Sixth CE Research Articles

The Independent Works of Luke: Further Evidence on the Early Christian Reception of Luke and Acts

Abstract Literary and rhetorical analysis has led scholars to approach the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts as a two-volume work, often referred to as Luke-Acts. In response to increased attention to Luke-Acts, there is renewed interest in the early reception history of these books. Research has focused primarily on the second century ce and yielded little to support the assumption that early recipients consistently read these books together. This lack of evidence for the unified reading of Luke-Acts, heightened by Acts’ own varied reception, has enlivened the discussion of how one should approach the study of Luke and Acts today. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion by examining early Christian prologues to Luke’s writings, ranging from the second century to the sixth century ce. The prologues will be examined in light of three questions: (1) How do the prologues describe the author of Luke and Acts? (2) How do they engage with Luke’s own prefaces to the books? (3) How do they frame Luke and Acts in light of other literature? What emerges from these texts is that early readers were aware of a connection between Luke and Acts, but such a connection was overshadowed by other associations.

Hindu Temple Architecture in India

Religious edifices in India seems to have developed during the urban phase of Indus Sarasvati or Harappan civilization (3200-2600 BCE) and continuing afterwards, till the sixth century CE. The certain concepts of Gods and human beings have led to the emergence of temple as an architectural body. The relationship of Indus valley’s people with the God or gods can be surmised in conformity with the antiquarian remains discovered in archaeological excavations conducted at the sites of Indus Sarasvati Civilization during the several last decades.

A Brief Introduction to the Horse Medical Manuscript from the Tianhui Laoguanshan Han Tomb

Abstract One of the most important archaeological finds excavated from the Tianhui Laoguanshan Han tombs in 2012–13 was a manuscript on horse medicine, dated around the third century BCE. Prior to the discovery of this highly specialized veterinary text, only a handful of horse recipes from the Qin and Han periods had been found, and a sixth-century CE agricultural treatise, Essential Techniques for the Common People, was generally regarded as the earliest surviving source of extensive veterinary material, including various medical treatments for horses. Although the Laoguanshan manuscript – given the modern title Book of Treating Horses by the Team for Collating the Medical Bamboo Slips Excavated from the Han Tombs in Tianhui Town, Chengdu – has suffered significant damage, it nevertheless gives us an insight into the knowledge and treatments for horses during the Qin and early Han periods. A variety of ways of treating horses are recorded in Treating Horses, including herbal remedies, piercing, cauterization, hot packs, bandages, massage, and bathing. The use of gold needles is also mentioned in this text, echoing the gold and silver sewing needles excavated from Liu Sheng’s (d. 113 BCE) tomb in Mancheng, Hebei Province. This paper offers a short introduction to this valuable text on horse medicine by examining the content of its fragments, including names of ailments, symptoms of certain diseases, etiologies, and treatment methods. The discovery of Treating Horses challenges the established view that horse treatment methods in ancient China were predominantly herbal and that techniques of bleeding and cauterization recorded in Essential Techniques were brought to China from elsewhere, together with the introduction of Buddhism. The paper argues that the “foreign influence” had already occurred at a much earlier date, in the form of interactions with nomadic tribes such as the Scythians, the horsemen par excellence of classical antiquity.

‘They Worship Certain Trees, the Waters of Rivers, Hills and Mountain Valleys’

The Byzantine author Agathias (sixth century CE) states that the Alamanni are not yet Christians but venerate nature instead. In scholarship, this passage is used as evidence of ‘nature worship’ in the late paganism of this Germanic tribe. However, in-depth analysis suggests a more nuanced picture. On the one hand, nature worship is a classical topos for the religion of barbaric peoples. On the other hand, archaeological and other textual sources give the impression that the Alamanni of Agathias’ day may already have been partially Christianized and might, in fact, have been in a phase of syncretism leaning toward Christianity rather than being‘staunchly heathen’, as they are often portrayed. Agathias’ claim of a pagan Alamannic nature worship therefore should be seen as a stereotypical projection by this Byzantine author rather than a reflection of genuine Alamannic religious attitudes.

Funerary Practices at Pyu Sites in Myanmar and the Appearance of Buddhist Artifacts from the Fifth to Sixth Century CE Period

Abstract: An ongoing research question in Myanmar (Burma) is to what extent, and in what specific part of the first millennium CE, traces of Buddhism from India can be observed in the early urban “Pyu” culture. Burial urns feature significantly in the archaeological record, but they do not have any specifically Buddhist features. Some funerary shrines feature a brick plinth at one end. If these were bases for stūpas or Buddha images, then Indian influence could be attributed as early as the second–third century CE period. No evidence has yet been found of what these plinths carried. A later burial complex, dated by radiocarbon to the sixth–seventh century period, included Buddhist “votive tablets.” In another architectural form, the reliquary stūpa, we find a Buddhist practice directly comparable to Indian practices of the early-to-mid first millennium CE. On the evidence of paleography and art history, the Pyu Buddhist stūpas may have been operational in the fifth–sixth century CE period. The earliest radiocarbon date range for a building containing Buddhist material is also the fifth–sixth century.

The footprint of a historical paleoearthquake: the sixth-century-CE event in the European western Southern Alps

Abstract. Low-deformation regions are characterized by long earthquake recurrence intervals. Here, it is fundamental to extend back the record of past events as much as possible to properly assess seismic hazards. Evidence from single sites or proxies may be not compelling, whereas we obtain a more substantial picture from the integration of paleo- and archeoseismic evidence at multiple sites, eventually supplemented with historical chronicles. In the city of Como (N Italy), we perform stratigraphic and sedimentological analyses on the sedimentary sequences at Via Manzoni and we document earthquake archeological effects at the Roman baths by means of structure from motion and field surveys. Radiocarbon dating and chronological constraints from the archeological site allow us to bracket the time of occurrence of the deformations to the sixth century CE. We interpret the observed deformations as due to earthquake ground shaking and provide constraints on the lower threshold for the triggering of such evidence. We move toward a regional view to infer possible relevant seismic sources by exploiting a dataset of published paleoseismic evidence in Swiss and N Italy lakes. We perform an inverse grid search to identify the magnitude and location of an earthquake that can explain all the positive and negative evidence consistent with the time interval of the event dated at Como. Our results show that an earthquake (minimum Mw 6.32) with epicenter located at the border between Italy and Switzerland may account for all the observed effects; a similar event in the sixth century CE has not been documented so far by historical sources. Our study calls for the need to refine the characterization of the local seismic hazard, especially considering that this region seems unprepared to face the effects of an earthquake size similar to the one inferred for the sixth-century-CE event.

Future expressions in a sixth-century Latin translation of Josephus

Abstract Over the history of Latin, a number of ways to express futurity evolve and disappear. Perhaps most notably, the future tense is lost in all Romance languages, replaced generally by periphrases with habeo. I present here the expressions of futurity present in the Latin translation of Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities and Against Apion, conducted in sixth-century CE Italy under the aegis of Cassiodorus. I first examine the use of the synthetic future tense, and then suggest that the translators deliberately avoid using habeo + infinitive in any sense. This contradicts recent claims that habeo + infinitive was characteristic of high register usage in Late Latin. I then analyse the use of the present tense to express futurity, the future participle + sum, gerundives as future passive participles and infinitives, and the curious use of debeo and possum. I show a number of changes in the system from Classical Latin, and suggest a new potential route for the development of debeo to express the future in certain Romance varieties.

The impact of humanitarian values on the architectural development in the Monastery of Temptation

The significance of architecture extends beyond its mere visual and practical aspects, as it significantly shapes human lifestyles and societal dynamics. Its role transcends aesthetics and utility, actively catering to essential requirements and elevating living standards worldwide. One particular example of such architectural prominence lies in Palestine, near Jericho, where the Monastery of Temptation, a Greek Orthodox religious site, is situated. Positioned at an elevation of 350 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Mount of Temptation, the monastery commands a cliff-top vantage, offering panoramic views of the Jordan Valley and the city of Jericho. Its historical roots date back to the sixth century CE, with the initial construction of various structures in the vicinity. The primary objective of this scholarly inquiry is to examine and comprehend the impact of humanitarian principles on the architectural evolution of the Monastery of Temptation throughout its history. This investigation adopts a historical interpretive approach, drawing from a review of pertinent literature and preliminary research. The findings of this study reveal that the architectural design of the monastery has been thoughtfully crafted to harmonize with ecological equilibrium and uphold core human values. Additionally, it serves as a secure haven for the observance of religious rituals and ceremonies, warranting its inclusion in the Tentative List of World Heritage sites. Consequently, this research endeavor contributes to a profound and meticulous grasp of the intrinsic nature of the Monastery of Temptation, with far-reaching implications for fostering the growth of the regional tourism industry.

Shaping Urban Religious Topography in the Iberian Peninsula between the Fourth and Sixth Centuries: “Coopetitive” Rivalry and Social Power

This study analyses the reshaping of the religious landscape of the cities of Hispania, from the disappearance of polytheistic sanctuaries to the construction of Christian churches, from the fourth to the middle of the sixth centuries CE. The focus is placed on the agents who financed these complexes and the motivations behind their euergetic activities. The study highlights that the configuration of places of worship in the urban landscape was a contingent process often dependent on individual (layperson) initiative, challenging the widespread assumption that the Church and its bishops were the main promoters of urban redevelopment in Hispanic cities during this period.

Epigraphic Practice and the Making of State Society in Eastern Madhya Pradesh (Circa Fifth–Sixth Centuries ce)

The essay explores the process of state formation under the Parivråjakas and the Uccakalpðyas in eastern Madhya Pradesh (MP) during circa fifth–sixth centuries ce. A total of 14 epigraphic records inform us about the development of the institutional structures under these two local powers. We delve into the process of transformation of the a»avika-råjya into full-fledged monarchical powers. Besides the internal factors, an attempt has been made to understand the external Gupta and Våkå»aka influence, in relation to the spread of Sanskrit culture, state society and pattern of patronage in eastern MP. Like the well-known Malwa corridor on the western side of MP, the present essay finds the making of another corridor that formed under these two local powers to the eastern side of MP. It, therefore, suggests the existence of another route that connected north India and the Deccan via central India, which catalysed the state formation in the region.

Genetic history of East-Central Europe in the first millennium CE

BackgroundThe appearance of Slavs in East-Central Europe has been the subject of an over 200-year debate driven by two conflicting hypotheses. The first assumes that Slavs came to the territory of contemporary Poland no earlier than the sixth century CE; the second postulates that they already inhabited this region in the Iron Age (IA). Testing either hypothesis is not trivial given that cremation of the dead was the prevailing custom in Central Europe from the late Bronze Age until the Middle Ages (MA).ResultsTo address this problem, we determined the genetic makeup of representatives of the IA Wielbark- and MA Slav-associated cultures from the territory of present-day Poland. The study involved 474 individuals buried in 27 cemeteries. For 197 of them, genome-wide data were obtained. We found close genetic affinities between the IA Wielbark culture-associated individuals and contemporary to them and older northern European populations. Further, we observed that the IA individuals had genetic components which were indispensable to model the MA population.ConclusionsThe collected data suggest that the Wielbark culture-associated IA population was formed by immigrants from the north who entered the region of contemporary Poland most likely at the beginning of the first millennium CE and mixed with autochthons. The presented results are in line with the hypothesis that assumes the genetic continuation between IA and MA periods in East-Central Europe.

A Sixth-Century CE Drought in Arabia New Palaeoclimate Data and Some Historical Implications

Establishing plausible causal associations between the impact of climate and/or environment and past human societies presents many challenges, as the case of the decline of the S. Arabian kingdom of Himyar in the sixth century CE indicates. Evidence from a new high-resolution stalagmite record for the last 2,600 years shows that a period of drought in the early sixth century, hardly mentioned in the sources, was of unusual duration and severity. We argue that, while this likely contributed to undermine the sociopolitical resilience of Himyar and thus contributed to the societal changes in the region from the 520s to the late sixth/early seventh century, identifying the exact causal relationships involved is fraught with difficulty. 1

Versatility as a cultural niche: palynological evidence on Iron Age and medieval land use on the Åland Islands

ABSTRACT The quantitative archaeological record of the Åland Islands (Finland) indicates a population boom in the mid-sixth century CE. Yet the number of palynological investigations on Åland is limited, resulting in a knowledge gap of anthropogenic landscape modification generated by the land use that followed the increased population. This article presents the results of a pollen analysis from Lake Lavsböle Träsk in central Åland, covering the period from the end of the Bronze Age into the modern period. The results of this study provide evidence of continuous land use throughout the Iron Age and the medieval period, and the population boom during the sixth century CE is indicated in the pollen signal. Altogether we argue for an economy based on cereal cultivation, animal husbandry, and maritime resource utilization (e.g. seal hunting, fishing, and fowling) as well as trading. The results indicate a society able to manage risks connected to their subsistence strategies, in which versatility seems to have had a key role.

Saxo Grammaticus's Account of the Viking Age Site on the Danish Island of Hjarnø in Gesta Danorum

Saxo Grammaticus's Account of the Viking Age Site on the Danish Island of Hjarnø in <i>Gesta Danorum</i>

A Jewish Aramaic Circus Curse Tablet from Antioch

Abstract In this contribution we publish a lead circus curse tablet written in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (Princeton Art Museum excavation no. 3608-I57). The tablet was found in 1935 during excavations near the first turning-post at the hippodrome of Antioch on the Orontes (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). The use of Greek and Latin defixiones agonisticae (agonistic binding spells) in chariot races was a wide-spread phenomenon during the Roman Byzantine Period. Curse tablets were inscribed with aggressive incantations that aimed at the defeat of rivals in the chariot races. The tablet under discussion is a unique piece: It is the only known lead circus curse tablet that was written in a Jewish language and script. The tablet is datable to the fifth or sixth century CE.

Network analysis reveals insights about the interconnections of Judaism and Christianity in the first centuries CE

The development of the two religions: Christianity and Judaism, is a topic of much debate. Whereas Judaism and Christianity are known as separate religions, in fact, these two religions developed side by side. While earlier researchers conceptualized a “parting-of-the-ways,” after which the two religions evolved independently, new studies reveal a multi-layered set of interactions throughout the first several centuries CE. Until recently, this question was explored with the limited source material and limited tools to analyze it. While working on a limited set of data, from a specific corpus, this project offers a new set of methodological tools, borrowed from computer sciences, that could ultimately serve for understanding the connections between Jews and Christians in late antiquity. We generated models of inter-religious Christian–Jewish networks that demonstrate the scope, nature, and advantages of network analysis for revealing the complex intertwined evolution of the two religions. The Jewish corpora chosen for this research are rabbinic writings from late antique Babylonia and Palestine. Christian texts range from the first through sixth centuries CE. Instead of representing interactions between people or places, as is typically done with social networks, we model literary interactions that, in our view, indicate historical connections between religious communities. This novel approach allows us to visually represent sets of temporal–spatial–contextual relationships, which evolved over hundreds of years, in single snapshots. It also reveals new insights about the relationships between the two communities. For example, we find that rabbinic sources exhibit a largely polemical approach towards earlier Christian traditions but a non-polemical attitude towards later ones. Moreover, network analysis suggests a temporal–spatial familiarity correlation. Namely, Jewish sources are familiar with early, eastern Christian sources and with both Eastern and Western Christian sources in later periods. The application of network analysis makes it possible to identify the most influential texts—that is, the key “nodes”—testifying to the importance of certain traditions for both religious communities. Finally, the network approach is a tool for pointing scholarly research in new directions, which only reveals itself as a result of this type of mapping. In other words, the network not only describes the known data, but it is itself a way to enlarge the network and lead us down new and exciting paths that are currently unknown.

A critical assessment of questionable solar eclipse memories in the Byzantine Empire from the fourth to sixth centuries CE

This study analysed four records of questionable authenticity of total solar eclipses between the fourth and sixth centuries CE in Byzantine narrative sources. As it has been difficult to evaluate their credibility, they have not been utilised in modern astronomical studies. Three records originated in the fourth century, all of which have problems with accurate dating and provenance. The one remaining record concerns the total solar eclipse on 512 June 29. This study first reveals the problems with and questions around the reliability of all these records from astronomical perspectives based on the latest Δ T spline curve and recently proposed Δ T constraints. It then explores their philological and historical contexts to understand how and why these records were written.

The Story of Sadāprarudita’s Search for Dharma and the Worship of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra from India to Sixth-Century China

The story of bodhisattva Sadāprarudita’s search for Dharma in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra has served to successfully shape the characters of the Dharma seeker, bodhisattva Sadāprarudita, and the Dharma preacher (dharmabhāṇakas), bodhisattva Dharmodgata. This narrative carried much information about the veneration of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in Indic contexts, and it also enthused Chinese Buddhists of the sixth century CE to create the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra written in gold calligraphy. Emperor Wu of the Liang organized pañcavārṣika assemblies centred on the lectures and veneration of the gold-calligraphy Sūtra, and the Tiantai master Huisi made a vow to create such a scroll around the same time. In the relevant accounts, Chinese preachers are always associated with the Dharma preacher Dharmodgata in the narrative, which in turn enhanced their authority in the contexts in which they operated. The narrative thus helped to promote the transmission of the text across the cultural boundaries in which the Dharma preacher, as the embodied agent of the Prajñāpāramitā text, played a significant role.

:La villa dopo la villa 2: Trasformazione di un sistema insediativo ed economico nell’Italia centrale tra tarda Antichità e Medioevo

:<i>La villa dopo la villa 2: Trasformazione di un sistema insediativo ed economico nell’Italia centrale tra tarda Antichità e Medioevo</i>

Chinese Buddhist Narratives in Light of Indian Sources: A Case Study of the Sudāna/Vessantara Jātaka’s Reception in Early Medieval China

Abstract The Vessantara jātaka (also called the Sudāna jātaka in its Chinese versions) is one of the most highly renowned and widely circulated jātakas, or birth stories of the Buddha, in the Buddhist world. During the fifth and sixth centuries CE, the story was frequently depicted in Chinese murals and reliefs. Among a few sixth-century reliefs, scenes showing Prince Sudāna in exile appear to have been selected to crystallise the whole story, replacing the focus on Sudāna’s gifting of his children in the previous tradition. This study integrates early Indian sources with other relevant scholarship to explore the reason why Sudāna’s exile was selected. I argue that the choice of depicting Sudāna’s exile was shaped by two historical contexts. The first relates to a specific rhetorical strategy of integrating indigenous Chinese accounts of immortals into the story’s textual tradition in the third century. The second refers to the underlying religious mentality that focused on the quest for transcendence in the mountains, an idea that grew more popular during the flourishing of Buddhist meditation practice in the early sixth century. This article provides further methodological reflections on the study of Chinese Buddhist art, focusing on how important it is to incorporate more Indian sources and scholarship. It therefore engages with ongoing methodological reflections on China-India studies.