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The Life of Mashtots' is mostly praise for the inventor of the Armenian alphabet--the only inventor of an ancient alphabet known by name--and progenitor of Armenian literacy that began with the translation of the Bible. Written three years after his death, by an early disciple named Koriwn, it narrates the master's endeavors in search for letters, the establishment of schools, and the ensuing literary activity that yielded countless translations of religious texts known in the Early Church of the East. As an encomium from Late Antiquity, The Life of Mashtots' exhibits all the literary features of the genre to which it belongs, delineated through rhetorical analysis by Abraham Terian, who com...
Georgian literary sources for Late Antiquity are commonly held to be later productions devoid of historical value. As a result, scholarship outside the Republic of Georgia has privileged Graeco-Roman and even Armenian narratives. However, when investigated within the dual contexts of a regional literary canon and the active participation of Caucasia’s diverse peoples in the Iranian Commonwealth, early Georgian texts emerge as a rich repository of late antique attitudes and outlooks. Georgian hagiographical and historiographical compositions open a unique window onto a northern part of the Sasanian world that, while sharing striking affinities with the Iranian heartland, was home to vibrant...
The second volume of The Heritage of Armenian Literature continues the highly acclaimed and monumental project of presenting Armenia's literary treasures to an English-speaking audience. Nowhere else can students and general readers easily find a comprehensive, English-language guide to these masterpieces, complete with important background information and vivid, accurate translations of key sample passages. Volume 2 takes readers through the medieval period up to the eighteenth century. As in the previous volume, the editors here offer a wide and varied range of readings that encompasses the literary panorama of this ancient civilization. They situate each work as extensively as possible within its theological, historical, and philosophical contexts, while highlighting aspects that will be meaningful to readers in light of modern scholarship.
Serves as both visual and textual record of the exhibition of the same name, surveying the art of the Middle Byzantine period from the restoration of the use of icons by the Orthodox Church in 843 to the occupation of Constantinople by the Crusader forces from the West from 1204 to 1261. Conceived as a sequel to the 1976 exhibition "Age of Spirituality," which focused on the first centuries of Byzantium. Preceding the catalogue, 17 essays treat the historical context, religious sphere, and secular courtly realm of the empire, and the interactions between Byzantium and other medieval cultures. Abundantly illustrated. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Armenian written literature originated almost 16 centuries ago with the invention of the Armenian alphabet. This anthology, translated into English, takes a comprehensive approach to capturing the essence of of the literature of the entire period covered.
The Hemshin are without doubt one of the most enigmatic peoples of Turkey and the Caucasus. As former Christians who converted to Islam centuries ago yet did not assimilate into the culture of the surrounding Muslim populations, as Turks who speak Armenian yet are often not aware of it, as Muslims who continue to celebrate feasts that are part of the calendar of the Armenian Church, and as descendants of Armenians who, for the most part, have chosen to deny their Armenian origins in favour of recently invented myths of Turkic ancestry, the Hemshin and the seemingly irreconcilable differences within their group identity have generated curiosity and often controversy. The Hemshin is the first ...
The Military History of Late Rome 565-602 provides a fresh analysis of the Roman Empire from the reign of Phocas (602-10) until the death of Heraclius (610-41). This was an era of unprecedented upheavals which is usually considered to have resulted in the end of antiquity. The usurpations of Phocas and Heraclius led to the collapse of the Roman defenses; The Persians conquered Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt; The Avars and Slavs ravaged the Balkans; The Lombards held the upper hand in Italy; the Visigoths conquered Spain; But then happened one of the most remarkable reversals of fortune in the history of mankind. Heraclius began his holy war against the fire-worshippers. He launched a ve...
Crusades A Bibliography With Indexes
A comprehensive guide to Armenian writers and literature spanning five centuries. Combining features of a reference work, bibliographic guide, and literary history, it records the output of almost 400 authors who wrote both in Armenia and in the communities of the Armenian diaspora. Presents a general history of the literature, with chapters devoted to a single century and prefaced by information on the era's social, cultural, and religious milieus; followed by a section of biobibliographical entries for Armenian authors, a section of bibliographies and reference works, and a listing of anthologies of literature both in Armenian and in translation. Includes references to earlier authors and to sources of influence, both Armenian and non-Armenian. A final section contains bibliographies devoted to particular genres and periods, such as minstrels, folklore, and prosody. A thematic discussion of the works of more than 150 poets, historians, monks, and others highlights the themes that captured the imagination of Armenian authors.--From publisher description.
Conflict, Conquest, and Conversion surveys two thousand years of the Christian missionary enterprise in the Middle East within the context of the region's political evolution. Its broad, rich narrative follows Christian missions as they interacted with imperial powers and as the momentum of religious change shifted from Christianity to Islam and back, adding new dimensions to the history of the region and the nature of the relationship between the Middle East and the West. Historians and political scientists increasingly recognize the importance of integrating religion into political analysis, and this volume, using long-neglected sources, uniquely advances this effort. It surveys Christian ...