Abdallah bin Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: , ; 14 May 1839. 17 January 1900) was a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

involved in various Arabic-language

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

ventures in

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and

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Life

Abdallah Marrash was born in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, a city of

Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria () is a historiographical term used to describe the group of divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of the Levant, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Ara ...

, to an old

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in West Asia. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", referrin ...

family of merchants known for their literary interests. Having earned wealth and standing in the 18th century, the family was well established in Aleppo, although they had gone through troubles: a relative of Abdallah, Butrus Marrash, was killed by the ''

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

''s troops in the midst of a Catholic–Orthodox clash in April 1818. Other Melkite Catholics were exiled from Aleppo during the persecutions, among them the priest Jibrail Marrash.. Abdallah's father, Fathallah, tried to defuse the

Sect A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...

arian conflict by writing a treatise in 1849, in which he rejected the ''

Filioque ( ; ), a Latin term meaning "and from the Son", was added to the original Nicene Creed, and has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. The term refers to the Son, Jesus Christ, with the Father, as th ...

''. He had built up a large private library. to give his three children

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, Abdallah and Maryana a thorough education, particularly in the field of Arabic language and literature. Aleppo was then a major intellectual center of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, featuring many thinkers and writers concerned with the future of the Arabs.. It was in the French missionary schools that the Marrash family learnt

with French, and other foreign languages (Italian and English). After studying in Aleppo, Abdallah went to Europe to pursue his studies while devoting himself to trade.. Having established himself in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

by 1863, he became a naturalized British subject on 6 May 1868 under Aliens Act 1844, and on 11 July 1872 under

Naturalization Act 1870 The Naturalization Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 14) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amended and consolidated enactments relating to British nationality. The act introduced administrative procedures for naturalising non ...

( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 14). He accessed the collections of Arabic manuscripts in London and Paris and copied what he thought was useful to his Middle Eastern compatriots. In 1879, he helped Adib Ishaq found the

ian journal ''Misr al-Qahira'' (Egypt the Victorious). Marrash founded ''Kawkab al-Mashriq'' (The Star of the Orient), a monthly Parisian Arabic-French bilingual

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

, the first issue of which was published on 23 June 1882; it was ephemeral. In 1882, Marrash settled down in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, where he died on 17 January 1900. He had been a member of the ''

Société Asiatique The Société Asiatique (, ) is a French learned society dedicated to the study of Asia. It was founded in 1822 with the mission of developing and diffusing knowledge of Asia. Its boundaries of geographic interest are broad, ranging from the Mag ...

''..

Notes

References

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marrash, Abdallah 1839 births 1900 deaths Writers from Aleppo Syrian Melkite Greek Catholics Syrian writers Syrian newspaper founders Members of the Société Asiatique Nahda Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United Kingdom 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire