Syriac culture and church The principal Roman city of the region, Antioch, was its link to the West, while its link to the East was Persian Ctesiphon (Baghdad) Thus, the cradle of Syriac culture was on the frontier between the two empires and civilizations The effects of this geographic position were dramatic: The Syriac Church split in 484 according to its location, with the establishment of an autonomous (Assyrian) church in the Persian domain and the remaining (Syrian) church in the Roman domain Another split occurred in the sixth-century Syrian Church, with one side identifying with the adherents of Council of Chalcedon (Melkites), the other side dissenting (Syriac Orthodox) All three Syriac-based groups claimed their biblical roots in Antioch, the city out of which Peter and Paul launched their missions Their political affiliations varied: the Assyrians identified with the Persians, the Melkites with the Romans and Byzantines, and the Syriac Orthodox somewhere in the middle Among the Syrians, the Melkites were concentrated in urban and Hellenized areas (Antioch, Alexandria, and the Mediterranean coast), while the Syriac Orthodox were in the countryside and hinterlands The Syriac Orthodox adherents were not alone in their resistance to the Council of Chalcedon: Together with the Egyptians, the Armenians, the Georgians, and the Ethiopians, they formed the core of the ancient Oriental Orthodox Churches The divisions between the Melkites and the other Syriac churches were mainly a result of cultural, linguistic, and political factors rather than theology The Syriac churches formally rejected the Chalcedonian Creed that Christ has two natures, divine and human, in one person as an innovation of the ancient traditions Their Byzantine (Melkite) opponents incorrectly held them to be Monophysites, heretics who believed that Christ had only one nature In fact, the Syriac position was that “Christ is perfect God and perfect man” and was only slightly different from the Chalcedonian formula The fourth through the sixth centuries were the most prolific era for Syriac writers During this time the language came to flourish in its classical forms of Jacobite (serto) and Eastern (Nestorian), together with Estangelo, the common written language The Syriac Bible, called the Peshitta, was written early enough in the development of Judaism and Christianity that it was one of the oldest witnesses to the scriptural text The Diatessaron, attributed to Tatian, is an indispensable witness to the gospel texts of the New Testament Some of the notable religious writers of this period include Aphraates (fl 336–345), Ephrem the Syrian (d 373), 449 Narsai (d c 503), Jacob of Sarug (d 521), and Philoxenus of Mabbugh (d 523) Their elevated prose and poetry manifest in metrical homilies and hymns, some of which spread into the Greek Church and the Latin Church The secular chronicles and histories of Syriac origin are valuable for filling in the gaps left by Latin and Greek works Some of the outstanding early historians include John of Ephesus (c 575–585), Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor (c 580), and Jacob of Edessa (d 708) By the early 600s Syriac missionaries had spread their religion as far east as China The Assyrian Church maintained valuable connections to the silk and spice routes, so they were able to carry their religion into far-flung areas Syriac Orthodox villages and churches were oftentimes swallowed up by the Persian Empire as the Romans and Byzantines retreated toward the Mediterranean Sea But they did not fight the new regime because they had experienced disparagement and persecution from their Melkite coreligionists and former Byzantine rulers By contrast, the Assyrians and the Syriac Orthodox often took positions of influence in science, administration, and education among the Persians, Muslims, and Mongols Many scientific and philosophical books, otherwise lost to the West during the early Middle Ages, were transmitted from their Greek origins to the Arabs by way of the Syriac scholars Syriac missionaries are legendary for spreading Christianity into India, where their descendants are called Thomas Christians (because of their purported link to the mission of Thomas the Apostle) They follow customs that show affinities with Judaism In fact the largest group of Syriac Christians resides in contemporary India See also Apostles, Twelve; Aramaens; Assyria; Christianity, early; Ephesus and Chalcedon, Councils of; Fertile Crescent; Georgia, ancient; Hellenization; Nestorius and the Nestorian Church; Sassanid Empire Further reading: Chaillot, C The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East: A Brief Introduction to Its Life and Spirituality Geneva, Switzerland: World Council of Churches, 1998; Griffith, S “Syria, Syriac.” In E Ferguson, ed Encyclopedia of Early Christianity New York: Garland Publishing, 1990; Hollerweger, Hans, with Andrew Palmer Introduction by Sebastian Brock Turabdin: Where Jesus’ Language Is Spoken Linz, Austria: Friends of Turabdin, 1999 Mark F Whitters