Naum Faiq

Naum Faiq

Naum Elias Yaqub Palakh (February 1868 - February 1930 ) ( Syriac Aramaic : ܢܥܘܡ ܦܐܝܩ , Naˁum Fayëq) was an Assyrian journalist, teacher and poet from Diyarbakır in the then Ottoman Empire . He was a member of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch .

biography

In February 1868, Naum Elyas Yakoub Balakh Palakh was born in Diyarbakır in what is now Turkey . He was later given the nickname "Faik". First he attended the parish primary school in Omid and then switched for eight years to the advanced "Brotherhood of the Old Suryoye / Süryani" founded and led by Assyrian ( Syriac ) intellectuals.

There he devoted himself to studying the Aramaic language and learned Arabic , Turkish and Persian . The fluent command of these languages ​​formed the basis for his later dictionaries and word collections. He also dealt with the liturgy of the Syrian Church .

In 1888, he began as a teacher to teach subsequent generations of the Syriac people and other Omid-based ethnic groups. As a teacher in the Ottoman Empire , he was later transferred to the city of "Hashas" in "Al Bashriya", where he was confronted with linguistic difficulties, as the local population only spoke Kurdish.

On October 16, 1889 he was ordained a deacon and then traveled to Urfa , where he dealt critically with church history and the liturgy and pursued his main task as a teacher. When a new school was built in Adiyaman , he was called there. He later returned to his hometown and taught there for another four years. Among other things, he dealt with musical compositions and taught the orchestra of the church in Diyarbakır.

In 1896 Naum Faik was ordered to Homs by the then Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church Moran Mar Ignatius Abdulmesih II to teach the church students language, history and liturgy for a while. Then he moved to Beirut and Jerusalem . He spent six months in the Mar Markus monastery.

Naum Faik returned to Diyarbakır for the third time in years, where he again raised students. In 1905 he went to Mardin in the Zafaran monastery and studied the books in the ancient monastery library. In 1908, together with other intellectuals, he founded the religious and literary community "Al Intebah" (Attention), which pursued the organization of the Church and the spread of the national idea. Nothing is known about the work of this organization. Naoum Faik made a name for himself as an editor and publisher of journals and magazines. In 1905 he brought out the magazine "Kokhva d´Madinkha" (Star of the East), which was enriched with historical and cultural articles in addition to the religious ones. Until his escape from Bethnahrin he was responsible for the surrender.

Due to the suppression and deterioration of the political situation in the Ottoman Empire, he was forced to turn his back on his homeland in 1912 and to emigrate to the USA . His friend Sennacherib Bali helped him to escape and to establish himself in America. In New York and New Jersey he became a key figure in the Syriac community. With many projects he tried to ensure the survival of the culture in exile.

In 1916 he started the "Bethnahrin Magazin" and in 1921 he became editor-in-chief of "Hujada", the magazine of the Assyrian-Syrian-Chaldean National Federation, which he was responsible for until it was hired. Afterwards he devoted his time again to the "Bethnahrin Magazin". Over time, Naoum Faik brought out many books, articles, poems (including the Lebanese national anthem) and other literary works. The total number of his works is unknown. In serious circles one speaks of about 35 literary works.

Works

• Aramaic-Arabic dictionary
• Aramaic-Turkish Dictionary
• Aramaic-Persian Dictionary
• Aramaic-Armenian-Kurdish dictionary
• Aramaic-English dictionary
• Dictionary Arabic - Aramaic, containing thousands of words
• Aramaic-Greek dictionary
• Aramaic Bible Dictionary
• Aramaic Bible Index
• Aramaic mathematics book
• Aramaic Geography Book
• History and geography of Bethnahrin
• History of the Assyrian-Syriac emigrants in the USA
• History of the Great Assyrian-Syriac Schools in Urhoy and Nsibin
• Calendar 1916
• Aramaic translation of Benyamin Franklin's address
• Aramaic translation of the "Robbayat of Omar Khayyam"
• Collection of national songs in Aramaic, Turkish and Arabic
• Turkish translation of the "wise sayings of Ahikar"
• "Principles in Reading Aramaic" - Syriac Exercises
• Collection of Aramaic melodies and compositions
• Synonyms in Aramaic
• Fragrant roses in the Garden of Aramaic Proverbs in Aramaic and Arabic
• The subtleties of interpreting and translating
• Aramaic / Syrian elementary book
• Collected lectures and sermons
• Dictionary of Aramaic Proper Names
• Aramaic / Syriac puzzles

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.atour.com/~people/20010702g.html
2. ↑ http://bethnahrin.de/2012/02/05/biographie-von-malfono-naum-faik/