In the nineteenth century Mor Elia Yuhanon Mellus worked diligently to restore relations between the Chaldean Catholic tradition, a group of Syriac Christians who were restored to full communion with the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century, and the Syriac tradition of Christianity in India. Among other things, Mellus published several books in order to help spread knowledge of the Syriac tradition. In the present work, Mellus presents the Syriac text of many hymns and poems, mostly written by John of Mosul in the thirteenth century. Published in Rome through the sponsorship of the Roman Catholic Church, the book was intended to educate a new generation of Syriac Christians on their heritage.