Berlin Staatsbibliothek Petermann I 24 - Revision history

Bonsall at 12:48, 14 January 2026

2026-01-14T12:48:44Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:48, 14 January 2026
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	\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)		\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)
	\|Has Modern Research Literature=Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903); Jernstedt (1912)		\|Has Modern Research Literature=Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903); Jernstedt (1912)
	\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556)) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556)))		\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291
	\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.		\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Bonsall at 12:47, 14 January 2026

2026-01-14T12:47:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:47, 14 January 2026
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	\|Has Digitisation=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000		\|Has Digitisation=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000
	\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)		\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)
	\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903); Jernstedt (1912)		\|Has Modern Research Literature=Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903); Jernstedt (1912)
	\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556))		\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556)) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556)))
	\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.		\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Bonsall at 12:42, 14 January 2026

2026-01-14T12:42:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:42, 14 January 2026
Line 32:		Line 32:
	\|Has Digitisation=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000		\|Has Digitisation=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000
	\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)		\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)
	\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903)		\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903); Jernstedt (1912)
	\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556)		\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556) (Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556))
	\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.		\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Bonsall at 12:25, 14 January 2026

2026-01-14T12:25:35Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:25, 14 January 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Manuscript		{{Manuscript
	\|Has Reference Number=~~SyriacSindban1~~		\|Has Reference Number=Syriac1
	~~\|Has Display Title=Syriac (Berlin Sachau 238)~~		\|Has Location=Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz
	\|Has Location=Berlin, Staatsbibliothek		\|Has Siglum=Petermann I 24 (Sachau 238)
	\|Has Siglum=Petermann ~~Syr.~~ 24
	\|Has Page Range=60a–87b		\|Has Page Range=60a–87b
	~~\|Has Standardised Title Of Narrative=Sindban~~		\|Has Incipit Or Textual Title=ܟܬܒܐ ܕܣܢܕܒܢ (The Book of Sindban)
	\|Has Incipit Or Textual Title=ܟܬܒܐ ܕܣܢܕܒܢ (~~the book~~ of ~~sindban~~)		\|Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages=Syriac Sindban
	\|Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages=Syriac
	\|Was Translated Or Adapted From=Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers)		\|Was Translated Or Adapted From=Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers)
	\|Has Place Of Production=~~Unconfirmed - likely~~ Bar Sauma monastery ~~near Melitene (Malatya).~~		\|Has Place Of Production=Mor Bar Sauma monastery, Turkey
	\|Has Start Date Of Production=1400		\|Has Start Date Of Production=1400
	\|Has End Date Of Production=1450		\|Has End Date Of Production=1450
Line 35:		Line 33:
	\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)		\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)
	\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903)		\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903)
	\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556		\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; Https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book manuscript 00020556 (https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556)
	\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.		\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Bonsall: Bonsall moved page Syriac (Berlin Sachau 238) to Berlin Staatsbibliothek Petermann I 24 without leaving a redirect

2026-01-14T12:17:25Z

Bonsall moved page Syriac (Berlin Sachau 238) to Berlin Staatsbibliothek Petermann I 24 without leaving a redirect

← Older revision	Revision as of 12:17, 14 January 2026
(No difference)

Bonsall at 12:15, 14 January 2026

2026-01-14T12:15:09Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:15, 14 January 2026
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	\|Has Language=Syriac		\|Has Language=Syriac
	\|Has Literary Form=Prose		\|Has Literary Form=Prose
	\|Has Collation=Manuscript contains a heterogenous collection of folk and wisdom literature traditions. However, only 87 folios of the original 177 survive, and about half of the remaining folios are inserted replacements, with dated paratextual comments suggesting that the process of replacement began in the 16th/17th century. We therefore cannot securely assess the full original character of the manuscript. The first part of the manuscript is taken up by a dialogue between God and Moses on Mount Sinai, comprising of a series of wise aphorisms and followed by a prophetic speech concerning the last judgement, and then a Garshuni (~~Arabic language in Syriac script~~) ~~version of Aesop’s fables, set in a frame story at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Six fables, however, forming a continuous group in the middle, are in Syriac.~~		\|Has Collation=(See notes for more detail)

	~~The Sindban itself takes up pages 60a~~-~~87b~~, ~~and is written~~ in ~~fine small Serto script~~. The ~~manuscript also contains medical advice (how to tell when a woman is pregnant~~ with ~~a boy)~~, and a collection of ~~spiritual addresses~~ to the ~~soul in (inconsistent~~ and ~~poorly rhymed) Iambic metre~~. ~~In the case of the latter, the poet identifies himself as Habib, a presbyter from the village of Klebin near Mardin (the heartland of~~ Syriac ~~monasteries on the Tur Abdin plateau). Sachau notes the similarities between these verses and contemporary Arabic folk songs from the Mardin/Sirnak region~~.		1r-14v: Story of God's conversation with Moses on Mount Sinai.

			16r, a) Lines 1-8 in the prima manus, the remains of a Syriac narrative, b) Lines 8-16, Karschuni, in a later hand: Some verses that are said to have been inscribed on Solomon's glass (?ܙܓܐܓ?).

			16r-57v, Karschuni: Aesop's fables. (The Aesopian fables conclude with folio 53, and folios 54–57 belong to a different collection of fables.)

			58r–59v: Address to the Soul, a call to repentance and reflection.

			60r-87v Syriac: Sinbad Tales.
	\|Has Script Style=Serto		\|Has Script Style=Serto
	\|Has Total Pages In Manuscript=87 surviving (many replacement folios added later); 177 folios originally		\|Has Total Pages In Manuscript=87 surviving (many replacement folios added later); 177 folios originally
			\|Has Height=160
			\|Has Width=120
	\|Has Illustrations=No		\|Has Illustrations=No
	\|Has Digitisation=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000		\|Has Digitisation=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000
	\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)		\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)
	\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903)		\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903)
	\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/~~SBB0001ACD700000000~~		\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000720B00160291; https://www.qalamos.net/receive/DE1Book_manuscript_00020556
	\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.		\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

	The original texts of the manuscript seem to have been put together by at least 4 different hands (not including replacement folios). On folio 15, we have a series of signed paratextual records: in 1579 we have a priest, Hidayat, who, following aristocratic Syriac custom, provides family details, and, in 1660, a deacon named Qūsṭanṭīn. The other names are not dated, but follow the conventions of early modern Serto without diacritics or vocalisations. One possibility is that the dominant landowners around Mardin, a Syriac Christian family which produced several patriarchs of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and among whom the names Hidayat (admittedly a Syriac common name) and Qūsṭanṭīn (a far less common, classicising name) were ubiquitous, came to acquire the manuscript in the 1500s, which would explain both the apparent explosion of interest in the manuscript during this period and the literary links to the folk poetry of the Mardin region.		The original texts of the manuscript seem to have been put together by at least 4 different hands (not including replacement folios). On folio 15, we have a series of signed paratextual records: in 1579 we have a priest, Hidayat, who, following aristocratic Syriac custom, provides family details, and, in 1660, a deacon named Qūsṭanṭīn. The other names are not dated, but follow the conventions of early modern Serto without diacritics or vocalisations. One possibility is that the dominant landowners around Mardin, a Syriac Christian family which produced several patriarchs of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and among whom the names Hidayat (admittedly a Syriac common name) and Qūsṭanṭīn (a far less common, classicising name) were ubiquitous, came to acquire the manuscript in the 1500s, which would explain both the apparent explosion of interest in the manuscript during this period and the literary links to the folk poetry of the Mardin region.

			The manuscript contains a heterogenous collection of folk and wisdom literature traditions. However, only 87 folios of the original 177 survive, and about half of the remaining folios are inserted replacements, with dated paratextual comments suggesting that the process of replacement began in the 16th/17th century. We therefore cannot securely assess the full original character of the manuscript. The first part of the manuscript is taken up by a dialogue between God and Moses on Mount Sinai, comprising of a series of wise aphorisms and followed by a prophetic speech concerning the last judgement, and then a Garshuni (Arabic language in Syriac script) version of Aesop’s fables, set in a frame story at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Six fables, however, forming a continuous group in the middle, are in Syriac.

			The Sindban itself takes up pages 60a-87b, and is written in fine small Serto script. The manuscript also contains medical advice (how to tell when a woman is pregnant with a boy), and a collection of spiritual addresses to the soul in (inconsistent and poorly rhymed) Iambic metre. In the case of the latter, the poet identifies himself as Habib, a presbyter from the village of Klebin near Mardin (the heartland of Syriac monasteries on the Tur Abdin plateau). Sachau notes the similarities between these verses and contemporary Arabic folk songs from the Mardin/Sirnak region.
	}}		}}

Bonsall at 12:05, 14 January 2026

2026-01-14T12:05:45Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:05, 14 January 2026
Line 9:		Line 9:
	\|Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages=Syriac		\|Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages=Syriac
	\|Was Translated Or Adapted From=Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers)		\|Was Translated Or Adapted From=Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers)
	~~\|Has Scribe=Unknown~~
	~~\|Has Canonical Name Of Scribe=Unknown~~
	~~\|Has Author=Unknown~~
	~~\|Has Canonical Name Of Author=Unknown~~
	\|Has Place Of Production=Unconfirmed - likely Bar Sauma monastery near Melitene (Malatya).		\|Has Place Of Production=Unconfirmed - likely Bar Sauma monastery near Melitene (Malatya).
	\|Has Date Of Production=Unconfirmed - codicological evidence suggests it was likely copied in 15th/16th century, working off an original that was similar, but likely distinct from, the version used by Michael Andreopoulos in translating the Book of Syntipas
	\|Has Start Date Of Production=1400		\|Has Start Date Of Production=1400
	\|Has End Date Of Production=~~1500~~		\|Has End Date Of Production=1450
			\|Has Source For Date Of Production=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000
	\|Has Material=Paper		\|Has Material=Paper
			\|Has Language=Syriac
	\|Has Literary Form=Prose		\|Has Literary Form=Prose
	\|Has Collation=Manuscript contains a heterogenous collection of folk and wisdom literature traditions. However, only 87 folios of the original 177 survive, and about half of the remaining folios are inserted replacements, with dated paratextual comments suggesting that the process of replacement began in the 16th/17th century. We therefore cannot securely assess the full original character of the manuscript. The first part of the manuscript is taken up by a dialogue between God and Moses on Mount Sinai, comprising of a series of wise aphorisms and followed by a prophetic speech concerning the last judgement, and then a Garshuni (Arabic language in Syriac script) version of Aesop’s fables, set in a frame story at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Six fables, however, forming a continuous group in the middle, are in Syriac.		\|Has Collation=Manuscript contains a heterogenous collection of folk and wisdom literature traditions. However, only 87 folios of the original 177 survive, and about half of the remaining folios are inserted replacements, with dated paratextual comments suggesting that the process of replacement began in the 16th/17th century. We therefore cannot securely assess the full original character of the manuscript. The first part of the manuscript is taken up by a dialogue between God and Moses on Mount Sinai, comprising of a series of wise aphorisms and followed by a prophetic speech concerning the last judgement, and then a Garshuni (Arabic language in Syriac script) version of Aesop’s fables, set in a frame story at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Six fables, however, forming a continuous group in the middle, are in Syriac.

	The Sindban itself takes up pages 60a-87b, and is written in fine small Serto script. The manuscript also contains medical advice (how to tell when a woman is pregnant with a boy), and a collection of spiritual addresses to the soul in (inconsistent and poorly rhymed) Iambic metre. In the case of the latter, the poet identifies himself as Habib, a presbyter from the village of Klebin near Mardin (the heartland of Syriac monasteries on the Tur Abdin plateau). Sachau notes the similarities between these verses and contemporary Arabic folk songs from the Mardin/Sirnak region.		The Sindban itself takes up pages 60a-87b, and is written in fine small Serto script. The manuscript also contains medical advice (how to tell when a woman is pregnant with a boy), and a collection of spiritual addresses to the soul in (inconsistent and poorly rhymed) Iambic metre. In the case of the latter, the poet identifies himself as Habib, a presbyter from the village of Klebin near Mardin (the heartland of Syriac monasteries on the Tur Abdin plateau). Sachau notes the similarities between these verses and contemporary Arabic folk songs from the Mardin/Sirnak region.
			\|Has Script Style=Serto
	\|Has Total Pages In Manuscript=87 surviving (many replacement folios added later); 177 folios originally		\|Has Total Pages In Manuscript=87 surviving (many replacement folios added later); 177 folios originally
	\|Has Illustrations=No		\|Has Illustrations=No
	\|Has Modern Edition=~~Baethgen, F.,~~ (~~ed.~~)~~: Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister. Syrisch und Deutsch. Leipzig 1879 (~~Baethgen, ~~F., (ed.):~~ Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister~~. Syrisch und Deutsch. Leipzig~~ 1879~~); David Taylor (in progress as of 2025~~)		\|Has Digitisation=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000
	\|Has Modern Research Literature=Barsoum, I. A,. The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, 2nd revised (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2003)., p: 196. (Barsoum, I. A,. The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, 2nd revised (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2003)., p: 196.); Gollancz, H., ‘The History of Sindbad and the Seven Wise Masters’, Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society 8 (1897), 99–130. (Gollancz, H., ‘The History of Sindbad and the Seven Wise Masters’, Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society 8 (1897), 99–130.); Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation)~~; Macler, F., Contes syriaques. Histoire de Sindbad (1903).~~; Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013)		\|Has Modern Edition=David Taylor (in progress as of 2025); Baethgen, Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister (1879)
	\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. ~~It was~~ obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, ~~Petermann~~ does not provide any information on where he obtained it. ~~Paratextual~~ comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, ~~an unusual~~ practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a ~~few monasteries~~, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of ~~Mor Bar~~ Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos		\|Has Modern Research Literature=Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013); Minov (2013); Minets (2023); Macler (1903)
			\|Has Catalogue=http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0001ACD700000000
			\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

	translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.		The original texts of the manuscript seem to have been put together by at least 4 different hands (not including replacement folios). On folio 15, we have a series of signed paratextual records: in 1579 we have a priest, Hidayat, who, following aristocratic Syriac custom, provides family details, and, in 1660, a deacon named Qūsṭanṭīn. The other names are not dated, but follow the conventions of early modern Serto without diacritics or vocalisations. One possibility is that the dominant landowners around Mardin, a Syriac Christian family which produced several patriarchs of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and among whom the names Hidayat (admittedly a Syriac common name) and Qūsṭanṭīn (a far less common, classicising name) were ubiquitous, came to acquire the manuscript in the 1500s, which would explain both the apparent explosion of interest in the manuscript during this period and the literary links to the folk poetry of the Mardin region.

	The original texts of the manuscript seem to have been put together ~~by at~~ least 4 different hands (not including replacement folios). On ~~folio 15~~, we have a series of signed paratextual records: in 1579 we have a priest, Hidayat, who, following aristocratic Syriac custom, provides family details, and, in 1660, a deacon named Qūsṭanṭīn. The ~~other names~~ are not dated, but follow the conventions of early modern Serto without diacritics or vocalisations. One possibility is that the dominant landowners around Mardin, a Syriac Christian family which produced several patriarchs of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and among whom the names Hidayat (admittedly a Syriac common name) and Qūsṭanṭīn (a far less common, classicising name) were ubiquitous, came to acquire the manuscript in the 1500s, which would explain both the apparent explosion of interest in the manuscript during this period and the literary links to the folk poetry of the Mardin region.
	}}		}}

Watkins at 19:45, 4 January 2026

2026-01-04T19:45:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:45, 4 January 2026
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	\|Has Total Pages In Manuscript=87 surviving (many replacement folios added later); 177 folios originally		\|Has Total Pages In Manuscript=87 surviving (many replacement folios added later); 177 folios originally
	\|Has Illustrations=No		\|Has Illustrations=No
	\|Has Modern Edition=Baethgen, F., (ed.): Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister. Syrisch und Deutsch. Leipzig 1879; David Taylor (in progress as of 2025)		\|Has Modern Edition=Baethgen, F., (ed.): Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister. Syrisch und Deutsch. Leipzig 1879 (Baethgen, F., (ed.): Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister. Syrisch und Deutsch. Leipzig 1879); David Taylor (in progress as of 2025)
	\|Has Modern Research Literature=Barsoum, I. A,. The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, 2nd revised (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2003)., p: 196.; Gollancz, H., ‘The History of Sindbad and the Seven Wise Masters’, Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society 8 (1897), 99–130.; Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Macler, F., Contes syriaques. Histoire de Sindbad (1903).; Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013)		\|Has Modern Research Literature=Barsoum, I. A,. The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, 2nd revised (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2003)., p: 196. (Barsoum, I. A,. The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, 2nd revised (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2003)., p: 196.); Gollancz, H., ‘The History of Sindbad and the Seven Wise Masters’, Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society 8 (1897), 99–130. (Gollancz, H., ‘The History of Sindbad and the Seven Wise Masters’, Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society 8 (1897), 99–130.); Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Macler, F., Contes syriaques. Histoire de Sindbad (1903).; Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013)
	\|Has ~~Internal Notes~~=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos		\|Has Note=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos

	translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.		translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Watkins: Created page with "{{Manuscript |Has Reference Number=SyriacSindban1 |Has Display Title=Syriac (Berlin Sachau 238) |Has Location=Berlin, Staatsbibliothek |Has Siglum=Petermann Syr. 24 |Has Page Range=60a–87b |Has Standardised Title Of Narrative=Sindban |Has Incipit Or Textual Title=ܟܬܒܐ ܕܣܢܕܒܢ (the book of sindban) |Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages=Syriac |Was Translated Or Adapted From=Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers) |Has Scribe=Unknown |Has Canonical Name Of..."

2026-01-04T19:42:45Z

Created page with "{{Manuscript |Has Reference Number=SyriacSindban1 |Has Display Title=Syriac (Berlin Sachau 238) |Has Location=Berlin, Staatsbibliothek |Has Siglum=Petermann Syr. 24 |Has Page Range=60a–87b |Has Standardised Title Of Narrative=Sindban |Has Incipit Or Textual Title=ܟܬܒܐ ܕܣܢܕܒܢ (the book of sindban) |Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages=Syriac |Was Translated Or Adapted From=Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers) |Has Scribe=Unknown |Has Canonical Name Of..."

New page

{{Manuscript
|Has Reference Number=SyriacSindban1
|Has Display Title=Syriac (Berlin Sachau 238)
|Has Location=Berlin, Staatsbibliothek
|Has Siglum=Petermann Syr. 24
|Has Page Range=60a–87b
|Has Standardised Title Of Narrative=Sindban
|Has Incipit Or Textual Title=ܟܬܒܐ ܕܣܢܕܒܢ (the book of sindban)
|Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages=Syriac
|Was Translated Or Adapted From=Arabic Version A (The Seven Viziers)
|Has Scribe=Unknown
|Has Canonical Name Of Scribe=Unknown
|Has Author=Unknown
|Has Canonical Name Of Author=Unknown
|Has Place Of Production=Unconfirmed - likely Bar Sauma monastery near Melitene (Malatya).
|Has Date Of Production=Unconfirmed - codicological evidence suggests it was likely copied in 15th/16th century, working off an original that was similar, but likely distinct from, the version used by Michael Andreopoulos in translating the Book of Syntipas
|Has Start Date Of Production=1400
|Has End Date Of Production=1500
|Has Material=Paper
|Has Literary Form=Prose
|Has Collation=Manuscript contains a heterogenous collection of folk and wisdom literature traditions. However, only 87 folios of the original 177 survive, and about half of the remaining folios are inserted replacements, with dated paratextual comments suggesting that the process of replacement began in the 16th/17th century. We therefore cannot securely assess the full original character of the manuscript. The first part of the manuscript is taken up by a dialogue between God and Moses on Mount Sinai, comprising of a series of wise aphorisms and followed by a prophetic speech concerning the last judgement, and then a Garshuni (Arabic language in Syriac script) version of Aesop’s fables, set in a frame story at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Six fables, however, forming a continuous group in the middle, are in Syriac.

The Sindban itself takes up pages 60a-87b, and is written in fine small Serto script. The manuscript also contains medical advice (how to tell when a woman is pregnant with a boy), and a collection of spiritual addresses to the soul in (inconsistent and poorly rhymed) Iambic metre. In the case of the latter, the poet identifies himself as Habib, a presbyter from the village of Klebin near Mardin (the heartland of Syriac monasteries on the Tur Abdin plateau). Sachau notes the similarities between these verses and contemporary Arabic folk songs from the Mardin/Sirnak region.
|Has Total Pages In Manuscript=87 surviving (many replacement folios added later); 177 folios originally
|Has Illustrations=No
|Has Modern Edition=Baethgen, F., (ed.): Sindban oder Die Sieben weisen Meister. Syrisch und Deutsch. Leipzig 1879; David Taylor (in progress as of 2025)
|Has Modern Research Literature=Barsoum, I. A,. The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences, 2nd revised (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2003)., p: 196.; Gollancz, H., ‘The History of Sindbad and the Seven Wise Masters’, Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society 8 (1897), 99–130.; Jernstedt, V., Mich. Andreopuli Liber Syntipae (1912). (Greek translation); Macler, F., Contes syriaques. Histoire de Sindbad (1903).; Minets, Y., “Language of Speaking, Arguing, and Persuading: Cultural Exchange and Adaptation in Greek and Syriac Versions of the ‘History of Sindban/Syntipas’,” Das Mit- telalter 28:1 (2023), 155–171.; Minov, S., (ed.), A Comprehensive Bibliography on Syriac Christianity (The Center for the Study of Christianity, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2013)
|Has Internal Notes=A precise provenancing of this manuscript is difficult to achieve. It was obtained by Julius Heinrich Petermann during his travels in eastern Anatolia in the 1850s. However, as far as I can find, Petermann does not provide any information on where he obtained it. Paratextual comments suggest that it circulated between at least two different monasteries. However, the presence of page numberings, an unusual practice in Syriac outside of hagiographies, is limited to a few monasteries, one of which is the old patriarchal headquarters of Mor Bar Sauma, just outside Melitene, where Michael Andreopoulos

translated the Syriac into the Greek Syntipas. One potential reconstruction of this manuscript’s circulation history would be an initial production at Mor Bar Sauma, based on the earlier Sindban manuscript used by Michael Andreopoulos, likely around the 15th century (given that Garshuni only really takes off in the late 14th century), followed by an enforced move east in the 16th/17th century (when Mor Bar Sauma was gradually abandoned, and when we have records of the insertion of replacement folios in the manuscript), followed by a another move between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The original texts of the manuscript seem to have been put together by at least 4 different hands (not including replacement folios). On folio 15, we have a series of signed paratextual records: in 1579 we have a priest, Hidayat, who, following aristocratic Syriac custom, provides family details, and, in 1660, a deacon named Qūsṭanṭīn. The other names are not dated, but follow the conventions of early modern Serto without diacritics or vocalisations. One possibility is that the dominant landowners around Mardin, a Syriac Christian family which produced several patriarchs of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and among whom the names Hidayat (admittedly a Syriac common name) and Qūsṭanṭīn (a far less common, classicising name) were ubiquitous, came to acquire the manuscript in the 1500s, which would explain both the apparent explosion of interest in the manuscript during this period and the literary links to the folk poetry of the Mardin region.
}}