Commonplaces from Abraham or Aristotle? First Millenium Empires and Exegetical Traditions by Garth Fowden
Posted on August 13th, 2023
traditions, that is to say 'things handed down', which we too will pass on with our own stamp, but which cannot be understood and enlivened until we learn how they became what they are - which is the historian's job not the theologian's. I would add it is the modern as well as the ancient and medieval historian's job. For much that is said and done now in the guise of religion, especially so-called fundamentalist religion, has its roots in the very recent past, especially in the later stages of the eighteenth- to twentieth-century European expansion, whose legacy we have hardly yet faced up to. 8
14-15 Gibbon
Some of these currents are more relevant to our world than others. If they were selected purely for what they can tell us about ourselves, the First Millennium would be justifiably labelled a teleological construct, which is the kiss of death in historical studies (though we are also constantly told that historians see the past from a viewpoint determined by their own experiences and preoccupations). This is why it is important to add to our non-exclusive list of First Millennium traditions a religion such as Manichaeism, which around the year 300 must have seemed just as much a threat (or promise) as Christianity, but probably passed the peak of its influence during the ninth century, and eventually became completely extinct.15 16
but seen in historical context with due attention to rabbinic polemic against Jesus, Christian attempts to convert Jews, and the Qur'än's disparaging remarks about both, not to mention its anti-Trinitarian and anti- Incarnational theology. A realist will not minimize these conflicts; an optimist will seek to redirect such energies toward the common good. If we start from the observation that ignorance and fear of Islam is currently the chief obstacle to progress, the higher educationalist's vocation is clear enough. What the primary and secondary teacher needs most is secure, history-based understanding of the issues, percolating from the universities into the school textbooks, and then an ability to articulate a well thought out, philosophically informed response to the problem of how to accommodate communities with deeply rooted historical differences under the canopy of the secular state.16 Muslims need to appreciate European mindsets and Europe's highly diverse social ecologies; Europeans have to act in full awareness of the aggressive strength Europe has displayed, in the eyes of the Muslim world, increasingly over the last millennium since the Crusades. 17
It is hard to characterize the First Millennium in a few minutes. So I will confine myself to a couple of remarks about leading themes: empire and exegesis. 18