Sergius of Reshaina, Commentary on Aristotle´s Categories

The Syriac reception of Alexandrian philosophical tradition at the end of the fifth to the beginning of the sixth centuries AD marks the beginning of the process of transition of Greek philosophy from Alexandria to Baghdad. The work of Syriac scholars made a crucial impact on the later Arabic and (indirectly) on the medieval Hebrew and Latin transmission of Aristotles works. The present publication project focuses on the key-figure in this process, Sergius of Reshaina (Sargis d-Reš Ayna, d. 536), who studied philosophy and medicine in Alexandria under Ammonius Hermeiou and later moved to the town of Reshaina. There, he translated Greek works into Syriac and composed original philosophical treatises, which were influenced by Aristotelian philosophy as well as by the Christian tradition of Origen and Evagrius Ponticus. Sergius works and translation style influenced many generations of Syriac scholars. As late as the ninth century, the famous translator of Greek philosophical works into Arabic, unayn ibn Isaq, testified to his authority. Thus, Sergius turns out to be a connecting point between the Greek philosophical tradition and the Oriental reception of the Alexandrian philosophy in the sixthninth centuries in Syriac Christianity and later in the Arab world. The main philosophical work of Sergius is his extensive commentary on Aristotles Categories. This work is famous for being the first known piece of Aristotelian philosophy in a Semitic language, even predating the first Syriac translation of the Categories themselves. Recent research has given first glimpses on the way, in which Sergius commentary paved the way for centuries of Aristotelian studies in Syriac and Arabic. The details of Sergius Aristotelianism and his influence, however, remain obscure to modern scholarship, because of the lack of a critical edition, which would be a necessary condition for an in-depth research on this point. The same holds true for the commentarys value as a source for late ancient philosophy: the work was based on the oral lectures of Ammonius Hermeiou, the key figure of the Aristotelianism in Alexandria around 500 AD, and may contribute greatly to our knowledge of the philosophical profile and educational practice of Ammonius school. The edition and translation of Sergius commentary makes this text for the first time available to historians of philosophy and to a broad circle of those who are interested in the Christian Oriental reception of Greek sciences and philosophy. Due to the financial support of the FWF, the publication of Sergius commentary has been made open access.