Christian Landscapes in the Umayyad-period Northern Iraq, lecture by Karel Nováček (Palacký University Olomouc), Zoom, March 22, 2023, 5:00 pm (GMT +3)

Research on the latest historical periods of the Middle East is characterized by various deeply pronounced discontinuities. The boundaries are drawn along historical events (for example between the pre-Islamic and Islamic eras), current political boundaries, confessional differences, and differences in the language of the extant sources, as well as along a drastic imbalance in the use of written sources and archaeological data. The monasticism of the Church of the East (East Syriac) in the territory of Northern Iraq witnessed a tremendous expansion from the late 6th to the 10th century and this subject is by no means marginal. Monasteries as a settlement form, a monastic landscape with its economic, social, and ideological implications, are nevertheless on the very periphery of scholarly interest. The virtually zero state of research contrasts with the developed research in Egypt, Palestine, Anatolia, or even in southern Iraq and the Gulf area. The lecture will sum up the topic on the basis of new or newly re-interpreted archaeological data.

Advance registration required.

Part of the webinar series Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa from Late Antiquity to the Ottoman period, sponsored by the Ifpo, the CEFREPA, and Udine University.