Historical outline with chronology

Forms of building

· house churches and other adaptations

· memorials

· basilical churches

· monastic complexes

coenobitic monasteries (community model)

eremitic monasteries (ascetic, distributed, or Laura model)

Materials and methods of construction

· ashlar masonry/trussed roof

· brickwork/domed

Geographical areas of interest

· Limestone massif between Antioch and Aleppo

· Damascus and surrounding areas

· South Syria (Bosra, Umm al Jimal)

· Madaba, Mt. Nebo, Petra areas

· Holy Land

Galilee

Judean wilderness

Jerusalem

· Sinai and Negev

Internet

See especially Byzantine and Medieval Studies Site www.fordham.edu/halsall/medweb

Historical outline

.	Marcus Aurelius (161-180) with Lucius Verus (161-169)	Parthian war
.	Septimius Severus (193-211)	Civil war in the west
.	Elegabulus (218-222)	.
.	Alexander Severus (222-235)	Persian war, German war
.	Gordian III (238-244)	time of chaos
.	Philip the Arab (244-249)	.
.	Diocletian (284-305)	restoration & Tetrarchy persecution of Christians
303	edict ordering destruction of churches, bibles	.
.	Maximian (286-305, 307-308)	tensions and divisions
.	Constantine (306-337)	eastern troubles
313	Edict of Milan legalizes Christianity	Arianism (4th century)
324	defeats Licinius, Constantine sole emperor	.
326-328	Queen Helena in Holy Land, major patron	identification of holy sites rise of pilgrim traffic
.	Julian (360-363)	.
.	Theodosius I (379-395)	.
395	transfer of capital to Constantinople	partition of Empire East/West
.	Theodosius II (408-450)	100 year peace
.	Queen Eudocia major patron	Nestorianism (5th century) eastern troubles
455	vandal sack of Rome	Monophysitism (5-7th centuries)
.	Justinian (527-565), major patron reconquest of the west	.
.	Heraclius (610-641)	Syria weak and worn down
614	Persian conquest	.
.	632-661 Arab conquest	Mecca/Medina centre
.	661-750 Ummayads	Damascus capital
.	750-968 Abbasids	Baghdad capital
.	1099-1291 Crusaders	.

Some relevant sites in the East

Monasteries	Coenobitic	Eremitic
	Kursi St. Martyrius, Maale Adumim Hyrcania (Kh. Mird) Mount of Temptation (Qarantal) Mount Tabor Cana Tiberias Jerusalem, Monastery of the Cross St Catherines, Sinai St Simeon, Belus Deir Semaan St Thekla (Maaloula) Saidnaye Mt Nebo Umm al Rasas	Mar Saba Ed Deir St George Koziba Monastery of the Scholarius Petra (Ad Deir) (Jebel Haroun)
Churches		Israel
Lebanon	Beirut Byblos Tripoli Tyre	Avdat/Obodas Nessana Mampsis/Kurnub Herodium(x3)
Syria	Damascus, John the Baptist/Umayad Mosque Bosra Resafa Qalb Lozeh Kirkbizeh Halabi;ye/Zalabiye Dura	Heptapegon Capernaum Mt Gerizim Caesarea Maritima Emmaus/Nicopolis Bethany Bethehem, Church of Nativity
Jordan	Kh as-Samra Umm al-Jimal Gerasa (several) Pella Church of St. Lot Madaba Petra Aqaba	Jerusalem, Church of Holy Sepulchre EleonaNea St. Stephen

Bibliography

The following bibliography is drawn, with a few obvious additions of things that were missing, from the Amazon webpage, which is readily searchable. One of the obvious limitations is that they are virtually all (except for things I have added) books in print and available, so this is not a complete bibliography by any means and needs to be supplemented by research in UTCAT. It does include much of the recent materials, though you may find that some of these items are popular or picture books. The books are put in categories: AA= stuff especially useful for our purposes; A=useful, but less obviously so; B=more remote but worth knowing about.

AA

Richard Krautheimer, Slobodan Curcic, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (Pelican History of Art Series) Paperback /1992

L. Michael White, The Social Origins of Christian Architecture : Building God's House in the Roman World: vol 1, Architectural Adaptation Among Pagans, Jews, and Christians 1996

vol. 2, Texts and Monuments for the Christian Domus Ecclesiae in Its Environment (Harvard Theological Studies, 1997

Yoram Tsafrir (editor), Ancient Churches Revealed (IES/BAS 1993)

Robert Milburn, Early Christian Art and Architecture (1988)

Cyril Mango, Byzantine Architecture (History of World Architecture)1985

D. J. Chitty, The Desert a City (1966)

A

William MacDonald, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture 1963

G.C. Bottini, L. di Segni, E. Alliata (editors), Christian Archaeology in the Holy Land (Jerusalem 1990)

Graydon F. Snyder, Ante Pacem. Archaeological Evidence of Church Life before Constantine (Mercer, 1985)

J.W. Crowfoot, Early Churches in Palestine (London 1941)

Anthony G. White, Religious Architecture : Early Christian Structures, a Selected Bibliography

Sharon E. J. Gerstel, Beholding the Sacred Mysteries : Programs of the Byzantine Sanctuary (Monographs on the Fine Arts, 56) ,1999.

Paul Corby Finney(Editor), Art, Archaeology, and Architecture of Early Christianity (Studies in Early Christianity, Vol 18) 1993

W. Eugene Kleinbauer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture : An Annotated Bibliography and Historiography (Reference Publication in Art History) 1992

Irmgard Hutter, Early Christian and Byzantine (The Universe History of Art and Architecture)

James Phillips, Early Christian and Early Byzantine Architecture in Palestine (Architecture Series--Bibliography,

James Phillips, Early Christian and Early Byzantine Architecture in Palestine (Including Jordan : The Sites)

James Phillips, Early Christian and Early Byzantine Architecture in Palestine : Churches in Jerusalem

James Phillips, Early Christian and Early Byzantine Architecture in Palestine : The City of Jerusalem

Guntram Koch, Early Christian Art and Architecture : An Introduction

J. B. Ward-Perkins, Studies in Roman and early Christian architecture

John Binns, Ascetics and Ambassadors of Christ : The Monasteries of Palestine 314-631 (Oxford Early Christian Studies) / Paperback / Published 1996 Our Price: $24.95 (Special Order)

B

Rowland J. Mainstone, Hagia Sophia : Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church 1997.

Mary Gough, Alahan : An Early Christian Monastery in Southern Turkey (Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, No 73) 1985

Warren Sanderson, Early Christian Buildings : A Graphic Introduction 1994

Robert G. Ousterhout, Master Builders of Byzantium 2000 Not Yet Published

Annabel Jane Wharton, Refiguring the Post Classical City : Dura Europos, Jerash, Jerusalem and Ravenna 1995

T. Roger Smith, John Slater, Architecture, Classic and Early Christian

Ann Wharton Epstein, Art of Empire : Painting and Architecture of the Byzantine Periphery : A Comparative Study of Four Provinces

Elias Mastrogiannopoulo,s Byzantine Churches of Greece and Cyprus

James Phillips, Byzantine Constantinople : The Churches

Lyn Rodley, Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia

James Phillips, Constantinian Architecture : The Lesser Sites

James Phillips, Early Christian and Byzantine Constantinople, Part 1

James Phillips, Early Christian Architecture in the City of Rome (Architecture Series--Bibliography)

James Phillips, Early Christian Architecture in the City of Rome : The Five Patriarchal Churches

Bryan Ward-Perkins, From Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages : Urban Public Building in Northern and Central Italy, Ad 300-850 (Oxford Historical Monographs)

Rowland Mainstone, Hagia Sophia : Architecture, Structure, Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church

Robert Mark, Ahmet S. Cakmak (Editor), Hagia Sophia from the Age of Justinian to the Present

Andrew Palmer, Monk and Mason on the Tigris Frontier : The Early History of Tur Abdin (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications) 1990

Lyn Rodley, Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia

Conleth Manning, Early Irish monasteries

Robert Curzon, Visits to Monastreies in the Levant (Salzburg English & American Studies, V. 25) 1996