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Document Details :

Title: Sāwīrus ibn al-Muqaffa' in Gə'əz Literature
Subtitle: A Provisional Reappraisal
Author(s): ABRAHA, Tedros
Journal: Le Muséon
Volume: 130    Issue: 3-4   Date: 2017   
Pages: 421-444
DOI: 10.2143/MUS.130.3.3259748

Abstract :
The name of the Coptic scholar and prelate Sāwīrus Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ (10th/11th cent.), bishop of al-Ašmūnayn (ancient Hermopolis Magna) in Upper Egypt, has been associated with various theological works. As a matter of fact, he is credited with having introduced the employment of Arabic as a language for Christian literature in Egypt. His biography, and in particular, texts like the Kitāb al-īḍāḥ 'The Book of Clarification', traditionally ascribed to him, have been questioned by some contemporary scholars. However, old Arabic manuscripts, such as the Paris BnF arabe 170 (13th cent.), write that the author of the Kitāb al-īḍāḥ is indeed 'Anba Sāwīrus, bishop of the town of al-Ašmūnayn, known as Abū al-Bišr Ibn al-Muqaffa‘'. The main focus of this paper is on the literature in Gə’əz directly or indirectly connected to Sāwīrus Ibn al-Muqaffa‘.

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