This study examines the sixth century formation of the Syrian Orthodox Church. Menze shows that the separation of the Syrian Orthodox Christians from Western Christianity occurred due to the divergent political interests of bishops and emperors. Discrimination and persecution forced the establishment of an independent church.
The 23 papers presented here are the product of the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and approaches to the study of kitchen pottery between archaeologists, material scientists, historians and ethnoarchaeologists. They aim to set a vital but long-neglected category of evidence in its wider social, political and economic contexts. Structured around main themes concerning technical aspects of pottery production; cooking as socioeconomic practice; and changing tastes, culinary identities and cross-cultural encounters, a range of social economic and technological models are discussed on the basis of insights gained from the study of kitchen pottery production, use and evolution. Much discussion and work in the last decade has focussed on technical and social aspects of coarse ware and in particular kitchen ware. The chapters in this volume contribute to this debate, moving kitchen pottery beyond the Binfordian ‘technomic’ category and embracing a wider view, linking processualism, ceramic-ecology, behavioral schools, and ethnoarchaeology to research on historical developments and cultural transformations covering a broad geographical area of the Mediterranean region and spanning a long chronological sequence.
Savoir-Faire is a comprehensive account of France’s rich culinary history, which is not only full of tales of haute cuisine, but seasoned with myths and stories from a wide variety of times and places—from snail hunting in Burgundy to female chefs in Lyon, and from cheese appreciation in Roman Gaul to bread debates from the Middle Ages to the present. It examines the use of less familiar ingredients such as chestnuts, couscous, and oysters; explores French food in literature and film; reveals the influence of France’s overseas territories on the shape of French cuisine today; and includes historical recipes for readers to try at home.
In ancient times, when paganism ruled with the dictators of the ever-dominant Roman empire, one bold religious cavalier helped spread a rising faith among his fellow soldiers. Born as a Christian and following in his fathers footsteps, he tried to keep the peace within the legions of these war-torn provinces, as he considered himself a knight of Christ before bringing victory on the battlefield. This story documents the travels of a Roman tribune who was well-liked and well-respected among his peers and kept his Christian faith alive whilst campaigning in Asia Minor, Britannia, Persia, and Libya before realizing the real terror was within his own realm.
The first lasting schism in Christendom was that between Monophysite and orthodox Christianity. This well-established, integrated study examines the social historical background to this significant two hundred year period from the council of Ephesus in 431 to the expulsion of the Byzantines from the Monophysite provinces. Contemporary critics’ views that Monophysitism can be considered as a ‘quarrel about words’ or as a symbol of the separatist movements in Syria, Egypt and Armenia are viewed as limiting in this authoritative survey, which moves beyond such criticisms. Frend asserts that regional identity does not have to imply separatism and examines this claim in detail. The work does not limit its scope to the history of the Christian doctrine either. The issues raised by the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon affected all areas of life beyond the political sphere in the east Roman provinces in the fifth and sixth centuries. Through this study, the reader can uncover how religion was the medium through which the harmony between government and the governed was mediated in this period. Through nine extensive chapters – from The Road to Chalcedon, 428-451 through to Syria, A Long Farewell – Frend provides an examination of the doctrinal issues relating to the Early Church, which are essential to a deeper understanding of the history of the fifth and sixth centuries.
