Mikhail Mishaqa or Michael Meshaka (March 20, 1800 – July 19, 1888; ), also known as Doctor Mishaqa, was born in Rashmayyā, Lebanon, and is reputed to be "the first historian of modern

Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria () is a historiographical term used to describe the group of divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of the Levant, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Ara ...

"Zachs (2001). as well as the "virtual founder of the twenty-four equal

quarter tone A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale or an interval about half as wide (orally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which itself is half a whole tone. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 cents each, a ...

scale".Maalouf (2003). Mishaqa's memoir of the

1860 Mount Lebanon civil war The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, also known as the 1860 Christian–Druze war, was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians. Following decisiv ...

is valuable to historians, as it is the only account written by a survivor of the massacre of

Syrian Christians Syrian Christians may refer to * Adherents of Christianity in Syria * Adherents of Syriac Christianity, various Christian bodies of Syriac traditions ** Saint Thomas Christians, Christians of Syriac tradition in India, also called ''Syrians'' or ' ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. In 1859 he was appointed vice-consul of the United States in Damascus.

Personal life

Mikhail's great-grandfather, Jirjis Mishaqa I, converted to

Greek Catholicism Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gre ...

. Jirjis' father, Youssef Petraki (), an ethnic

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and Orthodox Christian, moved from Corfu, Greece to

Tripoli, Lebanon Tripoli ( ; , , ; , ; see #Names, below) is the largest and most important city in North Lebanon, northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate ...

to pursue the silk trade. As such, Petraki, named himself after an Arabic term describing the process of filtering silk fibres, ''mishaqa'' (). Mikhail's father, Jirjis Mishaqa II, moved to

Deir al-Qamar Deir al-Qamar () is a city south-east of Beirut in south-central Lebanon. It is located five kilometres outside of Beit ed-Dine in the Chouf District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate at 800 m of average altitude. History Crusader period The ol ...

, then controlled by the Shihabs, to escape the religious repression of al-Jazzar, the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

. In 1848, Mikhail Mishaqa converted from Greek Catholicism to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, after coming in contact with American Protestant missionaries and reading a translation of ''Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion...'' by Alexander Keith.

Career

Mikhail Mishaqa began his career as a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

but became a

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

and then chief

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

for the

Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

, Bashir II's household.Zachs (2005). According to Leila Fawaz, Mikhail was well-educated;

''"At the first opportunity he showed off his knowledge and the ignorance of the offender. In such ways, Mishaqa continued to educate himself. He taught himself medicine and became a doctor."''

According to Touma,Touma (1996), p. 19. Mishaqa was the first

theorist A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

to propose a division of the

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

into roughly twenty-four equal intervals (24-tone

equal temperament An equal temperament is a musical temperament or Musical tuning#Tuning systems, tuning system that approximates Just intonation, just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into steps such that the ratio of the frequency, frequencie ...

, quarter tone scale, ), this being the current basis of the

Arab tone system The modern Arab tone system, or system of musical tuning, is based upon the theoretical division of the octave into twenty-four equal divisions or 24-tone equal temperament, the distance between each successive note being a quarter tone (50 cents ...

. However, Mishaqa's work ''"Essay on the Art of Music for the Emir Shihāb''" (, ''al-Risāla al-shihābiyya fī 'l-ṣinā‘a al-mūsīqiyya'') (c. 1840) is devoted to the topic but also makes clear his teacher Sheikh Muhammad al-‘Attār (1764–1828) was one of many already familiar with the concept, although al-‘Attār did not publish his writings on the subject. Mishaqa's most important works as a historian include the much quoted ''"A Response to a Proposition by Beloved Ones"'' (1873) (, ''al-Jawāb `alā Iqtirāḥ al-Aḥbāb'') and ''"History of events which took place in Syria on its coast and the Mount in 1782-1841"'' (1843) ( ''Ta’rih Hawadit Jarat bil-Sham wa-Sawahil Barr al-Sham wa-l-Jabal, 1782-1841 m'').

Notes

Sources

Habib Hassan Touma Habib Hassan Touma () (12 December 1934 – 10 August 1998) was a Palestinian composer and ethnomusicologist who lived and worked for many years in Berlin, Germany. Life and career Habib Hassan Touma was born in Nazareth on 12 December 1934. ...

(1996). ''The Music of the Arabs'', trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. . *Maalouf, Shireen (2003). "Mikhā'il Mishāqa: Virtual Founder of the Twenty-Four Equal Quartertone Scale", ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', Vol. 123, No. 4. (October–December 2003), pp. 835–40. *Zachs, Fruma (2001). "Mikhail Mishaqa - The First Historian of Modern Syria", ''British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies'', Vol. 28, No. 1 (May 2001), pp. 67–87. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mishaqa, Mikhail 1800 births 1888 deaths Music theorists 19th-century historians from the Ottoman Empire Musical tuning Historians of the Middle East Lebanese Protestants Protestantism in Lebanon Syrian Christians Arab Christians Converts to Protestantism from Roman Catholicism Lebanese people of Greek descent Lebanese musicologists 19th-century musicologists

Personal life

Career

See also

Notes

Sources