DOCSLIB.ORG

Historiography and Politics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Historiography and Politics HISTORIOGRAPHY AND POLITICS: TWENTIETH-CENTURY ARAB SCHOLARSHIP ON ANTIQUITY Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester by Botan Tofiq Maghdid, BA, MA School of Archaeology and Ancient History University of Leicester 2018 Historiography and Politics: Twentieth-Century Arab Scholarship on Antiquity Botan Tofiq Maghdid Abstract “Both sword and pen are reliant machines for the head of the state on his command”. Ibn-Khaldūn (d. 1406) This thesis examines the various ways in which ancient Arab history has been represented in modern Arab historiography in the twentieth century, from the end of the Ottoman Empire to the end of the Baʿthist regime of Iraq. It is now widely recognised that historiography is influenced by contemporary politics. Over the last few decades, theories about the relationship between politics and historiography have been advanced by Western-based scholars such as Gramsci, Foucault, and Said. It remains unclear, however, whether non-Western traditions of historiography have the same kinds of relationships with politics, or whether politics in historiography in the Arab world exist in a different configuration. To explore this issue, I will address historiographical writing produced in the Arab world during the twentieth century, considering in particular the case of Iraq. It will focus on writing that addressed a specific period of antiquity – the 1st century BCE to the 7th century CE. It is in this period of antiquity that we can first identify a specifically Arab struggle for the statehood, and the coalescing of Arab-dominated states in the Mesopotamian region. This period was therefore one of particular interest for Arab historians writing in the twentieth century, a time when Arab statehood and the nature of the Iraqi state was debated. This thesis will show that in the modern Arab world, history writing and politics have become more entangled than ever. Following the end of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of the Iraqi state, the need for a sufficient justification for this artificial construction became crucial. Iraqi historiography, then, looked to the past to formulate new narratives, lending legitimacy to current social and political initiatives. Historiography became intimately entwined in the political agendas of Iraqi regimes, from the Monarchy up to the Baʿthist period. Finally, I argue that without a serious intellectual debate on epistemology of “knowledge” and what its relationship with political power could be, the problem brought on by their 20th century structures have continued to dominate present socio-political developments. In addition, the future Arab world relationships with worldwide communities depend on the re- structuring of this history-politics relationship. i Acknowledgments I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for many organizations and people who have provided their support, help, and encouragement both before and during my research. First of all, I would like to thank the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for sponsoring my study, as without this help my PhD at a prestigious and world-ranked institution such as the University of Leicester would have remained but a dream. I would like also to express my great thanks to many people who deserve special appreciation and gratitude, and without whom this thesis would not have become a reality. Endless thanks go to my supervisor, Prof. Simon James, whose imprint on my intellectual developments began even before my arrival in the United Kingdom. His knowledge, time, encouragement, guidance, friendship, and supervision have been the key inspiration for this thesis. Great appreciation and thanks also go to my second supervisor, Dr Naoíse Mac Sweeney, not only for her incredible supervision but also for her immense insight, intellectual wisdom, and help in nurturing my strengths. Many thanks go to the staff at the library of the University of Leicester for their help in providing books and different resources from all over the world. I am also grateful to the staff of the library of American University of Beirut and the Central Library of Erbil, who allowed me to access many special documents and books. Gratitude also goes to the Graduate School of the University of Leicester, who provided an English language proof-reader for international students, and also to Dr Michael Tully and Joanna Wilson-Scott for their reading and help with English language. I would like also to express my thanks to my family and friends, who facilitated my study and stay abroad. First and foremost, I wish to thank my lover, friend, partner, and wife, Sairan Mustafa. Without her incredible patient support and encouragement, my stay abroad with three children would have been extremely difficult. My appreciation for her help will remain with me always. I also wish to express my thanks to my parents, who taught me that study is like “digging a hole with a needle”. Thanks also go to my older brother, Dara, who never let me experience any difficulties while I was abroad, including supporting me financially during the economic crisis that affected my sponsor. I am also grateful to the PhD students in the ii school of Archaeology and Ancient History, who made my stay at Leicester a great experience, among them Damjan Krsmanovic, Thomas Derrick, Andy Lamb, Eleonora Zampieri, Sarah Scheffler, Rachel Wilkinson, Jane Ainsworth, and Mohamed Bianco. Finally, I wish to express my love to my children, Mir, Zhin, and Mand. iii Table of Content Abstract i Table of Content iv List of figures v Abbreviations vi A Note on Transliteration and Style vii Part One: Introduction 1 1 Chapter One: Introduction 1 2 Chapter Two: The Ancient Context (1st century BCE – 7th century CE) 10 3 Chapter Three: The Contemporary Political Context (20th century CE) 26 4 Chapter Four: Historiography and politics 41 Part Two: Iraqi Scholarship 63 5 Chapter Five: The early Mandate period (1918-1932) 63 6 Chapter Six: Rise of Arab Nationalism: Darwīsh al-Miqdādī 81 7 Chapter Seven: Professional historiography: Jawad ‘Ali 105 8 Chapter Eight: The Iraqi Baʿthist narrative: Historiography in the service of state ideology 136 Part Three: Levant Scholarship on Antiquity 165 9 Chapter Nine: Lebanon and early interaction with western tradition 165 10 Chapter Ten: Arab nationalism in its cradle; Muḥammad ʿIzzat Darwazah 186 11 Chapter Eleven: the Syrian Baʿthist narrative 207 12 Chapter Twelve: Conclusion 232 Bibliography 248 iv List of figures Figure (1) Cover of the books: Iraq through History; Iraqi-Persians Conflict and Army and weapons ................................................................................................................................. 140 Figure (2) Iraqi Bank note, Twenty-Five Iraqi dinars, showing Ṣaddām with the backdrop portrait of the battle of Qādisīyah between Muslim and Sassanid Arabs............................. 153 Figure (3) Syrian Bank Note. .................................................................................................. 231 v Abbreviations AH = anno Hegiri anon. = anonymous Ar. = Arabic AUB =American University of Beirut BCE = Before Common Era c. = circa CAS = College of Art and Science CE = Common Era Ch. = chapter d. = died DT = Dirasat Tārīkhīyah ed. = editor (pl. eds.) Eng. = English et al. = and others etc. = and so forth HTC= Higher Teachers’ College i.e. = that is ICP = Iraqi communist Party p. = page pl. = plural Ps. = pseudo pt. = part RCC = Revolutionary Command Council Syr. = Syriac SPC = Syrian Protestant College transl. = translated; translation vol. = volume (pl. vols.) vs = versus vi A Note on Transliteration and Style Due to the trans-cultural nature of this thesis and the difficulties of translating the exact meaning of a number of Arabic terms and phrases into English, I have decided to Anglicize them according to the transliteral system used by the International Journal of Middle East Studies. Arabic English Arabic English ṭ ط ʾ ء ẓ ظ b ب ʿ ع t ت gh غ th ث f ف j ج q ق ḥ ح k ك kh خ l ل d د m م dh ذ n ن r ر h ه z ز w و s س y ي sh ش a ة ṣ ص ,For the articles ال ḍ ض al- and –l- ā ی or ا Long ū و ī ي (iyy (final form ī وَ Doubled (uww (final form یَ Diphthongs ū)au or aw ai or ay Short a u i vii For the sake of consistency, I apply this method only for the Arabic language, and as such other non-English languages (e.g., Persian and Turkish terms and phrases) will appear as they are commonly written in English. In addition, I would like to point out that all translations from Arabic to English are my own, unless otherwise stated. viii Part One: Introduction 1 Chapter One: Introduction “I think the intellectual was hounded by political powers, no longer on account of a general discourse which he conducted, but because of the knowledge at his disposal: it was at this level that he constituted a political threat.” (Foucault 1980, 128) “Nothing is more important for Iraq’s future than a clearheaded understanding of its past.” (Makiya 1994, 218) 1.1 Introduction The period spanning the first century BCE to the seventh century CE is often cited as the formative period of Iraqi history, as it was during this time that the key features of what later became the Iraqi state first emerged. Specifically, this was a centralised Arab-ruled state in the Mesopotamian region. Although Arab groups existed from at least the sixth century BCE,1 it was not until the early first century BCE that powerful and centralised Arab-ruled states emerged in Mesopotamia and the Levant, most notably Petra, Palmyra, and Hatra, amongst others. 1 See also Chapter 2 below. 1 These states were able to emerge because of a power vacuum in the region. The Seleucid Empire had fallen, and Mesopotamia was now a disputed region between the Roman and later the Byzantine Empire on one side, and the Parthians and later the Sasanians on the other.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • D:\IGNOU\Tilak\BHIC 104 English\Aaaaa.Xps
    Theme IV Societies in Central Islamic Lands Time Line Pre-Islamic Arab World Arabian Peninsula: Sarakenoi/Saraceni Arab Tribes: Quraysh, Aws, Khazraj Pre-Islamic Cities Mecca, Yathrib/Medina, Taif Rise of Islam Prophet’s march from Mecca to Medina (Hijara): 622 Caliph Abu Bakr: 632-634 Caliph Umar: 634-644 Caliph Usman: 644-656 Caliph Ali: 656-661 The Ummayad Caliphate: 661-684 Late Ummayad Caliphate: 684-750 The Abbasid Caliphate: 750-1258 Photograph: Manuscript folio with depiction by Yahya ibn Vaseti found in the Maqama of Hariri located at the BibliothequeNationale de France. Image depicts a library with pupils in it, 1237 Courtesy: Zereshk, September 2007 Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Maqamat_hariri.jpg UNIT 12 PRE-ISLAMIC ARAB WORLD AND ITS CULTURE* Structure 12.0 Objectives 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Tribal Confederations in Arabia 12.2.1 The Dominant Tribes of The Arabian Peninsula 12.2.2 Religious Diversity in The Arabian Peninsula 12.3 Tribal and Religious Practices 12.3.1 Religious and Ritual Practices of The Meccans 12.3.2 Religious and Ritual Practices at Medina 12.4 The Arab Trading Network before the 6th Century 12.5 Political Structure in Pre-Islamic Arabia 12.6 Social Structures in Pre-Islamic Arabia 12.6.1 Tribal Structure and Leadership 12.6.2 Inequality and Slavery 12.6.3 The Elite Camel Nomads 12.6.4 Intra-Tribal Warfare 12.7 Economic Conditions 12.7.1 Camel Nomadism 12.7.2 Agriculture in Arabia 12.7.3 Industry and Mining in Arabia 12.8 Literature of the Pre-Islamic Period 12.9 Summary 12.10 Keywords 12.11 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 12.12 Suggested Readings 12.13 Instructional Video Recommendations 12.0 OBJECTIVES The study of pre-Islamic Arabia is an important area of study in order to understand the history of the region in which Islam developed.
    [Show full text]
  • Asing the Path for the Upcoming Muslim Conquerers
    Timeline / 600 to 900 / ALL COUNTRIES Date Country | Description 582 - 602 A.D. Tunisia Reorganisation of the Byzantine Empire and institution of the Exarchate of Carthage, consolidating the pre-eminence of the military. 602 A.D. Syria Byzantine Emperor Maurice breaks the peace treaty with the Persians and invades Syria. War continues with both sides growing weak and weary, inadvertently easing the path for the upcoming Muslim conquerers. 610 A.D. Portugal Birth of Saint Fructuosus of Braga. 613 A.D. Jordan The Sassanian invasion of Syria (Bilad al-Sham) begins under the leadership of Shahrbaraz, causing the destruction of many cities. 614 A.D. Palestine* The Sassanian (Persian) army conquers Palestine during a campaign of occupation of Great Syria and Egypt. The conquest is very destructive, tens of churches are destroyed, and monasteries are sacked and burned. 614 A.D. Croatia Croats settle in the area between the Adriatic Sea and the Sava and Drava rivers. 619 A.D. Egypt Egypt, Jerusalem and Damascus come under the rule of the Persian Emperor Xerxes II. 622 A.D. Jordan On 4 September Prophet Muhammad emigrates with the Muslims to the town of Medina. This event known as Hijra and marks the beginning of the Hijri calendar. 627 A.D. Egypt Prophet Muhammad sends a letter to Cyrus, the Byzantine Patriarch of Alexandria and ruler of Egypt, inviting him to accept Islam. Cyrus sends gifts to the Prophet in answer, together with two sisters from Upper Egypt. The Prophet married one of them, called Maria the Copt. She bore him his only son, who died in boyhood.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion: Christianity and Zoroastrianism
    This page intentionally left blank ROME AND PERSIA IN LATE ANTIQUITY The foundation of the Sasanian Empire in ad 224 established a formidable new power on the Roman Empire’s Eastern frontier, and relations over the next four centuries proved turbulent. This book provides a chronological narrative of their relationship, supported by a substantial collection of translated sources illustrating important themes and structural patterns. The political goals of the two sides, their military confrontations and their diplomatic solutions are dis- cussed, as well as the common interests between the two powers. Special attention is given to the situation of Arabia and Armenia, to economic aspects, the protection of the frontiers, the religious life in both empires and the channels of communication between East and West. In its wide chronological scope, the study explores the role played by the Sasanians in the history of the ancient Near East. The book will prove invaluable for students and non-specialists interested in late antiquity and early Byzantium, and it will be equally useful for specialists on these subjects. beate dignas is Fellow and Tutorin Ancient History at Somerville College, Oxford. Her recent publications include Economy of the Sacred in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor (2002) and she has edited a forthcoming book Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests and Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus. engelbert winter is Professor of Ancient History at the Uni- versity of Munster.¨ He has participated in numerous field surveys and excavations in Turkey and published many books and articles on Roman–Persian relations and the history and culture of Asia Minor.
    [Show full text]
  • Constructing God's Community: Umayyad Religious Monumentation
    Constructing God’s Community: Umayyad Religious Monumentation in Bilad al-Sham, 640-743 CE Nissim Lebovits Senior Honors Thesis in the Department of History Vanderbilt University 20 April 2020 Contents Maps 2 Note on Conventions 6 Acknowledgements 8 Chronology 9 Glossary 10 Introduction 12 Chapter One 21 Chapter Two 45 Chapter Three 74 Chapter Four 92 ​ Conclusion 116 Figures 121 Works Cited 191 1 Maps Map 1: Bilad al-Sham, ca. 9th Century CE. “Map of Islamic Syria and its Provinces”, last modified 27 December 2013, accessed April 19, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilad_al-Sham#/media/File:Syria_in_the_9th_century.svg. ​ ​ 2 Map 2: Umayyad Bilad al-Sham, early 8th century CE. Khaled Yahya Blankinship, The End of the ​ Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn ʿAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads (Albany: ​ State University of New York Press, 1994), 240. 3 Map 3: The approximate borders of the eastern portion of the Umayyad caliphate, ca. 724 CE. Blankinship, The End of the Jihad State, 238. ​ 4 Map 4: Ghassanid buildings and inscriptions in Bilad al-Sham prior to the Muslim conquest. Heinz Gaube, “The Syrian desert castles: some economic and political perspectives on their genesis,” trans. Goldbloom, in The ​ Articulation of Early Islamic State Structures, ed. Fred Donner (Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2012) ​ 352. 5 Note on Conventions Because this thesis addresses itself to a non-specialist audience, certain accommodations have been made. Dates are based on the Julian, rather than Islamic, calendar. All dates referenced are in the Common Era (CE) unless otherwise specified. Transliteration follows the system of the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES), including the recommended ​ ​ ​ ​ exceptions.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Roman Frontier1
    Rome and the Worlds Beyond Its Frontiers Impact of Empire Roman Empire, c. 200 B.C.–A.D. 476 Edited by Olivier Hekster (Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands) Editorial Board Lukas de Blois Angelos Chaniotis Ségolène Demougin Olivier Hekster Gerda de Kleijn Luuk de Ligt Elio Lo Cascio Michael Peachin John Rich Christian Witschel VOLUME 21 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/imem Rome and the Worlds Beyond Its Frontiers Edited by Daniëlle Slootjes and Michael Peachin LEIDEN | BOSTON This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016036673 Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1572-0500 isbn 978-90-04-32561-6 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-32675-0 (e-book) Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • The Arabic Language and the Bible
    Page 1 of 8 Original Research The identity and witness of Arab pre-Islamic Arab Christianity: The Arabic language and the Bible Author: This article argues that Arab Christianity has had a unique place in the history of World David D. Grafton Christianity. Rooted in a biblical witness, the origins and history of Arab Christianity have Affiliations: been largely forgotten or ignored. This is not primarily as a result of the fact that the Arab 1The Lutheran Theological Christian historical legacy has been overcome by Islam. Rather, unlike other early Christian Seminary at Philadelphia, communities, the Bible was never translated into the vernacular of the Arabs. By the 7th century United States of America the language of the Qur’an became the primary standard of the Arabic language, which 2Department of New then became the written religious text of the Arabs. This article will explore the identity and Testament Studies, Faculty witness of the Christian presence in Arabia and claims that the development of an Arabic Bible of Theology, University of provides a unique counter-example to what most missiologists have assumed as the basis for Pretoria, South Africa. the spread of the Christian faith as a result of the translation of the Christian scriptures into a Note: vernacular. The Reverend Dr David D. Grafton is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Introduction Relations and Director of Graduate Studies at The Great Missionary Age (1792–1914) has been viewed by many Protestant and Evangelical the Lutheran Theological churches in Western Europe and North America as a time through which God provided an Seminary in Philadelphia opportunity to evangelise the whole world.This was done primarily through the translation, (USA).
    [Show full text]
  • Religion in Language Policy, and the Survival of Syriac
    California State University, San Bernardino CSUSB ScholarWorks Theses Digitization Project John M. Pfau Library 2008 Religion in language policy, and the survival of Syriac Ibrahim George Aboud Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project Part of the Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Aboud, Ibrahim George, "Religion in language policy, and the survival of Syriac" (2008). Theses Digitization Project. 3426. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3426 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses Digitization Project by an authorized administrator of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RELIGION IN LANGUAGE POLICY, AND THE SURVIVAL OF SYRIAC A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in English Composition: Teaching English as a Second Language by Ibrahim George Aboud March 2008 RELIGION IN LANGUAGE POLICY, AND THE SURVIVAL OF SYRIAC A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino by Ibrahim George Aboud March 2008 Approved by: 3/llW Salaam Yousif, Date Ronq Chen ABSTRACT Religious systems exert tremendous influence on shaping language policy, both in the ancient and the modern states of the Fertile Crescent. For two millennia the Syriac language was a symbol of identity among its Christian communities. Religious disputes in the Byzantine era produced not only doctrinal rivalries but also linguistic differences. Throughout the Islamic era, the Syriac language remained the language of the majority despite.Arabic hegemony.
    [Show full text]
  • Latin-Arabic Entanglement: a Short History
    Erschienen in: Latin and Arabic : Entangled Histories / König, Daniel G. (Hrsg.). - Heidelberg : Heidelberg University Publishing, 2019. - (Heidelberg Studies on Transculturality ; 5). - S. 31-121 https://dx.doi.org/10.17885/heiup.448 Daniel G. König (University of Konstanz) 2. Latin-Arabic Entanglement: A Short History As linguistic systems comprising a large variety of written and oral regis- ters including derivate languages and dialects, Latin and Arabic have been of paramount importance for the history of the Euromediterranean since Antiquity. Due to their long-term function as languages of administration, intellectual endeavours, and religion, Latin and Arabic are often regarded as cultural markers of Europe and the (Arabic-)Islamic sphere respec- tively. With regard to Latin, this conviction was already formulated by the humanist scholars Lorenzo Valla (d. 1457) and Juan Luis Vives (d. 1540).1 It also lay at the basis of the Finnish government’s proposal, during its EU-presidency in 2006, to reintroduce Latin as a pan-European medium of communication.2 In Islamic(ate) societies, in turn, the Qurʾānic message of Islam is intrinsically tied to the Arabic language.3 The latter is still used as a medium of communication in a region stretching from Morocco to Iraq. Adherents to the idea of pan-Arabism have highlighted repeatedly that Arabic has to be regarded as an essential cultural feature of this area. In the 1950s, in particular, they underscored the necessity of upholding a standardized form of Arabic in the various national Arab schooling sys- tems and media, rather than adapting the latter to the colloquial realities of an Arab world marked by diverging dialects.4 It is questionable, how- ever, whether Latin and Arabic really constitute cultural identity markers of a clearly defined European and an (Arabic-)Islamic sphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Examining Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Bleed in the Levant
    University of Central Florida STARS HIM 1990-2015 2013 From Pre-Islam to Mandate States: Examining Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Bleed in the Levant Gabriel Willman University of Central Florida Part of the Islamic World and Near East History Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIM 1990-2015 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Willman, Gabriel, "From Pre-Islam to Mandate States: Examining Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Bleed in the Levant" (2013). HIM 1990-2015. 1515. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/1515 FROM PRE-ISLAM TO MANDATE STATES: EXAMINING CULTURAL IMPERIALISM AND CULTURAL BLEED IN THE LEVANT by GABRIEL WILLMAN A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in History in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities and in the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Summer Term 2013 Thesis Chair: Dr. Hakan Özoğlu ABSTRACT To a large degree, historical analyses of the Levantine region tend to focus primarily upon martial interaction and state formation. However, perhaps of equitable impact is the chronology of those interactions which are cultural in nature. The long-term formative effect of cultural imperialism and cultural bleed can easily be as influential as the direct alterations imposed by martial invasion.
    [Show full text]
  • Pre-Islamic Arabia 1 Pre-Islamic Arabia
    Pre-Islamic Arabia 1 Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam. Studies The scientific studies of Pre-Islamic Arabs starts with the Arabists of the early 19th century when they managed to decipher epigraphic Old South Arabian (10th century BCE), Ancient North Arabian (6th century BCE) and other writings of pre-Islamic Arabia, so it is no longer limited to the written traditions which are not local due to the lack of surviving Arab historians Nabataean trade routes in Pre-Islamic Arabia accounts of that era, so it is compensated by existing material consists primarily of written sources from other traditions (such as Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, etc.) so it was not known in great detail; From the 3rd century CE, Arabian history becomes more tangible with the rise of the Himyarite Kingdom, and with the appearance of the Qahtanites in the Levant and the gradual assimilation of the Nabataeans by the Qahtanites in the early centuries CE, a pattern of expansion exceeded in the explosive Muslim conquests of the 7th century. So sources of history includes archaeological evidence, foreign accounts and oral traditions later recorded by Islamic scholars especially pre-Islamic poems and al-hadith plus a number of ancient Arab documents that survived to the medieval times and portions of them were cited or recorded. Archaeological exploration in the Arabian Peninsula has been sparse but fruitful, many ancient sites were identified by modern excavations.
    [Show full text]
  • Odaenathus' Titulature and the Use of the Imperium Maius
    DAVID POTTER PALMYRA AND ROME: ODAENATHUS’ TITULATURE AND THE USE OF THE IMPERIUM MAIUS aus: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 113 (1996) 271–285 © Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn 271 PALMYRA AND ROME: ODAENATHUS' TITULATURE AND THE USE OF THE IMPERIUM MAIUS The year 260 AD was not a good one for P. Licinius Egnatius Gallienus. Sometime in the early sum- mer, Sapor I of Persia captured his father, and co-emperor, in a battle outside of Edessa. Sapor went on to ravage considerable portions of Cilicia and Cappadocia before his over-extended forces were attacked by the remnants of the Roman army under the command of officers named Callistus and Macrianus. Sapor was further humiliated when Odaenathus, lord of Palmyra, attacked him as he was drawing his forces back towards his own country. These victories did little to help Gallienus, who also lost a son in a revolt that broke out on the Rhine shortly after the capture of his father. Macrianus celebrated his vic- tory by proclaiming his own two sons emperor, and he appears to have been assisted in this by both Cal- listus and Odaenathus. Two years later Macrianus and one of his sons took an army into the Balkans to wrest the throne from Gallienus. They failed in the attempt and Odaenathus, who appears to have been a person of con- siderable political acumen, decided to attack their surviving supporters at Emesa. At this point we are told that Gallienus made Odaenathus !trathgÒ! of the whole east, and the contemporary author of an oracular text observes: êrjei ÑRvma¤vn, P°r!ai d' ¶!!ont' élapadno¤.1 The issue is of Odaenathus' position after 262 is of importance for several reasons.
    [Show full text]
  • Umayyad Building Techniques and the Merging of Roman-Byzantine and Partho-Sassanian Traditions: Continuity and Change
    UMAYYAD BUILDING TECHNIQUES AND THE MERGING OF ROMAN-BYZANTINE AND PARTHO-SASSANIAN TRADITIONS: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE Ignacio Arce Abstract This paper analyses the introduction, merging and use of building mate- rials and techniques, architectural typologies and urban patterns, during the Umayyad period in Bilad al-Sham (present day Syria, Palestine and Jordan), within the general framework of the cultural interchange that took place in that period between eastern and western traditions. For most of its history, and especially in Antiquity, this was a frontier area, or a buffer zone in modern terms, between the main regional powers: Egypt and the successive Mesopotamian empires; Persia and Greece; the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms; Rome and Parthia; Byzantium and the Sassanians. As a result, it not only witnessed war, invasion and destruction, but also fruitful economic and cultural interchange. This frontier was lifted twice: fi rst, during the reign of Alexander, and, secondly with the rise of Islam. Introduction After a military campaign launched against the Emperor Phocas in A.D. 607, the Sassanians over-ran the Limes Arabicus in 611 and ravaged the north of Syria. In 614, they captured Palestine and Jerusalem, carrying off the Holy Cross as war booty to their capital, Ctesiphon. Shortly after, they captured Egypt. It took the newly-proclaimed emperor, Heraclius, until 622 to react and raise an army to recover these lost but vital territories. He reached the heart of the Sassanian Empire in 628, from which he brought back the plundered relics, and regained Jerusalem two years later. The weakening of the eastern frontier had started a century earlier when, during the reign of Justinian, the army abandoned the fortifi ca- tions built along the Limes Arabicus.
    [Show full text]