Visions of Community in the Post-Roman World The West, Byzantium and the Islamic World, 300–1100 Edited by Walter Pohl, Clemens Gantner and Richard Payne Visions of Community in the Post-Roman WoRld This page has been left blank intentionally Visions of Community in the Post-Roman World the West, Byzantium and the islamic World, 300–1100 Edited by WalteR Pohl University of Vienna, Austria Clemens GantneR Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Austria RiChaRd Payne Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, USA © Walter Pohl, Clemens Gantner, Richard Payne and the contributors 2012 all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Walter Pohl, Clemens Gantner and Richard Payne have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work. Published by ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing Company Wey Court east suite 420 union Road 101 Cherry street farnham Burlington surrey, Gu9 7Pt Vt 05401-4405 england usa www.ashgate.com BRitish liBRaRy CataloGuinG in PuBliCation data Visions of community in the post-Roman world : the West, Byzantium and the islamic world, 300-1100. 1. ethnicity--history--to 1500. 2. Political culture--history--to 1500. 3. Religion and politics--History--To 1500. 4. Cultural fusion--History--To 1500. 5. Identification (Religion)--history--to 1500. 6. social history--medieval, 500-1500. 7. social history --to 500. i. Pohl, Walter, 1953- ii. Gantner, Clemens. iii. Payne, Richard e., 1981- 306’.0902-dc23 liBRaRy of ConGRess CataloGinG-in-PuBliCation data Visions of community in the post-Roman world : the West, Byzantium and the islamic world, 300-1100 / [edited by] Walter Pohl, Clemens Gantner, and Richard Payne. p. cm. includes bibliographical references and index. isBn 978-1-4094-2709-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) -- isBn 978-1-4094-2710-0 (ebook) 1. europe--history--476-1492. 2. europe--history--to 476. 3. europe, Western--history. 4. Byzantine empire--history. 5. islamic empire--history. 6. Civilization--Roman influences. 7. Community life--History--To 1500. 8. Political culture--History--To 1500. 9. Identification (Religion)--History--To 1500. 10. Ethnicity--History--To 1500. I. Pohl, Walter, 1953- ii. Gantner, Clemens. iii. Payne, Richard e., 1981- d121.V57 2012 940.1’2--dc23 2011043230 isBn 9781409427094 (hbk) isBn 9781409427100 (ebk) III Printed and bound in Great Britain by the mPG Books Group, uK. Contents Figures ix Abbreviations xi Introduction: Ethnicity, Religion and Empire 1 Walter Pohl PaRt I What DIffEREnCE DoEs EthnICIty MakE? Tribe and State: Social Anthropological Approaches 1 Envisioning Medieval Communities in asia: Remarks on Ethnicity, tribalism and faith 29 Andre Gingrich 2 tribal Mobility and Religious fixation: Remarks on territorial transformation and Identity in Imperial and Early Post-Imperial tibet 43 Guntram Hazod Identity and Difference in the Roman World 3 Zur neustiftung von Identität unter imperialer herrschaft: Die Provinzen des Römischen Reiches als ethnische Entitäten 61 Fritz Mitthof 4 The Nabataeans – Problems of Defining Ethnicity in the ancient World 73 Jan Retsö 5 Political Identity versus Religious Distinction? the Case of Egypt in the Later Roman Empire 81 Bernhard Palme Ethnic Identities in the Early Medieval West 6 how Many Peoples are (in) a People? 101 Herwig Wolfram vi Visions of Community in the Post-Roman World 7 the Providential Past: Visions of frankish Identity in the Early Medieval history of Gregory of tours’ historiae (sixth–ninth century) 109 Helmut Reimitz 8 Inventing Wales 137 Catherine McKenna Early Islamic Identities 9 Religious Communities in the Early Islamic World 155 Michael G. Morony 10 seventh-Century Identities: the Case of north africa 165 Walter E. Kaegi Christian Identities in the Middle East 11 Ethnicity, Ethnogenesis and the Identity of syriac orthodox Christians 183 Bas ter Haar Romeny 12 avoiding Ethnicity: Uses of the ancient Past in Late sasanian northern Mesopotamia 205 Richard Payne 13 truth and Lies, Ceremonial and art: Issues of nationality in Medieval armenia 223 Lynn Jones 14 Roman Identity in a Border Region: Evagrius and the Defence of the Roman Empire 241 Hartmut Leppin 15 holy Land and sacred history: a View from Early Ethiopia 259 George Hatke PaRt II PoLItICaL IDEntItIEs anD thE IntEGRatIon of CoMMUnItIEs Regional and Imperial Identites in the East 16 anastasios und die ‚Geschichte‘ der Isaurier 281 Mischa Meier Contents vii 17 Zur stellung von ethnischen und religiösen Minderheiten in Byzanz: armenier, Muslime und Paulikianer 301 Ralph-Johannes Lilie 18 Regional Identities and Military Power: Byzantium and Islam ca. 600–750 317 John Haldon and Hugh Kennedy The Challenge of Difference: Early Medieval Christian Europe 19 ‘faithful believers’: oaths of allegiance in Post-Roman societies as Evidence for Eastern and Western ‘Visions of Community’ 357 Stefan Esders 20 „Einheit“ versus „fraktionierung“: Zur symbolischen und institutionellen Integration des frankenreichs im 8./9. Jahrhundert 375 Steffen Patzold 21 Diaspora Jewish Communities in Early Medieval Europe: structural Conditions for survival and Expansion 391 Wolfram Drews 22 new Visions of Community in ninth-Century Rome: the Impact of the saracen threat on the Papal World View 403 Clemens Gantner PaRt III VIsIons of CoMMUnIty, PERCEPtIons of DIffEREnCE Islamic Views 23 arabic-Islamic historiographers on the Emergence of Latin-Christian Europe 427 Daniel G. König 24 the Vikings in the south through arab Eyes 447 Ann Christys 25 Identities of the Ṣaqāliba and the Rūsiyya in Early Arabic sources 459 Przemysław Urbańczyk viii Visions of Community in the Post-Roman World Byzantine Views 26 Gog, Magog und die hunnen: anmerkungen zur eschatologischen „Ethnographie“ der Völkerwanderungszeit 477 Wolfram Brandes 27 Strategies of Identification and Distinction in the Byzantine Discourse on the seljuk turks 499 Alexander Beihammer Western Views 28 ‘a wild man, whose hand will be against all’: saracens and Ishmaelites in Latin Ethnographical traditions, from Jerome to Bede 513 John Victor Tolan 29 Where the Wild things are 531 Ian N. Wood ConCLUsIons Conclusions 545 Leslie Brubaker Conclusions 551 Chris Wickham Index 559 Figures 2.1 Tibet in the late eighth, early ninth century 47 2.2 The geography of the Tibet demoness 53 13.1 Map of Armenia 224 13.2 Gurgēn and Smbat Bagratuni, east façade, Church of the Holy Saviour, Sanahin 228 13.3 Drawing, Bagrat Bagrationi, south façade, Osk‘ Vank Cathedral 229 13.4 Gurgēn and Smbat Bagratuni, east façade, Church of the Holy Sign, Haghbat 230 13.5 Gagik I Bagratuni, Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator, Ani (lost) 231 13.6 General View, Aght‘amar, Church of the Holy Cross, Aght‘amar, Lake Van 234 13.7 East façade, Church of the Holy Cross, Aght‘amar, Lake Van 235 13.8 Detail, Gagik Artsruni, Church of the Holy Cross, Aght‘amar, Lake Van 236 13.9 Silver medallion, Caliph al-Moqtadir 236 13.10 West façade, Gagik Artsruni presenting a model of his church to Christ, Church of the Holy Cross, Aght‘amar, Lake Van 237 13.11 Detail, Gagik Artsruni, Church of the Holy Cross, Aght‘amar, Lake Van 237