Basil Solomon was the

Maphrian of the East The Maphrian ( or ''maphryono''), is the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, right below that of patriarch. The office of a maphrian is a maphrianate. There have been three maphrianates in the hist ...

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 (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

, 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 The Syriac language ( ; ), also known natively in its spoken form in early Syriac literature as Edessan (), the Mesopotamian language () and Aramaic (), is an Aramaic#Eastern Middle Aramaic, Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect. Classical Syriac is ...

, 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 () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultu ...

, 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

* * {{authority control 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