Mikha’il Burayk

Historians of the Ottoman Empire provide the following bio of Mikha’il Burayk

From the dates of Ta’rih al-Sham, M.B.’s best known work and the only extant source on his life, one can conclude that he was born before 1132/1720 in Damascus and died there sometime after 1195/1782. Unfortunately telling very little about his life in this work, M.B. introduces himself as a priest (huri) of the Damascus-based Antiochian patriarchate (al-Batrakiyah al-Antakiyah) of the Greek Orthodox Church (Kanisah al-Rum al-Urtuduks), who was educated in church schools in Damascus. On 26 Jumada II 1154/8 September 1741, he was appointed as a deacon (shammas) by the archbishop. Ten days later, he was ordained as a priest (qissis) and within two weeks was permitted to hear confessions. In 1163/1750, during the archbishop’s stay in Russia, M.B. was entrusted with overseeing his residence and the operation of the city’s Orthodox cathedral. When the archbishop returned, Burayk was given the titles of priest (huri) and brutubabas (Greek, protopapas), the highest rank within the priesthood (al-kahanah). At the same time, he was charged with preaching at the Bab al-Muluki church. In 1182/1768, he was put in charge of the monastery (dayr) at Saydnaya, one of the most important monasteries in Syria. He served in this position for only a year before resigning due to overwork.

Historians of the Ottoman Empire described his book Ta'rikh al-Sham as follows:

Using both the Christian (masihi) and hijri calendars, M.B. lists events organized chronologically and focuses on Damascus and its hinterland.

... Another Damascene chronicler, who is presumed to be Christian but whose identity remains uncertain, picked up where M.B. left off and compiled a chronicle of the years 1192/1782 to 1257/1841.