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Barsauma was a fifth-century Syrian ascetic, archimandrite, and leader of monks, notorious for his extreme asceticism and violent anti-Jewish campaigns across the Holy Land. Although Barsauma was a powerful and revered figure in the Eastern church, modern scholarship has widely dismissed him as a thug of peripheral interest. Until now, only the most salacious bits of the Life of Barsauma—a fascinating collection of miracles that Barsauma undertook across the Near East—had been translated. This pioneering study includes the first full translation of the Life and a series of studies by scholars employing a range of methods to illuminate the text from different angles and contexts. This is the authoritative source on this influential figure in the history of the church and his life, travels, and relations with other religious groups.
Volker Menze is Associate Professor of Late Antique History at Central European University and author of Justinian and the Making of the Syrian Orthodox Church.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Volker Menze
1. Barsauma and the Emperors
Simon Corcoran
2. Ascetic History and Rhetoric in the Life of Barsauma
Cornelia B. Horn
3. Barsauma’s Travels to the Holy Land and Jewish History
Günter Stemberger
4. Barsauma, Eudocia, Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount
Jan Willem Drijvers
5. Cleansing the Sacred Space: The Holy Land and Its Inhabitants in the Pilgrimage
Narrative of Barsauma
Reuven Kiperwasser and Serge Ruzer
6. “It is not lawful for Samaritans to have dealings with Christians!”
Samaritans in the Life of Barsauma
Johannes Hahn
7. Wandering Monks Remembered: Hagiography in the Lives of Alexander the
Sleepless and Barsauma the Mourner
Daniel F. Caner
Conclusion: Barsauma between Hagiography and History
Johannes Hahn
Appendix: The Life of Barsauma
Andrew Palmer
Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index