Abstract
Palaestina saw one of the greatest historical and cultural events in its history during Byzantine rule – the victory of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire in 313 CE. In this research I focus on the territory of Beth Guvrin/Eleutheropolis belonging to the province Palaestina Prima during the Fourth – Seventh centuries CE, while the purpose of my lecture is to reveal archaeological, historical and textual sources that shed light on intercultural dialogue between religious groups in the area. In the middle of the Fifth century CE, Beth Guvrin/Eleutheropolis changed to a clearly Byzantine – Christian site, but - my study reveals evidences of interaction between ethnic and religious communities, religious toleration and peaceful co-existence between Christian and Jewish population at the area. In 300 CE Christianity still were a minority throughout the country, both in cities and the countryside. Eusebius, in his Onomasticon, mentions just two entirely Christian villages in the southern part of the Beth Guvrin/Eleutheropolis region – Anaia and Ietheira. However, archeological finds and historical sources in the area of my research indicate a much larger Christian presence that attest to the growth of Christian population during the Byzantine Era, development of Sacred Geography as well cultural and economic development. Moreover, interpretive research analysis attest to the phenomena, that Christian communities were still flourishing in the Seven - Eight centuries CE and, despite the Muslim conquest, the Roman-Byzantine tradition were continued to be dominant in our region.
Presenters
Barbara AstafurovaPhD Candidate, Jewish Studies and Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, HaDarom, Israel
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Community and Socialization
KEYWORDS
Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Christianity, Co-existence, Community, Holy Land, Multicultural
