Religious Diversity in the Early Medieval Middle East through the Lens of the Syriac Chronicle of Zuqnin

Abstract

Abstract The medieval Middle East is often described as a multiconfessional place inhabited by Christians, Muslims, Jews, Manichaeans, Zoroastrians, pagans, and others. These groups, scholars demonstrate, manifested complex modes of cohabitation, exchange, negotiations with law, conflict, and resilience under Islamic governance. The ways this religious diversity was perceived by non-Muslim communities, however, need further study. Considering the voluminous theological, apologetic, and debate literature, some scholars argue that the religious diversity in the medieval Middle East was construed especially by Christians as a mix of one form of orthodoxy and many heresies. Others point at the possibility of some early steps in the development of religious pluralism–harmonious co-existence of different religions. The current article revisits the question of religious diversity in the medieval Middle East. Through a detailed reading of the Syriac Chronicle of Zuqnin (8th c.), it highlights the role licit and illicit practice played in the articulations of religious diversity in the medieval Middle Eastern countryside.