3-Week SASA Reading Group: Peripheries: Religious Dissent and Conflict in Antiquity

Peripheries: Religious Dissent and Conflict in Antiquity. The Case of Christian Communities in the Sasanian Empire

In this reading group, we will explore the main characteristics of Christian communities in the Sasanian Empire. By reading primary and secondary sources, we will learn about the literary production of these communities and analyse their (dis)integration into the political and social fabric of their time (third to eighth century Sasanian Iran). This will lead to interesting conversations about dissent, marginalisation, and the dynamics of religious conflict in Antiquity.

The boundaries of the Sasanian Empire stretched from Egypt to Afghanistan, including Armenia and the Caucasus. This vast territorial expanse was characterised by cultural and linguistic diversity, although the hegemonic position at every level (cultural, political, and religious) was held by Zoroastrian elites. The other religious communities, including Christians, stood in dissent, and continually strived to define and articulate their boundaries in relation to others.

As prisoners of the numerous incursions into Byzantine territory, deported Christians were already considered “non-Iranians”, but these communities also distanced themselves from Byzantine power in terms of rite and were forced to define an independent religious identity. These communities stood, so to say, “between the two shoulders of the world”: dissident in the eyes of the hegemonic political power, but equally marginalised by the Christian political power of Byzantium.

3-Week Text-In-Translation Reading Group

Wednesdays at 1 pm Eastern Time  

Start date: June 12th

End date: June 26th

MUST RSVP TO GET LIVE SYLLABI WITH THE ZOOM LINK. The same link will be used for all 3 sessions. 

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