Al-Azmeh, Aziz

Rome, New Rome and Baghdad: Pathways of Late Antiquity

Carl-Heinrich-Becker-Lecture der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung 2008



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“What I propose to do in this lecture is to discuss some salient features of Late Antiquity as a category in historical studies and then move on to the theme of Islam in Late Antiquity along the pathways indicated in my title: I will take up, successively, first a fairly late illustration of one particular feature of Late Antiquity in Baghdad, Constantinople, Rome and Paris: namely views of the heritage of Greek Antiquity. I will then move on to the second, crucial, part of this lecture, passing through Mecca and Damascus, and discussing the emergence of the Muslim religion in its late antique setting, attempting to set this particular move in the context of the Arab Empire.” (Al-Azmeh)

This publication is available in German and English.

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