ABSTRACT
Isaac of Nineveh, also known as Isaac the Syrian, is one of the major figures of Mesopotamian Christian tradition.1 Born during the seventh century in Bet Qatraye on the Persian Gulf, he was ordained bishop of Nineveh by the Catholicos Gewargis (660-680). After only a few months he abandoned his see and retired in the region of Bet Huzaye in the mountains of Khuzistan, where he lived in the Monastery of Rabban Shabur until his death. Manuscripts preserve different collections of Discourses under his name. In recent decades, besides clarifying important points of Isaac’s biography, many studies have established the extent of his literary production. To the First Collection of the Discourses, translated already in antiquity into a dozen or so eastern and western languages,2 it has been possible to add a Second Collection, rediscovered and published in part by Sebastian Brock,3 and a Third Collection, edited by me.4 In spite of this careful work, the search for and study of Isaac’s literary heritage cannot yet be considered sufficient. Various Syriac and Arabic manuscripts attribute to him discourses that are not included in the three known collections. Among the writings that do not belong to any one of the three collections are two discourses presented unanimously by the manuscript tradition as “taken from the fifth part of Mar Isaac, bishop of Nineveh.” I have recently published a critical edition of these texts, based on the entire manuscript tradition known to me.5
