The ancient Syriac name was Marda, which meant fortress. It is
mentioned as early as the time of Emperor Constantius (Amm.
Marcell. xix, 9, 4) and again in the year 506 (Theophanis,
"Chronogr." A. M., 5998). The town became Christian under
Tiridates II, King of Armenia, at the close of the third
century, and it is probable that the churches, mausoleums, and
houses, the ruins of which have been discovered, belong to this
period. It played an important part in the religious
controversies between the Catholics and Monophysites, who made
it one of their principal monasteries. It had a Jacobite bishop
in 684 (see the list of Syrian titulars, in Lequien, "Oriens
Christ., " II, 1457-1462; also "Revue de l'Orient Chrétien", VI,
200; also the list of Chaldean titulars given in Lequien, op.
cit., II, 1321). After 1166 the Jacobite patriarch, who had
hitherto resided at Diarbekir, took up his residence in Mardin.
During the Middle Ages, thanks to its strong position, the town
escaped the attacks of Houlagon, grandson of