Basil Solomon was the
Maphrian of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 1509 until his death in 1518.
Biography
Solomon was born in the late 15th century at
Mardin
Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location ...
, and was the son of Joseph, son of Elianus. He became a monk at the
Monastery of Saint Ananias before 1495. Solomon was noted for his proficiency in the
Syriac language, and he transcribed the dictionary of Bar Ali for Dionysius, archbishop of Ma’dan, in 1499. He succeeded Basil Abraham III as Maphrian of the East after a two-year vacancy and was ordained by Ignatius Yeshu I in late 1509, upon which he assumed the name Basil.
In 1514, Solomon was forced to flee from Mosul due to accusations against him, and he took refuge at the village of
Esfes near
Gazarta
Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Dis ...
, where he resided for the remainder of his reign. Despite this, he continued to ordain deacons and priests for churches in Mosul, Gazarta, and
Azakh. Solomon served as Maphrian of the East until his death in 1518, and he was likely buried at the church of Saint David.
References
Bibliography
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Maphrians
1518 deaths
15th-century births
16th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops
Syriac writers
People from Mardin
16th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire
Oriental Orthodox bishops in the Ottoman Empire
Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire
15th-century writers
16th-century Syriac Orthodox Church bishops