Manolis Ulbricht, Jens Scheiner (Eds.)

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

ISBN 978-3-98940-058-0, 214 S., kt., € 32,50

(BAC - Bochumer Altertumswissenschaftliches Colloquium, Bd. 117)

erscheint voraussichtlich 20.12.2024

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.