A conversation with Jack Tannous (Princeton University) about the "simple believers" who made up the majority of the population of Byzantium (as well as the caliphate and just about any premodern monotheistic society). They probably knew little about the minutiae of theology, but what did they know about their faith, and how important was theology for their religious identity? The discussion is based on Jack's recent book The Making of the Medieval Middle East: Religion, Society, and Simple Believers (Princeton University Press, 2018), which highlights the role of religious practice and interpersonal attachments.
116. Africa and Byzantium, with Andrea Myers Achi
115. Imaginary Byzantiums in modern Russia, with Eugene Smelyansky
114. Byzantium and the early Rus’, with Monica White
113. The emperor’s clothing and public appearances, with Maria Parani
112. Crisis and resilience in late antique Rome, with Michele Salzman
111. Inheriting the mantle of the Roman empire, with Nathan Aschenbrenner
110. Justinian: statecraft, law, and self-glorification, with Peter Sarris
109. The discovery of Constantinople, with Sarah Bassett
108. Who is ‘Islamic History’ about?, with Christian Sahner
107. Shifty Greeks, Arrogant Latins: Polemical authors and the schism of the Churches, with Alessandra Bucossi
106. Medieval Europe without a “core”, with Christian Raffensperger
105. So you’re the Roman emperor... now what?, with Olivier Hekster
104. Byzantine law, its experts, and its languages, with Daphne Penna
103. About time, with Jesse Torgerson
102. Byzantium and Balkan national identities, with Diana Mishkova
101. How to de-colonize Byzantine Studies, with Ben Anderson and Mirela Ivanova
100. Our new book on the armies, and on revisionism in history, with Marion Kruse
99. A new history of medieval Christianity, with Peter Heather
98. Egyptian hieroglyphs in late antiquity, with Jennifer Westerfeld
97. The remarkable world of hospitals, orphanages, and leprosaria, with Tim Miller
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