Article

The Dispute between the Nestorian Patriarch Timothy I and the Caliph al-Mahdi: Versions, Manuscripts, Editions and Translations

русская версия

DOI https://doi.org/10.31696/2618-7043-2023-6-5-846-857
Authors
Affiliation: Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики»
Magazine
Sections HISTORY OF THE EAST. Historiography, source critical studies, historical research methods
Pages 846 - 857
Annotation

This paper serves as an introduction to the forthcoming translation of the disagreement between Patriarch Timothy I of the Church of the East and the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi. It provides the historical context of the text, discusses the importance of the debate for the study of Arab-Muslim polemics, and explores its dating. Author provided additional information about Syriac and Arabic manuscript traditions and presented an updated stemma of these manuscripts containing the dialogue text. Additionally, she thoroughly reviewed editions and translations of the dispute in both Syriac and Arabic, and systematically analyzed differences between all existing versions. A general comparison is presented between the Syrian original and the nearest Arabic translation, which serve as the foundational versions of this text.

Keywords:
Download PDF Download JATS
Bibliography:
  1. Seleznev N. N. The Theological Conversation between the Catholicos of the Church of the East Mar Timatheos I (727–823) and Caliph al-Mahdi, Commander of the Faithful. Transl. from Arabic ed. D. A. Morozov. Moscow: Assiriyskaia Cerkov’ Vostoka, 2005 (in Russian).
  2. Briquel Chatonnet F. Le travail d’un érudit à travers la correspondance du patriarche de l’Église de l’Orient Timothée Ier (780–823). Érudition et culture savante: De l'Antiquité à l'époque moderne. Ed. by F. Brizay, V. Sarrazin. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2015, pp. 101–115.
  3. Caspar R. Les versions arabes du dialogue entre le catholicos Timothée I et le calife al-Mahdî. Islamochristiana. Roma: Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e d’Islamistica, 1977. Vol. 3, pp. 107–175.
  4. Cheikho L. Trois traités anciens de polémique et de théologie chrétiennes. Beyrouth: Imprimerie Catholique, 1923.
  5. Graf G. Timotheus I. Geschichte der Christlichen Arabischen literatur. Bd. II. Ed. by G. Graf. Vatican: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, 1947, pp. 114–118.
  6. Griffith Sidney H. Disputing with Islam in Syriac the case of the monk of Bê t Ḥ ā lê and a Muslim Emir. Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies. 2000 [printed 2010]. Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute and Gorgias Press. Vol. 3.1, pp. 29–54.
  7. Hackenburg C. An Arabic-to-English translation of the religious debate between the Nestorian Patriarch Timothy I and the ‘Abbāsid Caliph al-Mahdi (M.A. thesis). Ohio: Ohio State University, 2009.
  8. Heimgartner M. Timotheos I., Ostsyrischer Patriarch: disputation mit dem Kalifen Al-Mahdi. Vols. 1–2. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2011.
  9. Kuhlmann K. — H. The Apology of Timothy, the Patriarch, before Caliph Mahdi. The Christian-Muslim Dialogue yesterday and today. The Harp. 1995–1996. Vol. 8–9, pp. 167–176.
  10. Mingana A. Timothy’s apology for Christianity. Woodbrooke studies. Ed. A. Mingana. Vol. II. Cambridge: The Heffer & Sons Limited, 1928, pp. 1–162.
  11. Mingana A. Catalogue of the Mingana Collection of Manuscripts. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Heffer, 1933.
  12. Putman H. L’église et l’islam sous Timothée I (780–823): étude sur l’église nestorienne au temps des premiers ‛Abbāsides, avec nouvelle edition et traduction du dialogue entre Timothée et al-Mahdī. Beyrouth: Dar el-Machreq Éditeurs, 1975.
  13. Sbath P. Bibliothèque de manuscrits Paul Sbath, prêtre syrien d'Alep. Cairo: Aux Prix Coûtant, 1934.
  14. Sbath P. Al-Fihris. Pt.: Ouverages des Auteurs antérieurs au XVII siècle. Cairo: Al-Chark, 1938.
  15. Virtual Hill Museum & Manuscript Library. Электронный ресурс: URL: https://www.vhmml.org/ (accesses: 23.09.2023).
For citations: Хижнякова С.О. Диспут католикоса Тимофея I c халифом аль-Махди: версии, рукописи, издания и переводы. Ориенталистика. 2023; т. 6, 5: 846-857