History and Identity in the Late Antique Near East
Philip Wood
Abstract
This book examines the importance of the past, both real and imagined, in constructing contemporary culture in the period ad 500–1000. Such acts of construction might exclude ‘outsiders’ or set out ideal forms of behaviour for ‘insiders’. This investigation goes beyond ‘history-writing’ in a narrow sense to examine philosophy, theology, liturgy, and jurisprudence as vehicles for tradition and the imagination of a past ‘golden age’. The chapters straddle the Roman-Persian frontier and go well into the Islamic period: together, they push the boundaries of ‘late antiquity’ into the varied languag ... More
This book examines the importance of the past, both real and imagined, in constructing contemporary culture in the period ad 500–1000. Such acts of construction might exclude ‘outsiders’ or set out ideal forms of behaviour for ‘insiders’. This investigation goes beyond ‘history-writing’ in a narrow sense to examine philosophy, theology, liturgy, and jurisprudence as vehicles for tradition and the imagination of a past ‘golden age’. The chapters straddle the Roman-Persian frontier and go well into the Islamic period: together, they push the boundaries of ‘late antiquity’ into the varied language traditions: Not just Greek, but also Syriac, Armenian, Coptic, and Arabic.
Keywords:
historiography,
tradition,
memory,
long late antiquity,
monotheism,
political thought,
Christian orient
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2013 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199915408 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2013 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199915408.001.0001 |
