Abstract
During the past decade, in the English-speaking academia, working on various Near and M... more Abstract During the past decade, in the English-speaking academia, working on various Near and Middle Eastern cultures of Late Antiquity, a new generation of scholars has emerged. Although they do not work specifically on the same subjects and do not apply the same methodologies, some similarities can be determined in their approaches toward their primary sources. Far away from anything that can even loosely be called a “School,” scholars such as Richard Payne, Yishai Keil, Shai Secunda, Geoffry Herman, Dan Shapira, Reuven Kiperwasser and Serge Ruzer, all arguably more or less influenced or inspired by Yaakov Elman, approach their primary sources not in isolation, but in the context of rich cultural interactions. Unlike the traditional approaches (if one could put it that way), which read, for instance, Syriac literature solely within the framework of Eastern Christianity, or Talmud, in the isolation of the rabbinic and Jewish history, this new generation tends to understand the given sources against the backdrop of the multilateral cultural bazaar of their time. That is to say, for example, Secunda argues that Babylonian Talmud is a product of the Sasanian time. It was created during the time and inside the realm of the Sasanian Empire. Therefore, it cannot be read without considering the Zoroastrian-Sasanian culture. The other way around, one could argue that the multicultural society of the Sasanian Empire cannot be correctly studied if one neglects Syriac and Aramaic-speaking cultures. The key concept of this approach is “contextualization.” They all try to contextualize their primary sources in their original environment and single out the relationship between that given source and the literature of the neighbouring cultures. The present paper attempts to understand this approach’s grounds and backgrounds, explain its capacity for posing new questions and answering old questions, and point out the impediments on the way ahead.
Pahlavi and its discontents: a note on two Syriac translators (7th and 9th centuries CE) complain... more Pahlavi and its discontents: a note on two Syriac translators (7th and 9th centuries CE) complaining about the difficulties of Middle Persian (Pahlavi)
Nima Jamali, “The Foundations of Legal Thinking in the Church of the East (400-550 CE),” Iran Namag, Volume 4, Number 3-4 (Fall/Winter 2019), 75-89., 2019
“The Foundations of Legal Thinking in the Church of the East (400-550 CE),”
The confluence of two... more “The Foundations of Legal Thinking in the Church of the East (400-550 CE),” The confluence of two currents of events, i.e. the establishment and later on the independence of the Church of the East on the one hand, and the closure of the School of Persian and consequently the foundation of the School of Nisibis on the other hand, led to a specific tradition of legal thinking and practice. The former provided an apparatus in the shape of a hierarchical structure for administration, the latter fed this apparatus intellectually and ideologically. The origins of this tradition is to be studied in this paper under the title of the legal thinking in the Church of the East.
A Persian translation of YARSHATER, E (1976). “Lists of the Achaemenid Kings in Biruni and Bar He... more A Persian translation of YARSHATER, E (1976). “Lists of the Achaemenid Kings in Biruni and Bar Hebraeus”. In: The Commemoration Volume of Biruni International Congress in Tehran. Tehran, High Council of Culture and Art, Centre for Research and Cultural Coordination: pp. 45-61.
رستم در زبانِ سغدی، جامبازیان استادِ بالت، فهرستِ پادشاهانِ هخامنشی به روایتِ بیرونی و تاریخِ سری... more رستم در زبانِ سغدی، جامبازیان استادِ بالت، فهرستِ پادشاهانِ هخامنشی به روایتِ بیرونی و تاریخِ سریانیِ ابنعبری، آستروفسکی: درامنویسِ مشهورِ روسیه، زبانهای ایرانیِ الموت و رودبارِ الموت و کوهپایه، دانشنامهٔ ایرانیکا، ژرژ سورا و شیوهٔ امپرسیونیسمِ نو، شعرِ نادرپور، نقاشیِ نوین (از امپرسیونیسم تا پاپ آرت)، دستورِ زبانِ تاتی جنوبی، بنگاهِ ترجمه و نشرِ آثار. اگر عناوینی چنین متنوع را در سیاههٔ آثارِ کسی ببینیم معقول است شک کنیم و مدعی را متفنن و پراکندهکار بدانیم. این تنها بخشِ کوچکی است از فهرستِ بلندِ کارها و کتابهای احسانِ یارشاطر (۱۲۹۹-۱۳۹۷). اما یارشاطر متفنن نبود و کارش را جدی میگرفت. پرسشی که پیشمیآید این است که چگونه توانسته است چنین متنوع کار کند بیآنکه متفنن باشد. در این مقاله میکوشم تا پاسخِ این پرسش را بیابم. در واقع، در جستجوی آن خطیام که رستم در زبانِ سغدی را به ژرژ سورا و شیوهٔ امپرسیونیسمِ نو میرساند.
Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies, 2017
From Mār Ābā’s reforms (540 AD) —an early example of legal thought within the Church of the East—... more From Mār Ābā’s reforms (540 AD) —an early example of legal thought within the Church of the East—to the time of Īšō‘-bokht’s Corpus Juris (eight century), East Syriac jurists almost exclusively addressed substantive laws, a set of laws that determine the rights and obligations of the local Christian community. With Book VI of Corpus Juris, there is an un- expected shift from substantive to procedural laws, raising an essential question since procedural laws presuppose some level of executive authority to enforcing legal decisions. The present paper thus aims to tackle the following important question: Did Īšō‛-bokht enjoy enough authority to enforce his legal decisions, or is his discussion of them in Book VI of the CJ just a theoretical debate set up to present a potential model for a comprehensive Christian legal system?
The abstract, table of contents, and acknowledgments of my Ph.D. dissertation, A Study of the In... more The abstract, table of contents, and acknowledgments of my Ph.D. dissertation, A Study of the Interactions among Zoroastrian, Jewish and Roman Legal Systems during the 7th and 8th Centuries CE Based on a Critical Edition of Īšō‛-boḵt's Corpus Juris with Commentary and an English Translation defended on May 12, 2021, at University of Toronto, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies
Abstract
During the past decade, in the English-speaking academia, working on various Near and M... more Abstract During the past decade, in the English-speaking academia, working on various Near and Middle Eastern cultures of Late Antiquity, a new generation of scholars has emerged. Although they do not work specifically on the same subjects and do not apply the same methodologies, some similarities can be determined in their approaches toward their primary sources. Far away from anything that can even loosely be called a “School,” scholars such as Richard Payne, Yishai Keil, Shai Secunda, Geoffry Herman, Dan Shapira, Reuven Kiperwasser and Serge Ruzer, all arguably more or less influenced or inspired by Yaakov Elman, approach their primary sources not in isolation, but in the context of rich cultural interactions. Unlike the traditional approaches (if one could put it that way), which read, for instance, Syriac literature solely within the framework of Eastern Christianity, or Talmud, in the isolation of the rabbinic and Jewish history, this new generation tends to understand the given sources against the backdrop of the multilateral cultural bazaar of their time. That is to say, for example, Secunda argues that Babylonian Talmud is a product of the Sasanian time. It was created during the time and inside the realm of the Sasanian Empire. Therefore, it cannot be read without considering the Zoroastrian-Sasanian culture. The other way around, one could argue that the multicultural society of the Sasanian Empire cannot be correctly studied if one neglects Syriac and Aramaic-speaking cultures. The key concept of this approach is “contextualization.” They all try to contextualize their primary sources in their original environment and single out the relationship between that given source and the literature of the neighbouring cultures. The present paper attempts to understand this approach’s grounds and backgrounds, explain its capacity for posing new questions and answering old questions, and point out the impediments on the way ahead.
Pahlavi and its discontents: a note on two Syriac translators (7th and 9th centuries CE) complain... more Pahlavi and its discontents: a note on two Syriac translators (7th and 9th centuries CE) complaining about the difficulties of Middle Persian (Pahlavi)
Nima Jamali, “The Foundations of Legal Thinking in the Church of the East (400-550 CE),” Iran Namag, Volume 4, Number 3-4 (Fall/Winter 2019), 75-89., 2019
“The Foundations of Legal Thinking in the Church of the East (400-550 CE),”
The confluence of two... more “The Foundations of Legal Thinking in the Church of the East (400-550 CE),” The confluence of two currents of events, i.e. the establishment and later on the independence of the Church of the East on the one hand, and the closure of the School of Persian and consequently the foundation of the School of Nisibis on the other hand, led to a specific tradition of legal thinking and practice. The former provided an apparatus in the shape of a hierarchical structure for administration, the latter fed this apparatus intellectually and ideologically. The origins of this tradition is to be studied in this paper under the title of the legal thinking in the Church of the East.
A Persian translation of YARSHATER, E (1976). “Lists of the Achaemenid Kings in Biruni and Bar He... more A Persian translation of YARSHATER, E (1976). “Lists of the Achaemenid Kings in Biruni and Bar Hebraeus”. In: The Commemoration Volume of Biruni International Congress in Tehran. Tehran, High Council of Culture and Art, Centre for Research and Cultural Coordination: pp. 45-61.
رستم در زبانِ سغدی، جامبازیان استادِ بالت، فهرستِ پادشاهانِ هخامنشی به روایتِ بیرونی و تاریخِ سری... more رستم در زبانِ سغدی، جامبازیان استادِ بالت، فهرستِ پادشاهانِ هخامنشی به روایتِ بیرونی و تاریخِ سریانیِ ابنعبری، آستروفسکی: درامنویسِ مشهورِ روسیه، زبانهای ایرانیِ الموت و رودبارِ الموت و کوهپایه، دانشنامهٔ ایرانیکا، ژرژ سورا و شیوهٔ امپرسیونیسمِ نو، شعرِ نادرپور، نقاشیِ نوین (از امپرسیونیسم تا پاپ آرت)، دستورِ زبانِ تاتی جنوبی، بنگاهِ ترجمه و نشرِ آثار. اگر عناوینی چنین متنوع را در سیاههٔ آثارِ کسی ببینیم معقول است شک کنیم و مدعی را متفنن و پراکندهکار بدانیم. این تنها بخشِ کوچکی است از فهرستِ بلندِ کارها و کتابهای احسانِ یارشاطر (۱۲۹۹-۱۳۹۷). اما یارشاطر متفنن نبود و کارش را جدی میگرفت. پرسشی که پیشمیآید این است که چگونه توانسته است چنین متنوع کار کند بیآنکه متفنن باشد. در این مقاله میکوشم تا پاسخِ این پرسش را بیابم. در واقع، در جستجوی آن خطیام که رستم در زبانِ سغدی را به ژرژ سورا و شیوهٔ امپرسیونیسمِ نو میرساند.
Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies, 2017
From Mār Ābā’s reforms (540 AD) —an early example of legal thought within the Church of the East—... more From Mār Ābā’s reforms (540 AD) —an early example of legal thought within the Church of the East—to the time of Īšō‘-bokht’s Corpus Juris (eight century), East Syriac jurists almost exclusively addressed substantive laws, a set of laws that determine the rights and obligations of the local Christian community. With Book VI of Corpus Juris, there is an un- expected shift from substantive to procedural laws, raising an essential question since procedural laws presuppose some level of executive authority to enforcing legal decisions. The present paper thus aims to tackle the following important question: Did Īšō‛-bokht enjoy enough authority to enforce his legal decisions, or is his discussion of them in Book VI of the CJ just a theoretical debate set up to present a potential model for a comprehensive Christian legal system?
The abstract, table of contents, and acknowledgments of my Ph.D. dissertation, A Study of the In... more The abstract, table of contents, and acknowledgments of my Ph.D. dissertation, A Study of the Interactions among Zoroastrian, Jewish and Roman Legal Systems during the 7th and 8th Centuries CE Based on a Critical Edition of Īšō‛-boḵt's Corpus Juris with Commentary and an English Translation defended on May 12, 2021, at University of Toronto, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies
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During the past decade, in the English-speaking academia, working on various Near and Middle Eastern cultures of Late Antiquity, a new generation of scholars has emerged. Although they do not work specifically on the same subjects and do not apply the same methodologies, some similarities can be determined in their approaches toward their primary sources. Far away from anything that can even loosely be called a “School,” scholars such as Richard Payne, Yishai Keil, Shai Secunda, Geoffry Herman, Dan Shapira, Reuven Kiperwasser and Serge Ruzer, all arguably more or less influenced or inspired by Yaakov Elman, approach their primary sources not in isolation, but in the context of rich cultural interactions. Unlike the traditional approaches (if one could put it that way), which read, for instance, Syriac literature solely within the framework of Eastern Christianity, or Talmud, in the isolation of the rabbinic and Jewish history, this new generation tends to understand the given sources against the backdrop of the multilateral cultural bazaar of their time. That is to say, for example, Secunda argues that Babylonian Talmud is a product of the Sasanian time. It was created during the time and inside the realm of the Sasanian Empire. Therefore, it cannot be read without considering the Zoroastrian-Sasanian culture. The other way around, one could argue that the multicultural society of the Sasanian Empire cannot be correctly studied if one neglects Syriac and Aramaic-speaking cultures. The key concept of this approach is “contextualization.” They all try to contextualize their primary sources in their original environment and single out the relationship between that given source and the literature of the neighbouring cultures. The present paper attempts to understand this approach’s grounds and backgrounds, explain its capacity for posing new questions and answering old questions, and point out the impediments on the way ahead.
The confluence of two currents of events, i.e. the establishment and later on the independence of the Church of the East on the one hand, and the closure of the School of Persian and consequently the foundation of the School of Nisibis on the other hand, led to a specific tradition of legal thinking and practice. The former provided an apparatus in the shape of a hierarchical structure for administration, the latter fed this apparatus intellectually and ideologically. The origins of this tradition is to be studied in this paper under the title of the legal thinking in the Church of the East.
During the past decade, in the English-speaking academia, working on various Near and Middle Eastern cultures of Late Antiquity, a new generation of scholars has emerged. Although they do not work specifically on the same subjects and do not apply the same methodologies, some similarities can be determined in their approaches toward their primary sources. Far away from anything that can even loosely be called a “School,” scholars such as Richard Payne, Yishai Keil, Shai Secunda, Geoffry Herman, Dan Shapira, Reuven Kiperwasser and Serge Ruzer, all arguably more or less influenced or inspired by Yaakov Elman, approach their primary sources not in isolation, but in the context of rich cultural interactions. Unlike the traditional approaches (if one could put it that way), which read, for instance, Syriac literature solely within the framework of Eastern Christianity, or Talmud, in the isolation of the rabbinic and Jewish history, this new generation tends to understand the given sources against the backdrop of the multilateral cultural bazaar of their time. That is to say, for example, Secunda argues that Babylonian Talmud is a product of the Sasanian time. It was created during the time and inside the realm of the Sasanian Empire. Therefore, it cannot be read without considering the Zoroastrian-Sasanian culture. The other way around, one could argue that the multicultural society of the Sasanian Empire cannot be correctly studied if one neglects Syriac and Aramaic-speaking cultures. The key concept of this approach is “contextualization.” They all try to contextualize their primary sources in their original environment and single out the relationship between that given source and the literature of the neighbouring cultures. The present paper attempts to understand this approach’s grounds and backgrounds, explain its capacity for posing new questions and answering old questions, and point out the impediments on the way ahead.
The confluence of two currents of events, i.e. the establishment and later on the independence of the Church of the East on the one hand, and the closure of the School of Persian and consequently the foundation of the School of Nisibis on the other hand, led to a specific tradition of legal thinking and practice. The former provided an apparatus in the shape of a hierarchical structure for administration, the latter fed this apparatus intellectually and ideologically. The origins of this tradition is to be studied in this paper under the title of the legal thinking in the Church of the East.