Papers by Mohamed Arbi Nsiri
Antiquité Tardive, N°31, 2023
As with Tyconius and Augustine, the role of time is crucial in Quodvultdeus' theology for underst... more As with Tyconius and Augustine, the role of time is crucial in Quodvultdeus' theology for understanding the world around him. In the structure of thought of the Bishop of Carthage, there is a dual construction of time: the time of suffering and the time of glory. This dualistic and linear conception of time greatly contributed to his conceptualisation of history. Thus, his understanding of historical time, in a context marked by strong Nicene resistance to the Homaeans, sees the course of current events as a fulfilment of the events foretold in the Bible. The result is a perspective in which the apocalyptic end of time takes on increasing importance.
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Hommage à Mounira Chapoutot-Remadi, Carthage, ed. Académie tunisienne des sciences, des lettres et des arts, 2023
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Revista de Historiografía, N° 38, 2023
Yvette Duval's publications offer diverse and contrasting aspects about the dynamism of late-anti... more Yvette Duval's publications offer diverse and contrasting aspects about the dynamism of late-antique North Africa. I have underlined the extent to which they were able to exert a considerable influence in recent historiography. The ideas defended in her various articles and books cannot leave anyone indifferent. Discussing them, drawing up a critical assessment, seeing them questioned, does not mean doing an iconoclast's work. On the contrary, it is the best tribute that can be paid to a woman who defended the idea of a multicolored Late Antiquity, far from the stereotypes resulting from the Aufklärung of crisis and decadence.
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Travaux dédiés à la mémoire de Hichem Djaït, Sousse, éd. Université de Sousse, 2023
Hichem Djaït’s academic production takes place at a precise moment in the evolution of historical... more Hichem Djaït’s academic production takes place at a precise moment in the evolution of historical studies in Tunisia : a moment marked by the effort of a whole generation of historians who seek to define the ways taken to consider mental representations as true subject of historical study. By situating this Medievalist’s publications in a larger historiographical landscape, the objective of our article thus aims to show the interest shown by Hichem Djaït to the Late Antiquity. We have also tried to dissect his method of analysis of the last centuries of Antiquity: a period which considered by our scientist as a key historical chapter to fully understand the political, institutional and mental metamorphoses that marked the beginning of the Arab’s and North African’s Middle Ages.
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Église et christianisme au Maghreb : Antiquité et Moyen Âge, Actes du VIIe colloque International du Laboratoire de recherche "Occupation du Sol, peuplement et Modes de vie" (Sousse, 2-3-4 décembre 2021), Sousse, éd. Université de Sousse, 2023
The episcopal election is imposed in Late Roman North Africa as a theological rule and as a socio... more The episcopal election is imposed in Late Roman North Africa as a theological rule and as a socio-community norm since the episcopacy of Cyprian of Carthage. This made it possible to create an interaction between the clergy and the populus christianus at the local level through-out the Late Roman Period. After the installation of the Vandal in North Africa, the modality of recruitment of bishops sustained many changes who were related to political and doctrinal aspects. This new reality is explained by the royal interventionist policy in the internal affairs of North African Church. The election assemblies, when they are maintained, have only a weak decision-making power and the choice of the bishop very often escapes them. This is why the modes of access to the episcopate in Vandal North Africa draw their institutional legitimization from the new politico-religious system put in the place by the Hasding kings. But this politicalization of the episcopal elections did not prevent the local communities from intervening to choose their religious leaders, as is the case with the election of Fulgentius.
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Cahiers d'Études du Religieux. Recherches Interdisciplinaires, N° 25, 2023
Written between 408 and 409 A.D. in the effervescence of strong pagan resistance to the accelerat... more Written between 408 and 409 A.D. in the effervescence of strong pagan resistance to the accelerated Christianization of the Roman society, the correspondence between Augustine of Hippo and Nectarius of Calama is a concentrate of Neoplatonic issues that revolve around the forms and meanings of belonging to the earthly City, the justice, and the happiness. Added to this is a theological type of debate around the meanings of the celestial City, God, and forgiveness. Through these four letters which enables to a bishop and a well-educated wise man to communicate, we can get closer even more to the mentality of the African pagan and Christian elites of the Later Roman Empire.
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Dialogue d’Histoire Ancienne, N° 49/1, 2023
Among early Christian writers, criticism of pagan practices holds a very important place. This cr... more Among early Christian writers, criticism of pagan practices holds a very important place. This critics are, in fact, so abundant that one cannot help wondering about the reasons for this profusion. This theme thus appears as an organic component of the works of Christian authors from Africa at the dawn of Constantinian peace. These authors had built their argumentative apparatus on the basis of a careful observation of the socio-cultural reality of their society. Their writings are therefore a fundamental element for understanding the beginning of the construction of a dynamic anti-Pagan movement within African society of the late Roman period.
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Revue historique de droit français et étranger, N° 100/3, 2022
Justinian’s provisions dit not alter the episcopalis audientia, although they did result in a sig... more Justinian’s provisions dit not alter the episcopalis audientia, although they did result in a significant loss of practice. With a considerably enlarged priuiligium fori, with the powers that novella 86 grants to the bishops, the Church sees its influence on the administration of justice sufficiently increased not to retain a particular interest in the arbitration tasks of the bishops. The point is that, unlike in the past when bishops complained about the excessively absorbing nature of their dedication to resolving disputes before them, they have not now risen up.
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Clotho N° 3/2, 2021
This paper focuses on the history of concepts by studying the key theological themes in the corre... more This paper focuses on the history of concepts by studying the key theological themes in the correspondence between Jerome and Augustine. Their otherwise fierce debate remains respectful within the literary genre of epistolography and its confines that were characteristic of the period. Although each of them stood by their beliefs that Jerome frequently refused to even discuss, their respect and mutual affection were not in question, particularly when they were both intellectually focusing on the front against their common adversary, Pelagius.
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Studia Patristica, N° 104, 2021
The historical analysis of the Christian sources in Late Antiquity reveals several types of lite... more The historical analysis of the Christian sources in Late Antiquity reveals several types of literary representations of conversion. The most common evokes an intimate renewal. The conversion can also be intended as a transition to a new lifestyle. The person converting goes through a full process of transformation, which is constantly changing.
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Libyan Studies, N° 52, 2021
The purpose of this paper is to present several avenues of reflection linked first to the onomast... more The purpose of this paper is to present several avenues of reflection linked first to the onomastics of the African episcopate of the Byzantine period, then to its development. A quick overview of the most typical characteristics of onomastics of this period will be presented, followed by a description of the remarkable development of this African episcopate between the sixth and the beginning of the eighth century. It will conclude with observations on the African onomastic repertoire of the Protobyzantine era, which reflects the evolution of mentalities within the very interior of the African Christian people and the different circles within it.
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Nos tempos de outrora : Perspectivas (teo)filosóficas antiga e medieval, São Paulo, Editora Recriar, 2020
The paper addresses the question of the survival of Latin African Christianity in the Arab-Muslim... more The paper addresses the question of the survival of Latin African Christianity in the Arab-Muslim Ifriquiya
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Nos tempos de outrora : Perspectivas (teo)filosóficas antiga e medieval, São Paulo, Editora Recriar, 2020
Translation into Portuguese of my Paper entitled « Between Jerome and Augustine of Hippo : Some I... more Translation into Portuguese of my Paper entitled « Between Jerome and Augustine of Hippo : Some Intellectual Preoccupations of Late Antiquity » (London / New York, Routledge, 2019)
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Epigrafia e Antichità, N° 45, 2020
This paper try to apprehend the Byzantine North African’s episcopate in its collective dimensions... more This paper try to apprehend the Byzantine North African’s episcopate in its collective dimensions and aims to understand the territorial, political and religious foundations of the episcopal authority in a context of important institutional, political and social changes.
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Geneses : A Comparative Study of the Historiographies of the Rise of Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Islam, London/New York, Routledge, 2019
Engaged at the end of the fourth century, the correspondence between Jerome and Augustine brings ... more Engaged at the end of the fourth century, the correspondence between Jerome and Augustine brings together two of the greatest minds of Late Antiquity—two theologians united in defense of orthodoxy, but opposed to each other on important issues. A figure of the past, Jerome is an exceptional stylist with an impossible character. Embodying the future, the Augustine is a rather sociable character for whom only evidence matters. Covering the questions of divine freedom and salvation, the 30 or so letters they exchange between 394 and 419 give rise to a very particular debate. In a very polite costume, the dialogue between the two ecclesiastics conceals a bitter dispute in which bad faith is mixed with threats, ulterior motives, unspoken resentments and incomprehension.
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Dialogue d’Histoire Ancienne, N° 41/1, 2018
Since the late 1970s, historians have questioned the links between the classical city and the Chr... more Since the late 1970s, historians have questioned the links between the classical city and the Christian city. Some consider the Christian city as a creation of the late Roman era. Others, on the contrary, defend the thesis of the permanence of the urban fact but take for original the nature and functions of the late-ancient city. There is no doubt that urban life after the 4th century is very different from that of the Roman Empire because of the dominant position occupied by the Church, the new nature of the institutions, and the social composition of the urban population. Yet, the city of the Early Christian era often occupied the same site as the city of the classic period. The African example shows that the late-Antic city remained largely dependent on an urban fabric established in the classical era, despite the many changes that marked Africa from the 5th century onward.
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Libyan Studies, N° 49, 2018
During his four decades of rule, Genseric appears to many Africans – Catholic and pro-Roman – as ... more During his four decades of rule, Genseric appears to many Africans – Catholic and pro-Roman – as the incarnation of the Antichrist. For the African municipal aristocracy he represented the image of a greedy barbarian obsessed with power, the persecutor and the gravedigger of Romanitas. If we look closely, Genseric had learned from the Romans how to manage strength and diplomacy, for negotiating with the Romans in particular. He sought to perpetuate his conquests by organising treaties with Ravenna and Constantinople, which did not prevent him from launching parallel plundering campaigns in Africa and along the coast that brought him respect and financial gain. First king of the vandals, he managed to create the first barbaric state on the territory of the empire. He was the type of leader who can be considered a visionary, bringing to fulfilment the material, political and spiritual conquests of a new era, the Spätantike.
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Revue des Études Tardo-Antiques , N° 7, 2017-2018
Since the beginning of Christianity, the recruitment of the episcopal body has given rise to many... more Since the beginning of Christianity, the recruitment of the episcopal body has given rise to many taboos and has many obstacles; the restrictions are both religious and civil and the legislation of the laity complements the minimum expected by the bishops. The choice of the candidate is difficult to define because it is not always easy to link to the canonical theory a practical reality. Several factors are taken into account in the choice of the candidate: beyond the legal obligations, one expects of the moral virtues whose normative sources do not say anything. After studying the African texts addressing the issue of episcopal election, we will attempt to respect the theoretical scheme of the acts of recruitment to the episcopate: the choice of the candidate, his appointment and his consecration. In particular, one has to wonder about his previous career, which does not necessarily follow the ecclesiastical or monastic path. The study of the motivations of the candidates is impossible because they can not be evaluated by sources which limit them to a divine revelation.
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Cartagine. Studi e Ricerche, N° 2, 2017
This paper aims deals with the place of ancient studies in Les Cahiers de Tunisie. It traces thei... more This paper aims deals with the place of ancient studies in Les Cahiers de Tunisie. It traces their history and is interested in their place in this periodical. Finally, after having justified the choice of the period (1953-2011), we attach in a final part, to give some elements of methodology and to present the main axes of the bibliographic search.
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Revue d'Histoire Maghrébine, N° 165, 2017
In Post-Revolutionary Tunisia, debates on History and Memory are fraught with difficulties. If it... more In Post-Revolutionary Tunisia, debates on History and Memory are fraught with difficulties. If it happens sometimes that they are confused, Memory is not the History but the one with the other maintain close relations. History and memory have in common to be related to time. Faced with this type of problematic, the exegesis of symbols, discourses and testimonies must recognize the fallacious and even delusional character of historical interpretations loaded with ideology and subjectivity. But despite all these difficulties peculiar to epistemology and the representation of the Tunisian History, the problem is surmountable from the moment when hermeneutics takes on the responsibility of thinking what culture could bequeath as a collective heritage.
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Papers by Mohamed Arbi Nsiri