Adıyamanlı Süryânîler

The linked monograph is a transcription Ottoman Turkish into the Latin alphabet of texts relating to the Syriac (Süryânî) community in Adıyaman and its environs. The document is composed of two parts, first being Adıyaman Tarihi, a manuscript written in Syria in the mid-twentieth century. The second part is a collection of articles collected from early-twentieth century Syriac newspapers in both the Ottoman Empire and the United States. All of the above were written in Syro-Ottoman (Ottoman Turkish using the Syriac alphabet) and the transcription reflects the original language. Notably, Adıyaman Tarihi exhibits many non-standard grammatical and orthographic practices, and these have been faithfully preserved here. The document also contains a glossary of Ottoman and Adıyaman dialectal terms so that the texts can be read by modern-day Turkish speakers.

Adıyaman Tarihi

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Adıyaman Tarihi is one of the most remarkable works I have had the pleasure of working on: a first-hand account of the lives of the Syriac population in the Ottoman town of Adıyaman (also known as Hısn-ı Mansûr) during the late Ottoman Empire. The author escapes the local massacres with his life, but in light of ongoing post-war persecution, he eventually flees to mandate Syria, where he would spend the rest of his life.

I gave a talk on the text during SAYFO 1915: An International Conference on the Genocide of Assyrians/Arameans during the First World War held at Freie Universität Berlin in 2015.

A map from the text was also featured on the lovely The Afternoon Map blog devoted to Ottoman and Ottoman-adjacent cartography.¹