Poster
The year 2026 marks the 800th anniversary of the birth of Gregorius Bar ʿEbroyo (1226–1286), one of the most remarkable scholars of the medieval Middle East. A theologian, mystic, philosopher, historian, legal scholar, linguist, physician, and scientist, Bar ʿEbroyo drew on the rich traditions of Syriac Christianity while engaging with the intellectual currents of the wider Islamic world. His writings shaped the intellectual life of Syriac-speaking communities for centuries and remain a key source for the study of the cultural and religious history of West Asia.
To mark this anniversary, the Institute for Semitic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin and the Institute for Historical Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin are jointly organizing a conference dedicated to Bar ʿEbroyo’s life, works, and legacy.
The conference will consist of two parts:
I. Science, Theology and Literature
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 14–15 October 2026
hybrid per Zoom: https://hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/63766034455?pwd=Tslxg6L0moMLIhX3pqOuQ302yHsn4U.1
The first part will focus on Bar ʿEbroyo’s literary and scholarly output, exploring his contributions to theology, mysticism, philosophy, science, poetry, and other fields of knowledge.
II. Syriac Historiography in Interaction
Freie Universität Berlin, 16–17 October 2026
hybrid per Webex:https://fu-berlin.webex.com/fu-berlin/j.php?MTID=m60fd7d61ce77bf79a4f8bc0137dfe64f
The second part will examine Syriac historiography and its interactions with neighboring historical traditions. Using Bar ʿEbroyo’s historiographical works as a point of departure, the conference will explore the diversity of historical writing among Syriac-speaking communities and its place within the broader intellectual landscape of the medieval Middle East.
Contact
Julia Furman (FU)
i.furman@fu-berlin.de
Address
14.-15.10.2026 (HU Berlin)
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Hauptgebäude
Unter den Linden 6
10117 Berlin
R. 2249a
16.-17.10.2026 (FU Berlin)
Freie Universität Berlin
Fabeckstr. 23-25 (Holzlaube)
14195 Berlin
R. 2.2058
Program
Science, Theology and Literature
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Wednesday, 14 October 2026
|
13:30-14:00 |
Welcoming/Introduction |
|
Philosophy and Natural Philosophy |
|
|
14:00-14:40 |
Hidemi Takahashi (Tokyo, Japan) Der Stil und die Leserschaft der Schriften von Bar 'Ebroyo |
|
14:40-14:45 |
Changeover break |
|
14:45-15:25 |
Jens Ole Schmitt (München) Barhebraeus on True Inference from a Cause (According to APo) |
|
15:25-15:55 |
Coffee break |
|
15:55-16:35 |
Florian Jäckel (Trier) Of Drops, Leeches, and Souls: Barhebraeus’s Notions of the Unborn |
|
16:35-16:40 |
Changeover break |
|
16:40-17:20 |
Giulia Secli (Drest, Italy) Barhebraeus’ Terminological Strategies in his Syriac Reworking of Avicenna’s Kitāb al-Ishārāt (Ktābā d-Remzē, Chapters II.8-10) |
|
17:20-17:25 |
Changeover break |
|
17:25-18:05 |
Yousef Khouriye (Berlin) Die Verwendung der philosophischen Begriffe in der Theologie des Buches „Leuchtturm der Heiligen“ bei Bar Hebräers |
|
19:00 |
Dinner |
Thursday, 15 October 2026
|
9:00-11:00 |
The Visit of Staatsbibliothek – Department of Oriental Literature |
|
Theology, Grammar, Poetry and Mysticism |
|
|
11:30-12:10 |
Bas ter haar Romeny (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Bar ʿEbroyo’s Interpretation of Genesis and Its Sources |
|
12:10-12:15 |
Changeover break |
|
12:15-12:55 |
Hanna Hoogenraad (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Bar ʿEbroyo’s Interpretation of Romans 9–11 and its Place within the West Syriac Tradition |
|
12:55-14:30 |
Lunch |
|
14:30-15:10 |
George Kiraz (Piscataway (NJ), USA) Functional-Semantic Taxonomy of Particles in Bar ʿEbroyo’s Semḥē |
|
15:10-15:15 |
Changeover break |
|
15:15-15:55 |
Selva Can (Berlin) Das "Buch der Strahlen" im praktischen Sprachunterricht |
|
15:55-16:30 |
Coffee break |
|
16:30-17:10 |
Anton Pritula (Hamburg) Poems by Bar ʿEbroyo about his Contemporaries: Poetic Communication within and Outside the Church |
|
17:10-17:15 |
Changeover break |
|
17:15-17:55 |
Jean Fathi (Aleppo, Syria) Al-warqā’ fī ṭarīqat al-irtiqā’: A Newly Discovered Book by Barhebraeus Representing his Own Arabic Translation of his Syriac Book of the Dove |
|
17:55-18:00 |
Changeover break |
|
18:00-18:40 |
Hermann Teule (Leuven, Belgium) Bar ‘Ebroyo and his Autobiography in the Book of the Dove |
|
18:40-19:00 |
Concluding discussion |
|
19:30 |
Dinner |
Syriac Historiography in Interaction
Freie Universität Berlin
Friday, 16 October 2026
|
13:30-14:00 |
Welcoming |
|
Medieval Syriac Historiography and Bar ‘Ebroyo’s Historiographical Legacy |
|
|
14:00-14:45 |
Dorothea Weltecke (Berlin) Medieval Syriac Historiography: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead |
|
14:45-15:30 |
Salam Rassi (Edinburgh, UK) Bar ʿEbroyo on the Bad Times: A Poem on the Mongol Conquests and its Literary and Historiographical Contexts |
|
15:30-16:00 |
Coffee break |
|
Syriac Historiography in Contact |
|
|
16:00-16:45 |
Adrian Pirtea (Vienna, Austria) The Place of the Maronite Chronicle of 713 in Syriac and Arabic Historical Writing |
|
16:45-17:30 |
Andy Hilkens (Vienna, Austria) A Piece of Syro-Armenian Historiography: Michael I Rabo's Appendix on Armenian History |
|
17:30-18:15 |
Ute Pietruschka (Göttingen) The Construction of a Christian Identity in Historiographical Works during the Coptic and Syriac Renaissance |
|
18:30 |
Dinner |
Saturday, 17 October 2026
|
West Meets East: Syriac Historiography across Traditions |
|
|
9:00-9:45 |
Silvio Roggo (Frankfurt am Main) Reading John of Ephesus through the lens of Michael the Syrian |
|
9:45-10:30 |
Giovanni Gomiero (Ghent, Belgium) East Syrian Late Antique Hagiography and Historiography: The Works of Thomas of Marga (9th c.) in Context |
|
10:30-11:15 |
Julia Furman (Berlin) East Syrian Historiography at the Dawn of Islam: Yohannan bar Penkaye and the Book of the Main Points |
|
11:15-11:45 |
Coffee break |
|
History in Fragments |
|
|
11:45-12:30 |
Giorgia Nicosia (Ghent, Belgium) History as a Medium of Authorities: The Case of MS DS 28A as an Example of Multi-Genre Collection of Excerpts |
|
12:30-13:15 |
Jan van Ginkel (Leiden, Netherlands) Fragments of Historiography in Syriac Manuscripts. What was their purpose? First Soundings on the Basis of an Analysis of Berlin Or. 167 (Sachau 315) |
|
13:15-15:00 |
Closing Lunch and Informal Discussion |