Charlotte Bank
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780197266748
- eISBN:
- 9780191938146
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266748.003.0003
- Subject:
- Art, Art History
This chapter examines artworks by young Syrian artists produced during the first decade of the twenty–first–century. Seeking to distance themselves from what they perceived as outdated aesthetics, ...
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This chapter examines artworks by young Syrian artists produced during the first decade of the twenty–first–century. Seeking to distance themselves from what they perceived as outdated aesthetics, seen in the work of their teachers in the art school and the work exhibited at the official, state–sponsored artistic events, the young generation of artists began experimenting with artistic techniques and media that were new to the country, also searching for new ways to interact with society and advocate for social and eventually political change in the country. They addressed a wide range of issues related to the contemporary Syrian society and made a critique of the social and political status quo. Critical examinations of gender norms presented an important aspect of their critical art production, as they regarded the issues of gender as an important part of their wider project of re–thinking art as a means for social and political change.Less
This chapter examines artworks by young Syrian artists produced during the first decade of the twenty–first–century. Seeking to distance themselves from what they perceived as outdated aesthetics, seen in the work of their teachers in the art school and the work exhibited at the official, state–sponsored artistic events, the young generation of artists began experimenting with artistic techniques and media that were new to the country, also searching for new ways to interact with society and advocate for social and eventually political change in the country. They addressed a wide range of issues related to the contemporary Syrian society and made a critique of the social and political status quo. Critical examinations of gender norms presented an important aspect of their critical art production, as they regarded the issues of gender as an important part of their wider project of re–thinking art as a means for social and political change.
Shafique N. Virani
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195311730
- eISBN:
- 9780199785490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311730.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
In Shi'i Islam, the Imams are considered to be the Possessors of the Command (ulu al-amr), and are the purveyors of divine authority in the world. The chapter speaks of the Ismaili Imams, Islamshah ...
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In Shi'i Islam, the Imams are considered to be the Possessors of the Command (ulu al-amr), and are the purveyors of divine authority in the world. The chapter speaks of the Ismaili Imams, Islamshah and Muhammad b. Islamshah; compares the modes of precautionary dissimulation (taqiyya) of Ismailis in Quhistan (where the community was persecuted) and Syria (where the bravery of the Ismailis was often romanticized); and highlights the emphasis placed on communal harmony. It also delves into the resurgence of the Ismaili da'wa at this time, particularly in South Asia under the able leadership of Pir Shams and his successors, including Pir Sadr al-Din.Less
In Shi'i Islam, the Imams are considered to be the Possessors of the Command (ulu al-amr), and are the purveyors of divine authority in the world. The chapter speaks of the Ismaili Imams, Islamshah and Muhammad b. Islamshah; compares the modes of precautionary dissimulation (taqiyya) of Ismailis in Quhistan (where the community was persecuted) and Syria (where the bravery of the Ismailis was often romanticized); and highlights the emphasis placed on communal harmony. It also delves into the resurgence of the Ismaili da'wa at this time, particularly in South Asia under the able leadership of Pir Shams and his successors, including Pir Sadr al-Din.
Eyal Zisser
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199249589
- eISBN:
- 9780191600029
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924958X.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
Includes all relevant information on national elections and referendums held in Syria since its independence. Part I gives a comprehensive overview of Syria's political history, outlines the ...
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Includes all relevant information on national elections and referendums held in Syria since its independence. Part I gives a comprehensive overview of Syria's political history, outlines the evolution of electoral provisions, and presents the current electoral legislation in a standardized manner (suffrage, elected institutions, nomination of candidates, electoral system, organizational context of elections). Part II includes exhaustive electoral statistics in systematic tables (numbers of registered voters, votes cast, the votes for candidates and/or parties in parliamentary and presidential elections and referendums, the electoral participation of political parties, the distribution of parliamentary seats, etc.).Less
Includes all relevant information on national elections and referendums held in Syria since its independence. Part I gives a comprehensive overview of Syria's political history, outlines the evolution of electoral provisions, and presents the current electoral legislation in a standardized manner (suffrage, elected institutions, nomination of candidates, electoral system, organizational context of elections). Part II includes exhaustive electoral statistics in systematic tables (numbers of registered voters, votes cast, the votes for candidates and/or parties in parliamentary and presidential elections and referendums, the electoral participation of political parties, the distribution of parliamentary seats, etc.).
Margaret Litvin
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691137803
- eISBN:
- 9781400840106
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691137803.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
For the past five decades, Arab intellectuals have seen themselves in Shakespeare's Hamlet: their times “out of joint,” their political hopes frustrated by a corrupt older generation. This book ...
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For the past five decades, Arab intellectuals have seen themselves in Shakespeare's Hamlet: their times “out of joint,” their political hopes frustrated by a corrupt older generation. This book traces the uses of Hamlet in Arabic theatre and political rhetoric, and asks how Shakespeare's play developed into a musical with a happy ending in 1901 and grew to become the most obsessively quoted literary work in Arab politics today. Explaining the Arab Hamlet tradition, the book also illuminates the “to be or not to be” politics that have turned Shakespeare's tragedy into the essential Arab political text, cited by Arab liberals, nationalists, and Islamists alike. On the Arab stage, Hamlet has been an operetta hero, a firebrand revolutionary, and a muzzled dissident. Analyzing productions from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Kuwait, the book follows the distinct phases of Hamlet's naturalization as an Arab. The book uses personal interviews as well as scripts and videos, reviews, and detailed comparisons with French and Russian Hamlets. The result shows Arab theatre in a new light. It identifies the French source of the earliest Arabic Hamlet, shows the outsize influence of Soviet and East European Shakespeare, and explores the deep cultural link between Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and the ghost of Hamlet's father. Documenting how global sources and models helped nurture a distinct Arab Hamlet tradition, this book represents a new approach to the study of international Shakespeare appropriation.Less
For the past five decades, Arab intellectuals have seen themselves in Shakespeare's Hamlet: their times “out of joint,” their political hopes frustrated by a corrupt older generation. This book traces the uses of Hamlet in Arabic theatre and political rhetoric, and asks how Shakespeare's play developed into a musical with a happy ending in 1901 and grew to become the most obsessively quoted literary work in Arab politics today. Explaining the Arab Hamlet tradition, the book also illuminates the “to be or not to be” politics that have turned Shakespeare's tragedy into the essential Arab political text, cited by Arab liberals, nationalists, and Islamists alike. On the Arab stage, Hamlet has been an operetta hero, a firebrand revolutionary, and a muzzled dissident. Analyzing productions from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Kuwait, the book follows the distinct phases of Hamlet's naturalization as an Arab. The book uses personal interviews as well as scripts and videos, reviews, and detailed comparisons with French and Russian Hamlets. The result shows Arab theatre in a new light. It identifies the French source of the earliest Arabic Hamlet, shows the outsize influence of Soviet and East European Shakespeare, and explores the deep cultural link between Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and the ghost of Hamlet's father. Documenting how global sources and models helped nurture a distinct Arab Hamlet tradition, this book represents a new approach to the study of international Shakespeare appropriation.
John Tolan, Henry Laurens, and Gilles Veinstein
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147055
- eISBN:
- 9781400844753
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147055.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History
This book sheds light on the shared roots of Islamic and Western cultures and on the richness of their inextricably intertwined histories, refuting once and for all the misguided notion of a “clash ...
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This book sheds light on the shared roots of Islamic and Western cultures and on the richness of their inextricably intertwined histories, refuting once and for all the misguided notion of a “clash of civilizations” between the Muslim world and Europe. The book brings to life the complex and tumultuous relations between Genoans and Tunisians, Alexandrians and the people of Constantinople, Catalans and Maghrebis—the myriad groups and individuals whose stories reflect the common cultural, intellectual, and religious heritage of Europe and Islam. Since the seventh century, when the armies of Constantinople and Medina fought for control of Syria and Palestine, there has been ongoing contact between the Muslim world and the West. This sweeping history vividly recounts the wars and the crusades, the alliances and diplomacy, commerce and the slave trade, technology transfers, and the intellectual and artistic exchanges. Here readers are given an unparalleled introduction to key periods and events, including the Muslim conquests, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the commercial revolution of the medieval Mediterranean, the intellectual and cultural achievements of Muslim Spain, the crusades and Spanish reconquest, the rise of the Ottomans and their conquest of a third of Europe, European colonization and decolonization, and the challenges and promise of this entwined legacy today. As provocative as it is groundbreaking, this book describes this shared history in all its richness and diversity, revealing how ongoing encounters between Europe and Islam have profoundly shaped both.Less
This book sheds light on the shared roots of Islamic and Western cultures and on the richness of their inextricably intertwined histories, refuting once and for all the misguided notion of a “clash of civilizations” between the Muslim world and Europe. The book brings to life the complex and tumultuous relations between Genoans and Tunisians, Alexandrians and the people of Constantinople, Catalans and Maghrebis—the myriad groups and individuals whose stories reflect the common cultural, intellectual, and religious heritage of Europe and Islam. Since the seventh century, when the armies of Constantinople and Medina fought for control of Syria and Palestine, there has been ongoing contact between the Muslim world and the West. This sweeping history vividly recounts the wars and the crusades, the alliances and diplomacy, commerce and the slave trade, technology transfers, and the intellectual and artistic exchanges. Here readers are given an unparalleled introduction to key periods and events, including the Muslim conquests, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the commercial revolution of the medieval Mediterranean, the intellectual and cultural achievements of Muslim Spain, the crusades and Spanish reconquest, the rise of the Ottomans and their conquest of a third of Europe, European colonization and decolonization, and the challenges and promise of this entwined legacy today. As provocative as it is groundbreaking, this book describes this shared history in all its richness and diversity, revealing how ongoing encounters between Europe and Islam have profoundly shaped both.
Tsolin Nalbantian
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474458566
- eISBN:
- 9781474480703
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474458566.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
A socio-political and cultural history of the Armenians in Cold War Lebanon, this book argues that Armenians around the world – in the face of the Genocide, and despite the absence of an independent ...
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A socio-political and cultural history of the Armenians in Cold War Lebanon, this book argues that Armenians around the world – in the face of the Genocide, and despite the absence of an independent nation-state after World War I – developed dynamic socio-political, cultural, ideological and ecclesiastical centres. And it focuses on one such centre, Beirut, in the postcolonial 1940s and 1950s.
Tsolin Nalbantian explores Armenians’ discursive re-positioning within the newly independent Lebanese nation-state; the political-cultural impact (in Lebanon as well as Syria) of the 1946–8 repatriation initiative to Soviet Armenia; the 1956 Catholicos election; and the 1957 Lebanese elections and 1958 mini-civil war. What emerges is a post-Genocide Armenian history of – principally – power, renewal and presence, rather than one of loss and absence.
Armenians Beyond Diaspora: Making Lebanon Their Own investigates Lebanese Armenians’ changing views of their place in the making of the Lebanese state and its wider Arab environment, and in relation to the Armenian Socialist Soviet Republic. It challenges the dominant Armenian historiography, which treats Lebanese Armenians as a subsidiary of an Armenian global diaspora, and contributes to an understanding of the development of class and sectarian cleavages that led to the breakdown of civil society in Lebanon from 1975. In highlighting the role of societal actors in the US–Soviet Cold War in the Middle East, it also questions the tendency to read Middle East history through the lens of dominant (Arab) nationalisms.Less
A socio-political and cultural history of the Armenians in Cold War Lebanon, this book argues that Armenians around the world – in the face of the Genocide, and despite the absence of an independent nation-state after World War I – developed dynamic socio-political, cultural, ideological and ecclesiastical centres. And it focuses on one such centre, Beirut, in the postcolonial 1940s and 1950s.
Tsolin Nalbantian explores Armenians’ discursive re-positioning within the newly independent Lebanese nation-state; the political-cultural impact (in Lebanon as well as Syria) of the 1946–8 repatriation initiative to Soviet Armenia; the 1956 Catholicos election; and the 1957 Lebanese elections and 1958 mini-civil war. What emerges is a post-Genocide Armenian history of – principally – power, renewal and presence, rather than one of loss and absence.
Armenians Beyond Diaspora: Making Lebanon Their Own investigates Lebanese Armenians’ changing views of their place in the making of the Lebanese state and its wider Arab environment, and in relation to the Armenian Socialist Soviet Republic. It challenges the dominant Armenian historiography, which treats Lebanese Armenians as a subsidiary of an Armenian global diaspora, and contributes to an understanding of the development of class and sectarian cleavages that led to the breakdown of civil society in Lebanon from 1975. In highlighting the role of societal actors in the US–Soviet Cold War in the Middle East, it also questions the tendency to read Middle East history through the lens of dominant (Arab) nationalisms.
D. K. Fieldhouse
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199540839
- eISBN:
- 9780191713507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199540839.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Political History, Middle East History
This chapter examines two major questions central to any study of the French mandate in Syria (and also of Lebanon) between 1918 and 1946. First, why the French were so determined to get political ...
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This chapter examines two major questions central to any study of the French mandate in Syria (and also of Lebanon) between 1918 and 1946. First, why the French were so determined to get political control over Syria and why they never voluntarily conceded independence to it. Second, why Syria proved to be a relatively docile French dependency for so long, despite the fact that it was the centre of Arab nationalism before 1914 and was the first Arab territory to declare itself an independent state between 1918 and 1920. The answer to the first question lies in the labyrinthine structure of French domestic politics and interest groups before and after 1918, while the answer to the second question lies in the complexities of the Syrian social structure, which alone made it possible for the French to make some form of compromise with the social elite of notables, who in turn provided sufficient collaboration to make the alien regime viable.Less
This chapter examines two major questions central to any study of the French mandate in Syria (and also of Lebanon) between 1918 and 1946. First, why the French were so determined to get political control over Syria and why they never voluntarily conceded independence to it. Second, why Syria proved to be a relatively docile French dependency for so long, despite the fact that it was the centre of Arab nationalism before 1914 and was the first Arab territory to declare itself an independent state between 1918 and 1920. The answer to the first question lies in the labyrinthine structure of French domestic politics and interest groups before and after 1918, while the answer to the second question lies in the complexities of the Syrian social structure, which alone made it possible for the French to make some form of compromise with the social elite of notables, who in turn provided sufficient collaboration to make the alien regime viable.
Denis Feissel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265062
- eISBN:
- 9780191754173
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265062.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Greek and Latin inscriptions are now fully embraced within the study of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Era. At Constantinople, inscriptions of the Byzantine era were displayed along with ancient ...
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Greek and Latin inscriptions are now fully embraced within the study of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Era. At Constantinople, inscriptions of the Byzantine era were displayed along with ancient texts imported from elsewhere in the Empire, symbolising the welding of Hellenism and Romanitas. While the number and variety of texts do not match those of earlier eras, they can furnish evidence for several aspects of society. Personal names recorded on inscriptions reveal the impact of the Latin West and of Christianity on the Greek East, in the choice of names and the styles of nomenclature. The survival of names of local origin, from Thrace, Anatolia and Syria, areas where Greek was later imposed on an earlier substrate not always written, reveals the vigour of local traditions.Less
Greek and Latin inscriptions are now fully embraced within the study of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Era. At Constantinople, inscriptions of the Byzantine era were displayed along with ancient texts imported from elsewhere in the Empire, symbolising the welding of Hellenism and Romanitas. While the number and variety of texts do not match those of earlier eras, they can furnish evidence for several aspects of society. Personal names recorded on inscriptions reveal the impact of the Latin West and of Christianity on the Greek East, in the choice of names and the styles of nomenclature. The survival of names of local origin, from Thrace, Anatolia and Syria, areas where Greek was later imposed on an earlier substrate not always written, reveals the vigour of local traditions.
Constantina Katsari
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199233359
- eISBN:
- 9780191716348
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199233359.003.0013
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
One of the fiercest debates about the monetization of the Roman Empire concerns the difference between rural and urban sites. One view has been that the use of coined money was limited to the cities ...
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One of the fiercest debates about the monetization of the Roman Empire concerns the difference between rural and urban sites. One view has been that the use of coined money was limited to the cities of the Empire, given that excavations of villas in Italy have yielded only a very small number of coins. However, archaeologists working on Roman Britain have pointed out that a substantial number of hoards in Britain have been found in rural sites, while fewer have been found on military sites or in towns. This chapter considers whether the now very extensive numismatic evidence from the Balkans, Asia Minor, and Syria can help to clarify the level of coin use in the countryside. It reassesses the role of diverse economic forces — such as the army, trading activities, and the urbanization of the provinces — and raises some questions about their impact on the monetization of the North and Eastern frontier through an analysis of the numismatic material found in the course of excavations or surface surveys at urban centres, fortress-cities, and military installations in rural areas.Less
One of the fiercest debates about the monetization of the Roman Empire concerns the difference between rural and urban sites. One view has been that the use of coined money was limited to the cities of the Empire, given that excavations of villas in Italy have yielded only a very small number of coins. However, archaeologists working on Roman Britain have pointed out that a substantial number of hoards in Britain have been found in rural sites, while fewer have been found on military sites or in towns. This chapter considers whether the now very extensive numismatic evidence from the Balkans, Asia Minor, and Syria can help to clarify the level of coin use in the countryside. It reassesses the role of diverse economic forces — such as the army, trading activities, and the urbanization of the provinces — and raises some questions about their impact on the monetization of the North and Eastern frontier through an analysis of the numismatic material found in the course of excavations or surface surveys at urban centres, fortress-cities, and military installations in rural areas.
James Howard‐Johnston
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199208593
- eISBN:
- 9780191594182
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208593.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
A west Syrian strand of history, originating with Theophilus, a Chalcedonian Christian from Edessa who became chief astrologer to the Caliph Mahdi (775–85), can be picked out in four later works, one ...
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A west Syrian strand of history, originating with Theophilus, a Chalcedonian Christian from Edessa who became chief astrologer to the Caliph Mahdi (775–85), can be picked out in four later works, one Byzantine, one Arab, and two Syrian. The field of vision includes the author's homeland, Syria, the east Mediterranean, and Asia Minor. Transcaucasia is largely excluded. For the early seventh century, little is added to what can be extracted from contemporary and near‐contemporary sources, save for anecdotal material. But Theophilus is shown to make a valuable contribution to knowledge about the Arab conquest of Palestine and Syria, the battle for the Mediterranean between the caliphate and Byzantium (649–98), and subsequent campaigns which culminated in the siege of Constantinople 717–18. There is enough independent corroborative material to justify placing confidence in his account.Less
A west Syrian strand of history, originating with Theophilus, a Chalcedonian Christian from Edessa who became chief astrologer to the Caliph Mahdi (775–85), can be picked out in four later works, one Byzantine, one Arab, and two Syrian. The field of vision includes the author's homeland, Syria, the east Mediterranean, and Asia Minor. Transcaucasia is largely excluded. For the early seventh century, little is added to what can be extracted from contemporary and near‐contemporary sources, save for anecdotal material. But Theophilus is shown to make a valuable contribution to knowledge about the Arab conquest of Palestine and Syria, the battle for the Mediterranean between the caliphate and Byzantium (649–98), and subsequent campaigns which culminated in the siege of Constantinople 717–18. There is enough independent corroborative material to justify placing confidence in his account.
Géraldine Chatelard
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264591
- eISBN:
- 9780191734397
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264591.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
Since the Anglo-American invasion and the fall of the Ba’athist regime in 2003, Iraq has been through profound changes. New and heightened levels of human security have led to large numbers of ...
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Since the Anglo-American invasion and the fall of the Ba’athist regime in 2003, Iraq has been through profound changes. New and heightened levels of human security have led to large numbers of refugees seeking refuge in neighbouring Arab countries such as Syria and Jordan. This has also resulted in internal displacement within the country. This chapter discusses the historical and political context of Iraqi displacement to the northern regions of Iraq and the neighbouring countries of Syria and Jordan. It examines the effect of the international humanitarian aid regime’s designation of ‘unprecedented refugee crisis’ to the forced migrants and to the political actors of the region. The creation of a state-centred approach and the visibility of Iraqi refugees created other invisibilities that concealed and obscured the question of the prevalence of forced migrations and the dynamics of cross-border ties which have spanned for decades. These trends of Iraqi migration have been shaped by successive coercive governments which have fragmented the population along religious, ethnic and ideological orientations and by the nature of the polities from which Iraqis sought security. By analysing the trends and context of Iraqi migration, this chapter sheds light on the true nature of the Iraqi refugee agenda.Less
Since the Anglo-American invasion and the fall of the Ba’athist regime in 2003, Iraq has been through profound changes. New and heightened levels of human security have led to large numbers of refugees seeking refuge in neighbouring Arab countries such as Syria and Jordan. This has also resulted in internal displacement within the country. This chapter discusses the historical and political context of Iraqi displacement to the northern regions of Iraq and the neighbouring countries of Syria and Jordan. It examines the effect of the international humanitarian aid regime’s designation of ‘unprecedented refugee crisis’ to the forced migrants and to the political actors of the region. The creation of a state-centred approach and the visibility of Iraqi refugees created other invisibilities that concealed and obscured the question of the prevalence of forced migrations and the dynamics of cross-border ties which have spanned for decades. These trends of Iraqi migration have been shaped by successive coercive governments which have fragmented the population along religious, ethnic and ideological orientations and by the nature of the polities from which Iraqis sought security. By analysing the trends and context of Iraqi migration, this chapter sheds light on the true nature of the Iraqi refugee agenda.
James Howard‐Johnston
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199208593
- eISBN:
- 9780191594182
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208593.003.0016
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
The initial Arab conquests are described and dated: Palestine and Syria (634–6); Persian Mesopotamia (636–40); northern Mesopotamia and south‐west Armenia (640); Khuzistan (640–2); Egypt (641–3); ...
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The initial Arab conquests are described and dated: Palestine and Syria (634–6); Persian Mesopotamia (636–40); northern Mesopotamia and south‐west Armenia (640); Khuzistan (640–2); Egypt (641–3); Iran (642–52). The unification of Arabia, achieved in the two years following the Prophet's death in 632, and Meccan organizational capability are identified as key factors in these early successes. Attention then turns to the Mediterranean where both sides dispatched naval expeditions against each other, ending with a grand Arab offensive targeted on Constantinople in 654. Failure there and reverses elsewhere helped trigger civil war in the caliphate (656–61). Mu‘awiya is shown to have imposed his authority with much bloodshed after ‘Ali's assassination in 658. Meanwhile Constans II (641–69) is seen preparing the rump of the Roman empire (customarily called Byzantium) for a long defensive war, and intervening first in Transcaucasia (660–1), then in the central Mediterranean (662–9).Less
The initial Arab conquests are described and dated: Palestine and Syria (634–6); Persian Mesopotamia (636–40); northern Mesopotamia and south‐west Armenia (640); Khuzistan (640–2); Egypt (641–3); Iran (642–52). The unification of Arabia, achieved in the two years following the Prophet's death in 632, and Meccan organizational capability are identified as key factors in these early successes. Attention then turns to the Mediterranean where both sides dispatched naval expeditions against each other, ending with a grand Arab offensive targeted on Constantinople in 654. Failure there and reverses elsewhere helped trigger civil war in the caliphate (656–61). Mu‘awiya is shown to have imposed his authority with much bloodshed after ‘Ali's assassination in 658. Meanwhile Constans II (641–69) is seen preparing the rump of the Roman empire (customarily called Byzantium) for a long defensive war, and intervening first in Transcaucasia (660–1), then in the central Mediterranean (662–9).
A. B. Bosworth
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198153061
- eISBN:
- 9780191715204
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153061.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
Seleucus' rise to power is perhaps the most spectacular event of the period of the Successors. Expelled from his satrapy by Antigonus in the summer of 316 BC, he was able to retrieve it four years ...
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Seleucus' rise to power is perhaps the most spectacular event of the period of the Successors. Expelled from his satrapy by Antigonus in the summer of 316 BC, he was able to retrieve it four years later and did so with a force which was remarkably small by any standards. Not only did he regain Babylonia, but he beat off an attack by Nicanor, the general supervising the upper satrapies, and immediately took the offensive, extending his dominions to Susiana, Media, and perhaps even further afield. All that took place within a year of his entering Babylonia, and a year later, in the summer of 310 BC, he was coping with a full-scale invasion by Antigonus. He did not merely survive; he forced Antigonus out of his territories, never to resume the offensive, and by 305 BC he had penetrated to the Indus valley, placing almost all the satraps of the eastern empire under his sway. This chapter chronicles Seleucus' rise to power and attempts to explain his success.Less
Seleucus' rise to power is perhaps the most spectacular event of the period of the Successors. Expelled from his satrapy by Antigonus in the summer of 316 BC, he was able to retrieve it four years later and did so with a force which was remarkably small by any standards. Not only did he regain Babylonia, but he beat off an attack by Nicanor, the general supervising the upper satrapies, and immediately took the offensive, extending his dominions to Susiana, Media, and perhaps even further afield. All that took place within a year of his entering Babylonia, and a year later, in the summer of 310 BC, he was coping with a full-scale invasion by Antigonus. He did not merely survive; he forced Antigonus out of his territories, never to resume the offensive, and by 305 BC he had penetrated to the Indus valley, placing almost all the satraps of the eastern empire under his sway. This chapter chronicles Seleucus' rise to power and attempts to explain his success.
Lisa Wedeen
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226650579
- eISBN:
- 9780226650746
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226650746.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
If the Arab uprisings initially heralded the end of tyrannies and a move toward liberal democratic governments, their defeat not only marked a reversal but was of a piece with emerging forms of ...
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If the Arab uprisings initially heralded the end of tyrannies and a move toward liberal democratic governments, their defeat not only marked a reversal but was of a piece with emerging forms of authoritarianism worldwide. In Authoritarian Apprehensions, Lisa Wedeen draws on her decades-long engagement with Syria to offer an erudite and compassionate analysis of this extraordinary rush of events—the revolutionary exhilaration of the initial days of unrest and then the devastating violence that shattered hopes of any quick undoing of dictatorship. Developing a fresh, insightful, and theoretically imaginative approach to both authoritarianism and conflict, Wedeen asks, What led a sizable part of the citizenry to stick by the regime through one atrocity after another? What happens to political judgment in a context of pervasive misinformation? And what might the Syrian example suggest about how authoritarian leaders exploit digital media to create uncertainty, political impasses, and fractures among their citizens? Drawing on extensive fieldwork and a variety of Syrian artistic practices, Wedeen lays bare the ideological investments that sustain ambivalent attachments to established organizations of power and contribute to the ongoing challenge of pursuing political change. This masterful book is a testament to Wedeen’s deep engagement with some of the most troubling concerns of our political present and future.Less
If the Arab uprisings initially heralded the end of tyrannies and a move toward liberal democratic governments, their defeat not only marked a reversal but was of a piece with emerging forms of authoritarianism worldwide. In Authoritarian Apprehensions, Lisa Wedeen draws on her decades-long engagement with Syria to offer an erudite and compassionate analysis of this extraordinary rush of events—the revolutionary exhilaration of the initial days of unrest and then the devastating violence that shattered hopes of any quick undoing of dictatorship. Developing a fresh, insightful, and theoretically imaginative approach to both authoritarianism and conflict, Wedeen asks, What led a sizable part of the citizenry to stick by the regime through one atrocity after another? What happens to political judgment in a context of pervasive misinformation? And what might the Syrian example suggest about how authoritarian leaders exploit digital media to create uncertainty, political impasses, and fractures among their citizens? Drawing on extensive fieldwork and a variety of Syrian artistic practices, Wedeen lays bare the ideological investments that sustain ambivalent attachments to established organizations of power and contribute to the ongoing challenge of pursuing political change. This masterful book is a testament to Wedeen’s deep engagement with some of the most troubling concerns of our political present and future.
Stephen J. Shoemaker
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199250752
- eISBN:
- 9780191600746
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250758.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The ancient Dormition and Assumption traditions, a remarkably diverse collection of narratives recounting the end of the Virgin Mary's life, first emerge into historical view from an uncertain past ...
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The ancient Dormition and Assumption traditions, a remarkably diverse collection of narratives recounting the end of the Virgin Mary's life, first emerge into historical view from an uncertain past during the fifth and sixth centuries. Initially appearing in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, these legends spread rapidly throughout the Christian world, resulting in over 60 different narratives from before the tenth century preserved in nine ancient languages. This study presents a detailed analysis of the earliest traditions of Mary's death, including the evidence of the earliest Marian liturgical traditions and related archaeological evidence as well as the numerous narrative sources. Most of the early narratives belong to one of several distinctive literary families, whose members bear evidence of close textual relations. Many previous scholars have attempted to arrange the different narrative types in a developmental typology, according to which the story of Mary's death was transformed to reflect various developments in early Christian Mariology. Nevertheless, evidence to support these theories is wanting, and the present state of our knowledge suggests that the narrative diversity of the early Dormition traditions arose from several independent ‘origins’ rather than through ordered evolution from a single original type. Likewise, scholars have often asserted a connection between the origin of the Dormition traditions and resistance to the council of Chalcedon, but the traditions themselves make this an extremely unlikely proposal. While most of the traditions cannot be dated much before the fifth century, a few of the narratives were almost certainly in composed by the third century, if not even earlier. These narratives in particular bear evidence of contact with gnostic Christianity. Several of the most important narratives are translated in appendices, most appearing in English for the first time.Less
The ancient Dormition and Assumption traditions, a remarkably diverse collection of narratives recounting the end of the Virgin Mary's life, first emerge into historical view from an uncertain past during the fifth and sixth centuries. Initially appearing in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, these legends spread rapidly throughout the Christian world, resulting in over 60 different narratives from before the tenth century preserved in nine ancient languages. This study presents a detailed analysis of the earliest traditions of Mary's death, including the evidence of the earliest Marian liturgical traditions and related archaeological evidence as well as the numerous narrative sources. Most of the early narratives belong to one of several distinctive literary families, whose members bear evidence of close textual relations. Many previous scholars have attempted to arrange the different narrative types in a developmental typology, according to which the story of Mary's death was transformed to reflect various developments in early Christian Mariology. Nevertheless, evidence to support these theories is wanting, and the present state of our knowledge suggests that the narrative diversity of the early Dormition traditions arose from several independent ‘origins’ rather than through ordered evolution from a single original type. Likewise, scholars have often asserted a connection between the origin of the Dormition traditions and resistance to the council of Chalcedon, but the traditions themselves make this an extremely unlikely proposal. While most of the traditions cannot be dated much before the fifth century, a few of the narratives were almost certainly in composed by the third century, if not even earlier. These narratives in particular bear evidence of contact with gnostic Christianity. Several of the most important narratives are translated in appendices, most appearing in English for the first time.
E. W. Heaton
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263623
- eISBN:
- 9780191601156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263627.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The method of investigation adopted in this book is to see how the diverse literary skills of Israel’s authors, in both poetry and prose, bear witness to their educational background. It is argued ...
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The method of investigation adopted in this book is to see how the diverse literary skills of Israel’s authors, in both poetry and prose, bear witness to their educational background. It is argued that their knowledge of the school-books of Egypt and their use of didactic language and literary forms are explicable only in terms of their training in professional, established and stable institutions. Although there are little specific factual data about Israel’s schools as institutions, a great volume of suggestive evidence has been supplied by archaeologists working in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria, and some of this is described; there are also recent finds from two southern military outposts on the edge of the Judaean desert that may provide evidence for a Hebrew school in the eighth century BC, and there is incontrovertible evidence for schools in Hebrew kingdoms from the Siloam Tunnel inscription and the Lachish Letters. There are also scattered references to reading and writing, and various bits of evidence suggesting education in the books of the Old Testament itself, not to mention the editorial process that has been revealed by biblical scholarship. Other topics addressed in the chapter are the evidence for libraries in Israel, its close educational, literary and cultural relationship with Egypt, and evidence for cultivation of the art of speaking.Less
The method of investigation adopted in this book is to see how the diverse literary skills of Israel’s authors, in both poetry and prose, bear witness to their educational background. It is argued that their knowledge of the school-books of Egypt and their use of didactic language and literary forms are explicable only in terms of their training in professional, established and stable institutions. Although there are little specific factual data about Israel’s schools as institutions, a great volume of suggestive evidence has been supplied by archaeologists working in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria, and some of this is described; there are also recent finds from two southern military outposts on the edge of the Judaean desert that may provide evidence for a Hebrew school in the eighth century BC, and there is incontrovertible evidence for schools in Hebrew kingdoms from the Siloam Tunnel inscription and the Lachish Letters. There are also scattered references to reading and writing, and various bits of evidence suggesting education in the books of the Old Testament itself, not to mention the editorial process that has been revealed by biblical scholarship. Other topics addressed in the chapter are the evidence for libraries in Israel, its close educational, literary and cultural relationship with Egypt, and evidence for cultivation of the art of speaking.
Henry Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246953
- eISBN:
- 9780191600463
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246955.003.0060
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Regional variety in the liturgy persisted in the fourth and fifth centuries, but with a surprising degree of common practice with regard to baptism, the Eucharist, marriage, and funerals. Opinions ...
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Regional variety in the liturgy persisted in the fourth and fifth centuries, but with a surprising degree of common practice with regard to baptism, the Eucharist, marriage, and funerals. Opinions were divided about church decoration. Fairly full liturgical texts surviving from Egypt, Syria, and Cilicia illustrate both variations and common features in religious practice.Less
Regional variety in the liturgy persisted in the fourth and fifth centuries, but with a surprising degree of common practice with regard to baptism, the Eucharist, marriage, and funerals. Opinions were divided about church decoration. Fairly full liturgical texts surviving from Egypt, Syria, and Cilicia illustrate both variations and common features in religious practice.
Michael Decker
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199565283
- eISBN:
- 9780191721724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199565283.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
Chapter 6 argues that marginal landscapes witnessed unprecedented agricultural development during late antiquity. In part because choice lands were scarce due to increasing competition among the ...
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Chapter 6 argues that marginal landscapes witnessed unprecedented agricultural development during late antiquity. In part because choice lands were scarce due to increasing competition among the growing number of farmers and the success of large estates, the desert margins of Oriens were increasingly settled. A similar phenomenon occurred in the upland areas of Syria-Palestine, where tree crops and vines provided a natural alternative to cereal farming. Since a thriving market for oil and wine existed, these normally desolate regions became viable agricultural zones. In addition, the extension of farmed space depended on irrigation, which was a far more important part of the late antique farming regime than previously understood.Less
Chapter 6 argues that marginal landscapes witnessed unprecedented agricultural development during late antiquity. In part because choice lands were scarce due to increasing competition among the growing number of farmers and the success of large estates, the desert margins of Oriens were increasingly settled. A similar phenomenon occurred in the upland areas of Syria-Palestine, where tree crops and vines provided a natural alternative to cereal farming. Since a thriving market for oil and wine existed, these normally desolate regions became viable agricultural zones. In addition, the extension of farmed space depended on irrigation, which was a far more important part of the late antique farming regime than previously understood.
Benjamin Thomas White
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748641871
- eISBN:
- 9780748653287
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748641871.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Why, in the years around 1920, did the concept of ‘minority’ suddenly spring to prominence in public affairs worldwide? Within a decade of World War One, the term became fundamental to public and ...
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Why, in the years around 1920, did the concept of ‘minority’ suddenly spring to prominence in public affairs worldwide? Within a decade of World War One, the term became fundamental to public and academic understandings of national and international politics, law and society: ‘minorities’, and ‘majorities’ with them, were taken to be an objective reality, both in the present and the past. This book uses a study of Syria under the French mandate to show what historical developments led people to start describing themselves and others as ‘minorities’. Despite French attempts to create territorial, political and legal divisions, the mandate period saw the consolidation of the nation-state form in Syria: a trend towards a coherent national territory with fixed borders, uniform state authority within them and the struggle to control that state played out in the language of nationalism – developments in the post-Ottoman Levant which closely paralleled those in contemporary Europe, after the demise of the Austro-Hungarian and tsarist empires. Through close attention to what changed in French mandate Syria, and what those changes meant, the book argues for a careful rethinking of a term too often used as an objective description of reality.Less
Why, in the years around 1920, did the concept of ‘minority’ suddenly spring to prominence in public affairs worldwide? Within a decade of World War One, the term became fundamental to public and academic understandings of national and international politics, law and society: ‘minorities’, and ‘majorities’ with them, were taken to be an objective reality, both in the present and the past. This book uses a study of Syria under the French mandate to show what historical developments led people to start describing themselves and others as ‘minorities’. Despite French attempts to create territorial, political and legal divisions, the mandate period saw the consolidation of the nation-state form in Syria: a trend towards a coherent national territory with fixed borders, uniform state authority within them and the struggle to control that state played out in the language of nationalism – developments in the post-Ottoman Levant which closely paralleled those in contemporary Europe, after the demise of the Austro-Hungarian and tsarist empires. Through close attention to what changed in French mandate Syria, and what those changes meant, the book argues for a careful rethinking of a term too often used as an objective description of reality.
William, S.J. Harmless
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195162233
- eISBN:
- 9780199835645
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195162234.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This final chapter explores new perspectives on the origins of Christian monasticism. It includes a study of newly discovered papyri that highlight the place of edge-of-the-village ascetics ...
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This final chapter explores new perspectives on the origins of Christian monasticism. It includes a study of newly discovered papyri that highlight the place of edge-of-the-village ascetics (apotaktikoi) and papyri that testify to monastic organizations among schismatics, such as the Melitians. It also surveys recent research on monasticism outside of Egypt, especially in Syria, Cappadocia, and Palestine. It then probes ascetic movements outside Christianity, especially the Manichees, and assesses claims that these influenced Christian monasticism. Finally it examines both underappreciated trends, especially women’s asceticism, and overlooked figures, especially Shenoute of Atripe.Less
This final chapter explores new perspectives on the origins of Christian monasticism. It includes a study of newly discovered papyri that highlight the place of edge-of-the-village ascetics (apotaktikoi) and papyri that testify to monastic organizations among schismatics, such as the Melitians. It also surveys recent research on monasticism outside of Egypt, especially in Syria, Cappadocia, and Palestine. It then probes ascetic movements outside Christianity, especially the Manichees, and assesses claims that these influenced Christian monasticism. Finally it examines both underappreciated trends, especially women’s asceticism, and overlooked figures, especially Shenoute of Atripe.
