University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting REASSESSING HISTORIOGRAPHY IN LATE ANTIQUITY: PHILOSTORGIUS ON RELIGION AND EMPIRE By ANNA LANKINA A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2014 1 © 2014 Anna Lankina 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have been writing these acknowledgments in my head for seven years. Now that it is time to put them down on paper I feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of individuals and institutions stored away in the notes of my mind. In the end, it is impossible to write a dissertation or complete a graduate program without the help of lots of people. They will not all be thanked here; there is not enough time and space to mention them all and some, sadly, have been forgotten. Nevertheless, as I reflect on the years of my graduate career I find that the most important gift and value I obtained from the entire experience was the people; the people who were a witness to my life during this time and whom it was a joy to get to know. First, I would like to thank those who helped me succeed in graduate school from afar. I will never forget the lessons I learned in academic rigor from the departments of History, Classics, and English at Hillsdale College. In particular, I will always be grateful to professors Harold Siegel, Lorna Holmes, Lucy Moye, Mark Kalthoff, Joseph Garnjobst, and Gavin Weaire for supporting me and giving me a head start in my graduate career with their excellent teaching. My family remained far away all around the world during my pursuit of the PhD. I am grateful to my entire family for their various kinds of support, without which I would not have been able to attend or complete this program. My ever-faithful mother, Natasha Lankina unfailingly cheered me on and made numerous sacrifices to ensure my academic success. During the writing stage of my project, my father, Vladimir Lankin encouraged me with stories of writing his own dissertation on a typewriter in a smoke- filled Soviet kitchen. My sister, Rada Lankina consistently provided all kinds of support, in particular a welcoming place to stay during a research trip to D.C. My sister Tomila 3 Lankina’s success in academia long served as a source of inspiration and healthy competition. Olga Dimchevskaya’s friendship over skype and rare but much cherished visits got me through the difficult times and reminded me about life outside graduate school. I would also like to thank Marilee Harris and her family for their unceasing support and for being a home away from home. My research and writing have been generously supported by various institutions at the University of Florida: the Department of History, The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, the Graduate School, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Graduate Student Council, and the Office of Research. I also had the opportunity to complete my research as a Reader at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, and I am thankful to the community of scholars there. In particular, my dissertation greatly benefited from insights gained through conversations with Scott Fitzgerald Johnson. I would also like to thank everyone involved in all the conferences I have had the pleasure of attending over the years. I am thankful to all those who offered constructive criticism, intellectual stimulation, and spirited conversation. I would especially like to thank my conference friend and colleague Joseph Reidy for his shared interest in fragmentary “heretical” early Byzantine historiography and willingness to collaborate. I would like to extend my wholehearted gratitude to the entire community of the University of Florida Department of History, its faculty, graduate students, staff, and undergraduate students. This place is truly special and I have been blessed to be a part of a department which fosters a collegial, encouraging, and scholarly environment. Over the years, numerous friends and colleagues have offered their support and commented 4 on my research and writing. Specifically, Alana Lord, Chris Bonura, Robert McEachnie, and Diana Reigelsperger have been with me throughout my graduate journey. I could not have written the dissertation without our countless conversations about graduate school, academia, and life in general. I would also like to thank the “Dissertation Support Group” which met during my final year of writing. The entire group provided a necessary setting for accountability, encouragement, and feedback, but I would like to especially thank Rebecca Devlin, Reid Weber, Andrew Welton, Tim Fritz, Rob Taber, and Chris Woolley. Penultimately, I would like to express enormous gratitude to the faculty who were involved in my project. My committee members Dr. Andrea Sterk, Dr. Nina Caputo, Dr. Bonnie Effros, Dr. Stuart Finkel, Dr. Kostas Kapparis all offered excellent critiques and suggestions throughout my graduate career. I would also like to thank them for an excellent dissertation defense conversation. I would like to especially thank Dr. Caputo for her revisions and thoughtful comments on the dissertation. I am grateful to Dr. Florin Curta who has helped me throughout my time in the program; his revisions were especially valuable at a crucial stage of the project. Finally, I would like to thank three people who helped me the most. Each individual’s type of support was completely different but all were indispensable. I will always be extremely thankful for Gizem Toska’s role in my life. Her insight, support, and understanding were exactly what I needed as a graduate student and as a person. My husband Conway Carter witnessed perhaps some of the worst moments of my graduate career and created some of the best moments. He was there for me throughout my dissertation journey—from late night writing sessions to conference presentations 5 around the country. Through it all, his encouragement, support, enduring patience, and humor continuously revealed him to be the amazing man that he is. Finally, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my advisor Dr. Andrea Sterk. In every way she is everything an advisor ought to be. She has spent countless hours editing and revising this dissertation, improving significantly both the style and the content. She has always been supportive, even when I faced seemingly unconquerable challenges as a graduate student. She was always available for guidance, conversation, and advice on my graduate studies and my academic career. She has worked tirelessly and faithfully to improve this project and to help me become a better writer and scholar. I would dedicate this dissertation to her if I didn’t believe that she deserves much better. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 3 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 11 Philostorgius and His Ecclesiastical History ............................................................ 11 Historiographic Overview ........................................................................................ 18 Photius and the Text of Philostorgius’s History ....................................................... 27 Methodology and Approach .................................................................................... 31 2 PHILOSTORGIUS AND HISTORY WRITING IN LATE ANTIQUITY ...................... 38 In the Wake of Momigliano: Approaches to Late Antique Historiography ............... 38 Philostorgius and the Fifth-Century Church Historians ........................................... 50 Philostorgius and the Writing of His History ............................................................ 54 3 IN THE WAKE OF NICAEA: REASSESSING HEROES AND VILLAINS ............... 61 The Problem of “Arianism” ...................................................................................... 61 Emperors, Empire, and Bishops ............................................................................. 63 Nicaea and its Aftermath ......................................................................................... 66 The Accession of Athanasius .................................................................................. 73 The Arian Controversy during the reign of Constantius .......................................... 79 Interpreting the Arian Controversy in Philostorgius’s History .................................. 86 4 SPREADING THE FAITH: PHILOSTORGIUS ON MISSION AND MISSIONARIES ...................................................................................................... 88 The Missions of Theophilus and Ulfila in Non-Nicene Memory ............................... 88 Interpreting The Non-Nicene Narrative: History and Memory ................................. 90 Connecting the Missions of Theophilus and Ulfila .................................................. 94 Representation versus Reality .............................................................................. 100 Philostorgius’s Understanding of Mission in Christian History .............................. 104 Nicene vs. Non-Nicene Accounts of Missionaries ................................................. 111 5 EMPERORS AND BISHOPS: LEADERSHIP FOR THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE .... 124 Assessing Philostorgius’s View of Empire ...........................................................
Recommended publications
  • The Story of the Byzantine Empire
    THE STO RY O F T HE NATIO NS L LU T T E E R VO L . I z M o I S A . P , R D , T H E E AR L I E R VO L UM E S A R E f I N E F R E E B P o AS A . SO T H STO R Y O G E C . y r . I . HARR R F R E B TH U ILM A N T HE STO Y O O M . y A R R G EW B P f A K O S E R F T HE S . o S . M T HE ST O Y O J y r . J . H R B Z N R O F DE . A R A coz I T HE ST O Y C HA L A . y . — R F E R N . B S B ING O U L THE ST O Y O G MA Y y . AR G D F N W B P f H B YE S E N o . H . O T HE ST O R Y O O R A Y . y r N E n E B . E . a d S SA H T HE ST O R Y O F SP A I . y U N AL N B P R of. A . VAM B Y T HE STO R Y O F H U GA R Y . y r E ST R O F E B P of L E TH E O Y C A RT H A G .
    [Show full text]
  • Roman-Barbarian Marriages in the Late Empire R.C
    ROMAN-BARBARIAN MARRIAGES IN THE LATE EMPIRE R.C. Blockley In 1964 Rosario Soraci published a study of conubia between Romans and Germans from the fourth to the sixth century A.D.1 Although the title of the work might suggest that its concern was to be with such marriages through- out the period, in fact its aim was much more restricted. Beginning with a law issued by Valentinian I in 370 or 373 to the magister equitum Theodosius (C.Th. 3.14.1), which banned on pain of death all marriages between Roman pro- vincials and barbarae or gentiles, Soraci, after assessing the context and intent of the law, proceeded to discuss its influence upon the practices of the Germanic kingdoms which succeeded the Roman Empire in the West. The text of the law reads: Nulli provineialium, cuiuscumque ordinis aut loci fuerit, cum bar- bara sit uxore coniugium, nec ulli gentilium provinciales femina copuletur. Quod si quae inter provinciales atque gentiles adfinitates ex huiusmodi nuptiis extiterit, quod in his suspectum vel noxium detegitur, capitaliter expietur. This was regarded by Soraci not as a general banning law but rather as a lim- ited attempt, in the context of current hostilities with the Alamanni, to keep those barbarians serving the Empire (gentiles)isolated from the general Roman 2 populace. The German lawmakers, however, exemplified by Alaric in his 63 64 interpretatio,3 took it as a general banning law and applied it in this spir- it, so that it became the basis for the prohibition under the Germanic king- doms of intermarriage between Romans and Germans.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulletin Luke the Evangelist Tone 2.Indd
    THE D The WeeklyVE Bulletin of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England 18 October 2020 Τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀποστόλου καὶ Εὐαγγελιστοῦ Λουκᾶ The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke Luke the Evangelist | Tone 2 • ΤΟΥ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΣΤΟΥ ΛΟΥΚΑ | Ἦχος β´ Apostle and Evangelist Luke October 18 he Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, was a na- nary verses (1:1-3), Saint Luke precisely sets forth Ttive of Syrian Antioch, a companion of the holy the purpose of his work. He proposes to record, in Apostle Paul (Phil.1:24, 2 Tim. 4:10-11), and a physi- chronological order, everything known by Chris- cian enlightened in the Greek medical arts. Hearing tians about Jesus Christ and His teachings. By doing about Christ, Luke arrived in Palestine and fervently this, he provided a firmer historical basis for Chris- accepted the preaching of salvation from the Lord tian teaching (1:4). He carefully investigated the Himself. As one of the Seventy Apostles, Saint Luke facts, and made generous use of the oral tradition was sent by the Lord with the others to preach the of the Church and of what the All-Pure Virgin Mary Kingdom of Heaven during the Savior’s earthly life Herself had told him (2:19, 51). (Luke 10:1-3). After the Resurrection, the Lord Jesus In Saint Luke’s Gospel, the message of the salva- Christ appeared to Saints Luke and Cleopas on the tion made possible by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the road to Emmaus. preaching of the Gospel, are of primary importance. Luke accompanied Saint Paul on his second Saint Luke also wrote the Acts of the Holy Apos- missionary journey, and from that time they were tles at Rome around 62-63 A.D.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT the Apostolic Tradition in the Ecclesiastical Histories Of
    ABSTRACT The Apostolic Tradition in the Ecclesiastical Histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret Scott A. Rushing, Ph.D. Mentor: Daniel H. Williams, Ph.D. This dissertation analyzes the transposition of the apostolic tradition in the fifth-century ecclesiastical histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret. In the early patristic era, the apostolic tradition was defined as the transmission of the apostles’ teachings through the forms of Scripture, the rule of faith, and episcopal succession. Early Christians, e.g., Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen, believed that these channels preserved the original apostolic doctrines, and that the Church had faithfully handed them to successive generations. The Greek historians located the quintessence of the apostolic tradition through these traditional channels. However, the content of the tradition became transposed as a result of three historical movements during the fourth century: (1) Constantine inaugurated an era of Christian emperors, (2) the Council of Nicaea promulgated a creed in 325 A.D., and (3) monasticism emerged as a counter-cultural movement. Due to the confluence of these sweeping historical developments, the historians assumed the Nicene creed, the monastics, and Christian emperors into their taxonomy of the apostolic tradition. For reasons that crystallize long after Nicaea, the historians concluded that pro-Nicene theology epitomized the apostolic message. They accepted the introduction of new vocabulary, e.g. homoousios, as the standard of orthodoxy. In addition, the historians commended the pro- Nicene monastics and emperors as orthodox exemplars responsible for defending the apostolic tradition against the attacks of heretical enemies. The second chapter of this dissertation surveys the development of the apostolic tradition.
    [Show full text]
  • Byzantine Narratives of Gender Identity Eamon H.R
    Introduction ix Roger Scott xv Ann Moffatt (Australian National University) List of 11 lustrations xix KEYNOTE PAPERS Novelisation in Byzantium: Narrative after the Revival of 1 Fiction Margaret Mullett (The Queen 's University Belfast) Narrating Justinian: From Malalas to Manasses 29 Roger Scott (University of Melbourne) NARRATIVE IN HISTORIANS, CHRONICLES & FICTION To Narrate the Events of the Past: On Byzantine 47 Historians, and Historians on Byzantium Ingela Nilsson (Uppsala University) Tradition and Originality in Photius' Historical Reading 59 Brian Crake (Sydney) Narrating the Trials and Death in Exile of Pope Martin I 71 and Maxim us the Confessor Bronwen Neil (Australian Catholic University) The Use of Metaphor in Michael Psellos' Chronographia 84 Elizabeth McCartney (University of Melbourne) War and Peace in the Alexiad 92 Penelope Buckley (University of Melbourne) Moralising History: the Synopsis Historiarum of John 110 Skylitzes Theoni Sklavos (University of Melbourne) The Representation of Augustae in John Skylitzes' 120 Synopsis Historiarum Emma Strugnell (University of Melbourne) The Madrid Skylitzes as an Audio-Visual Experiment 137 John Burke (University of Melbourne) The Goths and the Bees in Jordanes: A Narrative of No 149 Return Andrew Gillett (Macquarie University) From 'Fallen Woman' to Theotokos: Music, Women's 164 Voices and Byzantine Narratives of Gender Identity Eamon H.R. Kelly (St Cross College, Oxford) How the Entertaining Tale of Quadrupeds became a Tale: 182 Grafting Narrative Nick Nicholas (University of
    [Show full text]
  • The Geographers of the Early Byzantine Period
    European Journal of Science and Theology, December 2012, Vol.8, No.4, 23-40 _______________________________________________________________________ THE GEOGRAPHERS OF THE EARLY BYZANTINE PERIOD Vassilios Manimanis 1, Efstratios Theodosiou1 and Milan S. Dimitrijevic2* 1 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Physics, Department of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Panepistimiopolis, Zografos 15784, Athens, Greece 2 Astronomical Observatory, Volgina 7, 11160 Belgrade, Serbia (Received 8 January 2012) Abstract In Byzantine empire the knowledge of Geography was considered necessary for locating the Holy Land and for setting the boundaries of the dioceses. Essentially, Geography was studied by monks in the monasteries; the perception of the Earth by Byzantine geographers – especially by the monk Cosmas Indicopleustes – was to a large extent imaginary and influenced by the Scriptures and religious ideas. Here are considered geographers of the early Byzantine period: Éthicus Istriote, Marcian of Heracleia, Caesarius, Palladius of Helenopolis, Agathodaemon, Christodorus, Hierocles the Grammarian, Procopius of Caesarea, Corippus the African, Stephen of Byzantium, Nonnosus, Priscianus the Grammaticus, Marcellinus the Illyrian and John of Gaza. Keywords: Byzantium, Geography, Byzantines geographers, Natural Sciences 1. Introduction During the early Byzantine period the knowledge of Geography was considered necessary for locating the Holy Land and for setting the boundaries of the dioceses. Thus, starting with the work of
    [Show full text]
  • Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation
    Empire of Hope and Tragedy: Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Swain Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Timothy Gregory, Co-advisor Anthony Kaldellis Kristina Sessa, Co-advisor Copyright by Brian Swain 2014 Abstract This dissertation explores the intersection of political and ethnic conflict during the emperor Justinian’s wars of reconquest through the figure and texts of Jordanes, the earliest barbarian voice to survive antiquity. Jordanes was ethnically Gothic - and yet he also claimed a Roman identity. Writing from Constantinople in 551, he penned two Latin histories on the Gothic and Roman pasts respectively. Crucially, Jordanes wrote while Goths and Romans clashed in the imperial war to reclaim the Italian homeland that had been under Gothic rule since 493. That a Roman Goth wrote about Goths while Rome was at war with Goths is significant and has no analogue in the ancient record. I argue that it was precisely this conflict which prompted Jordanes’ historical inquiry. Jordanes, though, has long been considered a mere copyist, and seldom treated as an historian with ideas of his own. And the few scholars who have treated Jordanes as an original author have dampened the significance of his Gothicness by arguing that barbarian ethnicities were evanescent and subsumed by the gravity of a Roman political identity. They hold that Jordanes was simply a Roman who can tell us only about Roman things, and supported the Roman emperor in his war against the Goths.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing Jordanes' Getica
    1004604 Assessing Jordanes’ Getica By Ferdinand Goetzen 1 1004604 Jordanes Seminar Paper The Origins and Deeds of the Goths, also known as Getica is not only the biggest but also the most disputed source when it comes to determining the origins and identity of the Barbarians. Written as an abridged version of Cassiodorius’ 12 volume History of the Goths in 551 by Jordanes, a retired Byzantine bureaucrat of Gothic descent, Getica has been subject to much dispute and controversy. Jordanes’ work on the Goths attempts to recount their history and noble legacy, from early beginnings in Scandinavia to their military fate endured at the hands of Justinian I. Given the circumstances in which both works were compiled, there is much disagreement as to how much of Getica reflects the true history and identity of the Goths. This paper intends to explain and assess the issues that revolve around Getica by analyzing the source itself as well as the theories of major scholars. Three factors must be taken into account when assessing the reliability of Getica as a historical source, the first being Cassiodorius’ intentions while writing his 12-volume History of the Goths. Cassiodorius’ intentions were not literary but political. It is suggested by Christensen and Goffart that his work is entirely fictitious1. Working as a roman nobleman under the rule of the Gothic King Theoderic, it is thought that Cassiodorius was commissioned or at least inspired to write a history of the Goths that would celebrate their long and noble legacy. Theoderic 1 Christiansen, A.S. (2002) Cassiodorus, Jordanes and the History of the Goths: Studies in a Migration Myth, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Calendar of Roman Events
    Introduction Steve Worboys and I began this calendar in 1980 or 1981 when we discovered that the exact dates of many events survive from Roman antiquity, the most famous being the ides of March murder of Caesar. Flipping through a few books on Roman history revealed a handful of dates, and we believed that to fill every day of the year would certainly be impossible. From 1981 until 1989 I kept the calendar, adding dates as I ran across them. In 1989 I typed the list into the computer and we began again to plunder books and journals for dates, this time recording sources. Since then I have worked and reworked the Calendar, revising old entries and adding many, many more. The Roman Calendar The calendar was reformed twice, once by Caesar in 46 BC and later by Augustus in 8 BC. Each of these reforms is described in A. K. Michels’ book The Calendar of the Roman Republic. In an ordinary pre-Julian year, the number of days in each month was as follows: 29 January 31 May 29 September 28 February 29 June 31 October 31 March 31 Quintilis (July) 29 November 29 April 29 Sextilis (August) 29 December. The Romans did not number the days of the months consecutively. They reckoned backwards from three fixed points: The kalends, the nones, and the ides. The kalends is the first day of the month. For months with 31 days the nones fall on the 7th and the ides the 15th. For other months the nones fall on the 5th and the ides on the 13th.
    [Show full text]
  • The Visigoths As the «Other». Barbarians, Heretics, Martyrs
    25_Eiker Faber 9/3/10 15:40 Página 287 Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie II, Historia Antigua, t. 22, 2009, págs. 287-296 The Visigoths as the «other». Barbarians, heretics, martyrs Los visigodos como el «otro». Bárbaros, herejes, mártires EIKE FABER * RESUMEN ABSTRACT Se pretenden analizar los contactos An analysis of Roman-Visigothic relations romano-visigodos fuera de las líneas in different terms than the usual convencionales que enmarcan estas presupposition of constant military and relaciones en un entramado religioso- confessional/Christian antagonism. militar. Recurriendo al estructuralismo Structuralist methodology demonstrates histórico podemos mostrar cómo las how Roman needs at precise historical necesidades concretas de Roma moments determine how Visigoths were determinan la percepción de los visigodos perceived and, therefore, portrayed in our así como su representación en las sources. fuentes. PALABRAS CLAVE: KEYWORDS : Estructuralismo, Imperio romano, godos, Structuralism, Roman Empire, Goths, cristianismo, siglos IV-V d.C.. Christianity, 4th-5th century AD. According to structuralist thinking , for any self-consciousness to exist or develop there needs to be an ‘other’, an externalised image of what oneself in not —or thinks one is not—. A multitude of such ‘others’ exists for everyone, covering a number of physical or social dichotomies. Categories include male-female, free- slave, rich-poor, powerful-helpless, young-old, citizen-foreigner and so on: they rep - resent ‘us vs. them’ from a variety of different points of view. * Historisches Institut, Geschichte des Altertums, Universität Potsdam (Am Neuen Palais 10, D- 14469 Potsdam, Deutschland) . E-mail: [email protected] . Artículo basado en la comunicación leída el 25 de Mayo de 2009, en la VIII edición del Encuentro de Jóvenes Investigadores de Historia Antigua de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
    [Show full text]
  • Synesius' Egyptian Sources , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:1 (1987:Spring) P.103
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Classical Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works Faculty Publications 11-3-2004 The Wolf and the Lion: Synesius’ Egyptian Sources Jacqueline Long Loyola University Chicago, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/classicalstudies_facpubs Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons Recommended Citation Long, J. “The Wolf and the Lion: Synesius’ Egyptian Sources.” Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 28, no. 1 (November 3, 2004): 103–15. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. © GRBS, 2004. LONG, JACQUELINE, The Wolfand the Lion: Synesius' Egyptian Sources , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:1 (1987:Spring) p.103 The Wolf and the Lion: Synesius' Egyptian Sources Jacqueline Long NE OF THE FEW established facts of Synesius' early career is that O he pursued the higher education available at Alexandria. The lifelong friendships he formed there suggest the importance this period always retained for him. Less attractively, perhaps, so does the intellectual smugness displayed in collegiate sniffs at rival Athens (Ep. 56[54].136) or in apt interpolations ofthe classics he read aloud to friends (Dion 62A-D ).1 It is no surprise that, as Cyrene's ambassador to the court of Arcadius,2 Synesius sought an intellectual approach to his city's practical advantage.
    [Show full text]
  • Niketas Choniates Versus Manuel I Komnenos: Disputes Concernig Islam in the Context of the Byzantine Tradition
    Списание ЕПОХИ Издание на Историческия факултет на ВТУ „Св. св. Кирил и Методий” Том / Volume XXIV (2016), Journal EPOHI [EPOCHS] Книжка / Issue 2 Edition of the Department of History of St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo NIKETAS CHONIATES VERSUS MANUEL I KOMNENOS: DISPUTES CONCERNIG ISLAM IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BYZANTINE TRADITION Dimitar Y. DIMITROV НИКИТА ХОНИАТ СРЕЩУ МАНУИЛ I КОМНИН: ПОЛЕМИКА, СВЪРЗАНА С ИСЛЯМА, В КОНТЕКСТА НА ВИЗАНТИЙСКАТА ТРАДИЦИЯ Димитър Й. ДИМИТРОВ Abstract: Byzantine society had very complex relations with the Islamic Eastern neighbors. Islam, to be sure, started and continued to be menace for Byzantium for the all long eighth centuries they used to coexist. However, Byzantine society needed a certain period of time to accept Islam as another religion, standing against Christianity in the East. After the first Byzantine revenge acts against Judaism a long tradition was formed with two main streams. The first of them envisaged Islam as a demoniac pseudo-religion (or anti-religion), the second being milder and ready to accept the Islamic neighbors not as a whole, but rather as different states, culturally not so different from Byzantium, with diplomacy playing role for keeping balance in the East. Thus, the Byzantine Realpolitik appeared as a phenomenon, what provoked crusaders to accuse Byzantium as being traitor to the Christian cause in the East. In that context should we pose the interesting incident at the end of Manuel I Komnenos’ reign (1143 – 1180). Both Church and society were provoked by the decision of the Emperor to lift up the anathemas against Allah from the trivial ritual of denouncing Islam.
    [Show full text]