Everything about Nusaybin totally explained
Nusaybin ancient
Nisibis, Nisibia, Nisibin) is a city in
Mardin Province, south-eastern
Turkey populated by
Turks,
Syriacs,
Arabs and
Kurds.
It is the ancient
Mesopotamian city, which Alexander's successors refounded as
Antiochia Mygdonia (
Greek: Αντιόχεια της Μυγδονίας) and is mentioned for the first time in
Polybius' description of the march of
Antiochus I against the
Molon (
Polybius, V, 51). Greek historian
Plutarch suggested that the city was populated by
Spartan descendants. The Syriac name for the town is
Soba.
Ancient Period
As early as 852 BC, Nisibis appeared in the
Assyrian Eponym List as the seat of an
Assyrian provincial governor named Shamash-Abua.
Classical Period
Like many other cities in the
marches where
Roman and
Parthian powers confronted one another, Nisibis was often taken and retaken: it was captured by
Lucullus after a long siege from the brother of
Tigranes (
Dion Cassius, xxxv, 6, 7); and captured again by
Trajan in 115, for which he gained the name of Parthicus (ibid., LXVIII, 23), then lost and regained against the
Jews during the
Kitos War. Lost in 194, it was again conquered by
Septimius Severus, who made it his headquarters and re-established a colony there (ibid., LXXV, 23). With the fresh energy of the new
Sassanid dynasty,
Shapur I conquered Nisibis, was driven out, and returned in the 260s. In 297, by a treaty with
Narseh, the province of Nisibis was acquired by the Roman Empire.
The Roman historian of the 4th century
Ammianus Marcellinus gained his first practical experience of warfare as a young man under the governor at Nisibis,
Ursicinus. From 360 to 5th century, Nisibis was the camp of
Legio I Parthica. Because of its strategic importance on the Persian border Nisibis was heavily fortified. Ammianus lovingly calls Nisibis the "impregnable city" (
urbs inexpugnabilis) and "bulwark of the provinces" (
murus provinciarum).
In 363 Nisibis was ceded back to the
Persians after the defeat of
Julian. At that time the population of the town was forced by the Roman authorities to leave Nisibis and move to
Amida. The townspeople tried to persuade Emperor
Jovian that they were ready to defend their home against the Persians, but Iovianus allowed them only three days for the evacuation. Historian Ammianus Marcellinus was again an eyewitness of this sorrowful event. He condemns Emperor Jovian for giving up the fortified town without a fight. Marcellinus' point-of-view is certainly in line with contemporary Roman public opinion.
Nisibis had a
Christian bishop from 300, founded by
Babu (died 309). War was begun again by
Shapur II in 337, who besieged the city in
338, 346 and 350, when James, Babu's successor, was its bishop. Nisibis was the home of
Ephrem the Syrian, who remained until its surrender to the Persians by
Jovian in 363.
Later, the bishop of Nisibis was the ecclesiastic metropolitan of the Province of Beit-Arbaye. In 410 it had six suffragan sees and as early as the middle of the 5th century was the most important episcopal see of the Persian Church after
Seleucia-
Ctesiphon, and many of its
Nestorian or
Jacobite bishops were renowned for their writings: Barsumas, Osee, Narses, Jesusyab, Ebed-Jesus.
The first theological
School of Nisibis, founded at the introduction of Christianity into the city, was closed when the province was ceded to the Persians.
Ephrem the Syrian, a poet, commentator, preacher and defender of orthodoxy, joined the general exodus of Christians and reestablished the school on more securely Roman soil at
Edessa. In the 5th century the school became a center of
Nestorian Christianity, and was closed down by Archbishop Cyrus in 489; the expelled masters and pupils withdrew once more to Nisibis, under the care of Barsumas, who had been trained at Edessa, under the patronage of Narses, who established the statutes of the new school. Those which have been discovered and published belong to Osee, the successor of Barsumas in the See of Nisibis, and bear the date 496; they must be substantially the same as those of 489. In 590 they were again modified. The monastery school was under a superior called
Rabban ("master"), a title also given to the instructors. The administration was confided to a majordomo, who was steward, prefect of discipline, and librarian, but under the supervision of a council. Unlike the Jacobite schools, devoted chiefly to profane studies, the school of Nisibis was above all a school of theology. The two chief masters were the instructors in reading and in the interpretation of Holy Scripture, explained chiefly with the aid of
Theodore of Mopsuestia. The free course of studies lasted three years, the students providing for their own support. During their sojourn at the university, masters and students led a monastic life under somewhat special conditions. The school had a tribunal and enjoyed the right of acquiring all sorts of property. Its rich library possessed a most beautiful collection of Nestorian works; from its remains Ebed-Jesus, Bishop of Nisibis in the 14th century, composed his celebrated catalogue of ecclesiastical writers. The disorders and dissensions, which arose in the sixth century in the school of Nisibis, favoured the development of its rivals, especially that of Seleucia; however, it didn't really begin to decline until after the foundation of the School of
Baghdad (832). Among its literary celebrities mention should be made of its founder Narses; Abraham, his nephew and successor;
Abraham of Kashgar, the restorer of monastic life; John; Babai the Elder.
Modern Nusaybin remains the site of two
titular sees in the
Roman Catholic Church,
Nisibenus Chaldaeorum, and
Nisibenus; the first seat is held by
Jacques Ishaq, titular
Archbishop, the second has been vacant since 1968.
(External Link
)(External Link)Further Information
Get more info on 'Nusaybin'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://nusaybin.totallyexplained.com">Nusaybin Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
