastic Ordinations from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century: The Syriac Manuscript of Hunt 444 (Syr 68 in Bodleian Library, Oxford) , New Jersey.

6. Bedrosian, Robert (Tr.) (2013), Chronicle of Michael the Great, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, New Jersey

7. Fiey, Jean Maurice (1993), Pour un Oriens Christianus Novus: Répertoire des diocèses syriaques orientaux et occidentaux, Beirut

8. Jongerden, Joost and Verheij, Jelle (Ed.) (2012), Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915, Leiden.

9. Sinclair, T. A. (1987-1990). Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume I,II,III,IV. London, UK

10. Wilmshurst, David (Tr.) (2016), Bar Hebraeus The Ecclesiastical Chronicle, Maphrian of the Syriac Orthodox Church, New Jersey.