Michael the Syrian, also known as Michael the Great (Syriac: ܡܝܟܐܝܠ ܪܒܐ, romanized: Mīkā'ēl Rābā; 1126 – 7 November 1199), was the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1166 until his death in 1199. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the Syriac Orthodox Church, remembered both as a saint and as a historian.
Hailing from the distinguished Qindisi family of Melitene, he quickly rose through the ranks to become Patriarch of Antioch. His tenure as patriarch at the Mor Hananyo Monastery involved maintaining good political and ecumenical relations with Crusaders, expressing disdain for Byzantines, and protecting his flock from Arab and Turkic incursions while navigating various church politics, including a schism in the patriarchate by Theodoros bar Wahbun.
His monumental Chronicle is the largest surviving historical work in Syriac literature, covering world history from Creation up to his own day. The chronicle, mainly preserved in an Edessan manuscript as a copy of a copy, records ecclesiastical affairs, natural phenomena, secular history, and other pertinent matters. Modern scholars call it "undoubtedly the greatest of all Syriac chronicles" and a cornerstone of medieval historiography, in addition to dozens of other works by Michael which catalyzed the era of "Syriac Renaissance."
Michael, described as "one of the greatest pontiffs [...] finest of the Patriarchs [...] of everlasting name, of graceful pursuit, and of uncommon qualities," is highly venerated in the Oriental Orthodox Communion and his feast day in the Syriac Orthodox Church is on November 7, the date of his repose.
The life of Michael is recorded by Bar Hebraeus. Michael was born in Melitene (modern Malatya, Turkey) into a Syriac Orthodox priestly family in 1126. His father, Reverend Eliya al-Qindasi (Elias Qîndîsî), was a priest, and his uncle Athanasius Zakkai (or Zakka) was a monk who later became bishop of Anazarbus in Cilicia in 1136. He thus belonged to the distinguished Qindasi family. At the time of his birth, Melitene was part of the Turkoman Danishmend dynasty, and after its division in 1142, it became the capital of a principality. In 1178, the city came under the control of the Sultanate of Rûm.
As a youth, Michael joined the Monastery of Mar Barsauma near Melitene, which had served as the patriarchal seat of the Syriac Orthodox Church since the 11th century. After completing his theological studies, he was ordained as a monk. Before reaching the age of thirty, he was appointed archimandrite (abbot) of the monastery, a position he held for nearly a decade. During this tenure, Michael enlarged the monastery's library, added new buildings, and rebuilt the water supply system, ensuring that it could accommodate the thousands of pilgrims who gathered annually for the feast of Saint Barsauma. He also took measures to improve the monastery's defenses against marauding bandits.
Michael soon gained a reputation as both a historian and theologian. In 1165, Patriarch Athanasius VII (1139–1166) sought to ordain him bishop of Amid (modern Diyarbakir), but Michael declined in order to devote himself to study. Following the patriarch's death in 1166, the Holy Synod met at Dayr Fesqin (or Peshqîn) near Melitene to elect his successor. After much debate, Michael was proposed as one of three candidates. Though initially reluctant, he accepted on the condition that the synod agree to enforce certain canons aimed at strengthening the church in its time of turmoil. Dionysios Jacob bar Salibi, bishop of Marash and Mabbug, preached in his favor, and Michael was unanimously elected and consecrated Patriarch of Antioch on 18 October 1166, in the presence of 28 bishops.
Michael was the first Syriac Orthodox patriarch to act within the city of Antioch itself since the expulsion of Severus of Antioch by Justinian in the 6th century, and he consecrated a number of bishops there. He established his primary patriarchal residence at the Monastery of Deyruelzafaran in Mardin, while also spending significant time at Mar Barsauma. Immediately after his election, he contacted Pope John I of Alexandria (Yohanna ibn Abi Ghalib), in keeping with the traditional bonds between the Syriac and Coptic patriarchates. Michael also traveled extensively through the Levant. In 1168 he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, staying at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene near the Damascus Gate (Bāb al-'Amūd), and subsequently resided for a year at Antioch, which was under Crusader rule. In Antioch and Jerusalem, he was received with great respect by the Latin patriarchs and nobility, cultivating cordial relations with figures such as Amaury de Nesle, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.
Michael was invited in 1178 to attend the Third Lateran Council in Rome by Pope Alexander III but he declined, though he sent a theological treatise in his stead. He likewise refused overtures from Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, who attempted to negotiate ecclesiastical union. On three occasions (1170, 1172, and thereafter), Michael declined to travel to Constantinople or meet imperial envoys, instead sending representatives and responding with clear affirmations of the Syriac Orthodox Miaphysite faith.
As patriarch, Michael appointed twenty-five bishops, reformed lax clerical practices, and combated simony. His reforms provoked opposition, and he faced several rebellions from bishops and clergy. In 1171 and again in 1176, monks of Mar Barsauma rebelled against him. In 1174, he deposed Yuhanna al-Qaluniqi, bishop of Mardin, who retaliated by agitating the emir of Mosul and ruler of Mardin against Michael. Further opposition came from Bar Masih and culminated in the consecration of Theodore bar Wahbun as antipatriarch in Cilicia around 1180. Supported by discontented clergy, the Armenian king, the Catholicos of Armenia, and even at times the Crusaders — all of whom claimed jurisdictions over the Syrians of Cilicia — Theodore appealed in vain to Saladin for recognition. Michael excommunicated him, and after his escape from imprisonment at Mar Barsauma, Theodore sought refuge with the Armenian catholicos Gregory IV and Prince Leo II of Cilician Armenia, who officially recognized him. The schism persisted for 13 years until Theodore's death in 1193, when the Syriac Orthodox synod reaffirmed loyalty to Michael.
Despite these challenges, Michael maintained wide prestige. He cultivated diplomatic relations with Muslim and Christian rulers alike, including Sultan Kilij Arslan II of Rûm, whom he met cordially at Melitene in 1182. He supported Pope Mark III of Alexandria in the excommunication of Mark ibn Kunbar during the Egyptian controversy on confession. In his Chronicle, Michael lamented the suffering of Middle Eastern Christians under Latin occupation, particularly in Jerusalem.
Late in his life, amidst the controversies with Theodore bar Wahbun and the burdens of office, Michael attempted to resign in 1193, but the synod refused his abdication. He continued his patriarchate until his death on 7 November 1199 at the Monastery of Mar Barsauma, aged 72, having served 33 years as patriarch, and was buried in a tomb he had constructed in advance, located north of the altar of the monastery's church. During his patriarchate, Michael ordained one Maphrian and 54 bishops. His successor was Athanasius IX (1199–1207), also abbot of Mar Barsauma; a rival claimant, Michael II the Younger, contested him and later became antipatriarch instead of Athanasius and later John XIV.
Michael is best known for the world chronicle that he composed, the longest and richest surviving chronicle in the Syriac language. The Chronicle is the most extensive historical work of Syriac literature ever written, comprising 21 books from the Creation of the world to his era in 1194. It was composed in a unique three-column format: the first column for secular and political history, the second for ecclesiastical affairs, and the third for natural phenomena such as earthquakes, locust swarms, and celestial events. Between chapters, Michael inserted chronological tables that synchronized different systems of dating — the Seleucid era, the Nativity, Olympiads, and the Hijra (used exclusively in reference to Muslim caliphs). A small miscalculation in aligning Seleucid and Nativity dates runs throughout the work. This method built upon the tables of Eusebius of Caesarea, was expanded by Jacob of Edessa, and later developed by Michael himself.