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The Assyrian Prince Mor Behnam
Summarized by Hanna Hajjar from an article by Dr. Amir
Harrak.
This article is placed here because of the interrelation
between the Kingdoms of Osroene and Adiabane, both being Assyrian Kingdoms, and
allies, in addition this article talks about Mor Matay, a hermit who moved from
Amid within the territory of Osroene to that of Adiabane and converted the royal
family to Christianity.
Prince Mor Behnam and his sister Princess Sarra, whom the
Syrian Orthodox Church observes their holiday on the 10th of December
of every year, are the children of the Assyrian King Senharib II (about 372
A.D.), who ruled over Northern Mesopotamia.
The Syriac text on the icon says:
Amiro Mor Behnam wu’Amirto Sarra, bnaye d’Senharib (Trayono) Malko
d’Othur, am rakobe arb’een (Translation: Prince Mor Behnam and Princess
Sarra, the children of Senharib [II] King of Assyria, with forty horsemen).
The story goes as follows: One day Prince Behnam was riding along with his forty
Assyrian horsemen who constantly attended him, he pursued a gazelle as far as
the mountain of Alfof, and climbed it to the very spot where the monastery of
Mor Mattai stands now. Here the
gazelle suddenly disappeared in a cave. On
entering, the Prince saw an aged hermit, but no gazelle.
On inquiring where the gazelle had gone, the hermit told him to sit down
and listen to him.
The hermit whose name was Mor Mattai had come from Amid/Diyarbakir.
During their conversation, the hermit introduced the Prince to
Christianity, and mentioned to him that he processed miraculous power.
The young Prince promised to believe and embrace the new religion, if the
hermit could heal his sister Princess Sarra, who was suffering from a disease
that was regarded as incurable. The
old man promised to perform the act, and appointed a spot where the princess
should be brought. Prince Behnam
then left, and at the appointed time returned to the place named by the hermit
with his sister Princess Sarra and his forty horsemen.
They found the old man waiting for them.
When all was ready Mor Mattai struck his staff upon the
ground, and a stream of water instantly burst forth. In this he ordered the princess to wash.
She obeyed, and was healed, and from that time on that spring of water
was called the spring of Sarra. Prince
Behnam and his companions the forty horsemen instantly believed in Christianity
and were baptized. His sister
Princess Sarra also embraced the Christian faith, which has brought so wonderful
a cure upon her. They then returned
with joy to the city of Nineveh, and the hermit retired to his cave.
The change in faith of Prince Behnam and Princess Sarra,
were not long concealed from their father King Senharib II, who was then
influenced by the Zoroastrian Sassanians (a Persian religion).
The King employed every means to persuade his children to abandon their
supposed delusion. Prince Behnam was inexorable, and with great zeal urged his
father King Senharib II to forsake himself the errors of paganism.
The father then resorted to torture, and when this proved ineffectual, he
ordered his son to be put to death. The
son found some means to escape, and fled with his sister and his forty horsemen
to a place now called Kara Qosh, about five hours East of Nineveh, where he was
overtaken by his father, who ordered him and his company to be put to death.
But before the command could be obeyed, the earth suddenly opened and
swallowed them up. The King was
shocked, and remained mute with astonishment, he then returned to his palace to
mourn too late the loss of both his children.
It was not long before King Senharib II was attacked with
the same disease, which had afflicted his daughter Princess Sarra.
After trying every remedy in vain, his wife Queen Shirin convinced him to
resort to the miraculous power of the old hermit Mor Mattai, who performed upon
him the same miraculous cure which he had performed upon his daughter earlier,
and with the same happy result of a change in his faith.
Thus King Senharib II became a Christian.
He now mourned afresh for the fate of his children, and determined, since
he could not restore them to life, to do all that is within his power to honor
their memory. He ordered that the
earth to be opened where they were swallowed up, and the bodies to be taken out.
They were then honorably reburied nearby, and a monastery, bearing the
name of his son Mor Behnam was erected on the spot.
The icon of Prince Mor Behnam in front of his father’s
Royal palace in Nineveh, was jointly painted by Hanna Hajjar and George Shamoun
1990.
The monastery of the Assyrian Prince Mor Behnam stands to
this date, and is one of the most famous in Assyrian history.
Nearby are seen the graves of the martyrs, and the burial place of the
King is seen also at the door of the monastery.
Before his death King Senharib II ordered the erection of another
monastery to honor the hermit Mor Mattai, which still stands to this date, and
is one of the most famous monasteries too.
Mor Mattai was originally a native of the area of Amid (Diyar
Bakir), and fled to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh during the persecution of
the Suryoye/Assyrian by Julian the Apostat (c. 361).
Prince Mor Behnam is considered the patron (or bringer) of
fertility. Moslems associate him
with “Khidr Elias” who is mentioned in the Koran.
He is given the role of Tammuz the ancient Mesopotamian god of nature and
spring. Thus he is venerated by men
and women, (Christians and Moslems), seeking human or agricultural fertility.
Another name that Mor Behnam is associated with is Prince
Mor Qardag who is also believed to be the son of King Senharib II too.
It could be that both Prince Mor Behnam and Prince Mor Qardag are the
same person, or they could be brothers.
The name Behnam (Beh-Nam) is in the Persian language and
means “the Good Name”, corresponding to “Shem-Shafir” in the Syriac
language.
In 1580 the Monophysite (Syrian Orthodox) Mefrian at the
monastery of Prince Mor Behnam together with 12 Bishops sent a letter to Pope
Gregory XIII, in which they expressed their loyalty to him.
Eighty years following that move (c. 1660) the formal union with Rome was
signed, and thus the monastery gave birth to another uniate church, the Syriac
Catholic Church. As to the monastery of Mor Mattai, it remains to this date in
the hands of the Syrian Orthodox Church.
Map of the Roman Empire (120 AD), (Coutesy of Dalton). Showing the
location of the Kingdom of Assyria/Adiabane as #44, and the Kingdom of Osroene
as #41.
Map of the Bible Lands, (Courtesy of
Broadman Supplies).
Showing the territories of Adiabane and Osroene combined as the Assyrian
heartland.
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