Before it fell to Muslim armies in AD 635-6 Damascus had a long and prestigious history as a center of Christianity. How did the city, which became capital of the Islamic Empire, and its people, negotiate the transition from a late antique, or early Byzantine world to an Islamic culture? In this innovative study, Nancy Khalek demonstrates that the changes that took place in Syria during the formative period of Islamic life were not a matter of the replacement of one civilization by another as a result of military conquest, but rather of shifting relationships and practices in a multi-faceted social and cultural setting. Even as late antique forms of religion and culture persisted, the formation of Islamic identity was effected by the people who constructed, lived in, and narrated the history of their city. Khalek draws on the evidence of architecture, and the testimony of pilgrims, biographers, geographers, and historians to shed light on this process of identity formation. Offering a fresh approach to the early Islamic period, she moves the study of Islamic origins beyond a focus on issues of authenticity and textual criticism, and initiates an interdisciplinary discourse on narrative, story-telling, and the interpretations of material culture.

About the Author
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Brown University

Reviews
This collection offers raw history, untainted and unfilteres by modern political frameworks, interpretations, or opinions, representing a refreshing new approach to the study of Iraq. ... There are very few works on the Middle East that offer the type of perspectve the author presents in this compendium of source materials. * Elfatih A. Abdel Salam, The Muslim World Book Review *
An innovative and nuanced contribution to our understanding of the first century or so after the coming of Islam...Damascus after the Muslim conquest should be required reading for all students of early Islamic history. * Zayde Antrim, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199736515
Author Nancy Khalek
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 236mm * 163mm * 23mm