| Abdallah Marrash | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abdallah bin Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash May 14, 1839 Aleppo, Ottoman Syria |
| Died | January 17, 1900 (aged 60) Marseille, France |
| Relative(s) | Francis Marrash (brother) Maryana Marrash (sister) |
Abdallah bin Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: عبد الله بن فتح الله بن نصرالله مرّاش / ALA-LC: ‘Abdallāh bin Fatḥallāh bin Naṣrallāh Marrāsh; May 14, 1839 – January 17, 1900), was a writer involved in various Arabic-language newspaper ventures in London and Paris.[1]
Abdallah Marrash was born in Aleppo, a city of Ottoman Syria (present-day Syria), to an old and respected Melkite family known for its literary interests.[2] The family was well established in Aleppo, although they had gone through troubles: Abdallah's uncle, Butrus Marrash, was martyred by Orthodox fundamentalists on April 16, 1818. Other Melkite Catholics were exiled from Aleppo during the persecutions, and among them the priest Jibrail Marrash.[3][a 1] Fathallah, Abdallah's father, wrote a blasphemous book and created another scandal.[4] He was a man of letters, and had built up a huge private library[2] to give his three children Francis, Abdallah and Maryana a thorough education, particularly in the field of Arabic language and literature.[5] His mother was from the famous al-Antaki family.[6] Aleppo was then a major literary and philosophical center of the Ottoman Empire, featuring many thinkers and writers concerned with the future of the Arabs. It was in the French religious schools that the Marrash family learnt Arabic with French, and other foreign languages (Italian and English).[7]
He first studied in Aleppo, then went to Europe to pursue his studies while devoting himself to trade. He accessed the collections of Arabic manuscripts in London and Paris and copied what he thought was useful to his compatriots.[8] He founded Kawkab al-mashriq (literally "The Star of the Orient"), a monthly Parisian Arabic-French bilingual journal, the first issue of which was published on June 23, 1882. It was ephemeral.[9]