Abdulaziz AbdulNour explained

Abdulaziz Abdulahad AbdulNour (1850- February 1927) was a judge, a merchant, and a philanthropist in Mosul during the Ottoman Empire rule and the Iraqi Kingdom rule.

Early life

Abdulaziz AbdulNour was born in 1850 to a prominent Syriac Orthodox family in the city of Mosul, when it was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. His father, Abdulahad AbdulNour, was the owner of significant farmland around Mosul and an influential figure in the Syriac Orthodox Church in Mosul.^[1] His mother Gallo Rassam was the daughter of Archelidos Rassam, who was also an influential figure in the Syriac Orthodox Church in Mosul. His grandfather was a famous copyist of old Syriac manuscripts whose work is included in a major manuscripts collection, the Mingana Collection, at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.^[2]

Judge

In 1890, Abdulaziz AbdulNour was appointed a judge in the criminal court that was established in Mosul under the Ottoman rule. He was reappointed to the same court in 1894.^[3] Later, in 1920, he served in Mosul City Council.^[4]

Career and business

Following in his father's footsteps, Abdulaziz AbdulNour started working with his father in managing the farmland. Additionally, he started a trading business and became a merchant for agricultural goods and products. He and his two cousins, Antone AbdulNour and Gergees AbdulNour, formed a partnership.^[5] The merchants of Mosul used to buy agricultural products from the villages around Mosul and trade them with other regions of the Ottoman Empire like Diyarbakir and Syria.^[6] Abdulaziz and his cousins also traded with other countries like India and some European countries.^[7]

Church affairs

As Abdulaziz followed his father's footsteps in business, he also followed his footsteps becoming involved in the church affairs in Mosul and helping the church serving its people in Mosul and other regions where the Syriac Orthodox Church existed. He also funded the construction of a new road to St. Matthew's Monetary northwest of Mosul that was finished by his son, Abdulahad AbdulNour after his death.^[8]

Death

Abdulaziz AbdulNour died in February 1927 after short illness.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Book: Shamoun . Gregorius Saliba . تاريخ ابرشية الموصل السريانية (The History of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Mosul) . 1984 . مطبعة شفيق . Baghdad . 5 December 2022.
2. Book: Mingana . Alphonse . Catalogue of the mingana collection of manuscripts. . 2007 . Gorgias Press . Piscataway . 9781593335410.
3. Book: الصوفي . احمد . تاريخ المحاكم والنظم الإدارية في الموصل (The History of Courts and Management Orders in Mosul) . 1949 . مطبعة أم الربيعيين . Mosul . 32.
4. Web site: Mosul City Government after the British Occupation in 1918.. Mosul Studies Center . 29 November 2023.
5. Book: Gillard, David. British documents on foreign affairs--reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print. Part I, From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. Series B, The Near and Middle East, 1856-1914 . 1984 . University Publications of America . [Frederick, Md.] . 0-89093-602-1 . 308.
6. Book: Shields . Sarah D. . Mosul before Iraq : like bees making five-sided cells . 2000 . State University of New York Press . Albany, NY . 0-7914-4488-0.
7. Book: Kelly's Directory of Merchants, Manufacturers and Shippers . 1907 . Kelly's Directories Limited . London . 1512 . 5 December 2022 . en.
8. Book: Yacoub . H. H. Mar Ignatius . History of the Monastery of Saint Matthew in Mosul . 2008 . Gorgias Press . Piscataway, NJ . 9781593337889 . 1st Gorgias Press.
9. October 1927 . الحكمة . (Al-Hikma) . 2 . 1 . 56 . 16 December 2022.