New Medieval Books: History of the Nation of Archers
This thirteenth-century Armenian history focuses on the Mongol invasion of the Middle East, covering the years 1214 to 1273.
The Rescue of Armenian Historiography and the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa
Of the thirty-five manuscripts that remain of the 12th-century Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa, not a single one dates from before 1590, but over half of them were produced by 1700.
The Astonishing Survival of the Gladzor Gospels
The Gladzor Gospels (1300-07) is an incomparable illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels and one of the gems of UCLA Library Special Collections
Armenian Art and Contested Lands
The virtual exhibition Ancient Faith: The Churches of Nagorno-Karabakh brings to the attention of international audiences the Armenian historic sites and cultural legacy of the contested region of Artsakh, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Byzantine strategy in the East and the key role of Armenia
What were the deeper reasons that drew the super-power of the time, Byzantium, into a protracted and ‘all-out’ conflict with the Arabs of Aleppo in the middle of the 10th century?
The Four Portraits of Het‘um II: New Observations Regarding the Royal Portrait of the Lectionary of 1286
The subject of this paper is one of the most mysterious characters in the history of the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia – King Het’um II – and his four surviving portraits.
The Global Side of Medieval at the Getty Centre: Traversing the Globe Through Illuminated Manuscripts
Los Angeles correspondent, Danielle Trynoski takes through the, ‘Traversing the Globe Through Illuminated Manuscripts’ exhibut at the Getty Museum.
Unexpected Evidence concerning Gold Mining in Early Byzantium
One of the consequences of the decline of Roman imperial might was the shortage of slaves at state-run mines. Consequently, criminals were often sentenced to damnatio ad metallum. The need for gold especially soared when the gold solidus was introduced at the beginning of the fourth century.
Christianity and the Latin tradition in early Medieval Ireland
The Christianity which arrived in Ireland with the fifth-century missionaries was more than just a literate religion; it was very much a religion of the book.
Amending the Ascetic: Community and Character in the Old English Life of St. Mary of Egypt
Among the most eligible saints for such treatment, Mary of Egypt deserves particular consideration: her popularity is evidenced by over a hundred extant Greek manuscripts of her Life and her uniquely prominent position in the Lenten liturgical cycle in the Eastern Church.
BOOK REVIEW: “Defending the City of God” : A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem, by Sharan Newman
This is my review of Sharan Newman’s latest book, Defending the City of God: A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem.
Women, War, and Social Change in Armenia during the Mongol Domination
The Mongol conquest of Armenia precipitated social changes that were in motion since the late 10th-early 11th centuries, such as the dissolution of some princely houses, the realignment of others, as well as the rise of new ones.
Conservation at Ani Cathedral and the Church of the Holy Savior
Ani, a dramatic, windswept archaeological site in eastern Turkey, was once a thriving medieval city on the trade route through Central Asia.
Conversion and Empire: Byzantine Missionaries, Foreign Rulers, and Christian Narratives (ca. 300-900)
For a broader modern audience today, if taken somewhat journalistically, Pusicius’ story is an example that cuts along cultural and religious lines that presumably originate in ancient, political divisions and confirm a “clash of civilizations” thesis.
The Indigenous Christians of the Arabic Middle East in an Age of Crusaders, Mongols, and Mamlūks (1244-1366)
The chronological period of study is highlighted by the usurpation of the Ayyūbid-ruled Sultanate by the Baḥrī Mamlūks, while the two most important political-military events in the region were the collapse of the Crusader States and the invasion of the Mongols. This thesis will examine how events impacted on the nine Christian Confessions, treating each separately.
Caucasia and the Second Byzantine Commonwealth: Byzantinization in the Context of Regional Coherence
The Romano-Byzantine landscape was forever changed in the seventh century with Heraclius’ defeat of Sasanian Iran, the Arabs’ wresting of the Near East from the Byzantines, the removal of the Monophysite problem from Byzantium proper, and the massive devastation
brought by this ferocious cycle of warfare.
Caucasia and the First Byzantine Commonwealth: Christianization in the Context of Regional Coherence
Since at least the Iron Age, and perhaps much earlier, Caucasia has been a cohesive yet diverse zone of cross-cultural encounter and shared historical experience. Despite their linkage by a web of interconnections which was as dense as it was durable, the peoples inhabiting the isthmus between the Black and Caspian Seas have seldom exhibited a conscious regional identity in their oral, written, and visual monuments.
Perspectives on the Crusaders’ Armenia: Cilicia from 1071 to 1148
The vast majority of medieval historians writing on the Middle East have focused on Byzantium, the Crusaders, and the Saracens, but there is an abundance of primary materials on Armenian history
The Assassination of King Het‘um II: The Conversion of The Ilkhans and the Armenians
The Assassination of King Het‘um II: The Conversion of The Ilkhans and the Armenians By Angus Stewart Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,…
The Crusader Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Crusader Church of the Holy Sepulchre Burke, Tiffany L. (University of Notre Dame Department of History) University of Notre Dame, March 22 (2002)…
The role of castles in the political and military history of the Crusader States and the Levant 1187 to 1380
This thesis deals with the various functions of Latin and Armenian fortifications in Cilician Armenia, Greece, Cyprus, Syria and Palestine between 1187 and c.1380.
The Crusaders through Armenian Eyes
How were the Crusades fitted into an Armenian worldview?
The Sign of Christ, the Sign of Salvation: an Exalted Cross in a Late Medieval Armenian Gospel Book
The Sign of Christ, the Sign of Salvation: an Exalted Cross in a Late Medieval Armenian Gospel Book By Orsolya Mednyánszky Paper given…
Armenian Architecture in Twelfth-Century Crusader Jerusalem
Armenian Architecture in Twelfth-Century Crusader Jerusalem Kenaan-Kedar, Nurith (Tel Aviv University) Assaph Studies in Art History, 3 (1998) Abstract The art and architecture of…
Armenia from the Fall of the Cilician Kingdom (1375) to the Forced Emigration under Shah Abbas (1604)
Armenia from the Fall of the Cilician Kingdom (1375) to the Forced Emigration under Shah Abbas (1604) By Dickran Kouymjian The Armenian People…