Mar Behnam

Biography

Sennacherib was afflicted by madness after the death of the martyrs. An angel appeared before Behnam's mother and told her the king would only be cured of his madness if he converted to Christianity and prayed at the site of the martyrs' death. Behnam's mother and Sennacherib followed the angel's instructions, and the king was cured. They were then baptised by Saint Matthew at Assur. At the request of Saint Matthew, Sennacherib constructed a monastery atop Mount Alfaf, that would later become known as the Mar Mattai Monastery. The king also constructed a monument on the site of the martyrs' death called gubba ("pit" in Syriac). A wealthy pilgrim called Isaac later visited the site of the martyrs' death in the hope it would exorcise the devil from his servant, and constructed a monastery named as Beth Gubbe near Behnam's tomb upon receiving instructions to do so from the saint in a dream. This became known as the Mar Behnam Monastery.