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The invention of history in the later Roman world. The conversion of Isauria in The Life of Conon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2012

Philip Wood
Philip Wood
Affiliation:
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
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Abstract

The historiography of the later Roman Empire has emphasised the centripetal results of Christianisation, in which the new religion completed the earlier Hellenisation and destroyed independent languages, histories and notions of identity in Anatolia and much of Syria. However, the discourse of ethnic origins, drawn from Christian stories as well as the Classical past, allowed different kinds of cultural independence to survive this process on the edges of the Empire. While more famous cases are provided by the Armenians, Suryoye and Goths, here I examine an ultimately unsuccessful attempt at historical invention and cultural independence, that of the Isaurians from the end of the fifth century. I begin by discussing the stereotypes employed by a Roman élite to distinguish themselves from ‘barbarians’, both within and outside the empire, before examining the attempts of Isaurians to contest this in history and hagiography.

Özet

Geç Roma dönemi yazılı tarihi Hıristiyanlaşmanın merkezcil sonuçlarına ısrarla dikkat çekmekte ve bu yeni dinin erken Helenistleşmeyi bitirdiği ve Anadolu'da ve Suriye'nin büyük bir bölümünde bağımsız dilleri, tarihçeleri ve özdeşlik kavramını tahrip ettiğini söylemektedir. Buna rağmen, hem Hıristiyan'lar tarafından anlatılan hikayelere, hem de Klasik geçmişe dayanılarak etnik kökenler hakında devam eden konuşmalara dayanılarak İmparatorluğun sınır bölgelerinde kültürel bağımsızlık pek çok biçimde devam etmiştir. Her ne kadar Ermeniler, Süryaniler ve Gotlar bu konuda daha iyi örnek oluşturmaktalarsa da, ben bu çalışmada 5. yüzyıl sonlarından itibaren çok başarısız bir tarihi kültürel bağımsızlık hareketini incleyeceğim. İncelemeye Isaura'lıların bu başarısız tarihsel girişiminden önce, Romalı elitlerin kendilerini ‘barbar’lardan ayırt etmek için benimsedikleri klişeleşmiş davranış biçimlerini inceleyerek başlayacağım.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anatolian Studies , Volume 59 , December 2009 , pp. 129 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2009

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