Download PDF | Irfan Shahid, Byzantium And The Arabs In The Fifth Century, Dumbarton Oaks ( 2006)
626 Pages
Preface
This is the second volume in a series of three which treats the ArabByzantine relationship in the proto-Byzantine period. 1 The series constitutes the middle part 2 of a trilogy whose climactic third part may be termed "Byzantium and Islam" since it deals with the century that witnessed the rise of Islam and the Arab conquests. I This volume discusses the Arab-Byzantine relationship in the reigns of six emperors, beginning with Arcadius (395-408) and ending with Anastasius (491-518). Although the Rhomaic Arabs are not neglected, the Arabs discussed herein are principally the foederati, 3 the effective shield of Byzantium against the Arabian Peninsula. The climax of these investigations is the battle of Yarmiik in 636, at which this shield finally broke. It is, therefore, important to trace its history throughout the three pre-Islamic centuries, both for its own sake and for shedding light on the outcome of that fateful battle, which cost Byzantium the loss of Oriens in its entirety and terminated the proto-Byzantine period.
Just as there was a dominant federate group in the fourth century, namely, the Taniikhids, so there was in the fifth-the Salil:iids. This volume gives prominence to the history of this federate group, although it also discusses others in both Oriens and northwestern Arabia in J::Iijaz, that sphere of Byzantine influence and of indirect_ Byzantine rule. Oriens remains the chief area of investigation as it was in the previous volume, although in this century it was reduced in size, since Egypt was separated from it around A.D. 380. However, federate presence in Egypt is also discussed, since the Arabs were represented there and performed some important imperial functions. In this study I am mainly concerned with political, military, ecclesiastical, and cultural history.
The exclusion of social and economic history is dictated by the nature of the sources and the data that can be extracted from them. 4 Hence many facets of the Arab presence in Oriens are missing. Only archeology and the discovery of new Arabic manuscripts can increase and diversify the data for Arab-Byzantine relations. When this happens, the history of these relations can be rewritten along broader lines. 5 It follows from the nature and paucity of the sources that the subject treated herein can be written only along traditional lines. The recovery of the past is my first concern. The data, extracted and interpreted, are presented diachronically throughout the century. The first six chapters are then the mainstay of the volume as they trace federate history through the reigns of the six emperors from Arcadius to Anastasius. The sources do not furnish flashes of information continuously, but they do provide enough to permit one to present a narrative history of Arab-Byzantine relations during this period which may be described as a continuum. I have not attempted to fill in gaps when such an attempt is not justified by th~ sources. As a result of this diachronous treatment, it is possible to discern the genetic relationships that obtained among the various data within the century .
The series as a whole should clarify the evolution of the institutional forms of federate life during this proto-Byzantine period in the three centuries before the rise of Islam. Of all the six reigns, that of Leo receives the most illumination through a study of the role of the Arab foederati in the defense of the limes orientalis and from an analysis of a strikingly detailed fragment. How~ver, the data on Byzantium's relation with Mecca, the future city of Islam, are the most arresting of all those provided by the Arabic sources. They document the first recorded contact between Byzantium and Mecca through an Arab federate chief in the employ of Byzantium. Equally arresting, even exciting, is a datum provided by ecclesiastical history. Theodoret writes in unequivocal terms on what many Koranic scholars have denied, namely, the existence of Ishmaelism, the concept of descent from Ishmael, among the pre-Islamic Arabs. Thus Muhammadan and Koranic studies receive illumination in an area of vital importance from an unexpected quarter-a fifth-century Greek source either unknown to Islamicists or not laid under contribution.
II Unlike the sixth, the fifth century in Arab-Byzantine relations is practically terra incognita in the works of Byzantinists 6 and Byzantino-arabists 7 alike. Recently, however, Maurice Sartre treated it in a work that is a contribution to Roman provincial history. 8 Although he is not an Arabist, 9 this sober scholar gave some of his attention to the Salil_1ids and raised the right questions. But knowledge of Arabic is indispensable for discussing the foederati of the fifth century effectively, and Arabic manuscripts are as important, or even more important, than printed works. This, then, is the first book to appear on the Arab foederati of Byzantium in the fifth century and the Salil_1ids in particular. In view of this and the various sets of sources used for establishing this history, the volume is divided, in the interests of clarity, into two main parts: 10 1. A detailed analysis of the literary sources-the Byzantine and the Oriental-for extracting the relevant data .
This enables the various facets of Arab-Byzantine relations to be established: (a) the political and military history of the foederati within Byzantine Oriens; (b) their ecclesiastical history within the Patriarchate of Antioch; (c) the Salil_lids and other federate tribes within the Arab tribal system in Oriens; (d) Byzantium's relations with Western Arabia, both in l:fijaz and Yaman; (e) the cultural history of the Arab federates; and (/) frontier and federate studies. 2. A synthesis and exposition. The detailed, microscopic approach to the study of the sources and the variety of data that they yield make a synthesis necessary. But the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and themes that are welded from data in various parts of the book are here presented synoptically, such as the image of the Arabs in the fifth century. September 1986 Washington , D.C.
Acknowledgments
!should like to express my thanks to the individuals and institutions that have contributed toward the completion of this study: first to Dumbarton Oaks where this volume was researched and written; to its Director, Robert Thomson; to the Library staff headed by Irene Vaslef; and especially to the two members of the Publications Department, Glenn Ruby and Frances Kianka, from whose conscientious care this volume has greatly benefited. Thanks are also due to Georgetown University: to the Provost, Father Donald Freeze, S.J.; to Dr. James Alatis, Dean of the School of Languages and Linguistics, and his two associates, Dr. J. Hernandez and Mr. R. Cronin; and to Dr. Richard Schwartz, Dean of the Graduate School, and G. Mara, Associate Dean.
I owe a special debt of gratitude to Professor Albert Jamme for drawing the sketch maps of this volume and to Professor Dr. Ruth Altheim-Stiehl for permission to reproduce her photograph of the Ruwwafa Inscription. Friends and colleagues in Jordan have been generous in their response to my requests: R. Abujaber and T. Kawar supplied me with detailed maps, while F. Zayadine and W. Kawar provided me with the photograph of 'Ayn al-SaliJ:iI. I am grateful to all of them . Discussions with the following colleagues and scholars have been fruitful: Robert Browning, John Callahan, Leslie MacCoull, Nicolas Oikonomides, Jaan Puhvel, Peter Topping, and Frank Trombley. I should like to thank them all for their stimulating conversations.
In the material sense the publication of this volume has been greatly furthered by the contribution of the Diana Tamari Sabbagh Foundation, and I am very grateful to its Board of Trustees for their generous support. Last, but not least, I should like to thank my wife, Mary, for spending much time on typing and correcting a large portion of the manuscript. The preceding volume in this trilogy, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, was dedicated to Th. Noldeke. It is only fitting that this one should be dedicated to the scholar on whom, in a sense, Noldeke's mantle fell and to whose writings, communications, and conversations I am much indebted.
Introduction
The introduction to the preceding volume was in four parts: a section on the sources, one on major problems and themes, one on Byzantium and the Arabs before the rise of Islam, and one on the fourth century, a synoptic view. The inclusion of the second and third sections 1 was necessary in the volume that opened the series, and the discussion there applied not only to the fourth but to all three centuries. The present Introduction consists of one section on the sources and another on the fifth century-a synoptic view. These will enable the reader to comprehend better the many and detailed analyses that follow. I. THE SOURCES What was said about the souces in BAFOC is, generally speaking, applicable here as well.
However, each of the three centuries of the proto-Byzantine period has its own sources which present problems peculiar to themselves. This section, then, builds on what was said earlier. 2 The sources of Arab-Byzantine relations for the fifth century can be divided into two sets: 3 (1) Byzantine (Greek and Latin); and (2) Oriental (Arabic, Syriac, Sabaic, and Ethiopic). The Byzantine Sources Almost all the Greek and Latin sources are literary, unlike those for the previous volume which included some Greek inscriptions. 4 Only one Greek inscription, the Edict of Beersheba, is truly important. These literary sources are clearly divisible into ecclesiastical and secular 5 and illuminate only certain aspects of federate-imperial relations: the three important areas of political, military, and ecclesiastical history.
These sources are: (1) the Greek secular histories of Synesius, Priscus, and Malchus; the chronographies of Malalas and Theophanes; and such Latin documents and literary sources as the Codex Theodosianus and the panegyrics of Priscian and Procopius of Gaza; (2) the Greek ecclesiastical sources, represented by the historians Sozomen, Socrates, Theodoret, and Evagrius; Greek hagiographers such as Cyril of Scythopolis and the writer of the Vita S. Pelagiae; and Latin authors such as Jerome and Cassian. 6 All these are good sources, and most of them are contemporary, such as the works of the ecclesiastical and secular historians . The data provided by these are very reliable, much of it being the result of autopsy, such as that provided by Sozomen, Theodoret, Priscus, and Malchus. Those that are not contemporary derive from earlier ones that are, such as the data of Evagrius, which derive from those of Eustathius of Epiphania. Some of these sources are documents: the Novellae of the Codex Theodosianus and the data provided by Theophanes which, because of their specificity, could only have been archival, deriving ultimately from documents, possibly preserved in some such official department as the scrinium barbarorum. Thus the political, military, and ecclesiastical history of the foederati in Oriens in the fifth century is based on excellent sources, and this has made it possible to write a continuous narrative.
The Oriental Sources The Oriental or Near Eastern sources consist of the Arabic, Syriac, Sabaic, and Ethiopic, in descending order of importance. 7 Thus a discussion of the crucial Oriental sources amounts to a discussion of the Arabic ones. 8 Like the Byzantine, these are mostly literary. Epigraphic sources, such as the Namara inscription, which was so central for discussing the foederati in the previous volume, are non-existent or awaiting discovery. 9 These literary sources are of two types: ( 1) the prose sources of later Islamic times; 10 and (2) the poetry of the pre- and early Islamic periods. The latter is important, especially the pre-Islamic poetry, which is contemporary and thus serves as a check on the prose sources of later times. In this way it almost functions as epigraphy. 11 The prose sources consist of ( 1) the historians used in the preceding volume, such as TabarI, Mas'iidI, BalagurI, Ya'qiibI, Ibn Qutayba, Hisham, and Ibn Khaldiin; and (2) less familiar ones which provide data for this century, such as Khalifa ibn Khayyaf, al-JahshiyarI, and Ibn Sa'Id. These later Islamic sources derive from reliable earlier ones, most of them ultimately from Hisham, the foremost historian of pre-Islamic Arabia and of the Arab foederati. Especially rewarding has been the extraction of crucial data on the foederati from two of Hisham's unpublished manuscripts. 12
These Arabic sources give flesh and blood to the skeletal structure of federate history furnished by the Greek sources, which they thus complement. While the Greek sources tell the story of the foederati politically, militarily, and ecclesiastically, the Arabic sources document the history of the Salil:iids, which as a dynasty was the dominant federate group, as well as that of the other federate groups that are left anonymous in the Greek sources. They are informative on inter-Arab federate matters, and above all illuminate the cultural history of the foederati in important areas such as Arabic literature, the rise of the Arabic script, and the appearance of an Arabic bible and liturgy in pre-Islamic times. Thus the Byzantine and the Oriental sources succeed in giving a fairly complete picture of federate life and history in the fifth century.
The Two Sets of Sources Although the Byzantine and Oriental sources are so different, they nevertheless share one characteristic: the fragmentary nature of the information and data that they contain. In the Greek and Latin sources this is reflected in two ways: (a) the secular historians of the fifth century have survived in fragments, which has thus reduced even more the little that they originally said about the Arabs; 13 and (b) the accounts of some of the Byzantine writers which have survived in their entirety, such as the ecclesiastical historians, consist of fragments-mere digressions and asides. This is also roughly true of the Arabic sources for this century. This calls for some observations related to the paucity of the sources and the state of their survival as fragments: (1) There is a special reason for this paucity, in addition to the fragmentary state of source survival. The Arabs are mentioned in the sources when they participate in the wars of Byzantium against Persia. But peace prevailed between the two powers in the fifth century, and thus the Arabs are not mentioned.
When the peace was twice broken during the reign of Theodosius II, the sources start to speak of the Arabs. This is the key to understanding references to the Arabs in the Byzantine sources. However, there are exceptions that need to be accounted for, such as the very detailed reference to the Arabs during the reign of Leo, when there was no Persian war. Yet Malchus gave an extensive and fascinating account of the adventures of an Arab chief, Amorkesos. In this case the sudden outburst of information on the Arabs during the reign of Leo can easily be considered an expression of KaiJerkritik. 14 The detailed information on the Arabs in the two Palestines, Prima and Tertia, is also striking. Sources of various orders record the Arab presence there: an inscription, a papyrus, an imperial Novella, hagiographic works (Nilus and Cyril), secular history (Malchus), chronography (Theophanes). The interest of the emperors of the fifth century in the Red Sea and western Arabia may possibly be added as explanation. (2) Those who did mention the Arabs in their writings on the fifth century have survived in fragments. This is especially important in the case of Priscus, who was interested in Byzantine foreign relations and diplomacy, 15 and to whom we owe one fragment dealing with the Arabs in the reign of Marcian . 16 It is possible that he recorded other Arab-Byzantine military and diplomatic encounters which have not survived .
The abundance of sources on the two Palestines, noted above, suggests that much was recorded but has not survived. (3) The fragment: _the Quellenforschung on the fifth century may be truly described as "the encounter with the fragment," an encounter which has its challenges and problems. The data appear isolated from the larger context to which they belong, and thus the cask of the researcher consists in breaking the silence of the author on the context within which the fragment can recover its historical significance. This has been attempted through various confrontations, relating the fragment to events in Persia, Byzantium, or both and also co events in the Arabian Peninsula . II. THE FIFTH CENTURY: A SYNOPTIC VIEW 1 Unlike the fourth, the fifth century is not a tumultuous period in the history of Byzantine-Persian relations. Theodosius I bequeathed co his son and successor, Arcadius, an Orthodox state and a good-neighbor policy with both the Germans and the Persians. The policy of coexistence failed with the Germans but succeeded with the Persians. Although the former were diverted from the East, they were able co conquer the western half of the Mediterranean. Thus the W escern Empire was replaced by the various Germanic kingdoms and a new Mediterranean was created. Of more immediate importance co the Eastern Empire was the long peace with Persia. This could endure because of the curious circumstance that both empires were busy with the barbarians who were hammering at their respective frontiers-the Ephthalite Huns in central Asia and the Germanic tribes in western Europe .
This remarkably long peace makes of the century a genuine period in the history of Byzantium. The six emperors of this century were "mediocrities, " at least compared to those of the preceding and following centuries. Thus while it is possible to speak of the fourth as the century of Constantine and of the sixth as that of Justinian, it is not possible to speak of the fifth in such terms. But if the emperors of this century were not cowering personalities , and if they did not contribute gloriously to the military annals of Byzantium, -they did contribute to its cultural achievements . The Codex Theodosianus, which formed the basis of the legislative work of Justinian, was promulgated in chis period. The reign of Theodosius also saw the founding of the University of Constantinople, which thus superseded the pagan school of Athens and became the most important cultural center in Byzantium .
Set against this general backdrop of the fifth century, the history of the Arab foederati appears as a reflection of the history of Byzantium . The empire that wanted peace and security on the eastern front in order to deal better with the Germanic peril in both East and West naturally wanted a stable front with the Arabian Peninsula. Hence the rise of a new Arab federate group, the Salil:iids, as the guardians of the Arabian frontier . Byzantium had a harmonious relationship with them throughout the century, and the emperors of both the Theodosian and Leonine dynasties made friendly gestures to the Arab tribal groups who became their foederati. There was almost a pro-Arab policy on the part of the emperors of this century, and this can most probably be related to their anti-Germanism. Byzantium needed foederati who, unlike the dangerous Germans, were safe, as the Arabs were . furthermore, the Germans were Arians, while the Arabs were Orthodox. Their Orthodoxy made for good relations with the central government throughout the century, even though toward its end Anastasi us veered toward Monophysitism. It is almost certain that after the German occupation of the western half of the Mediterranean and the multiplication of dangers and difficulties posed for navigation and trade by the Vandals, the empire looked toward the Red Sea and Indian Ocean as new outlets and spheres of influence and trade. This also explains its interest in the services of the Arab tribal groups as federates. Thus the Arab foederati of the fifth century emerge as guardians of the Arabian frontier for Byzantium and protectors of Byzantine commercial interests in the Red Sea and Arabian Peninsula. They participate in military operations in the west as far as Pentapolis and possibly take part in Leo's expedition against the Vandals in Africa . Just as Byzantine imperial achievements in this century were impressive in the cultural rather than the military sphere, so it was with the Arabs in Oriens. Staunchly Orthodox, the Arabs took part in the two ecumenical councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, and theit representative bishops appear Orthodox in the subscriptions. The most articulate voice of Arab Orthodoxy was that of Petrus, the bishop of the Arab Parembole, who participated in the Council of Ephesus and contributed to the chorus of anathemas hurled against Nestorius, to whom he was also sent by the council as a negotiator.
Thus the Arab foederati emerge as orthodox Christians, unlike those of the sixth century, the Ghassanids, who were Monophysites, a fact that ruffled their relations with the central government and had dire consequences for Arab-Byzantine relations. But it is the contributions of the foederati to Arab Christianity and Arabic culture that is the more enduring part of their achievement. In this century, and partly under their inspiration and direction, some important constituents of Arabic culture were favorably affected, thus enhancing the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic triculturalism that characterized the life of Oriens in this period. 17 It is nearly certain that the Arabic script that is used in the inscriptions of the sixth century in Oriens was developed in the fifth, under the exigencies of the new political and religious life that the foederati were leading in Byzantium.
The case is also strong for the appearance of a simple liturgy or prayerbook in Arabic and some translations from the Bible, most probably for liturgical use as a lectionary. Important Arab historical figures-for example, Dawud, the religious SalI}:iid king; Petrus, the bishop of the Palestinian Parembole; and Elias, the Arab archbishop of Jerusalem around 500-could have inspired the appearance of these texts. Finally, Arabic literature, especially poetry, is attested, continuing the tradition of the foederati of the fourth century. But, in contrast, poetry of the fifth century is no longer anonymous. The name of the court poet of the SalI}:iid king Dawud is known-'Abd al-'A~-and some of the fragments pertaining to the SalI}:iid supremacy have survived. Perhaps the most attractive of all is a form of love poetry that developed in l;lijaz in the Byzantine sphere of influence among the federate tribe of 'Ugra. It represented the confluence of Arab and Christian ideals and foreshadowed the later type of love poetry, expressing amour courtois which, according to one view, reached western Europe through Muslim Spain in medieval times.
This federate cultural achievement is made more attractive by the solitary figure of a princess, the daughter of Dawud, who lamented the death of her father in an elegy of which only one verse has survived. This female royal personage naturally brings to mind the celebrated figure of the Theodosian dynasty, Empress Eudocia. And it has been argued that the SalI}:iid princess who lived across the Jordan possibly owed to the Theodosian empress some inspiration in her literary endeavors, after the latter took up residence in the Holy Land. The winds of change begin to blow toward the dose of the period-in the reign of Anastasius, during which the legacy of Theodosius I comes to an inglorious end. The Orthodox state he left to his successors is now ruled by a Monophysite emperor, and the peace with Persia is shattered, possibly by the "greed" of the shah and the "parsimony" of the emperor . The symbiosis that obtained in imperial-federate relations throughout the century receives a jolt and is ruffled throughout the sixth, while the reign ushers in a period of continual hostilities with Persia and the supremacy of a new group of foederati, the Ghassanids.
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