Salimovskaya Anastasia

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

Abstract

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

Theodore Abu Qurra, Caliph al-Ma’mun, Christian-Arabic literature, saj‘

References

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Information about the author

Salimovskaya Anastasia

Student status: Master's Degree Student;
Place of study: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University for the Humanities; 6/1 Likhov per., Moscow 127051, Russian Federation;
ORCID: 0000-0002-4547-5400;
Email: n.salik@live.com.