BAC 117

From Oriens Christianus to Islamic Near East. Historiographical, Theological, and Cultural Cross-Pollinations in Late Antiquity and Early Islam

Manolis Ulbricht, Jens Scheiner (Eds.)

The volume offers a new contribution to the study of the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean during Late Antiquity, the Early Islamic and Medieval periods. Originating from a two-day workshop held at the Chair of Byzantine Studies at Freie Universität Berlin (Dec. 7th–8th, 2017), it approaches Christian-Muslim coexistence between the fourth and tenth centuries CE through an interdisciplinary lens. The objective is to present a unified and holistic approach to Late Antique and Early Islamic Studies (LAESSI), revealing the interactions that shaped the transformation from Oriens Christianus to Islamic Near East (OCINE).

The edited volume gathers an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars to explore and better understand the Near Eastern milieu in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic period. Divided into three sections, Historiographical Cross-Pollination, Theological Cross-Pollination, and Cultural Cross-Pollination, the chapters examine the coexistence of Christian and Muslim cultural spheres in an intellectual space of complex interactions and exchanges. Discussions include a variety of perspectives on geography, historiography, philosophy, theology, imperial eschatology, and perceptions of the ‘other’, as well as monasticism, ecclesiastical structures, and the influence of art, epigraphy, and music in Christian-Muslim encounters.

Through this framework, the volume aims to uncover the ways these cross-pollinations impacted the development of diverse regions, cultures, languages, and religious traditions.

Manolis Ulbricht, Jens Scheiner: Introduction
Evangelos Chrysos: Arabia minor, Arabia magna in Theophanes. A Short Reflection on the Late Antique World-View
Reinhold F. Glei: The Sophistication of Arguments in Theodore Abū Qurra’s Dialogues with Muslims
Yulia Furman: The End of Muʿāwiya’s Reign and That of the Whole World, or Why Write a Universal History Before the End of Times
Jonathan Stutz: Christian Rome in Syriac and Arabic Historiography
Alfons H. Teipen: Changing Perceptions of Jews, Christian Rulers, and Arabs in Early Sīra-Maghāzī Literature
Adriano Duque: Columba’s Death as a Mirror for Monastic Ideals in 9th Century Córdoba
Nestor Kavvadas: ‘Jerusalem Connection’ – A Communication Network Between Early Islamic Palestine, Constantinople, and Italy
Marcus Milwright: The Shock of the New? Qurʾānic Content in the Inscriptions of the First Islamic Century
Serafim Seppälä: A Symbol in Tension. The Cross in the Earliest Christian-Muslim Encounter
Manolis Ulbricht: Cultural Heritage in Religious Musical Traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean. A Study of the Byzantine Second Mode (ἦχ. β᾽) and Its Relation with the Maqām huzām

ISBN 978-3-98940-058-0, 212 pages, 8 figs., soft bound, Euro 32,50 2024

https://www.wvttrier.de/p/from-oriens-christianus-to-islamic-near-east