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| Tanjur | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tanjur |
| Language | Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Persian |
| Date | compiled c. 9th–11th centuries |
| Place | Antioch, Edessa, Mosul |
| Subject | liturgy, theology, law, medicine, astronomy |
| Genre | liturgical corpus, canonical collection |
Tanjur
The Tanjur is a classical Syriac corpus associated with Syriac Christianity that collects liturgical, theological, legal, medical, and scientific texts. Compiled in the medieval Near East, it stands alongside other major collections such as the Peshitta and intersects with traditions represented by figures like Jacob of Serugh, Ephrem the Syrian, and institutions like the Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church. Its materials circulated in manuscript hubs including Antioch, Edessa, Mosul, Mardin, and Aleppo.
The title appears in multiple medieval sources and vernaculars, tied to Syriac, Arabic, and Persian linguistic milieus such as those of Karshuni scribes, Arabic-speaking scholars, and Persian patrons. Medieval catalogues and colophons variably render the name alongside labels used for the Peshitta, the Book of Common Prayer (Anglican), and other canonical compilations, reflecting editorial practices seen in the libraries of Monastery of Saint Matthew, Monastery of Saint Ephrem (El Qantara), and the archives of Mar Behnam Monastery. Later European cataloguers compared it with corpora like the collections of Photius and medieval compilations preserved at Vatican Library and Bodleian Library.
Scholars locate the core compilation of the Tanjur between the 9th and 11th centuries in centers influenced by the Umayyad Caliphate and Abbasid Caliphate administrative and intellectual structures. Compilers drew on earlier Syriac traditions exemplified by Ephrem the Syrian and Jacob of Serugh, and on Hellenistic translations mediated through figures associated with the School of Edessa, the Graeco-Syriac translation movement, and contacts with Byzantium. Patronage networks connected the collection to ecclesiastical authorities such as Patriarch Timothy I of Baghdad and regional bishops in Nisibis and Diarbekir. The Tanjur’s redaction reflects interactions with medical traditions of Galen and Hippocrates via Syriac translators like Hunayn ibn Ishaq and with legal materials circulating in Ctesiphon and Baghdad.
The corpus assembles diverse genres: liturgical texts (anaphoras, canticles, rites), patristic homilies, canons, medical recipes, and tractates on astronomy and philosophy. It contains prayers reminiscent of the repertoire of Ephrem the Syrian and liturgical forms comparable to those in the Liturgy of Addai and Mari and Liturgy of St James. Patristic entries include homilies attributed to Aphrahat, Philoxenus of Mabbug, and Severus of Antioch, alongside juridical canons linking to synods such as the Synod of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and the Council of Chalcedon (in polemical context). Scientific and medical sections mirror manuscripts transmitted alongside works of Galen, Oribasius, and translations by Thābit ibn Qurra. The organization is often thematic but varies between manuscript witnesses, with some codices emphasizing liturgy, others canon law, and still others recipe-books linked to monastic infirmaries like Monastery of Mor Gabriel.
Within Syriac Christianity the compilation served as a reference for clergy, monastic scribes, and physicians attached to monasteries. It influenced liturgical practice in dioceses under the Syriac Orthodox Church, Church of the East, and communities tied to Melkite circles, sometimes mediating disputes involving figures such as Dionysius Bar Salibi and Michael the Syrian. Texts from the corpus are cited in pastoral letters, synodal decrees, and hymnographical anthologies compiled by metropolitans in Armenia and Mesopotamia. The medical recipes informed treatment protocols in ecclesiastical infirmaries and show continuity with materia medica preserved in collections assembled at Gundeshapur and later in Baghdad hospitals.
Manuscript witnesses survive across repositories: private monastic libraries in Mardin and Hakkari, major Western collections such as the British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Vatican Library, and regional archives in Aleppo and Erbil. Codicological features include colophons naming scribes and patrons, palaeographic hands from Samarra and Mosul, and marginalia with glosses in Arabic and Persian. Modern critical editions and catalogues were initiated by scholars associated with institutions like the École française d'Extrême-Orient and the American Schools of Oriental Research, and edited volumes appear in series produced by Gorgias Press and Brill. Many texts remain unpublished or only partially edited, with ongoing digitization projects in collaboration with the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library.
Research engages philological, liturgical, and historical methodologies, debating authorship, dating, and the relation between the corpus and the Peshitta tradition. Key issues include textual fluidity across witnesses, attribution of homilies to figures like Ephrem the Syrian and Jacob of Serugh, and the influence of Arabic scientific vocabulary introduced by translators such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq and Thābit ibn Qurra. Comparative studies draw on parallels with Greek collections preserved by Photius and Latin compilations housed at Vatican Library. Contemporary projects address preservation, cataloguing, and critical editions, while questions about canonical status within distinct Syriac communities remain debated among scholars affiliated with University of Oxford, Université de Strasbourg, and Harvard Divinity School.
Category:Syriac Christian texts