Mari ibn Suleiman or Sulaiman () was a 12th-century

Nestorian Christian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

author writing in

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 ...

. Nothing is known of his life. He is the author of a theological and historiographical work known as the Book of the Tower (''Kitāb al-Majdal''). The work consists of seven parts. The first is a general introduction, the second a theological treatise on Nestorian

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

, the third discusses

Baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

and

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

, the fourth the

seven virtues In Christian history, the seven heavenly virtues combine the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude with the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The seven capital virtues, also known as seven l ...

(piety, charity, prayer, fasting, pity, humility, chastity), the fifth on the "seven pillars" of Creation,

Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

, the

Prophecies In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divi ...

, the coming of the Messiah, the history of the

Eastern Church Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations further east, south or north. The term does not describe a ...

, the history of

heresies Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

, and the canon of biblical texts. The sixth part presents the four "moats" of the Tower, as prayer, the observation of the

Day of the Lord A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, and night. This daily cycle driv ...

, candles and incense, and penitence. The seventh part describes the "gardens" of the Tower, where Christians, liberated from the obligations of Mosaic law, may repose. The main interest of the work in modern scholarship is the historiographical material in its fifth part, an important testimony of the 11th to 12th-century history of the Eastern Church. The work can be dated approximately from the fact that the history ends with patriarch Abdisho III (r. 1139–1148), suggesting a composition in the 1140s. In the 14th century, another author, Amr ibn Matta, imitated the work, and the two works have often been confused, even in their manuscripts. The main manuscript for the work is Paris arab. 190 (13th century), besides Paris arab. 191 and 192 (14th century). Three further manuscripts are in the Vatican, one in London.

References

* H. Gismondi (ed.), ''Maris Amri et Slibae De patriarchis nestorianorum commentaria'', Rome, 1896-1899. * Georg Graf, ''Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur'', 5 vol., Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 1944-53. * Éphrem-Isa Yousif, ''Les chroniqueurs syriaques'', L'Harmattan, 2002. {{Authority control 12th-century Christian theologians 12th-century deaths Church of the East writers 12th-century Arabic-language writers