Andrew N. Palmer’s vivid translation of the Syriac Life of Barsauma opens a fascinating window onto the ancient Middle East, seen through the life and actions of one of its most dramatic and ambiguous characters: the monk Barsauma, ascetic hero to some, religious terrorist to others. The Life takes us into the eye of the storm that raged around Christian attempts to define the nature of Christ in the great Council of Chalcedon, the effect of which was to split the growing Church irrevocably, with the Oriental Orthodox on one side and Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic on the other. Previously known only in extracts, this ancient text is now finally brought to readers in its entirety, casting dramatic new light on the relations among pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Holy Land and on the role of religious violence, real or imagined, in the mental world of a Middle East as shot through with conflict as it is today.
Translated by:
Andrew N. Palmer Imprint: University of California Press Country of Publication: United States Volume: 61 Dimensions:
Height: 197mm,
Width: 127mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 181g ISBN:9780520304178 ISBN 10: 0520304179 Series:Transformation of the Classical Heritage Pages: 156 Publication Date:01 September 2020 Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Andrew N. Palmer studied Syriac at Mor Gabriel in Tur Abdin before writing his doctoral thesis on that monastery. He is the author of Monk and Mason on the Tigris Frontier: The Early History of Tur Abdin.