S Religious Coexistence in the Landscape: Christianity and Islam in Early Islamic Archaeology (Blockveranstaltung)
Dozent:innen: Dr. Mustafa AhmadKurzname: S VA
Kurs-Nr.: 07.848.1375
Kurstyp: Seminar
Inhalt
This course explores the archaeological landscapes of Christian communities in Iraq and adjacent regions during the centuries of transition from late Sasanian to early Islamic periods (approximately 6th–10th centuries CE). Rather than treating this transition as a moment of abrupt political rupture, the course approaches it as a long-term process in which Christian groups maintained their social, and religious practices. Archaeology provides a particularly powerful lens for examining these phenomenon, as material culture and built environments often reveal patterns of continuity, adaptation, and selective change that are not always visible in written sources.
The course focuses on the material and spatial dimensions of Christian life, including church architecture, monastic complexes, settlement organization, and everyday material culture. Students will examine how Christian spaces were embedded within broader multi-religious landscapes shaped by Islamization, changing administrative systems, and evolving economic networks.
A central aim of the course is methodological. Students will critically assess how archaeologists identify Christian presence in contexts where material culture is often shared across confessional boundaries. Excavation reports, regional surveys, architectural analysis, and landscape archaeology will be combined with textual evidence from Syriac and Arabic sources to evaluate the strengths and limitations of different interpretive approaches. Students will learn to question simple narratives of decline or survival and develop more nuanced interpretations grounded in archaeological data.
By the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of the archaeological signatures of Christian communities in early Islamic-period Iraq and its neighboring regions, as well as the methodological tools needed to study religious landscapes in periods of political and cultural transformation.
Termine
| Datum (Wochentag) | Zeit | Ort |
|---|---|---|
| 17.04.2026 (Freitag) | 12:00 - 15:30 | 00 309 9133 - Aareon-Gebäude |
| 15.05.2026 (Freitag) | 12:00 - 17:00 | 00 309 9133 - Aareon-Gebäude |
| 05.06.2026 (Freitag) | 12:00 - 18:30 | 00 309 9133 - Aareon-Gebäude |
| 10.07.2026 (Freitag) | 12:00 - 18:30 | 00 309 9133 - Aareon-Gebäude |