Fourth Century Research Articles

The Byzantine Embassy to Himyar (c. 356 AD) and the introduction of Christianity in South Arabia

Most modern researchers point out that a clear pattern of monotheistic religion began to appear in South Arabia since the middle of the fourth century. While these researchers count on the overwhelming influence of Judaism, they marginalize any influence of Christianity despite the presence of references in literary sources confirming the coincidence of this pattern with the first missionary embassy sent by the largest Christian empire at the time, the Byzantine Empire, to the kingdom of Himyar (c. 356 AD). These researchers are based on the absence of any explicit reference to Christianity in the epigraphic evidence. Hence, this research aims to re-approach this issue through the only source account of this mission, which was recorded by the ecclesiastical historian Philostorgius, and linking it to evidence from other literary sources, whether Byzantine or Eastern Christianity, which may support it.

Review: The Rise of Coptic: Egyptian versus Greek in Late Antiquity, by Jean-Luc Fournet

Review: <i>The Rise of Coptic: Egyptian versus Greek in Late Antiquity</i>, by Jean-Luc Fournet

Review: Singer of the Word of God: Ephrem the Syrian and His Significance in Late Antiquity, by Sebastian P. Brock

Review: <i>Singer of the Word of God: Ephrem the Syrian and His Significance in Late Antiquity</i>, by Sebastian P. Brock

The Date of Codex Sinaiticus

Abstract Codex Sinaiticus is generally described as one of ‘the great fourth century majuscule Bibles’, and its construction is often assigned to a more precise date in the middle of the fourth century. This essay surveys the evidence for the date of production of the codex and concludes that it could have been produced at any point from the early fourth century to the early fifth century. This time span may seem uncomfortably wide, but this particular range of dates makes Codex Sinaiticus an ideal candidate for AMS radiocarbon analysis. The shape of the radiocarbon calibration curve during this period means that a well-executed radiocarbon analysis of the codex should have the potential to shed further light on the date the codex was produced.

Female’s in Panniru Thirumuraigal

Out of 63 Nayanmars 3 Females are Placed. Among them Karaikal Ammaiyar, Mangaiyarkarasiyar, Isaignaniyar. The main reason for the development of devotional literature is karaikal Ammaiyar. She is precocions. To give equal rights to women to be the leader (Thalaivi) mother (Natraai) Friend (Thozhi) nurse (Sevili) doing the sangam period. Goddess karaikal Ammaiyar, who lived, in the fourth and fifth centuries AD, worshiped Lord Shiva in a devotional manner. One of the sitrilakkiyam is sung by the wonderful Thiruvanthadi. Mangaiyarkarasi’s devotional practice changed her husband from koon pandian to Ninraseer Nedumaran. It is stated in the study that women were not given equal rights in the Bakti literary period, although it was established that men are equal to women in devotion.

Confitendum et proficiendum: Augustine on the Rule of Faith and the Christian Life

The rule of faith obtained an increasingly flexible usage in the fourth and fifth centuries. In Augustine's various writings on the creed, we can see how he envisioned Christian engagement with the rule as extending beyond baptismal education to involve an ongoing and dynamic process of Christian transformation, particularly as it pertained to the heart. In catechetical sermons on the creed, the focus is on memorizing the creed by heart. In De agone Christiano, the heart is the site of battle with demonic forces. In De fide et symbolo, Augustine emphasizes purity of heart. In the Enchiridion, Augustine teaches the creed for wisdom and piety in the heart. For the ordinary Christian, the rule of faith serves as a means of progressive growth in the Christian life. Only in the beatific vision, when faith turns to sight and God himself becomes the Christian's vision, can the creed be laid to rest.

Schulübungen oder Kalenderblätter? Zur Interpretation einer Gruppe spätantiker Kulthymnen in der Appendix Claudianea

Abstract Until now, the short cult hymns to Liber, Mars and Juno in the Appendix Claudianea have mostly been seen as rhetorical school exercises. Yet a philological-historical analysis shows that they could be remains of occasional poetry from everyday life. The hymns are structured according to the Roman festival calendar and, on the basis of language and content, should probably be dated to the final phase of public non-Christian cult practice in the fourth century. The anonymous poet was familiar with classical Greek and Latin poetry, but reveals weaknesses in Latin prosody and metre. It can therefore be supposed that he should be identified as one of the many Graeco-Egyptian ‘wandering poets’, but probably not as Claudian himself.

Constance M. Furey, et al., eds. Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Vol. 18: Mass–Midnight

Constance M. Furey, et al., eds. <i>Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Vol. 18: Mass–Midnight</i>

A Chip Shop in Poznań: My Unlikely Year in Poland

A Chip Shop in Poznań: My Unlikely Year in Poland

Hellenistic Landscapes and Seleucid Control in Mesopotamia: The View from the Erbil Plain in Northern Iraq

In this article we discuss the archaeological landscapes of the Erbil plain during the Hellenistic period (late fourth century BCE–mid second century BCE) based on the data collected during the Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey (EPAS) between 2012 and 2019. We use a landscape archaeology approach to trace patterns of habitation, migration, land exploitation, and water management from the Iron Age to the early first millennium CE. Over the course of the first millennium BCE, the Erbil plain was transformed from an urbanized core region to a rural area of the vast Seleucid world through a moment of depopulation in the post-Assyrian period. These transformation processes continued after the end of the Hellenistic period, but with a different pattern. Urbanization resumed, peaking during the Parthian (Arsacid) era, when the region was part of the kingdom of Adiabene. Ultimately, our analysis shows how the planned landscape of Assyria was transformed in the centuries that followed the collapse of the empire and how the proximity of political power was the critical variable in the settlement patterns of this part of northern Mesopotamia under the empires of the first millennium BCE.1

Модернизирующее церковное правотворчество св. императора Юстиниана на примере регулирования провинциальных соборов

The Church Councils of the ante-Nicene period had neither a clear periodicity nor a strictly defined competence. Their competence was very broad, almost limitless: questions of faith, discipline, the calendar, the practice of the Sacraments. These local councils of the ante-Nicene era were replaced, from the fourth century, by provincial councils.In 325 a number of rules for provincial councils were approved in Nicaea: they had to be convened twice a year, consist of bishops of one particular province, take place in a provincial civil centre (metropolis) and their competence was limited to second-instance judicial proceedings. Further church legislation did not extend this competence, although in fact the councils dealt not only with judicial, but also with doctrinal problems. The biannual councils as prescribed by Nicaea canons becomes burdensome because of the large size of some provinces and some other reasons. The novels of Justinian I for the first time clearly defined the competence of a "provincial" council. The emperor included not only judicial, but also canonical and doctrinal topics in the competence of the provincial councils, while establishing a regularity of holding them "once a year". The modernizing legislative activity of St. Emperor Justinian proved useful and was recognized by the church hierarchy.

자기 배려의 덕과 그리스도교 혼인의 계보학

This article is to examine whether the Christian marriage can be a locus of ‘spiritual practice’ and virtue of ‘self-care’ development. The goal of this study is to trace the genealogical history of the Magisterial teachings on marriage, which has revealed how the value of ‘spiritual practice’ and the technology of ‘self-care’ have been developed, for the sake of one’s personal ‘salvation’. To do this, this study explores how Michel Foucault’s study of self-care can help to discuss the Magisterial teachings on marriage. Although Foucault has never dealt with the Christian marital doctrine, this study tries to discuss it genealogically, by using Foucault’s insights which analyze the fourth-century Christian Fathers’ theological statements of marriage. By using Foucault’s The History of Sexuality, Vol.4: the Confessions of the Flesh, as an analyzing lens, this study explores the subject of self-perception and of self-cultivation, which is the subject that Christian conjugal life has embraced for a long time. By comparing the Church Fathers’ theological statements about the marriage, in particular analyzing the sermons and writings of Chrysostomus and Augustinus in the fourth century, this study traces the history of using marriage as an art of renunciation for the sake of one’s salvation. This study finds these historical traces of marital art in the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially in the Gaudium et spes once again. Finally, this finds the same traces in Pope Francisco’s Amoris Laetitia in which marriage has been confirmed as a locus of the spiritual practice and the virtue development for the sake of cultivating self-reflection and personal fulfillment.

Puberty in pre‐Roman times: A bioarchaeological study of Etruscan‐Samnite adolescents from Pontecagnano (southern Italy)

AbstractObjectivesPuberty is a crucial part of life, representing the biological transition from childhood to adulthood. With the aim of expanding current knowledge of pubertal development and the life course in past populations, this study provides the first investigation of puberty in pre‐Roman Italy.Materials and methodsNine skeletal and dental puberty indicators were assessed in a sample of 84 Etruscan and Samnite individuals (8.0–23.9 years) from Pontecagnano (southern Italy, seventh–fourth centuries BC) to garner insights into the timing and duration of different pubertal stages.ResultsAdolescents from Pontecagnano entered puberty at 10–12 years and completed pubertal development at approximately 20–21 years. Menarche occurred between 14 and 17 years. Remarkable variability in pubertal timing and an overall prolonged pubertal tempo were observed. Unexpectedly, females completed puberty at the same age as males.DiscussionThe onset and completion of puberty in Pontecagnano are mostly in line with pubertal trends emerging from other bioarchaeological studies and historical sources. The considerable inter‐individual variability in pubertal timing seen at the site probably reflects its great sociocultural heterogeneity, whilst the prolonged pubertal tempo could represent an adaptive mechanism in response to environmental disruptors. These may have included endemic diseases characteristic of Pontecagnano's marshy environment and pollutants produced by the Etruscan and Samnite metallurgical industries. Moreover, the role of catch‐up growth in favouring better pregnancy outcomes could explain why female puberty appears particularly stretched. The importance of exploring pubertal development in past societies without culturally biased assumptions is emphasised.

A Brief History of Liberal Education in Ancient and Medieval Europe－Focusing on the Formation and Evolution of Liberal Arts

This paper examined the history of liberal education in ancient and medieval Europe, focusing on the formation and evolution of liberal arts using materials concerning the history of education, history of university, history of philosophy, and history of science. The elementary form of liberal education emerged at Greece in the fourth century BC. The philosophers’ tradition and the orators’ tradition made two approaches to liberal education. Greek scholarship was accepted in the form of encyclopedic publications in the Roman era, and &lt;i&gt;Disciplinarium libri novem&lt;/i&gt;, the first work which contained the idea of liberal arts, was written in the first century BC. In the early medieval ages, so called dark ages, secular scholarship maintained its existence through the medium of liberal arts. In the fifth century, liberal arts became actualized into the seven liberal arts through &lt;i&gt;De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii&lt;/i&gt;. Since the sixth century, the seven liberal arts were divided into trivium and quadrivium. In the Renaissance of the twelfth century, ancient writings were extensively translated including Aristotelian works, and the attempt to relate Greek philosophies and the seven liberal arts was tried. Circa 1250, some universities were set up in the major cities of Europe, and medieval universities were mostly organized with the faculties of arts, theology, law, and medicine. Since the late thirteenth century, the arts faculty extended the scope of liberal arts by adding three philosophies to the existing seven liberal arts: natural philosophy, metaphysics and ethics. Based on the above examination, this paper showed that the scope of liberal arts was not fixed but continuously changed, and that humanities and science were not separated in ancient and medieval Europe.

First Direct Evidence of Agrarian Practices in the Alava Plateau (Northern Iberia) During the Middle Ages Through Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Analyses of Charred Seeds

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses on 50 charred seed samples from the medieval villages of Zornoztegi and Aistra, dated to between fourth and fourteenth centuries CE. The assemblage was mainly formed by Triticum aestivum/durum, although some Hordeum vulgare, Avena and Vicia ervilia samples were also included. Despite the social and political differences between the sites, no big contrasts were found between them. According to Δ13C values, watering was predominantly low to moderate. There were statistically significant differences in the distribution of carbon stable isotope ratios of wheats between Zornoztegi and Aistra, as moderately and well watered grains were more common in the former. Barley samples were consistently in the range of poorly watered grains, while bitter vetch were extremely variable. Nitrogen isotope ratios were very homogeneous across taxa and between sites, and they pointed at the predominance of low manuring regimes, with only a few samples within the range of medium manured crops. No significant chronological changes in any of the indicators were found throughout the Middle Ages.

ŞÂFİÎ MEZHEBİNDE “TARÎK” KAVRAMININ KULLANIMI VE İŞLEVİ

One of the important stages of the development of Shāfi’ī madhhab is the schooling of Irāq and Khorasān, which emerged as of the hijri fourth century and is called "tareeq". For a better understanding of Shafi'i fiqh, research for what exactly Shāfi’ī faqeehs mean by these terms, when and how the schooling started, what its different aspects are, what kind of results it has, how the efforts to combine them in a single line developed and who contributed to it will be examined is of great importance. For this reason, the concept of "tareeq", the emergence of tareeq and the faqeehs who belong to them, the nature of the conflict between tareeqs, the expressions used in choosing and choosing one or the other were examined.&#x0D; Tareeq and its derivatives, understood from what Nawawī said, is a conceptualization that emerged as a result of the conflict that occurred about the narration and transmission of different qawil, wajih, tekhreec and preferences in the madhhab. That is, if one of the Shāfi’ī faqeehs says "there are two qawils or two wajihs" on a subject, and the other says "there are only one qawil" or "only one wajih", or if one says "there is absolute disagreement" on a subject and the other says "the subject requires explanation" it means that there has been a conflict in the meaning of tareeq in the transmission of madhhab. Although it is understood from the statements of Shāfi’ī faqeehs that there are many tareeqs, there are two known tareeqs, which are called with a certain name and these are Irāqī and Khorasān tareeqs. According to Nawawi, faqeehs belonging to the Irāqī tareeq are more robust and successful than the faqeehs of the Khorasān tareeq in conveying the clear expressions of Shāfi’ī, the principles of madhhab and the views of the early Shāfi’ī faqeehs. Khorasānians, on the other hand, were more successful than Irāqis in terms of disposition, research, interpretation and arrangement on these texts, and they processed them better.&#x0D; The knowledge of fiqh left by Shāfi’ī was continued by his students and later followers, and the madhhab continued to develop in a single line until Abu Ishaq al- Marwazī, and the separation in the form of tareeq began with his students. Among these, the emergence of tareeqs can be attributed to Ebu al-Qāsim ad-Dārekī, who replaced his teacher to continue his teaching activities in Baghdad, and Abu Zeyd al-Marwazī, who established a teaching circle in Marw. Because, after these two faqeehs, two tareeqs became evident both in Baghdad and Khorasān, and personalities described as the imams of the tareeqs emerged. Abū Hāmid sl-Isferāyini’s accepted as the imam of the Irāqī tareeq, and Abū Bakr al-Qaffāl al-Sageer is accepted as the imam of the Khorasān tareeq. After these, most of the faqeehs who grew up for about three hundred years and the works they produced were related to one of these two tareeqs. As a result, many points of disagreement arose between the two tareeqs, disturbing the later aqeehs. These conflicts were at various levels, and although not always in complete opposition, they sometimes expressed the opposite of what one said to the other.&#x0D; This situation caused some Shāfi’ī faqeehs to reduce the differences between wajihs and tareeqs in their many works, and to engage in reconciliation activities. The first attempt on this subject started with Abū Alī al-Sincī and continued with Juwaynī, Rūyani, Ghazzālī, Imrānī, Muāfi and Ibn al-Salāh. One of the faqeehs who tried to reconcile the tareeqs and brought it to a higher level was Rāfi’ī, and his activities formed the basis of Nawawi's studies on this subject. Benefiting from these reconciliation efforts before him, Nawawī, unlike Rāfi’ī, approached both of them from an impartial point of view from outside of both schools. In his works, he clearly expresses the distinction between Irāq and Khorasān by using the expressions Irāqiyūn and Khorasāniyyūn, and he prefers them.&#x0D; Rāfi’ī and Nawawī, who tried to reconcile and express the opposition between the tareeqs expressing the conflict in the transmission of Madhhab, generally used the term al- madhhab to express the preferred view that is the fiduciary in the madhhab.

Division of labor, specialization and diversity in the ancient Roman cities: A quantitative approach to Latin epigraphy.

Recent empirical studies on the division of labor in modern cities indicate a complex web of relationships between sectoral specialization of cities and their productivity on one hand and sectoral diversification and resilience on the other. Emerging scholarly consensus suggests that ancient urbanism has more in common with modern urban development than previously thought. We explore whether modern trends in urban division of labor apply to the cities of the Western Roman Empire from the first century BCE to the fourth century CE. We analyze occupational data extracted from a large body of Latin epigraphic evidence by computer-assisted text-mining, subsequently mapped onto a dataset of ancient Roman cities. We detect a higher frequency of occupation terms on inscriptions from cities led by Rome than from rural areas and identify an accumulation of tertiary sector occupations in large cities. The temporal dimension of epigraphic data allows us to study aspects of the division of labor diachronically and to detect trends in the data in a four centuries-long period of Roman imperial history. Our analyses reveal an overall decrease in the frequency of occupational terms between the first half and second half of the third century CE; the maximum frequency of occupational terms shifts over time from large cities to medium and small towns, and finally, rural areas. Our results regarding the specialization and diversity of cities and their respective impact on productivity and resilience remain inconclusive, possibly as a result of the socio-economic bias of Latin inscriptions and insufficient representativeness of the data. Yet, we believe that our formalized approach to the research problem opens up new avenues for research, both in respect to the economic history of the Roman Empire and to the current trends in the science of cities.

Daniel and the Diadochi

Abstract Three verses in the book of Daniel describe the Hellenistic world as divided into four segments (Dan 8:8, 22; 11:4). The history of interpretation of the book of Daniel displays a remarkable readiness, even among critical scholars, to take this scheme literally and to press Hellenistic history into the mold supplied by Daniel’s apocalyptic visions. Daniel commentators agree, for instance, in understanding the four new horns of the goat in Dan 8 as representative of the Diadochi, the successors of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE, but they disagree on precisely which Diadochi the apocalyptic seer had in mind. An examination of our classical sources for early Hellenistic history, particularly the most detailed source, Diodorus Siculus, demonstrates the near futility of trying to identify precisely four parts of the post-Alexander Macedonian Empire. In the present article, I find a symbolic interpretation of the number four to be the most satisfying, but I also make some suggestions for how to understand the number literally as a representation of the Hellenistic world. Nevertheless, commentators taking the number “four” in Dan 8:8, 22; 11:4 as a straightforward and simple reference to a historical reality have underestimated the chaos of the decades following Alexander’s death.

Claudian’s "Gigantomachia": Coping with Reality and Dealing with Loss

The subject of Claudian’s Gigantomachia, narrating the great war between the Gods and the Giants, is vividly felt in the fourth century AD, given the historical context during which it was written. This piece, besides being mythological in a Christian world, remains unfinished, and the perspective of the incomplete end raises some questions: did Claudian do it voluntarily? Was he forced to do so? Was the end lost? And more generally, why would an official poet choose to write on a subject which does not align with the new way of thinking of a Christian Roman Empire, while rewriting a myth which tends to echo the military and the political context he was living in? In order to see through this perspective, it may be interesting to observe Claudian’s adaptations in rewriting the myth in order to grasp the different aspects of the context he was living in and that he was trying to mirror, and also to question the function of such a narration for Claudian himself, between pessimism towards loss and hope for a brighter future. This study, which focuses on the difficult adaptation of Pagans to the Christian era, allows to see, through a thorough study of Claudian’s Gigantomachia, the expression of a personal belief in an epic poem. Late Christian Antiquity poetry therefore appears both as a means to express one’s feelings and to overcome them.

Smithing Processes Based on Hammer Scale Excavated from the Third- to Fourth-Century Ancient Iron-Making Sites of the Korean Peninsula.

The by-products of iron smelting and smithing include slag, flake hammer scale, and spheroidal hammer scale. The analysis of such iron-making by-products reveals critical information regarding the development of iron culture and the process characteristics. Using a metallographic microscope, SEM-EDS, and Raman micro-spectroscopy, we investigated the manufacturing process by examining the microstructure and determining the composition of the flake hammer scale and spheroidal hammer scale excavated from Korean Peninsula sites of iron manufacture during the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period, in the third and fourth centuries CE. Microstructure analysis confirmed that as the process progressed, the flake hammer scale’s thickness decreased owing to forging, which flattened the structure. Additionally, three layers were observed, with the surface layer identified as hematite (Fe2O3), the middle layer identified as magnetite (Fe3O4), and the inner layer identified as wüstite (FeO). The analysis of hammer scales revealed that the forging process to create iron bars required repeated working, following a refining process to remove impurities, confirming the division of labor in the smithing process. Correspondingly, the smithing process stages can be deduced from the structural shape and thickness of the hammer scale produced during the iron manufacturing process. Thus, the findings of this study are expected to be invaluable in furthering our understanding of the smithing process in detail, through future research on hammer scale.