Roman Defeat, Christian Response, and the Literary Construction of the Jew

Olster explores Byzantine Christian reactions to the catastrophic Persian and Arab invasions, challenging long-held assumptions that divided "religious" from "secular" literature and exempted religion from contemporary social, political, and intellectual discourse.

Frontmatter --; Contents --; Acknowledgments --; Abbreviations --; Introduction --; 1. Politics and Theology: The Anachronism of Modern Scholarship --; 2. Christianity: The Imperial Religion --; 3. Crisis and Response: The "New" Rhetoric of George of Pisidia --; 4. A Tale of Two Cities --; 5. Christians Without an Empire: The Patriarch Sophronius --; 6. "We Are Still Better Than You": The Syrian Dialogues --; 7. Gregentius and Herbanus: The New Christian Patria --; 8. A Jewish-Christian Dialogue: The Exception to the Rule --; Conclusion --; Bibliography --; Index