Shlemon of Baṣra (fl. 1222) [Ch. of E.]

Bp. and author of the ‘Book of the Bee’.

Bp. and writer. Shlemon was the metropolitan bp. of Prat d-Mayshan, or Baṣra, on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab in southern Iraq. He was originally from the town of Akhlat, located on the northwest coast of Lake Van. Little is known about his life except that he was in attendance at the consecration of the Ch. of E. Cath. Sabrishoʿ in 1222 (Assemani, BibOr, 3.1.453). ʿAbdishoʿ bar Brikha lists a number of Shlemon’s literary works in his ‘Catalogue’, including prayers, treatises, a discourse on heaven and earth, and the ‘Book of the Bee’ (ktābā d-debboritā) (Assemani, BibOr, 3.1.309). The ‘Book of the Bee’ is by far Shlemon’s best known work. Its purpose is to explain the work of divine dispensation in the history of the world, from Creation to the Resurrection. In this work, Shlemon gleans ideas and excerpts from a wide variety of writings. Hence, the title draws upon the illustration of a bee gathering (lqṭ) nectar from multiple flowers.