Course

The Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Rise of the Arab Empire

The Oriental Orthodox churches were the first Christian communities that encountered the rise of Islam and the Arab empire. The rise of the empire, in the aftermath of the schism in Chalcedon in 451 AD, is remembered as a traumatic event in the historiographies of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. During this time the Oriental orthodox produced apocalyptic texts and struggled to find ways to relate to their new situation. At the same time their texts and mentioning of the new empire offer a window into how they conceived the first Islamic movement and how they related to each other. This course will focus on the Oriental Christianity in the early days of the Arab empire.

Coptic and Syriac Orthodox Tradition

Griffith, Sidney Harrison (2008). The church in the shadow of the mosque: Christians and Muslims in the world of Islam. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press (150p)

Penn, Michael Philip (2015). Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christianity and early Muslim world. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press (200p)

Tannous, Jack Boulos Victor (2018). The making of the medieval Middle East: religion, society, and simple believers. Princeton: Princeton University Press (600p)

For Ethiopian Orthodox tradition:
Sellassie, Sergew Hable (1972). Ancient and medieval Ethiopian history to 1270. Addis Ababa. (350p)

Tannous, Jack Boulos Victor (2018). The making of the medieval Middle East: religion, society, and simple believers. Princeton: Princeton University Press (600p)

The schedule is available at the latest one month before the course starts. We do not recommend that you print the schedule as some changes may happen.

Open the Schedule

Grades

A = Excellent, B = Very good, C = Good, D = Satisfactory, E = Sufficient, Fx = Insufficient, F = Insufficient

Examination Format

  • Papers
  • Seminars
  • Take-home examination

Grundläggande behörighet.

Completion of a course requires a minimum of 80% attendance at lectures and 100% attendance at seminars/group work and other assignments. Absence beyond that can be compensated by supplementing assignment(s) if the instructor finds it possible. In case of an absence of 50% or more, the course is considered as interrupted, even if assignments have been completed.

If a student due to disability has a decision from the EHS on special pedagogical support, the examiner shall, if necessary, adapt the examination and conduct the examination in an alternative way.

Established by Subject Representative College at Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm on January 22, 2020.