Abdallah Zakher el-Shammas () (1684–1748) was a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

-born typographer and Catholic

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

who set up the first

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. His printing press used

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuatio ...

and was installed in 1733 in the motherhouse of the

Basilian Chouerite Order The Basilian Chouerite Order of Saint John the Baptist ( la, Ordo Basilianus Sancti Iohannis Baptistæ) is a Melkite Greek Catholic monastic order of Pontifical Right for Men. The members of the Order add the nominal B.C after their names to ind ...

, the monastery of Saint John the Baptist at

Choueir Dhour El Choueir ( ar, ضهور الشوير), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top f a mountain) located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlooki ...

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

, where it still can be visited. Zakher was also an accomplished writer and craftsman. He was a

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic Semitic root, ro ...

Christian at the time of the Church's reaffirmation of communion with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

Sources

“The First Arabic Script Printing Press in Lebanon”
an article by Pascal Zoghbi, with pictures from the Zakher foundry.
Tourist attractions report of Lebanon mentioning ZakherIntro to book on Zakher
*

Jules Leroy Jules Leroy (Ablis, 1903 – Chaptal, 1979) was a French priest and researcher in the domains of Syriac, Coptic and Ethiopian manuscripts, art and architecture. As a novice he joined the French Benedictine congregation of Solesmes in their exi ...

and Peter Collin
''Monks and Monasteries of the Near East''
(Gorgias Press, 2004), p. 122-123 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakher, Bdallah 1684 births 1748 deaths Lebanese Melkite Greek Catholics Typographers and type designers People from Aleppo