From Oriens Christianus to the Muslim Near East: Theological, Historical and Cultural Cross-pollination in the Eastern Mediterranean of Late Antiquity, Freie Universität Berlin, December 4, 2017

Papers are invited for the forthcoming international workshop: From Oriens Christianus to the Muslim Near East: Theological, Historical and Cultural Cross-pollination in the Eastern Mediterranean of Late Antiquity.

The workshop seeks to shed new light on the crossroads at which the Late Antique world of the Eastern Mediterranean heralded diverse exchanges between Oriental Christendom, Byzantine culture and the Islamic world. Furthermore, how these exchanges impacted the development of diverse regions, cultures, languages, and religions.

The workshop will provide an inter-disciplinary overview of the various perspectives emerging from the Christian Oriental, Byzantine, Early Islamic and Archaeological approaches to this area of research. The key objective of the workshop is to explore the possibilities of a unified and holistic approach to understanding the "Sattelzeit" (R. Koselleck) – i.e. the period between 500 and 750 CE. While the scope of the workshop has been intentionally left broad, papers are particularly welcome in, but not limited to, the following areas:

• The role of Eastern/Oriental Christians in the relationship(s) formed between the Islamic Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire.
• Scripture and Arts as a medium of interchange between Christians and Muslims.
• The historical narratives and administrative reality of the expansion of the Islamic Empire.

The workshop will take place on 4th December, 2017 at Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) and is the collaborative effort of the Chair of Byzantine Studies (FU Berlin), Radboud University’s Institute for Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies (HLCS), and Gorgias Press.

We hope that the workshop will encourage fruitful discussions about the state-of-the-art of the field and highlight potential areas for future inquiry. Furthermore, that the workshop will provide a platform for both established researchers in the field and early-career academics (e.g. advanced Ph.D. students and Postdocs). Each paper will be allocated 20 minutes with a further 15 minutes for discussion. The workshop proceedings will be published in an edited volume under Gorgias Press’ Islamic History and Thought series and each participant will be provided with a complimentary hardback copy of the edited volume.

Limited funding will be available for accommodation and/or travel. As there are limited spaces for non-participants, kindly inform the conveners if you would like to attend the workshop and places will be allocated on an RSVP basis.