Mar Behnam Monastery
Entrance of the monastery (1999) | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Syriac Catholic Church (1790–98; from 1839) Syriac Orthodox Church (until 1790; 1798–1819) Church of the East (until 14th century) |
| Established | 4th century |
| Dedicated to | Mar Behnam, Mart Sara |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Sinharib |
| Site | |
| Location | near Beth Khdeda |
| Coordinates | 36°08′16″N 43°24′23″E / 36.137778°N 43.406389°E |
Monastery of the Martyrs Mar Behnam and Marth Sarah (Syriac: ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܒܗܢܡ ܘܡܪܬ ܣܪܐ, Arabic: دير مار بهنام, Mar Behnam Monastery), is a Syriac Catholic monastery in northern Iraq in the village Khidr Ilyas close to the town of Beth Khdeda. The tomb of Mar Benham was heavily damaged on March 19, 2015, by the Islamic State, and the exterior murals were desecrated in all of the monastery's buildings. Repair work restoring the monastery and the tomb of Mar Behnam to its pre-ISIS condition was completed by early December 2018.