The Monasteries Founded by the Thirteen Syrian Fathers in Iberia

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-39
Author(s):  
Shota Matitashvili
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ascetic Communities ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Written Sources

A new step in the history of Christian monasticism in eastern Georgia is associated with thirteen Syrian monks, led by John, who came to Iberia (K‘art‘li) in the mid-sixth century C.E. They were the bearers of a Syrian tradition that implied the combination of an heroic ascetic endeavor and an apostolic mission. They came as spiritual heirs of St. Nino, a Cappadocian virgin who converted Georgia to Christianity in the beginning of the fourth century. Their vitae were first composed by a certain hagiographer named John-Martyrius, but this work does not survive. In the tenth century, the head of the Georgian Church and the distinguished ecclesiastical writer Arsenius II (955–980) depicted their lives and deeds based on different oral and written sources. Later, other unknown authors also wrote additional hagiographical works about these Syrian ascetics. At the beginning of their ascetic and ecclesiastical careers, the thirteen Syrian monks settled on Zedazeni mountain with their spiritual supervisor, John. John later sent them to different corners of the Iberian kingdom in opposition to paganism and Zoroastrianism. They founded monasteries and became influential religious leaders during the second half of the sixth century. Through their vitae, composed by Arsenius and other unknown authors, it is possible to trace the process of transforming the small ascetic communities established by Syrian monks into great feudal organizations. These monasteries had an important impact on the Georgian social and cultural landscape during the Middle Ages.

The Headdress of the Tillya Tepe “Prince”

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-183
Author(s):  
Michael Shenkar
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Special Place ◽  
History Of ◽  
Important Site ◽  
Written Sources

The sensational finds made at Tillya Tepe in Northern Afghanistan close to the modern city of Sheberghān, are the primary source for reconstructing the cultural history of Bactria in the turbulent period between the end of Greek rule and the rise of the Kushan Empire. The paucity of written sources from this period (mid second centurybceto mid first centuryce), and our resulting lack of understanding of even major political and cultural events, has led to its apt characterization as the “Dark Age” of Bactrian history. In this context, a special place should therefore be reserved for archaeological finds and Tillya Tepe is undoubtedly the most important site of this period. The significance of the Tillya Tepe finds for the reconstruction of Bactrian history and its cultural landscape has long been recognized, but they still have much to offer in terms of historical inquiry. In what follows I shall attempt a new reconstruction of the headdress of a “prince” buried in Graveivand conclude that it allows us to place him within the orbit of the Indo-Parthian Gondopharid dynasty, one of the most powerful regional political entities of the period.

scholarly journals Christian Mangup: The Modern Source Base and the Main Stages of Its History

2021 ◽  
pp. 255-281
Author(s):  
Valery E. Naumenko ◽  
Aleksandr G. Gertsen ◽  
Darya V. Iozhitsa
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Entire Period ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
The South ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Church Building ◽  
History Of ◽  
Available Information ◽  
The Church

Throughout the entire period of the Middle Ages, the settlement of Mangup was one of the most important ideological centres for the spread of Christianity in the south-western Crimea. From the creation of the independent Gothic bishopric on, it housed the residence and the cathedral church of the hierarchs of Crimean Gothia. This is evidenced by numerous churches and monasteries discovered by many-year-long excavations of the site (27 in total). This paper is the first in the scholarship attempt of systematization of all available information from the sources related to the Christian history of the castle of Mangup, written, epigraphic, archaeological, and so on. Particular attention has been paid to the results of modern excavations of the church archaeology monuments at the settlement in question, carried out systematically in 2012–2021. They formed the basis for the reconstruction of the main stages of church building and the most important periods in the history of the local Christian community. Generally, it covers a wide period from the mid-sixth century, when a big basilica featuring the nave and two aisles, the future cathedral of the Gothic bishopric (metropolia), was built at Mangup along with the large Byzantine castle, and finished in the early seventeenth century. The construction and functioning of most part of known churches and monasteries of the castle of Mangup dates to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when this site finally developed into a large mediaeval city, the capital of the principality of Theodoro in the south-western Crimea.

Veiled Threats

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Firey
Keyword(s):  
Women Religious ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
History Of ◽  
Symbolic Value ◽  
The Veil

It has long been recognized that the veil taken by consecrated women religious draws upon nuptial associations and thus symbolizes the trope that consecrated women are brides of Christ. The history of the veil’s symbolic value in the early Middle Ages can, however, be probed more extensively than it has been. This chapter proposes that prior to the tenth century polyvalent symbolism and intermittent use produced competing understandings of the veil. That competition culminated in efforts in the ninth century to regulate the practice of veiling, and also in discursive shifts in representation of the veil’s significance. By tracing the chronology of the connection of the veil to the concept of the bride of Christ, Firey invites consideration of the possible function of symbolism as a device for parties with opposing views to negotiate contested positions, practices, and meanings.

The Christological Debates and the Miracles and Sufferings of Christ

2018 ◽  
pp. 56-88
Author(s):  
Philip Michael Forness
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Roman Law ◽  
Proper Understanding ◽  
Cyril Of Alexandria ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter traces the history of the Christological language of the miracles and sufferings of Christ from the fourth through sixth centuries. Armenian, Coptic, Latin, Greek, and Syriac texts pair the miracles of Christ with the sufferings of Christ to express the relationship between his divinity and humanity. This pairing first appeared in Cappadocia in the late fourth century, but it became a source of controversy especially through Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorios of Constantinople’s disagreement. The presence of this phrase in Pope Leo I’s Tome led to further disagreements at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Emperor Zeno used this phrase in an imperial decree issued in 482, known as the Henotikon, and it would later be codified in Roman law through the Emperor Justinian I. Miaphysite leaders, including Jacob of Serugh, debated the proper understanding of Christology in reference to this phrase in the early sixth century.

The hidden material culture of the Dark Ages. Early medieval ceramics at Sagalassos (Turkey): new evidence (ca AD 650–800)

2009 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 147-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasios K. Vionis ◽  
Jeroen Poblome ◽  
Marc Waelkens
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Dark Ages ◽  
General Decline

AbstractOn the basis of recent archaeological evidence unearthed in the course of systematic excavations by the Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) in southwestern Turkey, this paper attempts to pull together different strings of ceramic data in order to bridge the era between late antiquity and the Middle Ages (mid seventh century to ninth century AD). Our aim is to present samples of the ceramic assemblages excavated at the site of ancient Sagalassos from layers that are most probably dated to the late seventh and eighth centuries. An attempt has been made to examine rigorously the stratigraphy and its contents that are admittedly completely different to the known ceramic forms of the late Roman/early Byzantine (fourth century to mid seventh century) and middle Byzantine (early tenth century to mid 13th century) periods at Sagalassos. Five different pottery types are presented, both kitchenwares and tablewares. The fact that all the ware types presented here are local products should not be seen necessarily as a result of a general decline in trade, rural and/or urban life, but rather as a local response to a generally changing economic system and an emerging local pottery tradition based on household-organised production. The shift from the Roman mass-produced and customised wares (that started to disappear from the market) to non-specialised local/regional production (that started to satisfy basic household needs) need not have been a sudden one. Our ultimate aim is to contribute to recent attempts to throw more light on the archaeologically ‘hidden’ material culture of the so-called ‘Dark Ages’.

The Still Undiscovered Origin of Portolan Charts

1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Freiesleben
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Thirteenth Century ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Board Ship ◽  
Modern Form

The term ‘portolan chart’ first occurs in Italy in the thirteenth century, not long after this aid to navigation came into general use on board ship. The Italian word portolano, however, can best be translated as ‘pilot book’ or ‘sailing directions’, a different aid to navigation of which one example survives from the fourth century b.c., and pilot books are indeed still published in modern form by all seafaring nations. References by Herodotus in the History make it probable that such documents already existed in his time, and under the name of periplus they continued up to the sixth century a.d.; after which they do not appear again until the golden age of navigation in Italy and Catalonia in the late Middle Ages, apart from some much simpler early medieval types. The portolano or periplus is a description of ports, with information required by the navigator concerning anchorages, dangers threatening landfall and the winds and weather over wider areas. Commercial information was sometimes included, obviously also a matter of interest to the mariner who could read, though it may be doubted if many of them then could.Italian portolan charts exist from almost the same period as the portolani, both of them denoted by the same word compasso, but while the pilot books have their modern successors the charts were only produced up to the beginning of the seventeenth century and are not really the forerunners of the modern sea chart.

Contributions to the Knowledge of the Fiscal Administration of Egypt in the Middle Ages

1954 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 502-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Ehrenkreutz
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Present Writer ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Exchange Rate ◽  
Fiscal Administration ◽  
Gold Coins ◽  
Written Sources ◽  
The Middle Ages

Although the ratio between Egyptian gold coins (dinars) and those of silver (dirhams) is known to have fluctuated throughout the history of Islamic Egypt, no attempt has been made to explain the principles underlying the rate of exchange. Any such research is handicapped from the start by a deplorable failure on the part of numismatists to provide their fellow-historians with details concerning the alloys of various Egyptian coins. This drawback deprives us of any means of counterchecking the textual evidence. Nevertheless, it is the belief of the present writer that the material contained in written sources relating to the period of the Ayyūbids (A.H. 569–648/A.D. 1174–1250), allows us to ascertain certain facts concerning the contemporary exchange pattern. The analysis of the nature of that pattern shows clearly that the exchange rate of the gold and silver issues of the BaḥrI Mamlūks (A.H. 648–784/A.D. 1250– 1390), which remained fixed at 1: 20, 1: 25, and 1: 28 1/2, had its roots in the system of the Ayyūbids.

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