DOC The Chronicle of Seert: Christian Historical Imagination in Late Antique Iraq (Oxford Early Christian Studies) by Philip Wood in History

Description

Just prior to the rise of Islam in the sixth century AD; southern Arabia was embroiled in a violent conflict between Christian Ethiopians and Jewish Arabs. Though little known today; this was an international war that involved both the Byzantine Empire; which had established Christian churches in Ethiopia; and the Sasanian Empire in Persia; which supported the Jews in what became a proxy war against its longtime foe Byzantium.Our knowledge of these events derives largely from an inscribed marble throne at the Ethiopian port of Adulis; meticulously described by a sixth-century Christian merchant known as Cosmas Indicopleustes. Using the writings of Cosmas and a wealth of other historical and archaeological evidence from the period; eminent historian G. W. Bowersock carefully reconstructs this fascinating but overlooked chapter in pre-Islamic Arabian history. The flashpoint of the war; Bowersock tells us; occurred when Yusuf; the Jewish king of Himyar; massacred hundreds of Christians living in Najran. The Christian ruler of Ethiopia; Kaleb; urged on by the Byzantine emperor Justin; led a force of 120;000 men across the Red Sea to defeat Yusuf. But when the victorious Kaleb--said to have retired to a monastery-left behind weak leaders in both Ethiopia and Himyar; the Byzantine and Persian empires expanded their activity in the Arabian territory. In the midst of this conflict; a new religion was born; destined to bring a wholly unanticipated resolution to the power struggle in Arabia.The Throne of Adulis vividly recreates the Red Sea world of Late Antiquity; transporting readers back to a remote but pivotal epoch in ancient history; one that sheds light on the collapse of the Persian Empire as well as the rise of Islam.