Chaldean Church of Saint Meskentā; Patriarchal palace, opposite the church; main entrance , Mosul

(1830-1838) to ‛Ammānū’ēl II (1900-1947) resided in Mosul, though the latter moved between Mosul and Baghdad. The earliest residence was at the Church of Šim‛ūn al-Safā (AA.04) and it was probably Patriarch Yawsep Audō (1848-1878) who moved to the residence commemorated by the present inscription, although he was not the one who renovated it; FIEY 1959, p. 120-122. AA.06. The Chaldean Church of Mār Pethion Pethion, of Zoroastrian ancestry, was an ascetic who preached Christianity in the region of the Lower Zāb, until he was martyred at the hands of Yazdgerd II (middle of the 5th century). His church in Mosul is located in the quarter called Šahr-Sūq to the south of Old Mosul and east of Mayyāsā. The church witnessed drastic changes in plan and building, to the extent that it lost its look as a church. The church building must be ancient, since it is nearly 3 metres below the street level, while the grave room below the altar was accessed though five or six steps below the church’s floor level. The church which now belongs to the Chaldean community may be referred to in the vita of Yūsif Busnāyā (10th century); see FIEY 1959, p. 141-47. Unfortunately, groundwater filled the church after the Mosul Dam was built and it is not accessible. The following inscription is given after Haddād.