Beth Qaṭraye, Syriac for “region of the Qataris,” is a term found in Syriac literature referring to the region of north-eastern Arabia, including modern-day Qatar and Bahrain, from the fourth to the ninth centuries. Beth Qaṭraye was an important cultural, linguistic and religious crossroads in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period, when it produced a number of important East-Syriac authors. Scholarship has so far only focused on these Syriac authors and their writings rather than other aspects of Beth Qaṭraye. This volume presents and analyzes information on the pre-Islamic and early Islamic historical geography and toponyms of the Beth Qaṭraye region as well as newly discovered vocabulary from a language referred to as Qaṭrāyīth (“in Qatari”) used by its inhabitants. Based on analysis of this new data, Mario Kozah argues that Qaṭrāyīth is in fact a local Arabic dialect transliterated using Syriac letters. Thus, Qaṭrāyīth consists mostly of Arabic vocabulary (as well as a few Syriac and Pahlavi loanwords), and maintains mainly Arabic with some Syriac grammatical structures and lexical influence. As such, it constitutes the oldest documented Arabic vernacular from the seventh-century Arabian Peninsula, revealing a language in rapid transformation. The volume also includes a special chapter on the islands of the Gulf region according to Muslim sources by Saif Al-Murikhi and a unique reconstruction of the lexicon of Ḥenanishoʿ bar Seroshway (ca. 900) by George Kiraz.
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................... xi
Preface ............................................................................................................... xiii
The Editors
The Editors ....................................................................................................... xvii
Abbreviations .................................................................................................... xix
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1
Mario Kozah (Qatar University)
The Beth Qaṭraye Region ............................................................................. 2
Syriac Authors from Beth Qaṭraye ............................................................... 3
The Islands of Beth Qaṭraye in the Syriac Sources....................................... 4
Qaṭrāyīth: the Language of Beth Qaṭraye ..................................................... 9
The Diyarbakır Commentary and the Anonymous Commentary ................... 10
Origins of the Anonymous DC author and Unnamed Editor of the AC...... 12
Conclusion: A School of Beth Qaṭraye? ...................................................... 18
Bibliography ............................................................................................... 19
Primary Sources ......................................................................................... 19
Secondary Sources ...................................................................................... 19
A Lexical Survey of Qaṭrāyīth ............................................................................. 23
Mario Kozah (Qatar University)
Bibliography ............................................................................................. 105
Manuscripts .............................................................................................. 105
Primary Sources ....................................................................................... 105
Secondary Sources .................................................................................... 105
A Toponymical Survey of Beth Qaṭraye ............................................................ 107
Dr. Haya Al Thani (National Museum of Qatar/Qatar University), Prof.
Abdulrahim Abu-Husayn (American University of Beirut), Prof. Saif al-
Murikhi (Qatar University), Prof. Abdul Rahman Chamseddine
(Georgetown University in Qatar), Tobias Scheunchen (University of
Chicago), Prof. David A. Michelson (Vanderbilt University), William L.
Potter (Vanderbilt University), and Dr. Mario Kozah (Qatar University)
Introduction .............................................................................................. 107
Toponymical Survey ................................................................................. 111
The Political, Economic, and Social Situation of the Islands in the Gulf Region
during the Third and Fourth / Ninth and Tenth centuries ...................... 175
Prof. Saif Shaheen Al-Murikhi
Introduction .............................................................................................. 175
Tarout Island ............................................................................................ 178
The Island of Bahrain (Uwāl) ................................................................... 179
Island of Banī Kāwān................................................................................ 184
Kharg Island ............................................................................................. 185
Island of Jāshk .......................................................................................... 187
Kīsh Island ................................................................................................ 188
Failaka Island ........................................................................................... 190
Conclusions .............................................................................................. 191
Bibliography ............................................................................................. 192
Primary Sources ....................................................................................... 192
Secondary Sources .................................................................................... 194
A Reconstruction of the Lexicon of Ḥenanishoʿ bar Saroshway ...................... 195
George Kiraz
Bibliography of Works Cited ............................................................................ 423
Ancient Authors and Translations ............................................................ 423
Modern Works .......................................................................................... 425
Indices .............................................................................................................. 431
Ancient Sources ....................................................................................... 431
Biblical References .................................................................................. 432
People ...................................................................................................... 433
Places ....................................................................................................... 435
Subjects ................................................................................................... 439
