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.




TABLE OF CONTENTS




MANOLIS ULBRICHT, JENS SCHEINER

Introduction 11




HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CROSS-POLLINATION




EVANGELOS CHRYSOS
Arabia minor, Arabia magna in Theophanes: A Short Reflection on the Late Antique World-View 19




REINHOLD F. GLEI

The Sophistication of Arguments in Theodore Abū Qurra’s Dialogues with Muslims 31




YULIA FURMAN

The End of Muʿāwiya’s Reign and That of the Whole World, or Why Write a Universal History Before the End of Times 41




JONATHAN STUTZ

Christian Rome in Syriac and Arabic Historiography 55




ALFONS H. TEIPEN

Changing Perceptions of Jews, Christian Rulers, and Arabs in Early Sīra-Maghāzī Literature 73




THEOLOGICAL CROSS-POLLINATION




ADRIANO DUQUE

Columba’s Death as a Mirror for Monastic Ideals in 9th Century Córdoba 91




NESTOR KAVVADAS

‘Jerusalem Connection’ – A Communication Network Between Early Islamic Palestine, Constantinople, and Italy 111




CULTURAL CROSS-POLLINATION




MARCUS MILWRIGHT

The Shock of the New? Qurʾānic Content in the Inscriptions of the First Islamic Century 127




SERAFIM SEPPÄLÄ

A Symbol in Tension: The Cross in the Earliest Christian-Muslim Encounter 151




MANOLIS ULBRICHT

Cultural Heritage in Religious Musical Traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean: A Study of the Byzantine Second Mode (ἦχ. β᾽) and Its Relation with the Maqām huzām 167




Index 201




List of Contributors 211