Garth Fowden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158532
- eISBN:
- 9781400848164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158532.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter proposes the First Millennium as an alternative or parallel periodization, arguing that it has the basic advantage of embracing the “long” late Antiquity advocated by Peter Brown: the ...
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This chapter proposes the First Millennium as an alternative or parallel periodization, arguing that it has the basic advantage of embracing the “long” late Antiquity advocated by Peter Brown: the formation of Christianity and the birth of Islam. Instead of viewing the centuries after 250 as primarily an Age of Empires, the chapter foregrounds pre-600 the two major monotheistic traditions, rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, as they move toward a mature form still readily recognizable today. It then adds Islam, gradually emergent from soon after 600. All three of these major, seminal developments are unique to their period, without parallel in any other. Aside from these three major monotheisms, the chapter shows that Greek philosophy, Roman law, Mazdaism, and Manicheism attained intellectual and institutional maturation in the First Millennium.Less
This chapter proposes the First Millennium as an alternative or parallel periodization, arguing that it has the basic advantage of embracing the “long” late Antiquity advocated by Peter Brown: the formation of Christianity and the birth of Islam. Instead of viewing the centuries after 250 as primarily an Age of Empires, the chapter foregrounds pre-600 the two major monotheistic traditions, rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, as they move toward a mature form still readily recognizable today. It then adds Islam, gradually emergent from soon after 600. All three of these major, seminal developments are unique to their period, without parallel in any other. Aside from these three major monotheisms, the chapter shows that Greek philosophy, Roman law, Mazdaism, and Manicheism attained intellectual and institutional maturation in the First Millennium.
Garth Fowden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158532
- eISBN:
- 9781400848164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158532.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter considers the years around 1000 as a viewing point from which to consolidate the argument that emphasizes the First Millennium's distinctiveness. It explores four themes broached earlier ...
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This chapter considers the years around 1000 as a viewing point from which to consolidate the argument that emphasizes the First Millennium's distinctiveness. It explores four themes broached earlier in the book, associating each one with a particular city. They are: Tūs, which stands for Iran; Basra, which stands for the encyclopedic erudition of the Brethren of Purity at the end of the tenth century, drawing on the whole heritage of the First Millennium to offer a way of salvation to the Muslim soul; Baghdad, which stands for the Abbasid capital's learned circles and their openness to reasoned argument and Aristotelian logic to facilitate debate between members of the many different faiths espoused by its inhabitants; and Pisa, which stands for the eleventh-century reemergence of Latin Europe, still in the shadow of Islam but bursting already with aggressive energy and a new cultural self-confidence.Less
This chapter considers the years around 1000 as a viewing point from which to consolidate the argument that emphasizes the First Millennium's distinctiveness. It explores four themes broached earlier in the book, associating each one with a particular city. They are: Tūs, which stands for Iran; Basra, which stands for the encyclopedic erudition of the Brethren of Purity at the end of the tenth century, drawing on the whole heritage of the First Millennium to offer a way of salvation to the Muslim soul; Baghdad, which stands for the Abbasid capital's learned circles and their openness to reasoned argument and Aristotelian logic to facilitate debate between members of the many different faiths espoused by its inhabitants; and Pisa, which stands for the eleventh-century reemergence of Latin Europe, still in the shadow of Islam but bursting already with aggressive energy and a new cultural self-confidence.
Garth Fowden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158532
- eISBN:
- 9781400848164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158532.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter examines several other major learned or religious traditions that flourished during the First Millennium, with particular emphasis on their maturation through exegesis of and commentary ...
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This chapter examines several other major learned or religious traditions that flourished during the First Millennium, with particular emphasis on their maturation through exegesis of and commentary on authoritative texts. It first considers Roman law, a tradition rooted in pre-First Millennium, non-monotheistic Antiquity, before discussing rabbinic Judaism, patristic Christianity, and Islam. The goal is to consolidate the argument that the First Millennium was the source not only of the three great texts that have most deeply molded Eurasian civilization (the Christian Bible, the Justinianic code, and the Qur'āan), but also of the exegetical traditions through which these often recalcitrant books were transformed into usable public doctrine.Less
This chapter examines several other major learned or religious traditions that flourished during the First Millennium, with particular emphasis on their maturation through exegesis of and commentary on authoritative texts. It first considers Roman law, a tradition rooted in pre-First Millennium, non-monotheistic Antiquity, before discussing rabbinic Judaism, patristic Christianity, and Islam. The goal is to consolidate the argument that the First Millennium was the source not only of the three great texts that have most deeply molded Eurasian civilization (the Christian Bible, the Justinianic code, and the Qur'āan), but also of the exegetical traditions through which these often recalcitrant books were transformed into usable public doctrine.
Garth Fowden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158532
- eISBN:
- 9781400848164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158532.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This book examines history and thought “before and after Muhammad” by offering a new perspective on the debate about “the West and the Rest,” about America's destiny and Europe's identity. One party ...
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This book examines history and thought “before and after Muhammad” by offering a new perspective on the debate about “the West and the Rest,” about America's destiny and Europe's identity. One party explains how Europe and eventually North America—the North Atlantic world—left the rest in the dust from about 1500. The other side argues that Asia—China, Japan, and the Islamic trio of Mughals, Safavids, and Ottomans—remained largely free of European encroachment until the mid-1700s, but then either collapsed for internal reasons, or else were gradually undermined by colonial powers' superior technological, economic, and military power. In seeking to overhaul the foundations of this debate, especially as regards the role of Islam and the Islamic world, the book reformulates the history of the First Millennium, by the end of which Islam had matured sufficiently to be compared with patristic Christianity, in order to fit Islam into it. The book draws primarily on Edward Gibbon's account of East Rome and Islam.Less
This book examines history and thought “before and after Muhammad” by offering a new perspective on the debate about “the West and the Rest,” about America's destiny and Europe's identity. One party explains how Europe and eventually North America—the North Atlantic world—left the rest in the dust from about 1500. The other side argues that Asia—China, Japan, and the Islamic trio of Mughals, Safavids, and Ottomans—remained largely free of European encroachment until the mid-1700s, but then either collapsed for internal reasons, or else were gradually undermined by colonial powers' superior technological, economic, and military power. In seeking to overhaul the foundations of this debate, especially as regards the role of Islam and the Islamic world, the book reformulates the history of the First Millennium, by the end of which Islam had matured sufficiently to be compared with patristic Christianity, in order to fit Islam into it. The book draws primarily on Edward Gibbon's account of East Rome and Islam.
Garth Fowden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158532
- eISBN:
- 9781400848164
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158532.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Islam emerged amid flourishing Christian and Jewish cultures, yet students of antiquity and the Middle Ages mostly ignore it. Despite intensive study of late antiquity over the last fifty years, even ...
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Islam emerged amid flourishing Christian and Jewish cultures, yet students of antiquity and the Middle Ages mostly ignore it. Despite intensive study of late antiquity over the last fifty years, even generous definitions of this period have reached only the eighth century, whereas Islam did not mature sufficiently to compare with Christianity or rabbinic Judaism until the tenth century. This book suggests a new way of thinking about the historical relationship between the scriptural monotheisms, integrating Islam into European and West Asian history. The book identifies the whole of the First Millennium—from Augustus and Christ to the formation of a recognizably Islamic worldview by the time of the philosopher Avicenna—as the proper chronological unit of analysis for understanding the emergence and maturation of the three monotheistic faiths across Eurasia. It proposes not just a chronological expansion of late Antiquity but also an eastward shift in the geographical frame to embrace Iran. The book looks at Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alongside other important developments in Greek philosophy and Roman law, to reveal how the first millennium was bound together by diverse exegetical traditions that nurtured communities and often stimulated each other.Less
Islam emerged amid flourishing Christian and Jewish cultures, yet students of antiquity and the Middle Ages mostly ignore it. Despite intensive study of late antiquity over the last fifty years, even generous definitions of this period have reached only the eighth century, whereas Islam did not mature sufficiently to compare with Christianity or rabbinic Judaism until the tenth century. This book suggests a new way of thinking about the historical relationship between the scriptural monotheisms, integrating Islam into European and West Asian history. The book identifies the whole of the First Millennium—from Augustus and Christ to the formation of a recognizably Islamic worldview by the time of the philosopher Avicenna—as the proper chronological unit of analysis for understanding the emergence and maturation of the three monotheistic faiths across Eurasia. It proposes not just a chronological expansion of late Antiquity but also an eastward shift in the geographical frame to embrace Iran. The book looks at Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alongside other important developments in Greek philosophy and Roman law, to reveal how the first millennium was bound together by diverse exegetical traditions that nurtured communities and often stimulated each other.
Richard Landes, Andrew Gow, and David C. Van Meter (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195161625
- eISBN:
- 9780199849666
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195161625.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The chapters in this book challenge prevailing views on the way in which apocalyptic concerns contributed to larger processes of social change at the first millennium. Several basic questions unify ...
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The chapters in this book challenge prevailing views on the way in which apocalyptic concerns contributed to larger processes of social change at the first millennium. Several basic questions unify the chapters: What chronological and theological assumptions underlay apocalyptic and millennial speculations around the Year 1000? How broadly disseminated were those speculations? Can we speak of a mentality of apocalyptic hopes and anxieties on the eve of the millennium? If so, how did authorities respond to or even contribute to the formation of this mentality? What were the social ramifications of apocalyptic hopes and anxieties, and of any efforts to suppress or redirect the more radical impulses that bred them? How did contemporaries conceptualize and then historicize the passing of the millennial date of 1000?Less
The chapters in this book challenge prevailing views on the way in which apocalyptic concerns contributed to larger processes of social change at the first millennium. Several basic questions unify the chapters: What chronological and theological assumptions underlay apocalyptic and millennial speculations around the Year 1000? How broadly disseminated were those speculations? Can we speak of a mentality of apocalyptic hopes and anxieties on the eve of the millennium? If so, how did authorities respond to or even contribute to the formation of this mentality? What were the social ramifications of apocalyptic hopes and anxieties, and of any efforts to suppress or redirect the more radical impulses that bred them? How did contemporaries conceptualize and then historicize the passing of the millennial date of 1000?
Chloë N. Duckworth
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- October 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198860846
- eISBN:
- 9780191892912
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198860846.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, European History: BCE to 500CE
In this chapter, the results of a large-scale programme of glass chemical data collation and analysis are presented to argue that glass recycling in the Roman period was far more extensive than has ...
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In this chapter, the results of a large-scale programme of glass chemical data collation and analysis are presented to argue that glass recycling in the Roman period was far more extensive than has been realized to date. Over 6,000 samples of glass from published analyses since 1999 are interrogated in order to produce a long-term and large-scale data set for recycling evidence. In addition, literary evidence, and data from shipwrecks and other archaeological sites are summarized and considered, and basic modelling is used to suggest the sorts of patterns we should be looking for in compositional data for glass. It is argued that the quantity of Roman glass that was recycled has been underestimated due to several factors, including a lack of consideration of ‘like with like’ mixing, a lack of consideration of the formation processes of the archaeological record, and analytical sampling bias towards colourless vessel glass.Less
In this chapter, the results of a large-scale programme of glass chemical data collation and analysis are presented to argue that glass recycling in the Roman period was far more extensive than has been realized to date. Over 6,000 samples of glass from published analyses since 1999 are interrogated in order to produce a long-term and large-scale data set for recycling evidence. In addition, literary evidence, and data from shipwrecks and other archaeological sites are summarized and considered, and basic modelling is used to suggest the sorts of patterns we should be looking for in compositional data for glass. It is argued that the quantity of Roman glass that was recycled has been underestimated due to several factors, including a lack of consideration of ‘like with like’ mixing, a lack of consideration of the formation processes of the archaeological record, and analytical sampling bias towards colourless vessel glass.
William J. Meyer and Carole L. Crumley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199567959
- eISBN:
- 9780191804410
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199567959.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter advances historical ecology as one of a number of approaches to new studies of the first millennium BC. It provides guidelines on how a research team might organize a historical ...
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This chapter advances historical ecology as one of a number of approaches to new studies of the first millennium BC. It provides guidelines on how a research team might organize a historical ecological project (in this case, a study of Atlantic Europe during the first millennium BC).Less
This chapter advances historical ecology as one of a number of approaches to new studies of the first millennium BC. It provides guidelines on how a research team might organize a historical ecological project (in this case, a study of Atlantic Europe during the first millennium BC).