On the question of the term “ἀμερμουμνῆς” in «Theophanes Continuatus»

Abstract

Through the centuries, Arab-Byzantine interactions developed in different ways. There was an amount of military conflicts, embassies, dense intercultural and interreligious cooperation. All these factors created the specific view on Islam and the image of Muslim world from Eastern Roman perspective. This view frequently found its place on pages of Byzantine historical and literary works, predominantly chronicles and tractates, and was expressed towards different details of Arabian world’s milieu. One of the most curious of them is a question of religious and civil authority, its significance in eyes of the authors who represented antagonistic outlook. As a continuation of previous research, devoted to the problem of perception of supreme political power of Caliphate in Byzantine literature, this article considers the same question within one definite historical source, namely the chronicle of Theophanes Continuatus. This author is less well-known in comparison with his contemporaries like Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. Nevertheless he uses the same strait and specific terminology for denotation of upper secular power in Caliphate. The article deals with this terminology which is analyzed as a tool of understanding of Byzantine consciousness and its attitude to the phenomenon of Eastern despotism.