255:, but it has since been proven by more recent studies that it was written in 1197. It was written by an adherent of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and details of the saints' lives are also recorded in other Syriac manuscripts from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The hagiography may have been written to establish the pre-Islamic foundation of the Monastery of Saints Behnam and Sarah, and thus prevent confiscation from Muslim rulers.
231:("pit" in Syriac). A wealthy pilgrim called Isaac later visited the site of the martyrs' death in the hope it would exorcise the devil from his servant, and constructed a monastery named as Beth Gubbe near Behnam's tomb upon receiving instructions to do so from the saint in a dream. This became known as the
298:. Also, as a consequence of the Christianisation of Assyria, figures and sites from Assyrian history were integrated into Christian narratives, and thus Assur was mentioned as the place of the king's baptism, and the name Sennacherib used for Behnam and Sarah's father was inspired by the Assyrian king
214:
Behnam and his entourage returned to the city and told his mother of his dream and the saint. His mother allowed Behnam and Sarah to return to the saint in secret, and he healed Sarah of her leprosy, after which Behnam, Sarah, and the forty slaves were baptised. Matthew used water from a spring that
218:
Sennacherib was afflicted by madness after the death of the martyrs. An angel appeared before Behnam's mother and told her the king would only be cured of his madness if he converted to
Christianity and prayed at the site of the martyrs' death. Behnam's mother and Sennacherib followed the angel's
215:
appeared after he hit the ground with his staff. The king learned of his children's conversion and threatened to punish them if they did not abandon
Christianity. Stalwart in their faith, Behnam, Sarah, and the forty slaves, fled to Mount Alfaf, but were slain by soldiers sent by the king.
289:
Names and places in the hagiography were derived from pre-existing traditions, as demonstrated by the name Sarah, which is known to be the traditional name given in Syriac hagiographies to the sister of a male martyr, such as the Saints Zayna and Sarah, and was derived from
45:
199:. Whilst hunting with forty slaves, Behnam was separated from his entourage, and was forced to spend the night in the wilderness. He received a dream in which an angel instructed him to seek Saint
207:, as he could heal Behnam's sister Sarah, who was afflicted with leprosy. Behnam met with his entourage the next day, and they searched and discovered the hermit in a cave, where he explained
835:
Saint-Laurent, Jeanne-Nicole Mellon (2019). "Christian Legend in
Medieval Iraq: Siblings, Sacrifice, and Sanctity in Behnam and Sarah". In Georgia Frank; Susan Holman; Andrew Jacobs (eds.).
319:, composed in the late thirteenth century or early fourteenth century. Sarah is also separately commemorated in some Syriac Orthodox calendars on 22 November.
928:
796:
Harrak, Amir (2001). "Tales about
Sennacherib: The Contribution of the Syriac Sources". In P.M. Michèle Daviau; John W. Wevers; Michael Weigl (eds.).
923:
874:
Wolper, Ethel Sara (2014). "Khidr and the
Politics of Translation in Mosul: Mar Behnam, St George and Khidr Ilyas". In Gharipour Mohammad (ed.).
753:
266:
has been argued to suggest that an oral version of the saints' lives had existed prior to the earliest surviving manuscript. Two homilies (
918:
435:
913:
223:. At the request of Saint Matthew, Sennacherib constructed a monastery atop Mount Alfaf, that would later become known as the
933:
771:
Chaillot, Christine (2006). "The
Ancient Oriental Churches". In Geoffrey Wainwright; Karen B. Westerfield Tucker (eds.).
898:
855:
893:
313:, the village near the monastery of Saints Behnam and Sarah in Iraq, are also commemorated on 10 December in the
211:
to the prince. Behnam demanded proof, and
Matthew told him to bring Sarah to him to be healed of her leprosy.
332:
943:
938:
908:
903:
315:
166:
181:
According to their hagiography, Behnam and Sarah were born in the 4th century, and were the children of
170:
83:
17:
129:
867:
Constantine and the
Captive Christians of Persia: Martyrdom and Religious Identity in Late Antiquity
95:
283:
876:
Sacred
Precincts: The Religious Architecture of Non-Muslim Communities Across the Islamic World
143:
136:
845:
328:
232:
224:
110:
8:
200:
121:
87:
837:
The Garb of Being: Embodiment and the
Pursuit of Holiness in Late Ancient Christianity
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306:
196:
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instructions, and the king was cured. They were then baptised by Saint Matthew at
784:
279:
267:
244:
158:
91:
227:. The king also constructed a monument on the site of the martyrs' death called
252:
887:
50:
814:
259:
208:
299:
204:
847:
Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume III
339:. As well as this, the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Forty Martyrs at
162:
828:
Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day
310:
182:
632:
569:
440:
Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
798:
The World of the Aramaeans: Studies in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion
755:
The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences
672:
634:
295:
186:
251:. The German historian Gernot Wießner argued it was composed in
571:
344:
340:
104:
596:
286:
also wrote two poems on Behnam, of which five copies survive.
49:
An icon of Saints Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs in the
336:
331:
in Iraq. Some relics of the saints are also contained in the
291:
220:
31:
551:
539:
247:
manuscripts. The earliest surviving manuscript is named the
529:
527:
512:
356:
258:
A mention of a church of Saint Behnam at Tripoli in 961 by
191:
114:
614:
758:. Translated by Matti Moosa (2nd ed.). Gorgias Press
407:
405:
403:
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397:
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44:
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502:
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456:
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243:
The life of the martyrs is recorded in at least twenty
570:
Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent (5 November 2015).
392:
368:
161:
Christians who suffered martyrdom during the reign of
702:
652:
633:
Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent (17 August 2016).
487:
485:
497:
453:
690:
670:
482:
347:purports to contain the remains of Saint Behnam.
885:
800:. Vol. 3. A&C Black. pp. 168–190.
327:The relics of Behnam and Sarah are kept at the
839:. Fordham University Press. pp. 191–221.
834:
576:Bibliotheca Hagiographica Syriaca Electronica
557:
545:
518:
362:
276:On the Martyrdom of Behnam and his Companions
929:Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism
775:. Oxford University Press. pp. 131–170.
155:Saints Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs
819:Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
43:
807:Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity
805:Meinardus, Otto Friedrich August (2002).
804:
720:
386:
843:
770:
732:
436:"Sts. Behnam, Sarah, and the 40 Martyrs"
374:
773:The Oxford History of Christian Worship
748:
620:
14:
924:People executed by the Sasanian Empire
886:
873:
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813:
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506:
491:
476:
430:
428:
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424:
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420:
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165:. They are venerated as saints in the
864:
809:. American University in Cairo Press.
671:David A. Michelson (17 August 2016).
639:Qadishe: A Guide to the Syriac Saints
533:
779:
696:
658:
329:Monastery of Saints Behnam and Sarah
271:
233:Monastery of Saints Behnam and Sarah
111:Monastery of Saints Behnam and Sarah
37:Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs
417:
24:
572:"Behnam and his Companions (text)"
278:are known to have been written by
25:
955:
919:Christians in the Sasanian Empire
869:. University of California Press.
309:noted that the Forty Martyrs of
741:
664:
626:
589:
563:
249:History of Mar Behnam and Sarah
791:(in French). The Darwin Press.
238:
13:
1:
914:4th-century Christian martyrs
350:
176:
7:
934:Groups of Christian martyrs
316:Martyrology of Rabban Sliba
167:Assyrian Church of the East
10:
960:
878:. Brill. pp. 377–392.
821:. Oxford University Press.
282:. The 15th century author
225:Monastery of Saint Matthew
171:Oriental Orthodox Churches
84:Oriental Orthodox Churches
677:A Guide to Syriac Authors
322:
130:Armenian Apostolic Church
120:
101:
79:
71:
63:
58:
42:
29:
899:Oriental Orthodox saints
333:Monastery of Saint Menas
96:Chaldean Catholic Church
894:Syrian Christian saints
844:Sinclair, T.A. (1989).
830:. Gracewing Publishing.
284:Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo
274:) on the martyrs named
673:"Sliba of Hah, Rabban"
189:, who ruled under the
144:Coptic Orthodox Church
137:Syriac Orthodox Church
826:Rassam, Suha (2005).
305:The French historian
865:Smith, Kyle (2016).
558:Saint-Laurent (2019)
546:Saint-Laurent (2019)
519:Saint-Laurent (2019)
363:Saint-Laurent (2019)
944:Mesopotamian saints
939:Angelic visionaries
623:, pp. 497–498.
536:, pp. 155–156.
909:4th-century deaths
904:4th-century births
781:Fiey, Jean Maurice
201:Matthew the Hermit
88:Church of the East
661:, pp. 54–55.
414:, pp. 31–32.
307:Jean Maurice Fiey
302:(r. 705-681 BC).
157:were 4th-century
152:
151:
80:Venerated in
16:(Redirected from
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879:
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850:. Pindar Press.
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735:, p. 207.
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723:, p. 191.
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699:, p. 167.
689:
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621:Barsoum (2003)
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562:
560:, p. 210.
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857:9780907132349
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760:. Retrieved
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742:Bibliography
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534:Smith (2016)
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494:, p. 7.
443:. Retrieved
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264:Chronography
263:
260:Bar Hebraeus
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209:Christianity
190:
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154:
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128:10 January (
697:Fiey (2004)
659:Fiey (2004)
300:Sennacherib
239:Hagiography
205:Mount Alfaf
183:Sennacherib
75:4th century
67:4th century
888:Categories
351:References
294:, wife of
192:Shahanshah
185:, King of
18:Mar Behnam
177:Biography
163:Shapur II
817:(2015).
783:(2004).
752:(2003).
311:Bartella
159:Assyrian
787:(ed.).
762:14 July
682:25 June
635:"Sarah"
606:25 June
601:Syri.ac
581:25 June
296:Abraham
262:in his
187:Assyria
59:Martyrs
854:
644:17 May
445:17 May
345:Turkey
341:Mardin
323:Relics
268:Syriac
245:Syriac
105:shrine
103:Major
32:Saints
337:Cairo
292:Sarah
272:mêmrê
229:gubba
221:Assur
122:Feast
852:ISBN
764:2020
684:2020
646:2020
608:2020
583:2020
447:2020
197:Iran
169:and
115:Iraq
72:Died
64:Born
343:in
335:in
203:on
890::
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637:.
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574:.
526:^
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455:^
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419:^
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235:.
173:.
113:,
860:.
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686:.
648:.
610:.
585:.
449:.
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53:.
20:)
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