Drawing on little-used sources in Syriac, once the lingua franca of the Middle East, Philip Wood examines how, at the close of the Roman Empire, Christianity carried with it new foundation myths for the peoples of the Near East that transformed their self-identity and their relationships with their rulers. This cultural independence was followed by a more radical political philosophy that dared to criticize the emperor and laid the seeds for the blending of religious and ethnic identity that we see in the Middle East today.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Philip Wood's book is a remarkable debut. It is broad in focus, sparing in its use of footnotes, and stimulating in the picture it presents of the Roman East in the fifth and sixth centuries." --Bryn Mawr Classical Review
About the Author
Philip Wood is British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow, Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It is refreshing to find someone that has taken the time to stand back and bring us a view from a completely new angle. Wood uses a logical structure in his work as he carries you through from Christianisation in the Roman world and it's effect on regional identity, and discusses how the cultural independence of Aramaic speakers in the eastern Mediterranean was achieved.
Wood has some unusual sources of reference and uses evidence of `foundational myths', derived from chronicles and collections of saints' lives such as John of Ephesus.
In the 2nd half of the book the author examines the political effects of this cultural independence during a period of religious controversy. Particularly notable is his examination of the criticism the emperor Justinian experienced, which emphasised the conditional role of his rule.
Over all this is an insightful and refreshing work.
Wood has some unusual sources of reference and uses evidence of `foundational myths', derived from chronicles and collections of saints' lives such as John of Ephesus.
In the 2nd half of the book the author examines the political effects of this cultural independence during a period of religious controversy. Particularly notable is his examination of the criticism the emperor Justinian experienced, which emphasised the conditional role of his rule.
Over all this is an insightful and refreshing work.
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