Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Vol. 1, Part 2: Ecclesiastical History

Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Volume 1, Part 2: Ecclesiastical History provides a chronologically ordered account of the involvement of the Ghassanids in ecclesiastical affairs in the eastern region of the Byzantine Empire. Tracing the role of Arab tribes both inside and outside the Roman limes, Irfan Shahîd documents how the Ghassanids, in particular, came to establish and develop a distinct non-Chalcedonian church hierarchy while remaining allies with the Chalcedonian emperors. Ghassanid phylarchs such as Mundir emerge not merely as loyal foederati but as devout Christians. Shahîd extensively and critically analyzes the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic sources, including many obscure or unfamiliar texts, to illuminate the religious landscape of the Arabs of the sixth century.