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Christopher Walter's study of the cult and iconography of Byzantine warrior saints - George, Demetrius, the two Theodores, and dozens more - is at once encyclopaedic and interpretative, and the first comprehensive study of the subject. The author delineates their origins and development as a distinctive category of saint, showing that in its definitive form this coincides with the apogee of the Byzantine empire in the 10th-11th centuries. He establishes a repertory, particularly of their commemorations in synaxaries and their representations in art, and describes their iconographical types and the functions ascribed to them once enrolled in the celestial army: support for the terrestrial arm...
This study investigates whether military equipment shown in images of warrior saints reflects items used by the mid-Byzantine Army or repeats Classical forms. This in turn answers questions on the originality of Byzantine art and its reliability as a historical source.
Published to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Sikh Brotherhood, this is a collection of over 100 images depicting Sikh prowess in war - photographs covering the last 150 years, together with early prints and paintings.
For generations, Central Asian Muslims have told legends of medieval rulers who waged war, died in battle, and achieved sainthood. Among the Uyghurs of East Turkistan (present-day Xinjiang, China), some of the most beloved legends tell of the warrior-saint Satuq Bughra Khan and his descendants, the rulers of the Qarakhanid dynasty. To this day, these tales are recited at the saints' shrines and retold on any occasion. Warrior Saints of the Silk Road introduces this rich literary tradition, presenting the first complete English translation of the Qarakhanid narrative cycle along with an accessible commentary. At once mesmerizing, moving, and disturbing, these legends are essential texts in Central Asia's religious heritage as well as fine, enduring works of mystical literature.
The definitive biography of Ranjit Singh, contemporary of Napoleon and one of the most powerful and charismatic Indian rulers of his age Ranjit Singh has been largely written out of accounts of the subcontinent's past by recent Western historians, yet he had an impact that lasts to this day. He unified the warring chiefdoms of the Punjab into an extraordinary northern Empire of the Sikhs, built up a formidable modern army, kept the British in check to the south of his realm, and closed the Khyber Pass through which plunderers had for centuries poured into India. Unique among empire builders, he was humane and just, gave employment to defeated foes, honored religious faiths other than his own...
The classical idea of the philosopher/hero or warrior of antiquity gave rise during the first centuries after Jesus Christ to a type of Christian anti-hero who eschewed lofty philosophy, the battlefield and the honours that go with it.
The Way of the Warrior Saint promotes self-sacrifice—or crucifixional living—as the cure for the modern fallacy of taking the easy route in life. Modeled on Jesus’ victory over death through His voluntary suffering on the cross, it spotlights heroes who through self-sacrifice became exceptional and reputable individuals. You don’t have to believe the tenets of the Christian faith to see that the mechanism of self-sacrifice is the way to find greatness within you. Even a cursory examination reveals that the Christ story serves as the model for all our great stories. The likes of Luke Skywalker, Jon Snow, Catniss, Tony Stark, Elsa, Harry Potter, Batman, Wonder Woman, Pinocchio, Horus a...
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Do leaders make history, or does history make leaders? What should we do when the wrong people are in power? And how can we harness the answers to find and become better leaders today? This book offers a deep-dive into the art, science and practice of leadership around the world and across ages, led by a Harvard professor and historian. Through wide-ranging and lively stories, Moshik Temkin considers the lessons, and warnings, we can take from leaders such as Franklin D Roosevelt and the suffragettes, the Civil Rights struggle and anticolonial wars. From the necessary qualities of leaders in a crisis, to how to lead when you don't have any power, this book also examines how, in a world desperate for good leadership, we might draw lessons for ourselves today.
This book presents a thematic collection of hagiographical stories of Sufi saints, often referred to as friends of Gods. Despite the diverse wealth of Sufi works, much of the rich, global and centuries old literature of Sufi warrior-saints, has yet to be translated into English. Examining hagiographical depictions of Sufi mujahids, Neale corrects frequent misunderstandings of the term jihad in relation to Sufi thought and practice. Using Sufi hagiography, treatises, travel narratives and Muslim histories, each chapter comprises the lives of Sufi saints during significant historical events, from the Crusades to the Mongol Invasion and in regions ranging from Islamic Spain to North Africa and India. Using Persian and Arabic sources, this compendium of translated hagiographies gives us a sense of the range, themes and global dissemination of the Sufi literature on war and heroism.