Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-0-88402-431-6
Verlag: Harvard University Press

Buch, Englisch, 624 Seiten, Format (B × H): 159 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Dumbarton Oaks Other Titles in Byzantine Studies

Just as the Tanukhids rose and fell as the principal Arab foederati of Byzantium in the fourth century, so too in the fifth did the Salihids. The century, practically terra incognita in the history of Arab-Byzantine relations, is explored in Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century by Irfan Shahîd, who recovers from the sources the political, military, ecclesiastical, and cultural history of the Arab foederati in Oriens and the Arabian Peninsula during this period. Unlike their predecessors or successors, the foederati of the fifth century lived in perfect harmony with Byzantium. Federate-imperial relations were smooth: the Arab horse reached as far as Pentapolis in the West and possibly took part in Leo’s expedition against the Vandals. They were staunchly orthodox and participated in two ecumenical councils, Ephesus and Chalcedon, where their voice was audible. But their more enduring contributions were cultural, and may be associated with Dawud (David), the Salihid king; Petrus, the bishop of the Parembole; and possibly also Elias, patriarch of Jerusalem (494–516), a Roman Arab. The federate culture gave impetus to the rise of the Arabic script, Arabic poetry, and a simple form of an Arabic liturgy—the foundation for cultural achievements in subsequent centuries.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Shahîd, Irfan

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Geschichte der klassischen Antike Byzantinische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Geschichte des Islam
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Über Autor(innen)

Shahîd, Irfan
Irfan Shahîd (1926–2016) was Associate Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks and Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America and was Oman Professor of Arabic and Islamic Literature Emeritus at Georgetown University.