Byzantium, the Arabs, and the Rise of Islam

Byzantium, the Arabs, and the Rise of Islam lead image

Byzantium, the Arabs, and the Rise of Islam, Colloquium in Memory of Irfan Shahîd (1926–2016), Georgetown University and Dumbarton Oaks, October 13, 2017

“Byzantium, the Arabs, and the Rise of Islam” gathers leading scholars to explore areas that interested the late Irfan Shahîd. Within the broad framework of the relations between Byzantium and its Arab neighbors, speakers investigate a wide array of sources, from epigraphic and archaeological materials to the canon of Arabic poetry. Topics include the religion of the pre-Islamic nomads of Arabia, the Christian presence in the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, and the possible pre-Islamic Arabic translation of the Bible.

The morning session takes place at Georgetown University in the CCAS Boardroom (ICC 241), and the afternoon session and reception are held at Dumbarton Oaks in the Oak Room, 1700 Wisconsin Avenue.

Participants

  • Ahmad Al-Jallad (Leiden University)
  • Nadia Maria El Cheikh (American University of Beirut)
  • Sidney Griffith (The Catholic University of America)
  • Robert Hoyland (New York University)
  • Walter Kaegi (University of Chicago)
  • Maria Mavroudi (University of California, Berkeley)
  • Jack Tannous (Princeton University)
  • Alan G. Walmsley (Macquarie University/Dumbarton Oaks)

PROGRAM