Syriac Christianity in Central Asia*

Syriac Christianity in Central Asia* "when the Christians of Europe first heard dimly of the defeats suffered by the Muslim Seljuqs and Khwarasm-Shahs,they thought that a great Christi- an power had arisen in Central Asia," Cambridge History of Iran, V. 5, p. 147, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods This quotation, of course, refers to the sweeping victories in A.D. 12C by the Mongols, who adopted a tolerant policy to the Christian subjects in their dominions. However, the Europeans were not entirely mistaken in their belief, for there was a Christian power throughout Central Asia. Granted, it was not political, but the Syriac-speaking Church extended across the breadth of this vast area; from the Caspian Sea in the west to Karakorum on the Orkhon River in the east, and beyond. Nor was it a recent phenomenon, for contemporary accounts indicate that in many areas Syriac Christianity had been established for a long period of time. In this paper we will survey the distribution of the Syriac-speaking Churches throughout Central Asia. In addition to the Nestorian branch, whose exploits in the spread of Christianity have been widely recognised, we will consider the Jacobite Church whose contribution has received less attention. By the means of a comparative, chronological study, we will attempt to establish the pattern of development of the metropolitan and episcopal sees of the Nestorians and the Jacobites. Hence we will enquire whether both Churches were found simultaneously in the same areas, or whether their growth was differentiated regionally or otherwise. The chronology of the paper; from A.D. 5C - 13C, has been decided from a documentary as well as an historical basis. The fifth century witnessed the emergence of the Jacobite and Nestorian branches, the latter becoming almost synonymous with the autocephalous Persian Church that was decreed at Seleucia, at the synod of Ishaq in A.D. 410. The delegates to this synod and thereafter up to A.D. 790 have been recorded in the Synodicon Orientale, a collection of synod reports that was probably compiled at the end of A.D. 8C. Contrasting with its Nestorian perspective is the Chronicle ofmichael the Syrian, which was written the Jacobite Patriarch circa A.D. 1196 and cites the metropolitans by 2 and bishops of that Church from the end of A.D. 8C until A.D. 13 C. The specificity of the synod listings is complemented by Syriac annals and histories. In particular, the renowned A.D. 13C Jacobite author, Gregory Abu'l l 363 Faraj, otherwise known as Bar Hebraeus, supplies valuable information in his two works: Chronicon Syriacum3 and Chronicon Ecclesiasticum.4 His con- temporaries were the famous traveller Marco Polo and the Franscican monk, Guillaume de Roubruc who noted the Christian presence in Central Asia during their travels. Finally, the remarkable History of Rabban Sauma and Yabhallaha III casts light on to the state of Christianity during the II-Khanate when an s Uighur monk became the Catholicos or Patriarch of the Nestorian Church. The writings from A.D. 13C provide glimpses; tantalising at times, of the spread of Christianity throughout Central Asia, in regions where our knowledge has been previously restricted to a handful of references. Indeed, it must be remembered that the nomadism of the Mongol and Turkic tribes, which dwelt in the vast areas of modem Kazakstan and Mongolia, was not condusive to the organisation that occurred in settled communities. As Dauvillier points out, in these territories even bishoprics "ont ete crdds pour des peuples et n'avaient pas de siege ddtermin6".1 Hence ethnic groups, rather than locations, are usually cited. By contrast, "what is often referred to in the classical and medieval context as 'I'Iran ext?rieure', the regions of Transoxiana and Khwarazm and even of Sin-kiang or Chinese Turkestan", are better documented." Whilst these areas were remote from Persia, their Iranian-speaking inhabitants had settled into village and urban communities. By virtue of their existential patterns, these regions were able to be organised and thus their hierarchy was modelled on the mother Churches of the Nestorians and the Jacobites. As a consequence, their metropolitans and bishops were designated by region, or by city. The survey of the metropolitan and episcopal sees of Central Asia will therefore concentrate on Transoxiana, Khwarazm and Turkestan to which Gurgan and Khurasan have been added. The latter region, with its cities of Herat and Merw, was grouped with Samarkand, India und China by the Nestorian g Patriarch Theodose (A.D. 852 - 858) as exempt from attendance at synods. Whilst Khurasan was contiguous with Transoxiana, Gurgan which was situated on the south-east corner of the Caspian Sea adjoined Khwarasm. Furthermore, .

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