Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Svâto-Tihonovskogo Gumanitarnogo Universiteta: Seriâ III. Filologiâ (Dec 2020)

The prayer for the Caliph al-Ma’mun by Theodore Abu Qurra, bishop of Harran

  • Anastasia Salimovskaya

DOI
https://doi.org/10.15382/sturIII202065.138-143
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 65, no. 65
pp. 138 – 143

Abstract

Read online

This is a translation of a prayer for the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma’mun (813–833), attributed to Theodore Abu Qurra, Arab Orthodox bishop of Harran (ca. 750 — ca. 830) and composed in rhymed prose (saj‘). Although this text can be considered as a model of prayer for virtually any ruler, certain formulae suggest that the author was referring to the historical fi gure of al-Ma’mun. The text is of interest as a piece of evidence for al-Ma’mun’s popularity among Arab Christian authors who attempted to create his positive image in texts of various genres.

Keywords