Monastery of the Martyrs Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܒܗܢܡ ܘܡܪܬ ܣܪܐ, ar, دير مار بهنام, ''Mar Behnam Monastery''), is a

Syriac Catholic The Syriac Catholic Church ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĪṯo Suryayṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo, ar, الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية) is an Eastern Catholic Christian jurisdiction originating in t ...

monastery in northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

in the village Khidr Ilyas close to the town of Beth Khdeda. The tomb of Mar Benham was heavily damaged on March 19, 2015, by the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

, and the exterior murals were desecrated in all of the monastery's buildings. Repair work restoring the monastery and the tomb of Mar Behnam to its pre-ISIS condition was completed by early December 2018.

History

The monastery was according to legend built in the 4th century by a king named Senchareb as penance for martyring his son

Mar Behnam Saints Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs were 4th-century Christians who suffered martyrdom during the reign of Shapur II. They are venerated as saints in the Oriental Orthodox Church. Biography According to their hagiography, Behnam and Sara ...

and daughter Sarah after they converted to Christianity.بهنام وسارة, الصرح والتاريخ
Bakhdida.com After its establishment, the monastery was part of the Church of the East up until the 14th century as evidenced by Mongolic inscriptions left by Mongolian Christian pilgrims in the 1200s, and contributed greatly to the Christian world under the care of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Inscriptions on sculptures in the church show that renovations were made to the monastery in 1164 and between 1250 and 1261. Records show that the monastery suffered greatly during the period from 1743 to 1790 due to attacks carried out by Nader Shah and later

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n Muslim rulers against the Christians in the region. The monks of the monastery established contact with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Rome in the late 18th century seeking protection against Nader Khan, which led to the gradual conversion of the inhabitants of

Bakhdida Qaraqosh, also known as Al-Hamdaniya or Bakhdida, is an Assyrian city in Iraq within the Nineveh Governorate, located about 32 km (20 mi) southeast of the city of Mosul and 60 km (37 mi) west of Erbil amid agricultural lands, close ...

to the Syriac Catholic Church. In 1790 the monastery was taken over by the Catholic Church and was managed for eight years until the Syriac Orthodox church retook it. For unknown reasons, the monks abandoned the monastery in 1819—likely due to the loss of their flock in that region. The Syriac Catholic Church resumed possession of the monastery, and repopulated it in 1839; it has continued in this state to the present time with the exception of a three-year abandonment as a result of the 2014 ISIS invasions. The monastery is the former residence and present resting place of a number of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs.دير مار بهنام الشهيد في مدينة الموصل بالعراق
, CopticCatholic.com

Current status

The monastery was renovated in 1986, and was visited by thousands of Christians and Muslims yearly until ISIS took control of the area. During the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive,

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

troops of

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

took control of the monastery. The troops removed

crosses Crosses may refer to: * Cross, the symbol Geography * Crosses, Cher, a French municipality * Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas Language * Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...

from the monastery, threatened monks with execution and then expelled the monks with nothing but the clothes on their backs. On March 19, 2015, Islamic State released photos showing the blowing up of the historic tomb of Saint Behnam. After more than 2 years of occupation, the monastery and its surrounding area was liberated by

Iraqi Security Forces The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) is a term used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to describe law enforcement and military forces of the federal government of the Republic of Iraq. During the Iraq War, these entities received trainin ...

on November 20, 2016. Repair work restoring the monastery and the tomb of Mar Behnam to its pre-ISIS condition was completed by early December 2018.

References

External links

{{Authority control Christianity in Nineveh Governorate Eastern Catholic monasteries in Iraq Christian monasteries established in the 4th century Syriac Catholic church buildings