predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place title term see birth_date article_title name
athanasius vii bar qutreh athanasius viii 1199 1126 yes melitene , danishmend kingdom melitene , sultanate of rûm patriarch of the syrian orthodox church 1166 -- 1199 diocese of mardin 1126 michael the syrian
 michael the syrian
michael the syrian

michael the syrian -lrb- -lrb- died 1199 ad -rrb- , also known as michael the great -lrb- or michael syrus or michael the elder , to distinguish him from his nephew , was a patriarch of the syriac orthodox church from 1166 to 1199 .
he is best known today as the author of the largest medieval `` chronicle '' , which he composed in syriac .
various other materials written in his own hand have survived .
