The Practice and Doctrine of Holy War in the Eastern Roman Empire and Orthodox Church, AD 620-630

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The Practice and Doctrine of Holy War in the Eastern Roman Empire and Orthodox Church, AD 620-630

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title: The Practice and Doctrine of Holy War in the Eastern Roman Empire and Orthodox Church, AD 620-630

creator: Jensen, Michael

creator: Wood, Alan Ralph

description: Abstract reads : "This thesis examines the definitions used by modern scholars to discuss war, particularly holy war, in the Byzantine empireand the Orthodox church between AD 312 and AD 630 (the earliest point that empire and church came into contact with Muslim jihad) with particular reference to AD 610–630.In the introduction I observe the disjunction between Heraclius’ apparent holy war in Persia and the early Christians’ abhorrence of bloodshed.In Chapter 2 I review the three mainstream positions among contemporary Byzantine historians and Orthodox theologians on war and holy war. I note that none of the three mainstream views on the nature of war in Byzantium admit of any variationin Byzantine ideology, due to a widely-held operating assumption based on the strong claim that the Orthodox church and people of the sixth and seventh century universally regarded war as always evil (‎2.1). I show in ‎2.2 that this key strongclaim, though widely held, has very doubtful evidence. Rejecting the strong form of the claim allows the possibility that some wars may be different. I then examine the proposal of Athina Kolia-Dermitzaki, who claims to describe a distinct Byzantine kind of holy war (‎2.3). I contrast the criteria used by Kolia-Dermitzaki to define her “holy war” with two other definitions (‎2.4). Heraclius presents a useful test case for exploring the definitional differences. Before proceeding to the case study in Chapter Three, I examine some issues on which scholars differ and the nature of that disagreement (‎2.5.4). Much of the evidence surrounding ‘holy war’ is a matter of degree.Chapter 3 is a case study on Heraclius’ Persian campaigns. Statements that Heraclius fought a holy war need to be properly defined, and conversely, the application of contested definitions to Heraclius’ case illuminates those definitions (‎3.2). The specific objections of Laiou, Dennis and Kaegi are discussed. The Greek sources for Heraclius’ Persian campaigns were introduced (‎3.4) and their holy war elements were identified (‎3.5). These elements were then shown to meet each of Dennis’s criteria. This study showed that Heraclius fought a holy war against the Persians from AD 622 (‎3.6.5), even under narrow definitions. On two definitional issues, I found that Heraclius operated with significant personal spiritual authority in the period (‎3.7.1), and that his holy war also met Thomas Aquinas’ conditions for a just war (‎3.7.2).In Chapter 4 I conclude with some suggestions for further research"1. Introduction2. War and Holy War in Byzantium3. Heraclius' Persian Campaigns4. ConclusionA thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of TheologyMoore Theological College, 2016

source: Original DSpace Handle https://myrrh.library.moore.edu.au/handle/10248/10165

date: 2016

type: Text

format: text

language: English

rights: In copyright: Date of publication plus 70 yearsThis item may be used for the purposes of research and study. Please acknowledge Alan Ralph Wood that it is held by Moore Theological College.

publisher: Wood, Alan Ralph ; Moore Theological College

subject: Byzantine Empire ; Holy war ; Jihad

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