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The Christian Art of Byzantine Syria
 
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The Christian Art of Byzantine Syria [Hardcover]

Ignacio Pena (Author)

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The thriving Byzantine Empire produced a particularly fine standard of art and architecture between the 4th and 7th centuries. Many well-preserved examples of this rich archaeological history can be found in Syria. In particular, the legendary Dead Cities of northern Syria were largely unexplored until recently and this book provides a fascinating insight into the once-thriving towns, including their markets, houses, halls, bath-houses, churches, temples and tombs. The population of the limestone massifs had boomed as Roman soldiers were encouraged to settle the land and irrigation schemes increased its productivity. Syrian olive oil was exported all across the Mediterranean world and, with a good income and only seasonal farm work, the residents turned their energies to building on an unprecedented scale.

Many of the buildings are family farm-houses or community facilities, but of particular importance are the hundreds of churches which were built. Numerous pilgrims visited the area to pay homage to St Symeon the Stylite and the many other monks and martyrs who inspired them. Carvings and inscriptions remain as a record of the art and beliefs of both pilgrims and local people. Some are devotional phrases or symbols; others commemorate the people who founded churches, hostelries and town halls.

This book contains a comprehensive set of photographs and reconstructions showing the variety of buildings and relics which have been discovered, including ornamented churches and liturgical instruments, baptisteries, monasteries and pilgrimage sites. It also includes a chapter on the sites of pagan worship from the same period, and concludes with an examination of the influence of Byzantine art on Islamic and European art, and the eventual decline of the population of the Syrian limestone massifs.

About the Author

Ignacio Peña was born in Spain and is a Franciscan brother. He lived in Syria between 1960 and 1982, and has specialized in the study of the history and archaeology of the Christian East, and particularly of Byzantine Syria. He has published widely on the subject, including the books Les Stylites Syriens; Les Reclus Syriens; Les Cénobites Syriens; Inventaire du Jébel Baricha and Inventaire du Jébel el-Ela, all co-written with P. Castellana and R. Fernández as part of a team which has been studying and cataloguing the archaeological remains of the Dead Cities since 1970. His most recent work was The Amazing Life of the Syrian Monks in the 4th to 6th Centuries. He now lives in Jerusalem and has been the director of the biblical journal Tierra Santa since 1982.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Crucial to Understanding the Progress of Early Church Architecture Jun 7 2006
By P. Dinavari - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This book covers the pivotal period in Culture & Architecture of Syria between the acceptance of christianity within the Roman Empire (4th-CCE), and the advent of Islam (7th-CCE). This volume describes how so much of Early and Medieval Christian tradition was developed in Syria, and subsequently passed to the rest of Europe through the Syrian diaspora, between the (7th-11th CCE). The City of Antioch in Northern Syria (now in Turkey)was after Rome the second most Important Christian center in the Empire. This book also covers in depth the Architecture of a particular region of Northern Syria between Antioch and Aleppo where due to its relative isolation and difficult terrain much of the Roman Infrasturcture as well the Byzantine Churches and Monasteries have been well preserved. The book also discusses tensions within the Byzantine Empire over the monophysite controversy between Syria, Egypt, and Constantinople. The influence of Sassanid Persia upon Eastern Syria & Northern Mesopotamia centered on the Euphrates and around the Cities of Edessa, Harran (urfa) and Nisibus, where the Nestorian Christianity was developed, is also discussed. If you have interest in any or all of the topics listed above then you must add this book to your collection & read it!

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