Philip Wood
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588497
- eISBN:
- 9780191595424
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588497.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This book examines the effects of Christianization upon regional identity and political thought in the eastern Mediterranean in the fifth and sixth centuries. Itfocuses on the centrifugal effects of ...
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This book examines the effects of Christianization upon regional identity and political thought in the eastern Mediterranean in the fifth and sixth centuries. Itfocuses on the centrifugal effects of foundation myths, especially within the Syriac‐speaking world. These myths produced a sense of cultural independence, peculiar to Syria and Mesopotamia, and this in turn provided the basis for a more radical challenge to the Roman emperor, during the turbulent Christological controversies of the sixth century. The book begins by examining how bishops and emperors could use Christianity to manage and control local religious behaviour, before turning to the rich evidence from the city of Edessa, and its Syriac legends of early kings and missionaries, to investigate how the connection between religion and cultural independence worked within the Christian Roman empire. At a time when Jews in the Roman world were increasingly differentiated by religion and custom, this book investigates how far Edessenes and other Syriac‐speakers were consciously members of a distinctive group. The argument continues by discussing the transformation of this cultural legacy in the sixth century, when the hagiographies of bishops such as John of Ephesus began to invoke local belief and culture in Mesopotamia as an ancient orthodoxy, that made Edessa or Mesopotamia a chosen land, preserving true belief at a time when the rest of the empire had gone astray. For these authors, the emperor's ruler was conditional on his obedience to Christ, the true ruler of all.Less
This book examines the effects of Christianization upon regional identity and political thought in the eastern Mediterranean in the fifth and sixth centuries. Itfocuses on the centrifugal effects of foundation myths, especially within the Syriac‐speaking world. These myths produced a sense of cultural independence, peculiar to Syria and Mesopotamia, and this in turn provided the basis for a more radical challenge to the Roman emperor, during the turbulent Christological controversies of the sixth century. The book begins by examining how bishops and emperors could use Christianity to manage and control local religious behaviour, before turning to the rich evidence from the city of Edessa, and its Syriac legends of early kings and missionaries, to investigate how the connection between religion and cultural independence worked within the Christian Roman empire. At a time when Jews in the Roman world were increasingly differentiated by religion and custom, this book investigates how far Edessenes and other Syriac‐speakers were consciously members of a distinctive group. The argument continues by discussing the transformation of this cultural legacy in the sixth century, when the hagiographies of bishops such as John of Ephesus began to invoke local belief and culture in Mesopotamia as an ancient orthodoxy, that made Edessa or Mesopotamia a chosen land, preserving true belief at a time when the rest of the empire had gone astray. For these authors, the emperor's ruler was conditional on his obedience to Christ, the true ruler of all.
BRUCE M. METZGER
- Published in print:
- 1977
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198261704
- eISBN:
- 9780191682209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198261704.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies
This chapter discusses the introduction of Christianity into Syria and the translation of the New Testament in that region. Of all the early versions of the New Testament, those in Syriac have raised ...
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This chapter discusses the introduction of Christianity into Syria and the translation of the New Testament in that region. Of all the early versions of the New Testament, those in Syriac have raised more problems and provoked more controversies among modern scholars than any of the others. This chapter examines several Syriac versions with the earliest translation of the Gospels. These versions include Tatian's Diatessaron, a harmony of the four gospels prepared about AD 170, the Old Syriac version, the Peshitta Syriac version, and the Philoxenian version. In addition to these several versions, all of which are in the ‘classical’ Syriac dialect of Aramaic used generally throughout Syrian communities, there is also the so-called Palestinian-Syriac version which makes the use of a form of western Aramaic similar to that used by Galilean Jews in the Old Testament Targums.Less
This chapter discusses the introduction of Christianity into Syria and the translation of the New Testament in that region. Of all the early versions of the New Testament, those in Syriac have raised more problems and provoked more controversies among modern scholars than any of the others. This chapter examines several Syriac versions with the earliest translation of the Gospels. These versions include Tatian's Diatessaron, a harmony of the four gospels prepared about AD 170, the Old Syriac version, the Peshitta Syriac version, and the Philoxenian version. In addition to these several versions, all of which are in the ‘classical’ Syriac dialect of Aramaic used generally throughout Syrian communities, there is also the so-called Palestinian-Syriac version which makes the use of a form of western Aramaic similar to that used by Galilean Jews in the Old Testament Targums.
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199736485
- eISBN:
- 9780199866427
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736485.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Religion and Society
Hermeneutics of Holiness focuses on the historical, theological, and literary trajectories of the Hebrew biblical notions of holiness from the biblical context into the fourth-century Jewish and ...
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Hermeneutics of Holiness focuses on the historical, theological, and literary trajectories of the Hebrew biblical notions of holiness from the biblical context into the fourth-century Jewish and Christian interpretive traditions. This work is particularly interested in how holy communities are formed and in what ways these individuals or communities derive their notions of holiness from the biblical texts. Moreover, this book examines how and why these notions of holy-community often intersect with ideals of sexuality, sexual practice, and asceticism. The book first examines biblical constructs of holiness but then follows these ideas along their various interpretive developments through the Second Temple Literature (Ezra, Jubilees, Dead Sea Scrolls), early Christian literature (New Testament) and the early Syriac Christian tradition (Odes of Solomon, Acts of Judah Thomas, Aphrahat) on the one hand, and the Rabbinic literature on the other. This study ends with a comparative analysis between the Syriac Christian literature and early Rabbinic writings in order to better understand both the similarities between and the diversity of holiness and sexuality constructs, as well as biblical interpretive practices and traditions in these communities. In the end, this book argues that early Christian and Jewish notions of sexual production and sexual restraint derive from shared interpretive traditions of biblical holiness.Less
Hermeneutics of Holiness focuses on the historical, theological, and literary trajectories of the Hebrew biblical notions of holiness from the biblical context into the fourth-century Jewish and Christian interpretive traditions. This work is particularly interested in how holy communities are formed and in what ways these individuals or communities derive their notions of holiness from the biblical texts. Moreover, this book examines how and why these notions of holy-community often intersect with ideals of sexuality, sexual practice, and asceticism. The book first examines biblical constructs of holiness but then follows these ideas along their various interpretive developments through the Second Temple Literature (Ezra, Jubilees, Dead Sea Scrolls), early Christian literature (New Testament) and the early Syriac Christian tradition (Odes of Solomon, Acts of Judah Thomas, Aphrahat) on the one hand, and the Rabbinic literature on the other. This study ends with a comparative analysis between the Syriac Christian literature and early Rabbinic writings in order to better understand both the similarities between and the diversity of holiness and sexuality constructs, as well as biblical interpretive practices and traditions in these communities. In the end, this book argues that early Christian and Jewish notions of sexual production and sexual restraint derive from shared interpretive traditions of biblical holiness.
Philip Wood
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588497
- eISBN:
- 9780191595424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588497.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter discusses the hagiography of Theodoret of Cyrrhus as a specific example of the observation of self‐control amongst barbarian peoples and the ‘improvement’ of the provinces of the Roman ...
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This chapter discusses the hagiography of Theodoret of Cyrrhus as a specific example of the observation of self‐control amongst barbarian peoples and the ‘improvement’ of the provinces of the Roman world. Theodoret observes the self‐control of Syrian holy men, in spite of their barbaric behaviour, and follows earlier apologists in emphasising Christianity's barbarian origins and the unimportance of Greek. Theodoret engaged with a world where charismatic saints of the previouscentury had inspired contemporary ascetic behaviour. His hagiography is an attemptto appropriate and control the reputations of these holy men and to present himself as the perceptive guide to the dangerous frontier of Syriac‐speakers, able to exclude the heretical and praise the holy.Less
This chapter discusses the hagiography of Theodoret of Cyrrhus as a specific example of the observation of self‐control amongst barbarian peoples and the ‘improvement’ of the provinces of the Roman world. Theodoret observes the self‐control of Syrian holy men, in spite of their barbaric behaviour, and follows earlier apologists in emphasising Christianity's barbarian origins and the unimportance of Greek. Theodoret engaged with a world where charismatic saints of the previouscentury had inspired contemporary ascetic behaviour. His hagiography is an attemptto appropriate and control the reputations of these holy men and to present himself as the perceptive guide to the dangerous frontier of Syriac‐speakers, able to exclude the heretical and praise the holy.
Philip Wood
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588497
- eISBN:
- 9780191595424
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588497.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter provides close readings of three major pieces of Syriac writing. These are examined from the perspective ofthe relationship between Syriac‐speakers and the Roman state, especially with ...
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This chapter provides close readings of three major pieces of Syriac writing. These are examined from the perspective ofthe relationship between Syriac‐speakers and the Roman state, especially with regard to their distinctive forms of Christianity, their religion and their ethnic self‐awareness. The key text here is the Doctrina Addai, a story ofapostolic foundation in Edessa that links the city both to Rome and Jerusalem, and to the Sasanian world to the east. In it, legends about the Christian heritage of first‐century Edessa are used to assert the city's cultural independence in the fifth. The second half of the chapter looks at how these ideas were projected eastwards, and the central position that Edessa and her history held in the historical awareness of other Syriac speakers and their self‐identification as a Suryoyo people.Less
This chapter provides close readings of three major pieces of Syriac writing. These are examined from the perspective ofthe relationship between Syriac‐speakers and the Roman state, especially with regard to their distinctive forms of Christianity, their religion and their ethnic self‐awareness. The key text here is the Doctrina Addai, a story ofapostolic foundation in Edessa that links the city both to Rome and Jerusalem, and to the Sasanian world to the east. In it, legends about the Christian heritage of first‐century Edessa are used to assert the city's cultural independence in the fifth. The second half of the chapter looks at how these ideas were projected eastwards, and the central position that Edessa and her history held in the historical awareness of other Syriac speakers and their self‐identification as a Suryoyo people.
Naomi Koltun-Fromm
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199736485
- eISBN:
- 9780199866427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736485.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Religion and Society
This chapter focuses on the earliest of Syriac Christian writings, the Acts of Judah Thomas, that make a link between holiness and sexual renunciation, and which advocate total sexual renunciation as ...
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This chapter focuses on the earliest of Syriac Christian writings, the Acts of Judah Thomas, that make a link between holiness and sexual renunciation, and which advocate total sexual renunciation as the surest means to both becoming (achieving) holy and protecting one’s holiness once gained. Yet, this text is a composite text, which suggests a more complex development of this theology and its biblical interpretive roots. For in certain sections of the Acts, “living in holiness” can mean living a married life with one lifetime partner rather than total sexual renunciation. The one derives from biblical notions of achieved holiness, while the other descends from a different paradigm entirely, which in its origins was unrelated to holiness. The two constructs remain in uneasy tension in the later redactions of the Acts, even as the second one rises to the forefront.Less
This chapter focuses on the earliest of Syriac Christian writings, the Acts of Judah Thomas, that make a link between holiness and sexual renunciation, and which advocate total sexual renunciation as the surest means to both becoming (achieving) holy and protecting one’s holiness once gained. Yet, this text is a composite text, which suggests a more complex development of this theology and its biblical interpretive roots. For in certain sections of the Acts, “living in holiness” can mean living a married life with one lifetime partner rather than total sexual renunciation. The one derives from biblical notions of achieved holiness, while the other descends from a different paradigm entirely, which in its origins was unrelated to holiness. The two constructs remain in uneasy tension in the later redactions of the Acts, even as the second one rises to the forefront.
Lewis Ayres
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198755067
- eISBN:
- 9780191602788
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198755066.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Begins by considering Basil’s theological work against the background of his attempts at alliance-building in Asia Minor, in the eastern provinces, and with the West. Often, Basil faced constant ...
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Begins by considering Basil’s theological work against the background of his attempts at alliance-building in Asia Minor, in the eastern provinces, and with the West. Often, Basil faced constant setbacks and the perception that his attempts to secure his own power base were as important as any higher motive. Considers the pro-Nicene theology of Ephrem the Syrian, presenting him not as an isolated figure but as offering a distinctly pro-Nicene theology directly parallel to those found in Greek and Latin authors. Then discusses the author’s use of pro-Nicene over and against other terminologies, and ends with a consideration of Theodosius’s accession.Less
Begins by considering Basil’s theological work against the background of his attempts at alliance-building in Asia Minor, in the eastern provinces, and with the West. Often, Basil faced constant setbacks and the perception that his attempts to secure his own power base were as important as any higher motive. Considers the pro-Nicene theology of Ephrem the Syrian, presenting him not as an isolated figure but as offering a distinctly pro-Nicene theology directly parallel to those found in Greek and Latin authors. Then discusses the author’s use of pro-Nicene over and against other terminologies, and ends with a consideration of Theodosius’s accession.
Susan R. Holman
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195383621
- eISBN:
- 9780199870479
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383621.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Church History
This chapter explores the 6th-century story of Maria of Amida from the Syriac writer John of Ephesus. Maria's lifestyle was ruled by two very different models of social action: her mother, Euphemia, ...
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This chapter explores the 6th-century story of Maria of Amida from the Syriac writer John of Ephesus. Maria's lifestyle was ruled by two very different models of social action: her mother, Euphemia, a flamboyant social activist in providing charity and food to street beggars and homeless monks; and her aunt, a wandering ascetic who sought to remain anonymous even as she survived by begging. Raised protectively by her mother, Maria grew up in an era of acute social tension in the church and eventually faced the need to choose which model she would follow. By tracing Maria's story, this chapter explores various options for Christian social action or “sharing the world,” their precedent in early Christian history, their relevance for today, and the tension of making such choices, particularly during periods of social crisis.Less
This chapter explores the 6th-century story of Maria of Amida from the Syriac writer John of Ephesus. Maria's lifestyle was ruled by two very different models of social action: her mother, Euphemia, a flamboyant social activist in providing charity and food to street beggars and homeless monks; and her aunt, a wandering ascetic who sought to remain anonymous even as she survived by begging. Raised protectively by her mother, Maria grew up in an era of acute social tension in the church and eventually faced the need to choose which model she would follow. By tracing Maria's story, this chapter explores various options for Christian social action or “sharing the world,” their precedent in early Christian history, their relevance for today, and the tension of making such choices, particularly during periods of social crisis.
Michael Philip Penn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199755042
- eISBN:
- 9780199950508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755042.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
As the first Christians to encounter Islam, Syriac authors preserve the earliest Christian depictions of Muslims, Islam, and the conquests. Syriac writers also present the unusual circumstance of a ...
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As the first Christians to encounter Islam, Syriac authors preserve the earliest Christian depictions of Muslims, Islam, and the conquests. Syriac writers also present the unusual circumstance of a group interpreting not their victory, but their defeat as the outcome of a holy war. This chapter examines how Syriac Christian responses to these questions developed over time and across literary genres. It investigates how early Christian communities interpreted and reinterpreted the Islamic conquests and how their writings constructed images, rhetorical strategies, and stereotypes that later Christian writers would further elaborate.Less
As the first Christians to encounter Islam, Syriac authors preserve the earliest Christian depictions of Muslims, Islam, and the conquests. Syriac writers also present the unusual circumstance of a group interpreting not their victory, but their defeat as the outcome of a holy war. This chapter examines how Syriac Christian responses to these questions developed over time and across literary genres. It investigates how early Christian communities interpreted and reinterpreted the Islamic conquests and how their writings constructed images, rhetorical strategies, and stereotypes that later Christian writers would further elaborate.
Michael W. Dols and Diana E. Immisch
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198202219
- eISBN:
- 9780191675218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202219.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
The Islamic reception of Greek scientific knowledge in the 9th and 10th centuries ad relied directly on the preceding adoption of elements of Greek culture, such as medicine, by Eastern Christians. ...
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The Islamic reception of Greek scientific knowledge in the 9th and 10th centuries ad relied directly on the preceding adoption of elements of Greek culture, such as medicine, by Eastern Christians. The transmission of medical learning from Syriac into Arabic was wholesale. Muslim support for the Arabic translations of Galen and the new hospitals was the direct result of courtly patronage, and it remained so. Apart from the desire to train Muslim doctors and to found medical institutions, the promotion of Islamic medicine may have played a part in competition with contemporary Byzantine emperors, who were well-known patrons of such charitable activity.Less
The Islamic reception of Greek scientific knowledge in the 9th and 10th centuries ad relied directly on the preceding adoption of elements of Greek culture, such as medicine, by Eastern Christians. The transmission of medical learning from Syriac into Arabic was wholesale. Muslim support for the Arabic translations of Galen and the new hospitals was the direct result of courtly patronage, and it remained so. Apart from the desire to train Muslim doctors and to found medical institutions, the promotion of Islamic medicine may have played a part in competition with contemporary Byzantine emperors, who were well-known patrons of such charitable activity.
Kyle Smith
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520289604
- eISBN:
- 9780520964204
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520289604.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
It is widely believed that the Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity politicized religious allegiances, dividing the Christian Roman Empire from the Zoroastrian Sasanian Empire and leading ...
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It is widely believed that the Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity politicized religious allegiances, dividing the Christian Roman Empire from the Zoroastrian Sasanian Empire and leading to the persecution of Christians in Persia. This account, however, is based on Greek ecclesiastical histories and Syriac martyrdom narratives that date to centuries after the fact. In this groundbreaking study, the author analyzes diverse Greek, Latin, and Syriac sources to show that there was not a single history of fourth-century Mesopotamia. By examining the conflicting hagiographical and historical evidence, the book presents an evocative and evolving portrait of the first Christian emperor, uncovering how Syriac Christians manipulated the image of their western Christian counterparts to fashion their own political and religious identities during this century of radical change.Less
It is widely believed that the Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity politicized religious allegiances, dividing the Christian Roman Empire from the Zoroastrian Sasanian Empire and leading to the persecution of Christians in Persia. This account, however, is based on Greek ecclesiastical histories and Syriac martyrdom narratives that date to centuries after the fact. In this groundbreaking study, the author analyzes diverse Greek, Latin, and Syriac sources to show that there was not a single history of fourth-century Mesopotamia. By examining the conflicting hagiographical and historical evidence, the book presents an evocative and evolving portrait of the first Christian emperor, uncovering how Syriac Christians manipulated the image of their western Christian counterparts to fashion their own political and religious identities during this century of radical change.
Jack Tannous
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691179094
- eISBN:
- 9780691184166
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691179094.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This introductory chapter provides a background of the religious history to the late antique and medieval Middle East. The great majority of Christians in the Middle East belonged to what church ...
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This introductory chapter provides a background of the religious history to the late antique and medieval Middle East. The great majority of Christians in the Middle East belonged to what church leaders referred to as “the simple.” They were overwhelmingly agrarian, mostly illiterate, and likely had little understanding of the theological complexities that split apart the Christian community in the region. As such, during this period, there was fierce competition for the loyalties of simple, everyday Christians among leaders of the various Christian movements in the Middle East. This competition helped fuel debates, the composition of polemics, the translation of texts, the creation of educational institutions, and the development of a Syriac-language syllabus of study in the seventh century. Ultimately, this book attempts to write a compelling and persuasive unified account that does equal justice to the religious landscape of the Middle East and to its changes under both Roman and Arab rule.Less
This introductory chapter provides a background of the religious history to the late antique and medieval Middle East. The great majority of Christians in the Middle East belonged to what church leaders referred to as “the simple.” They were overwhelmingly agrarian, mostly illiterate, and likely had little understanding of the theological complexities that split apart the Christian community in the region. As such, during this period, there was fierce competition for the loyalties of simple, everyday Christians among leaders of the various Christian movements in the Middle East. This competition helped fuel debates, the composition of polemics, the translation of texts, the creation of educational institutions, and the development of a Syriac-language syllabus of study in the seventh century. Ultimately, this book attempts to write a compelling and persuasive unified account that does equal justice to the religious landscape of the Middle East and to its changes under both Roman and Arab rule.
Witold Witakowski
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263785
- eISBN:
- 9780191734304
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263785.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History
This chapter discusses Syriac historiographical sources and three authors of historiographical works in Syriac. The first author discussed in the chapter is Michael the Elder, who is known to western ...
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This chapter discusses Syriac historiographical sources and three authors of historiographical works in Syriac. The first author discussed in the chapter is Michael the Elder, who is known to western scholars as Michael the Syrian, and is the author of the comprehensive Chronicle. The mystery author of the Chronicle to the Year 1234 is also discussed, followed by John Gregory Barebroyo. Barebroyo is the author of two historiographical works in Syriac, and is famous for his works covering nearly all the scholarly knowledge of the period.Less
This chapter discusses Syriac historiographical sources and three authors of historiographical works in Syriac. The first author discussed in the chapter is Michael the Elder, who is known to western scholars as Michael the Syrian, and is the author of the comprehensive Chronicle. The mystery author of the Chronicle to the Year 1234 is also discussed, followed by John Gregory Barebroyo. Barebroyo is the author of two historiographical works in Syriac, and is famous for his works covering nearly all the scholarly knowledge of the period.
Shai Secunda
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198856825
- eISBN:
- 9780191889974
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198856825.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Rituals governing menstruation were an important aspect of Babylonian Jewish life, and they took shape within the context of Sasanian Mesopotamia, where neighboring religious communities were ...
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Rituals governing menstruation were an important aspect of Babylonian Jewish life, and they took shape within the context of Sasanian Mesopotamia, where neighboring religious communities were similarly animated by menstruation and its assumed impurity. The Talmud’s Red Fence: Menstruation and Difference in Babylonian Judaism and its Sasanian Context examines how the Talmudic rules of menstruation functioned within the dynamic space of Sasanian Mesopotamia. It argues that difference and differentiation between pure and impure, women and men, gentile and Jew, and the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds drove the development and observance of the Talmudic discourse of menstrual impurity, which influences Jewish life to this day. The Talmud’s Red Fence exemplifies Irano-Talmudic research—the effort to understand the Babylonian Talmud within its Sasanian Iranian context. To this end, it reads the Talmud alongside relevant Zoroastrian, Mandaic, and Syriac Christian texts to shed light on this previously overlooked aspect of late antique religious life. The book shows how the Talmudic menstrual rituals developed in conversation with other Sasanian religious communities, especially with Zoroastrians, who had a developed a similarly legalistic discourse of menstrual purity. And it considers the challenges of using an androcentric text to reconstruct a feature of late antique Jewish life that is intimately connected to the female experience.Less
Rituals governing menstruation were an important aspect of Babylonian Jewish life, and they took shape within the context of Sasanian Mesopotamia, where neighboring religious communities were similarly animated by menstruation and its assumed impurity. The Talmud’s Red Fence: Menstruation and Difference in Babylonian Judaism and its Sasanian Context examines how the Talmudic rules of menstruation functioned within the dynamic space of Sasanian Mesopotamia. It argues that difference and differentiation between pure and impure, women and men, gentile and Jew, and the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds drove the development and observance of the Talmudic discourse of menstrual impurity, which influences Jewish life to this day. The Talmud’s Red Fence exemplifies Irano-Talmudic research—the effort to understand the Babylonian Talmud within its Sasanian Iranian context. To this end, it reads the Talmud alongside relevant Zoroastrian, Mandaic, and Syriac Christian texts to shed light on this previously overlooked aspect of late antique religious life. The book shows how the Talmudic menstrual rituals developed in conversation with other Sasanian religious communities, especially with Zoroastrians, who had a developed a similarly legalistic discourse of menstrual purity. And it considers the challenges of using an androcentric text to reconstruct a feature of late antique Jewish life that is intimately connected to the female experience.
Peter Williams
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199566365
- eISBN:
- 9780191740985
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199566365.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
There is a long-standing habit of using early versions of the New Testament as witnesses to particular Greek readings without adequate consideration of the translation technique of those versions. ...
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There is a long-standing habit of using early versions of the New Testament as witnesses to particular Greek readings without adequate consideration of the translation technique of those versions. Textual critics have often assumed that early versions were translated rather literally, even when evidence suggests that they were not. This practice has led to the presence of numerous errors in the critical apparatuses of Greek New Testaments. Frequently in apparatuses such versional evidence appears to swell the support for readings with very limited Greek attestation. Due consideration of the way each translation was made can strip away this versional support and leave the reading poorly attested. One case where versional support has played a particularly important role has been in agreements between the early Syriac witnesses on the one hand and Old Latin witnesses and/or Codex Bezae (D) on the other. This article explores non-genetic explanations for such agreements in Mark and Luke.Less
There is a long-standing habit of using early versions of the New Testament as witnesses to particular Greek readings without adequate consideration of the translation technique of those versions. Textual critics have often assumed that early versions were translated rather literally, even when evidence suggests that they were not. This practice has led to the presence of numerous errors in the critical apparatuses of Greek New Testaments. Frequently in apparatuses such versional evidence appears to swell the support for readings with very limited Greek attestation. Due consideration of the way each translation was made can strip away this versional support and leave the reading poorly attested. One case where versional support has played a particularly important role has been in agreements between the early Syriac witnesses on the one hand and Old Latin witnesses and/or Codex Bezae (D) on the other. This article explores non-genetic explanations for such agreements in Mark and Luke.
Michael Keevak
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789622098954
- eISBN:
- 9789882207608
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789622098954.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter traces how the stone was received once it had become better known to the broader scholarly world, covering the first 100 years of its new life in the West. Real credit for the stone's ...
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This chapter traces how the stone was received once it had become better known to the broader scholarly world, covering the first 100 years of its new life in the West. Real credit for the stone's introduction is due to Athanasius Kircher. He was strongly influenced by the Renaissance hermetic tradition of scholarship that subscribed to an almost mystical belief in the primacy of ancient Greek and Egyptian culture. It is clear that Kircher was not interested in interpreting the stone as a crucial moment in Chinese history, which was precisely what many of the missionaries were attempting to do, but instead as one more link in a network of interrelated specimens of linguistic and philosophic knowledge with Syriac, Coptic, and, ultimately, hieroglyphics at its center. The chapter then addresses some of Kircher's earliest responders, among them Georg Horn. Kircher's canonization of the stele had already become an indispensable part of the way in which China would become “illustrated” for a European audience, and as seventeenth-century accounts of China gradually gave way to the eighteenth-century rêve chinois, the stone continued to play a fundamental role.Less
This chapter traces how the stone was received once it had become better known to the broader scholarly world, covering the first 100 years of its new life in the West. Real credit for the stone's introduction is due to Athanasius Kircher. He was strongly influenced by the Renaissance hermetic tradition of scholarship that subscribed to an almost mystical belief in the primacy of ancient Greek and Egyptian culture. It is clear that Kircher was not interested in interpreting the stone as a crucial moment in Chinese history, which was precisely what many of the missionaries were attempting to do, but instead as one more link in a network of interrelated specimens of linguistic and philosophic knowledge with Syriac, Coptic, and, ultimately, hieroglyphics at its center. The chapter then addresses some of Kircher's earliest responders, among them Georg Horn. Kircher's canonization of the stele had already become an indispensable part of the way in which China would become “illustrated” for a European audience, and as seventeenth-century accounts of China gradually gave way to the eighteenth-century rêve chinois, the stone continued to play a fundamental role.
Jennifer Mack
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780816698691
- eISBN:
- 9781452958774
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816698691.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
In The Construction of Equality, Jennifer Mack shows how Syriac-instigated architectural projects and spatial practices have altered the Swedish city’s built environment “from below.” Combining ...
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In The Construction of Equality, Jennifer Mack shows how Syriac-instigated architectural projects and spatial practices have altered the Swedish city’s built environment “from below.” Combining architectural, urban, and ethnographic tools through archival research, site work, participant observation, and interviews, Mack provides a unique take on urban development, social change, and the immigrant experience in Europe over a fifty-year period.Less
In The Construction of Equality, Jennifer Mack shows how Syriac-instigated architectural projects and spatial practices have altered the Swedish city’s built environment “from below.” Combining architectural, urban, and ethnographic tools through archival research, site work, participant observation, and interviews, Mack provides a unique take on urban development, social change, and the immigrant experience in Europe over a fifty-year period.
Sidney H. Griffith
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780823287024
- eISBN:
- 9780823288908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823287024.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This essay closely examines four of Ephraem’s metrical hymns (madrashê) “against erroneous opinion” in which the Syriac composer distinguishes between “external” and “internal” confessional ...
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This essay closely examines four of Ephraem’s metrical hymns (madrashê) “against erroneous opinion” in which the Syriac composer distinguishes between “external” and “internal” confessional adversaries. In these teaching songs, Ephraem focuses on the question of names to create a taxonomy of rival Christian groups, in a form of “denominationalism,” to articulate which groups belong theologically to the true flock of Christ.Less
This essay closely examines four of Ephraem’s metrical hymns (madrashê) “against erroneous opinion” in which the Syriac composer distinguishes between “external” and “internal” confessional adversaries. In these teaching songs, Ephraem focuses on the question of names to create a taxonomy of rival Christian groups, in a form of “denominationalism,” to articulate which groups belong theologically to the true flock of Christ.
Sebastian Brock
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780823287024
- eISBN:
- 9780823288908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823287024.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Five named women, to whom a wayside shrine in Crete is dedicated, can be identified as five Persian martyrs under Shapur II, executed by their former teacher. As a first step in tracing how their ...
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Five named women, to whom a wayside shrine in Crete is dedicated, can be identified as five Persian martyrs under Shapur II, executed by their former teacher. As a first step in tracing how their cult reached Crete, the Syriac narrative of their martyrdom is compared with the accounts in the Synaxarium Constantinopolitanum and the Synaxaristes of St Nikodemos.Less
Five named women, to whom a wayside shrine in Crete is dedicated, can be identified as five Persian martyrs under Shapur II, executed by their former teacher. As a first step in tracing how their cult reached Crete, the Syriac narrative of their martyrdom is compared with the accounts in the Synaxarium Constantinopolitanum and the Synaxaristes of St Nikodemos.
Caroline T. Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780823287024
- eISBN:
- 9780823288908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823287024.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter simultaneously traces the history of early Coptic and Syriac public digital humanities projects and reassesses the history of what is usually considered the “founding moment” in digital ...
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This chapter simultaneously traces the history of early Coptic and Syriac public digital humanities projects and reassesses the history of what is usually considered the “founding moment” in digital humanities, Roberto Busa’s computational work on Thomas Aquinas. It argues that each of these endeavors should be considered comparable acts of cultural heritage preservation focused on computational or digital examinations of a community’s canonical cultural heritage. The primary differences between Busa’s work and early Coptic and Syriac computational research are not methodology but issues of canon and resources.Less
This chapter simultaneously traces the history of early Coptic and Syriac public digital humanities projects and reassesses the history of what is usually considered the “founding moment” in digital humanities, Roberto Busa’s computational work on Thomas Aquinas. It argues that each of these endeavors should be considered comparable acts of cultural heritage preservation focused on computational or digital examinations of a community’s canonical cultural heritage. The primary differences between Busa’s work and early Coptic and Syriac computational research are not methodology but issues of canon and resources.
