Thesiss

In the early fifth century, proponents of two distinct Christian theologies confronted one another in a series of bitter disputes—the Christological controversies. Each party of bishops sought to establish its own interpretation of the problem of the simultaneous divinity and hu…

The dissertation is an edition of the Greek text and English translation of Olympiodorus' commentary on the biblical book of the prophet Jeremiah. Olympiodorus was a deacon who lived in Alexandria, Egypt during the last part of the fifth century and the first half of the sixth c…

This is a comparative study of the Leviticus commentary of Cyril of Alexandria and Theodoret of Cyrus, along with the contemporary aggadic midrash of the Rabbis, Leviticus Rabbah. The focus is on their reinterpretation of the sacrificial cult and ritual impurity. Relationship to…

This dissertation attempts an interpretation of religious violence in the Mediterranean world of the fourth and early fifth centuries A.D., the Christian Roman empire of Constantine and his successors. My study seeks to explore what violence meant to those involved, both actors …

The promotion of holy land pilgrimage, which began in earnest in the fourth century CE, redefined Christian notions of the sacred. At a time when Christians were articulating a new relation to the material world in their theologies and practices, pilgrimage provided a means of g…

This dissertation focuses on the career of Peter the Iberian as it is accessible from historical sources. Peter participated in the Christological controversies over Chalcedon in fifth-century Palestine as a monk and as a bishop of Maiuma (Gaza). Royal descent allowed him access…

The writings of Palladius of Helenopolis (363–430) became recognized during the course of the twentieth century as a valuable source of biographical and historical information. Palladius was an ascetic of Palestine and Egypt who later became a bishop. First charged with Origenis…

The Silko inscription written in Greek and dated to the fifth century CE represents the genre of triumphant inscriptions, a genre that articulates the tradition of sovereign religion and kingship ideology that was so fundamentally important in classical Nile Valley history. The …

The period 200-700 CE, conventionally termed "late antiquity," was critical in the construction of the social and political institutions of the medieval Near East. Facing a variety of challenges to public order, both internal and external, the societies of the region created new…