Books by Zara Pogossian
The Church of the Holy Cross of Ałt‘amar, 2019
« Sainte-Croix d'Ałt'amar. Sens symbolique, architectural et iconographique de la dédicace » in T... more « Sainte-Croix d'Ałt'amar. Sens symbolique, architectural et iconographique de la dédicace » in The Church of the Holy Cross of Ałt'amar
Ałt‘amar est devenu, pour la postérité, le monument le plus célèbre d’un royaume du Vaspurakan, q... more Ałt‘amar est devenu, pour la postérité, le monument le plus célèbre d’un royaume du Vaspurakan, qui a existé, au sud de l’Arménie, entre 908 et 1021. Le Vaspurakan est consacré comme une entité territoriale distincte par le traité de 591, quand les conquêtes de Maurice entraînent la division de la province du Turuberan, en Tarawn, à l’Ouest, sous contrôle byzantin, et en Vaspurakan, à l’Est, sous domination sassanide.
L’étymologie de Vaspurakan est heureusement assez transparente pour laisser entrevoir par quelle évolution un banal adjectif en -akan, a pu acquérir un sens toponymique localisé dans cette région. Il est clair en effet que le radical est composé de l’épithète vas- signifiant « précieux, de haute noblesse », et de – pur-, reposant sur un thème indo-iranien, qui désigne le « fils », comme c’est le cas par exemple dans le nom du fleuve Brahmapoutre. Le Vaspurakan est donc la terre qui appartient en propre aux « fils de haute noblesse ».
Qui sont ces mystérieux personnages ? Tout simplement, les frères cadets ou les cousins du roi. Bref, tous les princes du sang, qu’il vaut mieux tenir à l’écart de la cour pour éviter les intrigues de palais, et autres rivalités fratricides. Movsēs Xorenac‘i nous apprend qu’à l’époque arsacide ces princes étaient consignés au Nord du lac de Van, près des pêcheries royales d’Aṙberani, et qu’ils ne pouvaient quitter ce secteur sans se rendre coupables de haute trahison. C’est ainsi que leur domaine princier fut qualifié de vaspurakan et que, par une sorte de métonymie, cet adjectif fut transformé en nom propre pour désigner des territoires de plus en plus étendus : au VIe siècle, l’Est du Turuberan puis, dès le VIIe siècle, presque tout le Sud-Est arménien, si l’on en croit la Géographie d’Anania Širakac‘i.
ISBN: 9789004400382
Publisher: Brill
The “Letter of Love and Concord” is a unique source, which allows us a glimpse into the political... more The “Letter of Love and Concord” is a unique source, which allows us a glimpse into the political and religious aspirations of the Armenian Cilician elite at the end of the twelfth century, alluding to its hopes and expectations from the Crusades and the Church of Rome, as well as its uneasy relationship with the Byzantine Empire. The “Letter” is especially valuable for the wealth of information it contains on the royal ideology nurtured within the highest circles of the ruling Rubenid dynasty. The study provides an analysis of the sources used by its anonymous author, placing them within a historical context. Moreover, this marks the first time that a text based on the study of surviving sixty nine manuscripts along with its English translation has been made available for scholars.
Articles by Zara Pogossian
I Mondi di Marco Polo. Il viaggio di un mercante veneziano del Duecento, a cura di Giovanni Curatola e Chiara Squarcina, 2024
The paper explores what Marco Polo says and would have seen as he crossed Cilician Armenia, Anato... more The paper explores what Marco Polo says and would have seen as he crossed Cilician Armenia, Anatolia and the Armenian Plateau on his way to China.
Orientalia Christiana Periodica, 2023
The article analyzes the rise of the Noravank‘ Monastery in Vayots‘ Dzor (region of Syunik‘, Arme... more The article analyzes the rise of the Noravank‘ Monastery in Vayots‘ Dzor (region of Syunik‘, Armenia) as a major holy site in the period of Seljuk incursions and conquest of Armenia in the 11th-12th centuries. This political-military context, on the one hand, caused a highly competitive, volatile, and often violent dynamics between the local Armenian nobility and the newly arrived military men in some way connected to the Seljuks. On the other hand, there were put in place strategies of accommodation and containment of violence, among them partially overlapping legal practices regarding pious foundations. I argue that the patronage and land grants to monasteries by Armenian military and religious élites were one of the strategies of resistance and accommodation to Seljuk rule, efforts to maintain the inalienability of land and control of territory, as well as a means of positioning themselves in the factional struggles at the local and/or regional level versus the Seljuk court in Isfahan. In the first part of the paper this hypothesis is tested through a detailed study of the actions and death of king
Senek‘erim of Syunik‘ (1072-1094/6), his relationship to the sultan Malikshâh (1073-1092), and his endowments to the monastery of Tat‘ew that are compared to the Muslim tradition of waqf. In the second part, I look at bishop Hovhannês Kapants‘i’s efforts to establish a tax exempt status on and expand the lands belonging to the monastery of Noravank‘ with the support of the Seljuk court. This is done through the analysis of a historiola reported by the 13th-century historian Step‘anos Ôrbêlean. It details Hovhannês Kapants‘i’s voyage to Isfahan, his miraculous healing of the sultan’s son, and his use of the written record in establishing rights to land-control and its use. Hovhannês’ actions eventually led to the transformation of a local holy site to the major religious center of Noravank‘. Lastly, the article highlights the importance of élite women (Armenian or Seljuk) in situations of contested authority and legitimacy of titles, as well as their role as economic agents.
Entre le Pô et l'Araxe Mélanges en l'honneur de Boghos Levon Zekiyan, Revue des Études Arméniennes 41, 2022
In his voluminous scholarly production, Fr. Boghos Levon Zekiyan has laid the groundwork for expl... more In his voluminous scholarly production, Fr. Boghos Levon Zekiyan has laid the groundwork for exploring numerous research questions within Armenian studies. His contributions to our understanding of medieval Armenian spirituality, theology, and ecclesiology are milestones in the field. The present article builds on his work and intuitions and seeks to look into the theology and symbolism of the cross in three late antique Armenian sources as a way of celebrating Fr. Levon's rich legacy in the field of Armenology and his unique stature as a spiritual leader. The present work will explore the multiplicity of experiences and narratives on the cross in late antique Armenia by focusing on the Life of Maštoc', the so-called Oft-Repeated Discourses (Yačaxapatum Čaṙk'), and Agat'angełos History of the Armenians, highlighting their shared themes, but also differences in their approaches to the multiple realities associated with the cross.
Aethiopica: International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies, 2021
Research for this article had the purpose of exploring medieval Armenian-Ethiopian connections. T... more Research for this article had the purpose of exploring medieval Armenian-Ethiopian connections. The investigations revealed three main contexts where Ethiopia and Ethiopians feature in the Armenian sources of the first millennium, without necessarily implying real-life encounters. Firstly, the earliest Armenian texts locate Ethiopia and discuss the genealogy of its people in line with the biblical account of the Diamerismos, as well as notions based on Eusebius of Caesarea’s Chronicle translated into Armenian from Syriac in the fifth century. Each author, then, interpreted this information according to his narrative needs or the purpose of a given composition. The discussion of these sources reveals the circulation of classical and Hellenistic notions on Ethiopia and the Ethiopians in Armenian, too, such as the confusion between Ethiopia, Arabia and India, as well as anthropological or spiritual features attributed to Ethiopians already by classical authors. Secondly, the article analyses a series of calendrical treatises, starting with one authored by the seventh-century polymath Anania Širakac‘i, that passed on a short tale about a sixth century gathering of scholars in Alexandria in order to determine the date of the Easter and establish tables for its calculation in the future. An Ethiopian wise man Abdiē was part of this international endeavour too, according to this tradition, and his presence marked Ethiopia as part of the eastern Mediterranean learned world, with its own cultural traditions. Armenian language hemerologia also preserved names of month names in Gǝʿǝz, reproduced in the Appendix. Thirdly, the article draws attention to a completely new way of viewing Ethiopia in ninth to eleventh century Armenian anti-dyophysite (anti-Byzantine) treatises where the Armenian Church and her doctrines or ritual practices were imagined as part of a vast, non-dyophysite orthodox world that included the Ethiopian Church. Intriguingly, this argumentative technique, formulated in terms that one may call anti-colonial ante litteram, may be traced among Coptic and Syriac polemicists as well, a subject of research that would benefit from further analysis.
Orientalia Christiana Periodica, 2020
This article takes its inspiration from an unusual representation of the relationship between mem... more This article takes its inspiration from an unusual representation of the relationship between members of the potent Kamsarakan dynasty of Late Antique Armenia, as described in a mathematical problem by the seventh-century polymath Anania Širakac'i. Based on this, it explores inner family dynamics in the system of naxararut'iwn, and the Kamsarakans’ relationship with the other mighty family of the period — the Mamikoneans. The article juxtaposes data from Anania Širakac'i to information provided by Lazar P'arpec'i and Procopius of Caesarea on Sahak Kamsarakan and his brothers Nerseh and Hrahat. It underscores the role of Sahak Kamsarakan as the founder of the most celebrated Late Antique basilica in
Armenia — the basilica of Tekor — and in introducing and promoting the cult of St. Sergius, as attested by the famous inscription of Tekor. This is compared to the foundation of yet another outstanding architectural jewel — the basilica of Ereruyk' — and the significance of these near contemporary structures for the Christianisation of the landscape of Širak, the function of specific saints’ cults, and the role of Kamsarakan princes in promoting them. The article also highlights the hemispheric scope of action of the Kamsarakans fighting on behalf of the Roman and Sasanian Empires, from Italy to Afghanistan, and reminds the readers of
their importance as agents of cultural exchanges between their native Armenia and the region of Širak, to the wider world. Finally, it underscores the value of Anania Širakac'i’s Problems in preserving echoes of a distinct Kamsarakan dynastic memory in the absence of historiographical
sources focusing on this specific aristocratic family.
Eschatology in Antiquity: Forms and Functions, 2021
1. Considerations on Terminology and Methodology From its origins in Biblical studies and apocryp... more 1. Considerations on Terminology and Methodology From its origins in Biblical studies and apocryphal literature, research on Late Antique and Medieval apocalyptic and eschatological texts has adopted more nuanced approaches and taken multiple directions. These have ranged from sophisticated text-critical analysis to methodological issues regarding the genre and the mode of composition of such texts, their significance as historical sources, and their diverse functions. The ever-growing interest in these compositions has not left the field of Armenian studies untouched. A recent collection of articles brought together in the Armenian Apocalyptic Tradition: A Comparative Perspective (Bardakjian-La Porta 2014) testifies to the productivity of research in this sub-field and underscores the importance of Armenian texts for appreciating the wide spectrum of eschatological speculations that characterized many of its neighbouring cultures and diverse religious communities. Terminology and its employment have been important in this discussion. Thanks to decades of research terms such as 'apocalyptic' and 'eschatology' have been scrutinized, better defined and continue to be refined according to further sub-categories and certain specific features. 1 Not all texts classified as 'apocalypses'-i.e. those revealing some form of secret knowledge-are necessarily concerned with the End of the World, i.e. the eschaton. Yet, those that outline the circumstances of the eschaton must contain a prediction, and thus a revelation, of something unknown that lies in the future. Therefore by their very nature eschatological prophecies are also apocalypses-revelations about the future-be those of * Research for this paper was carried out under the auspices of a project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 647467-JEWSEAST ERC-funded Consolidator Grant JewsEast at Center for Religious Studies, Ruhr-Universität-Bochum).
Le Muséon, 2020
This article presents for the first time the Armenian version of an eschatological composition kn... more This article presents for the first time the Armenian version of an eschatological composition known as Ps.-Hippolytus 'De Consummatione Munde' (BHG 812z, CPG 1910) in comparison with its Greek original, and evaluates its possible impact on other Armenian apocalyptic texts, particularly Agat‘angel 'On the end of the world'. It first discusses briefly the textual tradition of the Armenian Ps.-Hippolytus and reveals that it is extant in at least two recensions. Their distinctive features are exposed. Then, the article explores some common themes, the so-called 'eschatological sensitive formulae', that Ps.-Hippolytus and Agat‘angel 'On the end of the world' share, emphasising both text's engagement in anti-Jewish polemic. Such topoi, particularly in relation to the function of the Jews in the eschatological drama and their fate during the Last Judgement, are significant given that they are attested only in very few other texts. However, a more detailed comparison provides grounds to refuse this possibility. Nevertheless, a shared cultural-geographic milieu of the two texts' redaction may be hypothesised and a possible relative and absolute dating proposed, suggesting a date of the composition of Agat‘angel 'On the end of the world' at the time of Emperor Heraclius and the so-called last great conflict of Late Antiquity -- Byzantine-Persian wars.
Orientalia Christiana Periodica, fascicolo II, 513-546., 2019
This paper analyzes the origin and development of the cult of the True Cross of Varag, a True Cro... more This paper analyzes the origin and development of the cult of the True Cross of Varag, a True Cross relic that was kept in the Monastery of Varag in Vaspurakan, south of Lake Van, since the middle of the seventh century. It first provides a detailed analysis of seventh- to tenth-century traditions on the True Cross of Varag, particularly a Homily dedicated to it, as well as some liturgical hymns, folkloric traditions and historical notices. The discovery of the Cross of Varag is placed under the rule of Theodore Ṙštuni and his son Vard Patrik Ṙštuni based on a minute theological, christological, historical and ideological analysis of the "Homily on the True Cross of Varag", and in a context of military rivalries and claims of dominance over the territory of historical Armenia between the Byzantine Empire and the emerging (and expanding) Muslim polity. It then highlights the new elements that came to enrich the cult of the True Cross of Varag when Vaspurakan was conquered by the Arcruni (Artsruni) dynasty since the eighth, but especially ninth and tenth centuries, and particularly under the rule of King Gagik Arcruni. The dedication of Gagik's splendid church on the island of Ałt‘amar to the True Cross is placed in connection to the veneration of the True Cross of Varag, as well as traditional Arcruni practices of religious patronage. At least since the middle of the ninth century the True Cross of Varag and its discovery became associated with the first saints or founding mothers and fathers of the Armenian Church, such as St. Hṙip‘simē and St. Gregory the Illuminator. Such associations are placed in a wider context, such as evidence from the neighbouring Caucasian Albania were the "translatio" or discovery of True Cross relics was linked to the first saints of the Armenian and/or Caucasian Albanian church. The article explores not only the religious, but also political and cultural significance of the patronage of the True Cross relics in general, and that of Varag in particular by the Arcruni princely, then royal, dynasty. It closes with a short foray into the fortunes of the Cross of Varag after Vaspurakan was ceded to the Byzantine Empire, the use of this relic in the context of the Crusades and in Cilician Armenia, as well as notices of its importance even to the Muslim population in the region south of Lake Van in the fifteenth century.
Rassegna degli armenisti italiani XX, 2019
AL-ʿUṢŪR AL-WUSṬĀ 27 , 2019
This article, a response to Antony Eastmond's monograph Tamta's World, pays particular attention ... more This article, a response to Antony Eastmond's monograph Tamta's World, pays particular attention to women's history and identity at the intersection of cultural and religious interactions in medieval Georgia, Armenia, and Anatolia. It highlights the importance of the women in T'amt'a's family-her mother and aunts-in shaping her identity, despite Eastmond's emphasis on the agency of men in this process. I argue that the lives and self-representation of these women were far more relevant to T'amt'a than the numerous examples from various parts of the Islamicate world that Eastmond provides would suggest. The article critically examines the notion of "fluid identities" as applied to the medieval evidence. It does so by considering previous research that has rejected the historicity of Zak'arid/Mxargrʒeli princes' Kurdish origin. Furthermore, it outlines the divergent Armenian and Georgian historiographical traditions on the naming of this dynasty, reveals their sources, and underscores that genealogical constructions and the choice of dynastic monikers were strategies of legitimation. The visual evidence likewise requires nuanced interpretation, as I demonstrate in treating the Axtala Monastery's frescoes. I conclude by emphasizing that research aimed at bridging different disciplines, like Eastmond's, is essential but highly challenging. Its challenges may be partially offset through collaborative efforts among specialists. * I would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers of this article whose comments helped me fine tune the arguments presented here. I am grateful to the journal's superb editing and copy-editing work, a rarity in our age, which has improved the flow and style of writing beyond what I would have otherwise accomplished.
The Embroidered Bible: Studies in Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Honour of Michael E. Stone, ed. L. DiTommaso, M. Henze, and W. Adler. SVTP 26 (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2017), 824-851., 2017
The Embroidered Bible Studies in Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Honour of Michael E. Stone, 2018
Locating Religions: Contact, Diversity and Translocality, ed. by R. Glei and N. Jaspert, Leiden: Brill, 2017, 173-233.
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Books by Zara Pogossian
L’étymologie de Vaspurakan est heureusement assez transparente pour laisser entrevoir par quelle évolution un banal adjectif en -akan, a pu acquérir un sens toponymique localisé dans cette région. Il est clair en effet que le radical est composé de l’épithète vas- signifiant « précieux, de haute noblesse », et de – pur-, reposant sur un thème indo-iranien, qui désigne le « fils », comme c’est le cas par exemple dans le nom du fleuve Brahmapoutre. Le Vaspurakan est donc la terre qui appartient en propre aux « fils de haute noblesse ».
Qui sont ces mystérieux personnages ? Tout simplement, les frères cadets ou les cousins du roi. Bref, tous les princes du sang, qu’il vaut mieux tenir à l’écart de la cour pour éviter les intrigues de palais, et autres rivalités fratricides. Movsēs Xorenac‘i nous apprend qu’à l’époque arsacide ces princes étaient consignés au Nord du lac de Van, près des pêcheries royales d’Aṙberani, et qu’ils ne pouvaient quitter ce secteur sans se rendre coupables de haute trahison. C’est ainsi que leur domaine princier fut qualifié de vaspurakan et que, par une sorte de métonymie, cet adjectif fut transformé en nom propre pour désigner des territoires de plus en plus étendus : au VIe siècle, l’Est du Turuberan puis, dès le VIIe siècle, presque tout le Sud-Est arménien, si l’on en croit la Géographie d’Anania Širakac‘i.
ISBN: 9789004400382
Publisher: Brill
Articles by Zara Pogossian
Senek‘erim of Syunik‘ (1072-1094/6), his relationship to the sultan Malikshâh (1073-1092), and his endowments to the monastery of Tat‘ew that are compared to the Muslim tradition of waqf. In the second part, I look at bishop Hovhannês Kapants‘i’s efforts to establish a tax exempt status on and expand the lands belonging to the monastery of Noravank‘ with the support of the Seljuk court. This is done through the analysis of a historiola reported by the 13th-century historian Step‘anos Ôrbêlean. It details Hovhannês Kapants‘i’s voyage to Isfahan, his miraculous healing of the sultan’s son, and his use of the written record in establishing rights to land-control and its use. Hovhannês’ actions eventually led to the transformation of a local holy site to the major religious center of Noravank‘. Lastly, the article highlights the importance of élite women (Armenian or Seljuk) in situations of contested authority and legitimacy of titles, as well as their role as economic agents.
Armenia — the basilica of Tekor — and in introducing and promoting the cult of St. Sergius, as attested by the famous inscription of Tekor. This is compared to the foundation of yet another outstanding architectural jewel — the basilica of Ereruyk' — and the significance of these near contemporary structures for the Christianisation of the landscape of Širak, the function of specific saints’ cults, and the role of Kamsarakan princes in promoting them. The article also highlights the hemispheric scope of action of the Kamsarakans fighting on behalf of the Roman and Sasanian Empires, from Italy to Afghanistan, and reminds the readers of
their importance as agents of cultural exchanges between their native Armenia and the region of Širak, to the wider world. Finally, it underscores the value of Anania Širakac'i’s Problems in preserving echoes of a distinct Kamsarakan dynastic memory in the absence of historiographical
sources focusing on this specific aristocratic family.
L’étymologie de Vaspurakan est heureusement assez transparente pour laisser entrevoir par quelle évolution un banal adjectif en -akan, a pu acquérir un sens toponymique localisé dans cette région. Il est clair en effet que le radical est composé de l’épithète vas- signifiant « précieux, de haute noblesse », et de – pur-, reposant sur un thème indo-iranien, qui désigne le « fils », comme c’est le cas par exemple dans le nom du fleuve Brahmapoutre. Le Vaspurakan est donc la terre qui appartient en propre aux « fils de haute noblesse ».
Qui sont ces mystérieux personnages ? Tout simplement, les frères cadets ou les cousins du roi. Bref, tous les princes du sang, qu’il vaut mieux tenir à l’écart de la cour pour éviter les intrigues de palais, et autres rivalités fratricides. Movsēs Xorenac‘i nous apprend qu’à l’époque arsacide ces princes étaient consignés au Nord du lac de Van, près des pêcheries royales d’Aṙberani, et qu’ils ne pouvaient quitter ce secteur sans se rendre coupables de haute trahison. C’est ainsi que leur domaine princier fut qualifié de vaspurakan et que, par une sorte de métonymie, cet adjectif fut transformé en nom propre pour désigner des territoires de plus en plus étendus : au VIe siècle, l’Est du Turuberan puis, dès le VIIe siècle, presque tout le Sud-Est arménien, si l’on en croit la Géographie d’Anania Širakac‘i.
ISBN: 9789004400382
Publisher: Brill
Senek‘erim of Syunik‘ (1072-1094/6), his relationship to the sultan Malikshâh (1073-1092), and his endowments to the monastery of Tat‘ew that are compared to the Muslim tradition of waqf. In the second part, I look at bishop Hovhannês Kapants‘i’s efforts to establish a tax exempt status on and expand the lands belonging to the monastery of Noravank‘ with the support of the Seljuk court. This is done through the analysis of a historiola reported by the 13th-century historian Step‘anos Ôrbêlean. It details Hovhannês Kapants‘i’s voyage to Isfahan, his miraculous healing of the sultan’s son, and his use of the written record in establishing rights to land-control and its use. Hovhannês’ actions eventually led to the transformation of a local holy site to the major religious center of Noravank‘. Lastly, the article highlights the importance of élite women (Armenian or Seljuk) in situations of contested authority and legitimacy of titles, as well as their role as economic agents.
Armenia — the basilica of Tekor — and in introducing and promoting the cult of St. Sergius, as attested by the famous inscription of Tekor. This is compared to the foundation of yet another outstanding architectural jewel — the basilica of Ereruyk' — and the significance of these near contemporary structures for the Christianisation of the landscape of Širak, the function of specific saints’ cults, and the role of Kamsarakan princes in promoting them. The article also highlights the hemispheric scope of action of the Kamsarakans fighting on behalf of the Roman and Sasanian Empires, from Italy to Afghanistan, and reminds the readers of
their importance as agents of cultural exchanges between their native Armenia and the region of Širak, to the wider world. Finally, it underscores the value of Anania Širakac'i’s Problems in preserving echoes of a distinct Kamsarakan dynastic memory in the absence of historiographical
sources focusing on this specific aristocratic family.
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new online journal Armeniaca. International Journal of Armenian Studies to be published by Edizioni Ca’ Foscari. This initiative responds to the ever-growing diffusion of electronic journals in academia and the need to provide such a scholarly instrument also for Armenian studies: an open access outlet that follows a double-blind peer review procedure. Based on this shared goal representatives of four Italian universities where Armenian studies are currently present in the curriculum (Bologna, Florence, Pisa and Venice), came together to carry out this project. The journal embraces an international perspective as reflected in the composition of its scientific board whose members are Armenologists from diverse research institutions and universities in Europe and beyond. It is open to the main fields of research in Armenian studies (archaeology, art, philology, literature, linguistics, history) and accepts articles in English, Italian, French, and German.
The course will introduce doctoral and advanced research-oriented MA students to the ways in which Jews and Christians interacted in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Horn of Africa, especially Ethiopia, and the Indian Ocean in the period between 600-1800 CE. This is the topic of a research project aiming at establishing a new area of study – relations between Jews and Eastern Christian communities from the rise of Islam to the end of the eighteenth century.
Ocean) is a series of five lectures dedicated to various aspects of contact
between diverse religions in the specified geographical space.
The papers will discuss such various subjects as the encounter of Jews and Christians in Southern Caucasus, including myths about Jews in Armenian and Georgian sources, Syriac hagiography and its representation of Jews, the religious diversity and its expression in medieval Afghanistan, artistic exchanges under Seljuq rule in medieval Anatolia and the problems of valorising and protecting the multi-religious cultural heritage (Armenian,
Greek and Islamic) in today's Republic of Turkey.
religions by focusing on so-called “traveling texts” or “traveling motifs”, especially those that transcend boundaries of religion/language. We look at such issues as the appearance of certain texts and motifs in different languages and religious traditions, the process of this transmission, the kind of texts that seem to be more likely to transcend such (imagined or real) boundaries, and the kind of changes that occur in the process. Individual papers will focus on specific cases and texts, some noteworthy motifs that received a wide diffusion, or explore theoretical perspectives behind this tradition-transfer. The workshop will raise such questions as: why texts travel, in what context, what kind of texts travel and if we can detect any general patterns with respect to the content/genre of traveling texts and the religious traditions through or across which they travel.