Georgian-Arabic Chronicle of a Jerusalemite Family
Journal Title: Pro Georgia. Journal of Kartvelological Studies - Year 2018, Vol 0, Issue 28
Abstract
The present paper explores the identity and ancestry of Mr. Siksek, a resident of Jerusalem mentioned in the diary of St. Grigol Peradze “Roses of Jericho”. In 1936 when Grigol Peradze was in Jerusalem he met this men three times. However, he did not mention the man’s first name, his age or his occupation in the diary. Nevertheless, we managed to identify the person. He was George Siksek, a well-known person in the Christian community of Palestine who held various positions in the period of the British Mandate. The paper presents a detailed biography of George Siksek and information about his family members. The paper also explores the oral tradition of the Siksek family. George Siksek told this story Grigol Peradze this narrative to Grigol Peradze as well. According to the narrative the ancestor of the Sikseks was Simon, an envoy and a secretary sent by the Georgian king to Jerusalem to help the Cross Monastery in the 14th century. In 1912 George Siksek wrote this narrative in Arabic. Along with the influence of various chronicles and historic sources this story also contains some original data from the family tradition. These details were separated and thoroughly analyzed in the paper and cross-checked with the other data. As many members of the Siksek family were clerics and some of them served in Cross Monastery in Jerusalem, the author of the paper concludes that the family tradition was originally in writing. At the end of the 17th century when the Georgians lost the Cross Monastery and the Georgian community in Jerusalem was destroyed the Siksek family’s narrative was preserved as an oral tradition. The paper also analyzes the data of the Cross Monastery Agapes. Agapes No 84/81, 65/63, 206/203 dating back to the 14th century mention Svimon Elmelikisdze. In two cases he is mentioned as the abbot of the Cross Monastery and in one case as a secular assistant of the abbot. Based on the chronology and other crucial details the author concludes that Simon, the ancestor of the Sikseks is the same person as Svimon Elmelikisdze mentioned in the Agapes. By order of King Vakhtang III Svimon travelled to Jerusalem with his family at the end of the 13th century (when the Cross Monastery was in the hands of the Muslims). He actively participated in freeing the Monastery and its restoration. After freeing of the Cross Monastery (1305 or 1310) Svimon’s descendants lived in the Monastery for a century and in 1432 they moved to the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. The author assumes that Svimon Elmelikisdze belonged to the dynasty of Kvenifneveli (Ksani) Dukes. His argument is based on the mentioning of a man named Elmelik in one of the manuscripts of Ksani Dukes. The author believes that the Sikseks’ narrative is true and verifies it with the data of historic sources. The paper shows that Grogol Peradze and George Siksek never met after 1936. George Siksek did not know about the martyrdom of Grigol Peradze.
Authors and Affiliations
Besik Khurtsilava
Keywords
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