 Sliba Marouf was born in 1667 in Tel Keppe, Iraq, received first orders at fourteen, and was consecrated bishop, without the previous consent of Rome, at the age of 24 in 1691 by Joseph I.He was chosen by Joseph I as his successor in 1694, but this appointment became effective only when Rome accepted his predecessor's resignation in 1696.Thus Sliba Marouf was confirmed patriarch by Holy See on June 18, 1696, with the name of Joseph II.