IMC 2019: Sessions
Session 1015: Caucasian Connections, I: Re-Interpreting Boundaries in the Caucasus
Wednesday 3 July 2019, 09.00-10.30
Sponsor: | Department of History, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London |
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Organiser: | John Latham-Sprinkle, Department of History, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London |
Moderator/Chair: | Hugh Kennedy, Department of the Languages & Cultures of the Near & Middle East, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London |
Paper 1015-a | 'Like those of Jerusalem who didn’t consider themselves Israelites': Political Economy, Elitedom, and Identity in Royal and Imperial Ani, c. 950-1064 (Language: English) Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Economics - Urban, Politics and Diplomacy |
Paper 1015-b | 'The Power of the Foreign' and Medieval Caucasian Power Structures (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Byzantine Studies, Political Thought, Politics and Diplomacy |
Paper 1015-c | The Saga of the Stylites: The Appearance of Syriac Remote and Extreme Asceticism in Medieval Georgian Culture (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - Sculpture, Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy |
Abstract | The early medieval Caucasus was a region of interaction, dialogue, and conflict between the surrounding East Roman, Iranian, and Islamic Empires. Combined with the region's strategic position, this gave rise to a unique political and literary culture. The papers in this panel will utilise newly-discovered archaeological evidence and new interpretations to expand our understanding of these political formations, and to challenge long-held assumptions about the culture of the frontiers. These include the importance of non-elites in the Armenian capital of Ani; the significance of access to the outside world in forming political legitimacy in the North Caucasus; and the importance of Syriac cults of stylites in the formation of Georgian political legitimacy. |