Basil of Caesarea’s Reception by Emmanuel bar Shahhare

Within the Hexameral literature, Basil of Caesarea takes a position of honor. His work was profoundly influential both in Greek and Syriac literature, as it was also translated into this language, the same language in which Emmanuel bar Shahhare wrote his commentary to the Hexaemeron in the Upper Monastery of Mosul in the tenth century. He belonged to the Church of the East and lived through the fascinating time of the Islamic Golden Age, when the Greek-Arabic translation movement took place. Members of his church were key participants in this process, such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq, the “sheikh of the translators.” This translation movement produced also a renewed interest in Greek literature among Syriac writers as we can see in the work of Emmanuel. My paper will explore the main aspects of Basil's reception by Emmanuel, with a particular focus on the contents and rhetorical aspects of their Hexameral writings.