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Book Cover
E-book
Author Ward, Walter D., author.

Title The mirage of the Saracen : Christians and nomads in the Sinai Peninsula in late antiquity / Walter D. Ward
Published Oakland, California : University of California Press, 2015
©2015

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Description 1 online resource (222 pages) : illustrations, maps
Series Transformation of the Classical Heritage ; LIV
Transformation of the classical heritage ; LIV.
Contents Cover; Contents; List of Illustrations; Preface; Note on Sources; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Saracens; 2. Monasticism and Pilgrimage in the Sinai; 3. The Sinai as Christian Space; 4. Martyrdom in the Sinai; 5. Imperial Response to the Saracen Threat; 6. The Murderous Sword of the Saracen; Bibliography; Primary Sources; Secondary Sources; Index
Summary Mirage of the Saracen analyzes the growth of monasticism and Christian settlements in the Sinai Peninsula through the early seventh century C.E. Walter D. Ward examines the ways in which Christian monks justified occupying the Sinai through creating associations between Biblical narratives and Sinai sites while assigning uncivilized, negative, and oppositional traits to the Indigenous nomadic population, whom the Christians pejoratively called "Saracens." By writing edifying tales of hostile nomads and the ensuing martyrdom of the monks, Christians not only reinforced their claims to the spiritual benefits of asceticism but also provoked the Roman authorities to enhance defense of pilgrimage routes to the Sinai. When Muslim armies later began conquering the Middle East, Christians also labeled these new conquerors as Saracens, connecting Muslims to these pre-Islamic representations. This timely and relevant work builds a historical account of interreligious encounters in the ancient world, showing the Sinai as a crucible for forging long-lasting images of both Christians and Muslims, some of which endure today
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Monasticism and religious orders -- Egypt -- Sinai
Christianity -- Egypt -- Sinai
Nomads -- Egypt -- Sinai -- History
Pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Egypt -- Sinai
HISTORY -- World.
HISTORY -- Ancient -- General.
Christianity
Monasticism and religious orders
Nomads
Pilgrims and pilgrimages
Egypt -- Sinai
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780520959521
0520959523