158:
366:
537:
after the ceremony were given a ride down a road, passing by a "certain large stone to which they must show great respect". The pulling of hair was also reported by
Campanile in 1818, who wrote that they shaved of the beard, hair and body hair of those who were near death since they believed that their sins were tied to their hairs. Campanile also reported on the dead being buried with gold and silver jewellery alongside household belongings.
201:) is recorded in ancient Mesopotamian sources from the earliest periods and his cult was particularly strong in Syria and northern Mesopotamia; many early churches in the region were repurposed pagan sun-temples (like churches, these faced east towards the rising sun). The important Syriac Orthodox monastery
520:
worshipped the sun, little certain is known of their traditions and practices due to their own unwillingness to disclose them. Much of what little has been written of their practices is unconfirmed and appears to derive from second-hand sources rather than from direct observation. Simeon, a Polish
536:
built "the most elegant doors in their house always facing the sunrise", that the prayed facing the sun, and that they pulled the hair from their dead and put a pair of coins in their mouths. Niebuhr also wrote that their weddings were officiated by Syriac
Orthodox priests but that the newlyweds
409:
there. Niebuhr spoke with an old man belonging to the group, who claimed that many of the villages in Tur Abdin had in his youth adhered to their religion but that they by this point were limited to only about a hundred families living in two districts in Mardin and they nominally adhered to the
244:
being known from at least the fifth century AD onwards. 15th-century Syriac-language sources suggest that significant numbers of the converted and were welcomed into the Syriac
Orthodox Church already in the sixth century AD. A group of sun- or fire-worshippers living in the city of
336:
to safeguard them from execution and persecution. Although they were from that point on considered to be
Christians and outwardly conformed to Syriac Orthodox beliefs and practices, they kept their old name and continued some of their own pre-Christian traditions.
544:
also venerated cows and that they three times a year met to construct a large idol in the shape of a lamb, which they put in a bowl and performed various acts in front of, such as prayer, adoration and kissing the idol. Silk
Buckingham wrote in 1827 that the
443:
in 1827 remained "quite distinct, both in belief and practice" and were still sometimes observed to rever the sun. Silk
Buckingham claimed that they by this time encompassed about a thousand families. The Austrian historian
400:
in 1675 to be one of the "fourteen nations" of the
Ottoman Empire. Febvre classified them among various "heretical" eastern Christian groups and noted that they had only recently converted from paganism. The German explorer
73:
but retained their own set of beliefs and practices; many travellers who observed and met with them doubted the extent to which they were actually
Christian. There were still about a hundred families who identified as
240:, another poorly understood Mesopotamian sect active in the early Middle Ages; the Harran Sabians have also been suggested to have been adherents of the ancient Mesopotamian religion. Armenian records mention the
1194:
Six Months in a Syrian
Monastery: Being the Record of a Visit to the Head Quarters of the Syrian Church in Mesopotamia, with Some Account of the Yazidis Or Devil Worshippers of Mosul and El Jilwah, Their Sacred
1135:
356:
converted only for protection and abandoned all
Christian practices after Murad left the city, only actually adopting them in 1763 under pressure from the Syriac Orthodox and bribed government officials.
123:
themselves is not known since they spoke different languages and claimed different ethnic origins depending on the ethnicity of the person they spoke with. They have variously been suggested to have been
316:. The sultan noted that Mardin was home to about hundred families of sun-worshippers, based on tax records about four hundred people. Under Islamic law, followers of religions not among those of the
529:
after their conversion adopted the Syriac Orthodox practices of baptisms and burial ceremonies, but kept their own sun-worshipping practices as well, which they performed in secret assemblies.
525:
gathered in their own temple every Saturday night to pray and hold incestuous orgies; an unlikely claim probably based on prejudices against Eastern religions. According to Febvre in 1675, the
549:
had refused to give information on their beliefs to other members of the Syriac Orthodox Church and threatened their adherents with death if they did so. According to Silk Buckingham, the
496:
but their subsequent fate is unknown and they appear to have since disappeared, perhaps merging into the rest of the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to Yazidi records, there were still
435:. Wolff also noted that they although they dressed like Syriac Christians, they did not intermarry with other members of the Syriac Orthodox Church. According to the British author
492:
had actually adopted Christianity, referring to them as "a curious group of semi-Christian Jacobites who were once sun-worshippers". They still lived in Mardin at the outbreak of
209:, was built on top of an ancient temple dedicated to Shamash. The present inhabitants of the region connect the builders of the ancient sun-temples to the later
93:
of the name have been used through the centuries, including Shamsi, Shamsiyya, Chamsi, Schemsîe, Shemsiye, Shemsi, Shemsy, Shemshi, Shemseeah, and Shemshiehs.
714:
Tardieu, Michel (2019). "Les illusions identitaires: Shamsis, Yézidis, Nestoriens". In Brouwer, Christian; Dye, Guillaume; Rompaey, Ania Van (eds.).
1307:
1067:
975:
933:
725:
557:
by his time were still said to perform their "ancient rites" but did not himself observe any of the practices noted by previous travellers.
328:
freely admitted to the sultan that they were not People by the Book, Murad ordered them all to be executed. The Syriac Orthodox patriarch,
297:
were few in number, they long remained largely unnoticed to the outside world. They first came to the attention of the government of the
505:
293:
apparently congregated in a temple located in the vicinity of the city gate, remnants of which survived until recent times. Since the
289:
river, they were by the 17th century mainly confined to Mardin. They had a separate cemetery and their own quarters in the city. The
1106:
875:
671:
431:, their king"; based on phonetic comparisons Wolff came to the bizarre conclusion that they were idolaters who worshipped the god
553:
were observed as showing reverence to the sun through removing their turbans during sunrises. Southgate wrote in 1837 that the
1292:
1207:
1112:
1073:
981:
889:
830:
731:
677:
939:
384:, who passed through the Ottoman Empire in 1671–1675, noted the presence of five different Christian sects in the city of
186:
170:
51:
1164:"Continuity and Transformation of the Lion and Sun Device on Coins of the Jazira from the Artuqid to the Safavid State"
445:
313:
112:(الشمس, "the sun"). The Armenian inhabitants of Mardin and surrounding settlements called adherents of the sect
1242:
460:
in the hills surrounding Mardin in 1837. Southgate reported that they at this time called themselves "sons of
631:
157:
1034:
329:
254:
101:
66:
861:
436:
349:
202:
39:
1035:"National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times"
381:
397:
193:
in the sixth millennium BC. Mesopotamia was largely Christian by the third century AD. The sun god
1007:
1302:
344:
who did not wish to convert reportedly also fled to Iran or other settlements in the surrounding
317:
285:, or adherents of similar beliefs, had previously been numerous in the northern lands around the
365:
1163:
1269:
1231:"Jacobs and Jacobites: The Syrian Origins of the Name and its Egyptian Arabic Interpretations"
1199:
1102:
1063:
971:
929:
881:
871:
822:
721:
667:
637:
586:
453:
198:
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told him that they worshipped "the sun, the moon, and the stars" and that the sun was "their
144:
were unwilling to intermarry with other religious groups and considered themselves distinct.
627:
481:
1312:
1297:
402:
262:
125:
464:", though he believed this was only to evade the suspicion of the Ottoman authorities.
373:
298:
229:
70:
35:
787:
410:
Syriac Orthodox Church. Niebuhr concluded based on the practices he observed that the
1286:
385:
266:
257:
to have converted to Christianity in the 12th century. Coins minted in Mardin in the
90:
1188:
1030:
970:. Translated by Bargellini, Clara. University of California Press. pp. 95–96.
532:
Niebuhr apparently observed several distinct practices in 1766, including that the
501:
473:
418:
270:
269:
are noted for prominently incorporating solar iconography, both in the form of the
178:
22:
414:
were probably adherents of a remnant of the pre-Christian religion in the region.
1192:
1096:
1057:
965:
923:
865:
816:
715:
661:
484:
claimed in 1913 that there were still about a hundred families who identified as
493:
258:
190:
137:
89:
means "sun-people" or "sons of the sun". Various alternate transliterations and
78:
in Mardin in the early 20th century but they appear to have since disappeared.
55:
1235:
Scrinium: Journal of Patrology, Critical Hagiographyand Ecclesiastical History
225:
1273:
826:
1203:
602:
An informal name sometimes used for followers of the Syriac Orthodox Church.
369:
345:
129:
96:
The name did not originate as a self-identity, instead being imposed on the
47:
885:
821:. Translated by Dale, Thomas Aquila. London: William Straker. p. 166.
717:
Hérésies: une construction d'identités religieuses: Histoire des religions
641:
521:
traveller who visited Mardin in the early 17th century, claimed that the
302:
221:
166:
1140:
582:
461:
321:
237:
194:
133:
58:
1014:. Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus, UK Higher Education Academy.
720:(in French). Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles. pp. 221–238.
663:
Monk and Mason on the Tigris Frontier: The Early History of Ṭur Abdin
432:
392:, who Bembo wrote "were, and still are, worshippers of the sun". The
286:
246:
206:
162:
105:
43:
1230:
1136:"The Early Christian Monastery Built on a Sun God Temple in Turkey"
1098:
Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe
500:
living in the region in the 1950s and 1960s who were persuaded by
427:
364:
156:
476:
visited Mardin in 1897 he claimed to have found no trace of the
324:) are condemned to choose conversion, exile or death. Since the
185:
were possibly the last known adherents of a late version of the
1268:. Translated by Welland, M. W. M. Beirut: Khayats. p. 98.
50:
region. They may have been adherents of a late version of the
480:. Contrary to Parry's report, the British priest and scholar
405:
passed through Mardin in 1766 and noted the presence of the
189:, an ancient set of beliefs thought to have first formed in
452:
to "worship only the sun" in 1836. The American missionary
312:) passed through Mardin on his way back following the 1638
488:
in Mardin. Fortescue also doubted the extent to which the
1168:
Publications de l'Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes
69:
in the 17th century in order to avoid persecution in the
173:(1260–1292), prominently incorporating solar iconography
332:, however took pity on them and agreed to baptize the
666:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 30.
46:(in modern south-eastern Turkey) and the surrounding
421:, who passed through Mardin in 1824, noted that the
273:emblem but also in the form of just the sun alone.
54:, particularly the cult of the ancient Mesopotamian
925:Survival Among the Kurds: A History of the Yezidis
216:In addition to ancient Mesopotamian beliefs, the
1059:An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion
636:. London: Catholic Truth Society. p. 342.
593:, which is also the origin of the name Shamash.
224:(Yazidis also pray facing the sun) and perhaps
964:Bembo, Ambrosio (2007). Welch, Anthony (ed.).
8:
540:Campanile further claimed in 1818 that the
388:(located near Mardin). Among them were the
1101:. London: C. Hurst & Co. p. 69.
967:The Travels and Journal of Ambrosio Bembo
1012:Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses
614:
566:
781:
779:
777:
775:
773:
771:
769:
261:during the city's rule by the Turkish
1245:from the original on 28 December 2021
1183:
1181:
1025:
1023:
1021:
767:
765:
763:
761:
759:
757:
755:
753:
751:
749:
396:were considered by the French author
7:
1039:Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies
1001:
999:
959:
957:
917:
915:
913:
911:
909:
907:
856:
854:
852:
850:
848:
810:
808:
709:
707:
705:
703:
701:
699:
697:
695:
680:from the original on 20 October 2021
655:
653:
651:
622:
620:
618:
348:region. According to the missionary
171:Al-Muzaffar Fakhr al-Din Kara Arslan
1062:. Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. 19–20.
870:. Henry Colburn. pp. 192–193.
320:(Islam, Christianity, Judaism and
253:, were reported by the Catholicos
116:, also meaning "sons of the sun".
14:
1210:from the original on 31 July 2022
1115:from the original on 31 July 2022
1076:from the original on 31 July 2022
984:from the original on 31 July 2022
942:from the original on 23 July 2014
928:. Oxford: Routledge. p. 58.
892:from the original on 31 July 2022
833:from the original on 31 July 2022
786:Donef, Racho (15 November 2010).
734:from the original on 31 July 2022
236:might have been connected to the
119:The native language used by the
1134:Schuster, Ruth (14 June 2022).
307:
177:According to the Assyriologist
1308:Religion in the Ottoman Empire
1229:Seleznyov, Nikolai N. (2013).
788:"The Shemsi and the Assyrians"
140:, among other hypotheses. The
42:, concentrated in the city of
1:
187:ancient Mesopotamian religion
52:ancient Mesopotamian religion
1056:Schneider, Tammi J. (2011).
220:may have been influenced by
104:. The name derives from the
815:von Hammer, Joseph (1835).
633:The Lesser Eastern Churches
446:Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall
249:, perhaps connected to the
1329:
818:Campaigns of Osman Sultans
660:Palmer, Andrew N. (1990).
508:, to convert to Yazidism.
277:Conversion to Christianity
20:
516:Beyond the fact that the
472:When the Guyanese bishop
417:The Anglican missionary
372:of Mardin (1690) by the
34:were a tribe or sect of
21:Not to be confused with
922:Guest, John S. (1993).
380:The Venetian traveller
376:traveller Jacob Peeters
361:Contact with travellers
352:, writing in 1818, the
18:Mesopotamian solar sect
867:Travels in Mesopotamia
862:Buckingham, James Silk
377:
330:Ignatius Hidayat Allah
255:Nerses IV the Gracious
174:
102:Syriac Orthodox Church
67:Syriac Orthodox Church
1293:Mesopotamian religion
1264:Bois, Thomas (1966).
1162:Ilisch, Lutz (2012).
1095:Darke, Diana (2020).
448:still considered the
437:James Silk Buckingham
368:
160:
1189:Parry, Oswald Hutton
1006:Horry, Ruth (2013).
197:(also called Utu in
100:by adherents of the
40:northern Mesopotamia
238:"Sabians" of Harran
506:Mîr of the Yazidis
378:
350:Giuseppe Campanile
318:People of the Book
314:capture of Baghdad
175:
1069:978-0-8028-2959-7
1008:"Utu/Šamaš (god)"
977:978-0-520-94013-0
935:978-0-7103-0456-8
727:978-2-8004-1681-6
628:Fortescue, Adrian
454:Horatio Southgate
65:converted to the
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585:of the ancient
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403:Carsten Niebuhr
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279:
263:Artuqid dynasty
205:, located near
161:Coin minted at
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84:
36:sun-worshippers
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12:
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5:
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1198:. Horace Cox.
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589:word for sun,
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469:
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382:Ambrosio Bembo
362:
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299:Ottoman Empire
278:
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230:Zoroastrianism
154:
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91:anglicizations
83:
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71:Ottoman Empire
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1174:(1): 105–124.
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1247:. Retrieved
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1212:. Retrieved
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1145:. Retrieved
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1117:. Retrieved
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986:. Retrieved
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944:. Retrieved
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835:. Retrieved
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682:. Retrieved
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474:Oswald Parry
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456:visited the
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419:Joseph Wolff
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29:
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23:Al-Shamsiyah
15:
1241:: 382–398.
494:World War I
281:Though the
259:Middle Ages
203:Mor Hananyo
191:Mesopotamia
138:Oghuz Turks
82:Terminology
56:solar deity
1287:Categories
610:References
386:Diyarbakır
226:Gnosticism
136:, or even
1303:Tur Abdin
1274:221410424
1266:The Kurds
827:848261429
555:Shamsīyah
551:Shamsīyah
547:Shamsīyah
542:Shamsīyah
534:Shamsīyah
527:Shamsīyah
523:Shamsīyah
518:Shamsīyah
512:Practices
498:Shamsīyah
490:Shamsīyah
486:Shamsīyah
478:Shamsīyah
458:Shamsīyah
450:Shamsīyah
441:Shamsīyah
423:Shamsīyah
412:Shamsīyah
407:Shamsīyah
394:Shamsīyah
390:Shamsīyah
370:Engraving
354:Shamsīyah
346:Tur Abdin
342:Shamsīyah
334:Shamsīyah
326:Shamsīyah
295:Shamsīyah
291:Shamsīyah
283:Shamsīyah
251:Shamsīyah
242:Shamsīyah
234:Shamsīyah
218:Shamsīyah
211:Shamsīyah
183:Shamsīyah
142:Shamsīyah
130:Armenians
126:Assyrians
121:Shamsīyah
114:Arevortik
98:Shamsīyah
87:Shamsīyah
76:Shamsīyah
63:Shamsīyah
48:Tur Abdin
31:Shamsīyah
1243:Archived
1208:Archived
1204:29363277
1191:(1895).
1147:1 August
1113:Archived
1074:Archived
1045:(2): 21.
1033:(2004).
982:Archived
940:Archived
890:Archived
864:(1827).
831:Archived
797:1 August
732:Archived
678:Archived
630:(1913).
587:Akkadian
575:Al-Shams
303:Murad IV
265:and the
222:Yazidism
199:Sumerian
110:Al-Shams
1249:31 July
1214:31 July
1141:Haaretz
1119:31 July
1080:31 July
988:31 July
946:31 July
896:31 July
886:4629251
837:31 July
738:31 July
684:31 July
583:cognate
581:) is a
462:Ishmael
374:Flemish
322:Sabians
195:Shamash
167:Artuqid
165:by the
148:History
134:Yazidis
59:Shamash
1313:Moloch
1298:Mardin
1272:
1202:
1105:
1066:
974:
932:
884:
874:
825:
724:
670:
642:992420
640:
504:, the
439:, the
433:Moloch
428:malech
287:Tigris
247:Samsat
232:. The
207:Mardin
181:, the
169:ruler
163:Mardin
153:Origin
106:Arabic
61:. The
44:Mardin
792:Atour
591:šamšu
561:Notes
340:Many
108:word
1270:OCLC
1251:2022
1216:2022
1200:OCLC
1195:Book
1149:2022
1121:2022
1103:ISBN
1082:2022
1064:ISBN
990:2022
972:ISBN
948:2022
930:ISBN
898:2022
882:OCLC
872:ISBN
839:2022
823:OCLC
799:2022
740:2022
722:ISBN
686:2022
668:ISBN
638:OCLC
579:šams
577:(or
228:and
28:The
213:.
38:in
1289::
1237:.
1233:.
1206:.
1180:^
1172:25
1170:.
1166:.
1138:.
1111:.
1072:.
1043:18
1041:.
1037:.
1020:^
1010:.
998:^
980:.
956:^
938:.
906:^
888:.
880:.
847:^
829:.
807:^
790:.
748:^
730:.
694:^
676:.
650:^
617:^
308:r.
132:,
128:,
1276:.
1253:.
1239:9
1218:.
1151:.
1123:.
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992:.
950:.
900:.
841:.
801:.
742:.
688:.
644:.
305:(
25:.
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