Digitized Manuscripts: Faceted Search

About This Table

This table searches all collections of Syriac and Garshuni manuscripts that are freely available online by key terms. Click any of the categorized menu items to narrow down your search. If you would like to sort the manuscripts by shelf-mark or date, or search by general keyword, see our other table here, which includes all the same manuscript data.

*The Approximate Date column is derived from the best available information for the manuscript. This is not asserted as a scholarly position on the dating of the manuscript. Instead, it is merely used here for the convenience of being able to sort all manuscripts by numerical date. The user should keep in mind that there may be considerable debate over the precise dating of the manuscript and should consult the manuscript repository and relevant scholarly literature for details.

Manuscript Name / Shelf Mark / Project Number Approximate Date Language The main body text Link to Digitized Manuscript
Vat. sir. 199 1,545 CE Garshuni

Catalog entry in Assemani

  • Life of St. Maron
  • Homily on Penitence
  • Story of the three holy Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
  • Death of Isaac the patriarch
  • Death of Jacob the patriarch
  • Jacob of Sarug, Homily on the thief
  • Life of St. Alexei
  • History of St. Abdulmasih
  • Lives of Ss. Sergius and Bacchus
  • Life of St. Marina
  • Life of St. Susanna
  • On Isaac, the son of Abraham the Patriarch
  • Life of St. John
  • Life of Paul
  • On St. Abba Ammon
  • On the Seven children of Ephesus
  • Life of St. Cyril
  • Life of St. Martinianus the Anchorite
  • Life of St. Archelidos
  • History of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul
  • Homily on Penitence
  • Life of St. Dionysius the Aereopagite
  • Jacob of Sarug, Homily on Constantine the great
  • Life of St. Simon
  • Life of Ahiqar the sage
  • Fables of Shaddad, son of 'Addi and Solomon, son of David
  • Letter from heaven given by Athanasius Patriarch of Alexandria
  • History of the conception and nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary by her mother Anna
  • Narration of bribery
  • Fable of a certain prince
  • Homily of St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria
  • Questions and answers
  • History of Pontius Pilate
  • Apostolic Constitutions
  • Homily of St. John Chrysostom
  • Ephrem Syrus, On wrestling with the Devil
  • Prayer for the sick and penitential
Vat. sir. 222 1,670 CE Garshuni, Syriac

Catalog entry in Assemani

  • Chaldean office for common days, former
  • Chaldean office for common days, latter
  • Hymns
  • Common office for matins
  • Canticles for common days
  • Calendar
  • 'Onyatha 
  • 'Onyatha on the martyrs
  • Song for vespers and matins
  • Hymn of Mar Narsai, Memra for nocturns of a Dominical feast
  • St. Ephrem, acrostic memra with the letters of Jesus' name
  • Mar Narsai, Memra for matins of a Dominical feast
  • Song of the three youths
  • Theodore of Mopsuestia, hymn for matins of feast days
  • Hymn on the Eucharist
  • Elijah the Patriarch, prayer
  • Names of the Arabic months
Vat. sir. 409 1,700 CE Garshuni, Syriac

Catalog entry in Assemani

  • Book of Psalms with commentary interspersed from various patristic authors (Philoxenus, Athanasius, Ephrem Syrus, Gregory, Severus, Abraham Qidonoyo)
Vat. sir. 566 Unknown Syriac
  • Book of memre of Ss. Ephrem, Jacob, and Isaac
Harvard Ms Syr 99 1,889 CE Syriac

Catalog entry

  • ff. 1v-76v Didascalia apostolorum
  • ff. 76-92v First epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
  • ff. 92v-93v Letter of James of Jerusalem to Quadratus
  • ff. 93v-96v Letters of Herod and Pilate 
  • ff. 96v-103v Hypomnemata of our Lord
  • ff. 103v-106v The teaching of Peter in Rome
  • ff. 107r-111v Letter of Dionysius of Athens to Timothy on the deaths of Peter and Paul
  • ff. 111v-117r Extracts from various Fathers
  • ff. 117r-120r Severus on the synods
  • ff. 120r-120v Letter that the Jews wrote to the emperor Marcion about the Synod of Chalcedon
  • ff. 120v-122v Short texts by Philoxenus
  • ff. 122v Creed of orthodox Christians
  • ff. 122v-124v Letter of John bar Shushan against Chalcedon
  • ff. 124v-126v Easy questions against the Chalcedonians
  • ff. 126v-128r Diagrams explaining theology and christology
  • ff. 128v-131v Disputation against the Nestorians
  • ff. 131v Cyril against anyone who keeps a book from a reader
  • ff. 132r-146v Prophecies of the pagan philosophers 
  • ff. 147r-148r 6 questions of Jacob of Edessa
  • ff. 148r-150v Riddles from the Old Testament
  • ff. 150v-151r Under which kings each of the prophets prophesied
  • ff. 151r-154r On the foundation of the true faith which we have received from the apostles etc.
  • ff. 154r On what the Jews wrote above the cross of Christ
  • ff. 154r-155r From the story of Peter the Iberian, that one should not give up hope of God's mercy
  • ff. 155r-157r Severus, from a letter to Thomas of Germanica on the Epistle of Jude
  • ff. 157r-160r Short sections on the eucharist, baptism, etc.
  • ff. 160r-162r On the prophets
  • ff. 162r-163r Jacob of Edessa on the seven spirits of Isaiah 11.2
  • ff. 163 r/v Ephrem on the dove that Noah sent out from the ark
  • ff. 163v-174r Answers to questions, including extracts from various Fathers
  • ff. 174v Diagram of the ten commandments
  • ff. 174v-178r Various other short sections on Old Testament exegesis
  • ff. 178r-181v Jacob of Edessa on the heavenly powers
  • ff. 181v-188v The orthodox teachers on the souls of human beings, and other short extracts
  • ff. 188v-190r Letter of Cyril of Jerusalem on the rebuilding of the temple by the Jews
  • ff. 190r-191r Extracts from Puman, John, Cyril and Basil
  • ff. 191r-201r Explanations of Ephrem on various matters from the Law
  • ff. 201r Colophon 
Harvard Ms Syr 130 1,888 CE Syriac

Catalog entry

  • ff. 1r/v Table of contents
  • ff. 2r Cross design
  • Dionysius bar Ṣalibi​
    • ff. 2v-23v Commentaries on Genesis
    • ff. 23v-37r Exodus
    • ff. 37r-45v Leviticus
    • ff. 45v-57r Numbers
    • ff. 57r-67r Deuteronomy
    • ff. 67v-79v Job
    • ff. 79v-81v Joshua
    • ff. 81v-84r Judges
    • ff. 84v-88r Samuel
    • ff. 88v-95r Kings
    • ff. 95r-103r-166r Psalms (introduction in 32 chapters by Moses bar Kepha, 95r-103r; commentary 103r-166r)
    • ff. 166v-179v Proverbs
    • ff. 179v-193r Ecclesiastes
    • ff. 193r-201r Song of Songs
    • ff. 201r/v A section on chronology entitled ʻAl qadimut nbiye ḥad men ḥabreh
    • ff. 201v-234r Isaiah
    • ff. 234v-250r Jeremiah
    • ff. 250r-271v Ezekiel
    • ff. 272r-282v Daniel
    • ff. 282v-286r Hippolytus on Susanna
    • ff. 286r-309r Twelve Prophets
    • ff. 309r-315v Bar Asira
    • ff. 315v-316v Colophons
    • ff. 316v Prayer
    • ff. 317r-318v Ephrem on Malachi (317r-v) and Joel (317v-318v)
Sinai Syr. 10 700 CE Syriac

See entry in Lewis

  • Homilies and extracts of various Fathers
    • Ambrose of Milan, Jacob of Sarug, Theophilus of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, Proclus of Constantinople, Ephrem, Cyril of Alexandria, Anastasius of Antioch, Isaac, Timothy, Epiphanius, Cornelius
Sinai Syr. 27 1,300 CE Syriac

See entry in Lewis

  • Troparion followed by a few leaves of St. Ephrem and a life of St. Barbara
Sinai Syr. 30 778 CE Greek, Syriac
  • See entry in Lewis
  • Palimpsest. Underwriting:
    • ff. 1-21 On the Holy Lady, Thecla
    • ff. 21-52 On the Blessed Eugenia and her father, Philip
    • ff.53-69 Acts of the discipleship of Pelagia
    • ff. 69-76 The Blessedy Mary [Marinus]
    • ff. 76-84 The story of Euphrosyne of Alexandria
    • ff. 84-92 The story of Onesimus
    • ff. 92-95 Martyrdom of St. Drusius and those with her at Antioch
    • ff. 95-100 Story of St. Barbara in Heliopolis
    • ff. 100-105 The martyrdom of the Blessed Virgin Mary
    • ff. 105-137 The Story of St. Irene
    • ff. 137-149 The Martyrdom of the Blessed Euphemia
    • ff. 150-161 The martyrdom of St. Sophia and her three daughters
    • ff. 161-163 The martyrdom of Theodotia the harlot
    • ff. 163-165 An apology for the faith
    • ff. 165-170 The story of Susanna
    • ff. 170-180 The Martyrdom of Cyprian the Wizard and Justa the Virgin
    • ff. 180-181 Ephrem Syrus, a metrical homily on the Mansions of Paradise
  • Lower Text
    • ff. 1-140, 143, 148 The Four Gospels in Old Syriac
    • ff. 141, 145, 146, 150, 170 Syriac Apocrypha: Acts of Thomas and the Repose of Mary
    • ff. 142, 144, 147, 149 Text of the Gospel in Greek Uncials
    • ff. 171-182 A Greek text in sloping Uncials
Sinai Syr. 67 800 CE Syriac

See entry in Lewis

  • Homilies of Mar Ephrem

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