Naum Elias Yaqub Palakh (February 1868 – February 5, 1930), better known as Naum Faiq (, Naˁum Fayëq), was one of the founding fathers of modern

Assyrian nationalism Assyrian nationalism is a movement of the Assyrian people that advocates for independence or autonomy within the regions they inhabit in northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and southeastern Turkey. The Assyrian people claim d ...

during the early 20th century. He was a teacher and writer throughout his life. As a

Syriac Orthodox , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

Christian, he emphasized the importance of unity among

Syriac Christians Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are e ...

and encouraged his community to depart from "tribal mentality."

Early life

He was born in Diyâr-ı Bekr (present day Diyarbakir) in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

and began his education there at the age of seven. After primary school, he attended the local high school that had been established by local "Brotherhood of Ancient Syrians". He spent 8 years at the school, where education was jointly in

classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic dialect that emerged during the first century ...

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

. Naum also went on to learn several other languages, including Persian and basic French. After his parents died, he first lived with his older brother Thomas and then started teaching in a village near Diyarbakır in 1888. He also taught in

Urfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ex ...

, Adıyaman and Homs before returning to Diyarbakır.

Literary works

Naum wrote numerous books concerning the Syriac language and people. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire), second Ottoman constitution, restrictions on freedom of speech were lifted. In 1910, Naum began publishing a newspaper for the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Syriac communities, entitled ''Kawkab Madnho'' ("Star of the East"). While written entirely in the Syriac alphabet, ''Star of the East'' was actually tri-lingual with articles in Ottoman Turkish, classical Syriac and Arabic. This newspaper, along with that of Ashur Yousif, signaled the emergence of Assyrian nationalism in the Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian communities of the Ottoman Empire. After the Ottoman Empire and Italy began to fight over the province of Italo-Turkish War, Libya in 1911, Naum like other Christians in the region felt a backlash from the Muslim community and in 1912, he fled to United States, where he began to write for the newspaper ''Intibah'' ܐܢܬܒܗ (''Cirutho'' ܥܝܪܘܬܐ, in English: Awakening), published by Gabriel Boyaji from 1909-1915. He went on to establish various Assyrian newspapers including ''Beth-Nahrin'' in 1916 and became the head of the editorialship of ''Huyodo'', a magazine that is still published today under the same name in by the Assyrian Federation in Sweden.

Death

The death of his wife in 1927 affected Naum very much. He died in New Jersey in 1930 due to lung disease. "Naum Faiq" day is celebrated yearly on February 5. Ceremonies are usually held in Syria, United States, and in various European nations.

Poems

Awake, son of Assyria

His most famous poem is titled "Awake, son of Assyria, awake!" (ܐܬܬܥܝܪ ܒܪ ܐܬܘܪ ܐܬܬܥܝܪ).

Homeland

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faiq, Naum 1868 births 1930 deaths Assyrian nationalists Syriac writers Syriac Orthodox Christians Turkish Oriental Orthodox Christians