Talks by Daniele Reano
“Your spirit is your (wax) tablet”: Figurative images of education in the works of Ephrem the Syr... more “Your spirit is your (wax) tablet”: Figurative images of education in the works of Ephrem the Syrian, paper presented at the XIX Oxford Patristics Conference (August 5–9, 2024), panel “Christianising and Christianized Images: Figurative Language in Ancient Christian
Literature”.
Ephrem was the most prominent theologian of the Syro-Mesopotamian area during the 4th century. As several studies have shown, his exceptional literary production is constantly innervated by a vivid symbolic imagination that make its comprehension nebulous, sometimes even to a reader with considerable familiarity with the contents of Holy Scripture. Far less attention has been paid to Ephrem's involvement in catechetical instruction as a malphānā (teacher), firstly in Nisibis (currently Diyarbakır) and after the city was ceded to the Sasanids in 363 due to the agreements between the emperor Jovian and the šāhān šāh Shāpūr II, in Edessa (Şanlıurfa). The aim of this paper is to analyze some passages from Ephrem's production (mēmrē and madrāšē, expecially Contra Haereses and De Fide), identifying and investigating rhetorical images and metaphors related to education and teaching. They range from allegories and symbolic images to similes and personifications of the learning process. It will be shown that, with a few exceptions, Ephrem's literary images reflect didactic practices of everyday life addressed to circles of disciples, aiming to show that the texts of the Old and New Testaments constitute the starting point and, at the same time, the arrival point of a path that promotes and reinforces the contemplation of Christian truth, which is intrinsically perfect. At last, the spread of rhetorical images used by Efrem on education in later Christian literature will be examinated, especially in the authors of the school of the Persians and Nisibis, who considered themselves heirs of Ephrem's teachings.
"Student mobility in the Syro-Mesopotamian area between the 4th and the 5th centuries: some preliminary reflections", paper presented at the conference “Syriac Studies in the UK: Past, Present, Future”, Durham University, March 21–23, 2024
In the field of Syriac studies, several prominent scholars from the UK, or scholars that have dev... more In the field of Syriac studies, several prominent scholars from the UK, or scholars that have developed at least part of their research in the UK, have produced some contributions on prominent intellectuals from the Syro Mesopotamian area, whose names are more or less directly linked to notable theological-episcopal schools such as Edessa and Nisibis. The aim of this paper is to offer a preliminary overview of a single particular phenomenon related to these schools: the mobility of students in the Syro-Mesopotamian regions, focusing on the period between the 4th and 5th centuries. Movement for study purposes was caused by a variety of factors. Choices forced by family directives, availability of funds to invest in education, and individual decisions, together with 'geopolitical' events (e.g. Sasanian and Eastern Roman military campaigns), had a considerable impact on the mobility of both students seeking a traditional education and Christians interested in theological studies. For Christian students, religious affiliation and Christological diatribes were equally important in the choice of more or less long periods of study away from their cities of origin, sometimes driving them to move from large cities such as Antioch to more peripheral locations. This contribution intends also to reflect briefly on the disciples' movements within episcopal networks. Bishops, as socio-political authorities, performed various forms of patronage functions for their disciples, stimulating the circulation and promotion of young pupils and protégés both within and outside the ecclesiastical sphere, not infrequently directing and controlling their mobility. The episcopal networks in the Syro-Mesopotamian area, the first prodromes of which can be traced back to the Councils of Ancyra (314) and Nicaea (315), grew in size in the following decades, constituting part of the success of phenomena that we can, with some caution, define as 'proto-scholastic' (such as Ephrem the Syrian and his circle). In the course of the 5th century, links between schools, teachers and networks of bishops were consolidated (as testify the letters of Theodoret of Cyrrhus or Jacob of Serugh), but these links could degenerate and result in major conflicts (as the case of Rabbula and Ibas of Edessa shows).
Da Nisibi a Edessa: lʼorganizzazione culturale cristiana sul limes romano-sasanide nel IV secolo, in LAST(ING) FRONTIER. L'eterna frontiera Convegno, Torino 14-15 December 2023., 2023
Lo scopo del presente contributo è analizzare l’impatto dei conflitti militari lungo la frontiera... more Lo scopo del presente contributo è analizzare l’impatto dei conflitti militari lungo la frontiera romano-sasanide sulle comunità cristiane disseminate negli agglomerati urbani lungo il limes, in particolare sui circoli di studenti impegnati in percorsi di catechesi raccolti intorno a figure vescovili, quali Aitalaha, vescovo di Edessa tra 324/325 e 345/346; Eusebio, episcopo di Emesa in un periodo compreso tra il 300 e il 350 e altri dalla documentazione meno consistente come Marea di Macedonopoli, Peperio di Samosata, e Archelao di Carcara. Dal momento che la scarsità di fonti disponibili impedisce di delineare un quadro organico, focus privilegiato sarà la cerchia di discepoli legata a Efrem il Siro (306-373), malpānā (maestro) al servizio del vescovo di Nisibi Giacomo (303-337) e dei
suoi successori Babu (337-346), Vologese (346-361) e Abramo (361-363). Si cercherà di mostrare come alcuni tra i complessi rivolgimenti che interessarono il settore siro-mesopotamico, insieme alla proliferazione di correnti manichee, marcionite, bardesanite e di altre sette percepite dall’ortodossia come ereticali, furono determinanti nell’influenzare i fenomeni di organizzazione e riorganizzazione dei centri di elaborazione culturale cristiana dell’area nel IV secolo. Edessa, capitale dell’Osroene, divenne, a seguito della ridefinizione dei confini orientali, il principale bacino di raccolta di allievi e di presbiteri/insegnanti (tra cui Efrem), la cui mobilità era probabilmente favorita dai meccanismi di un nascente network episcopale, che raggiunse un certo grado di maturità nel V secolo. L’interazione con l’ambiente edesseno, dove Efrem proseguì le proprie attività sotto l’episcopato di Barsai (363-371 o 373), ebbe un impulso rilevante nel coagulare un sistema proto-scolastico attrattivo non solo per i
locali ma per discepoli provenienti dall’alta Mesopotamia, dalla Siria e dalla Palestina, desiderosi di approfondire l’esegesi biblica. Interagendo con il tessuto cittadino e con l’organizzazione ecclesiastica locale, le pratiche didattiche vennero istituzionalizzate nei percorsi di studi della “scuola di Edessa”. Da ultimo si forniranno riflessioni in merito al tema della continuità tra le “scuole” dell’area nisibeno-edessena, discutendo alcuni passaggi della Causa della fondazione delle scuole, testo redatto tra la fine del VI sec. e l’inizio del VII da Barhadbeshabbā, vescovo nestoriano della città iranica di Halwan, nel quale si possono rintracciare elementi utili a delineare le ricadute del cambio di regime sulla frontiera nel IV secolo sui gruppi di studenti cristiani della regione.
Seminario dal titolo “L’educazione nella tarda antichità: scuole, maestri e metodi d’insegnamento”, svolto nell’ambito dell’insegnamento di Storia bizantina della prof.ssa Luisa Andriollo (Unipi)., 2023
A Taste of Wine at the Court of Athalaric: Some Remarks from Cassiodorus, Variae XII, 4 on the Spread of Vinum rusticum in Ostrogothic Italy, 2023
International Medieval Congress 2023 - University of Leeds - Session 708 - TASTE AND DISGUST IN L... more International Medieval Congress 2023 - University of Leeds - Session 708 - TASTE AND DISGUST IN LATE ANTIQUITY, III: ELITE LIFE - paper 708-c (p. 184)
Papers by Daniele Reano
Un capitolo perduto della vita di Alarico: il "vacuum alariciano" 398-400 D.C., in Aevum, 98 (2024), fasc. 1, pp. 225-258., 2024
The aim of this paper is to analyze a relatively unexplored period in the biography of the Gothic... more The aim of this paper is to analyze a relatively unexplored period in the biography of the Gothic leader Alaric, the years between 398 and 400. After a brief overview to the historical context, the first part engages the historiographical debate surrounding a passage from Sinesio's De Regno (Syn. De Reg. 20) and the identification of the subject of this part of the text. The second part proposes an analysis of Alaric's temporary absence from the sources during this period, emphasizing some remarkable aspects of the integration of barbarian generals into the government of Constantinople at the beginning of the 5th century, underlining some features of Alaric's political position. The third and final segment explores the network of connections that Alaric may have developed during his tenure as magister militum per Illyricum, highlighting how some relationships may have played a role in his non-participation in the Gainas revolt.
Rex et hostis sed Christianus. Intorno ad alcuni aspetti della “politica religiosa” di Alarico, in Historika XII (2022), pp. 157-194, 2023
Il presente contributo intende porre sotto riesame la “politica religiosa” di Alarico,... more Il presente contributo intende porre sotto riesame la “politica religiosa” di Alarico, limitatamente al periodo compreso tra il 408 e il 410, ripercorrendo i rapporti diplomatici instauratisi tra i goti e la corte dell’imperatore Onorio, la breve usurpazione di Attalo e il saccheggio di Roma dell’agosto del 410. Gli elementi che emergono dall’analisi qui condotta inducono a ritenere che si debba ridimensionare, almeno in parte, l’impatto dall’appartenenza religiosa anti-omousiana di Alarico e della dirigenza della compagine alariciana nel complesso delle vicende politiche “interne” ed “esterne” ai goti nel biennio preso in considerazione. In particolare, si sottolinea come l’adesione al cristianesimo “non niceno”, pur avente un certo ruolo nell’insieme delle decisioni prese dal generalegoto prima e durante il saccheggio dell’Urbe, non debba essere interpretato come strumento volto a contrapporsi alla posizione “nicena” espressa dal consesso palatino di Ravenna.
The aim of this paper is to re-examine Alaric's "religious policy", during the period between 408 and 410, analyzing the diplomatic relations established between the Goths and the court of Emperor Honorius, the brief usurpation of Attalus and the sacking of Rome in August 410. The elements highlighted here lead us to believe that the impact of the anti-Homousian religious affiliation of Alaric must be reduced in the complex of political events "internal" and "external" to the group of goths in the two-year period under consideration. In particular, it is emphasized that adherence to "non-Nicene" Christianity, while having a certain role in the set of decisions taken by the Gothic leader before and during the sacking of the city, should not be interpreted as an instrument aimed at opposing the ”Nicene” position expressed by the palatine court of Ravenna.
Conference Presentations by Daniele Reano
The Edessene 'schools of the Armenians, Persians and Syrians' (syr. 'eskōlē d-armānāyē w-pārsāyē ... more The Edessene 'schools of the Armenians, Persians and Syrians' (syr. 'eskōlē d-armānāyē w-pārsāyē w-sūryāyē) are the main circles where the repercussions of Christological controversies of the 5th century are noticeable in terms of identity formation. Recent historiographical research argues that these communities were, at least initially, organised
along ethnic lines, sharing a certain degree of geographical-linguistic homogeneity. These 'schools', on which the sources are poor in details, it seems that developed into increasingly complex centres of theological and exegetical learning, attracting intellectuals from the Syro-Mesopotamian region and beyond the blurred boundaries between the Sasanians and the Romans. The environment in which this learning activities took place remain to be explore, likewise how the teaching of the 'schools' of Edessa influenced the overall identity of the scholars and bishops who were educated there. This paper analyses the construction of self-definition and the strategies used to shape cross-border identities among Christian intellectuals. This analysis will be based mainly on Philoxenus of Mabbug, Jacob of Sarug and Theodoret of Cyrrhus.
Forthcoming conferences by Daniele Reano
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Talks by Daniele Reano
Literature”.
Ephrem was the most prominent theologian of the Syro-Mesopotamian area during the 4th century. As several studies have shown, his exceptional literary production is constantly innervated by a vivid symbolic imagination that make its comprehension nebulous, sometimes even to a reader with considerable familiarity with the contents of Holy Scripture. Far less attention has been paid to Ephrem's involvement in catechetical instruction as a malphānā (teacher), firstly in Nisibis (currently Diyarbakır) and after the city was ceded to the Sasanids in 363 due to the agreements between the emperor Jovian and the šāhān šāh Shāpūr II, in Edessa (Şanlıurfa). The aim of this paper is to analyze some passages from Ephrem's production (mēmrē and madrāšē, expecially Contra Haereses and De Fide), identifying and investigating rhetorical images and metaphors related to education and teaching. They range from allegories and symbolic images to similes and personifications of the learning process. It will be shown that, with a few exceptions, Ephrem's literary images reflect didactic practices of everyday life addressed to circles of disciples, aiming to show that the texts of the Old and New Testaments constitute the starting point and, at the same time, the arrival point of a path that promotes and reinforces the contemplation of Christian truth, which is intrinsically perfect. At last, the spread of rhetorical images used by Efrem on education in later Christian literature will be examinated, especially in the authors of the school of the Persians and Nisibis, who considered themselves heirs of Ephrem's teachings.
suoi successori Babu (337-346), Vologese (346-361) e Abramo (361-363). Si cercherà di mostrare come alcuni tra i complessi rivolgimenti che interessarono il settore siro-mesopotamico, insieme alla proliferazione di correnti manichee, marcionite, bardesanite e di altre sette percepite dall’ortodossia come ereticali, furono determinanti nell’influenzare i fenomeni di organizzazione e riorganizzazione dei centri di elaborazione culturale cristiana dell’area nel IV secolo. Edessa, capitale dell’Osroene, divenne, a seguito della ridefinizione dei confini orientali, il principale bacino di raccolta di allievi e di presbiteri/insegnanti (tra cui Efrem), la cui mobilità era probabilmente favorita dai meccanismi di un nascente network episcopale, che raggiunse un certo grado di maturità nel V secolo. L’interazione con l’ambiente edesseno, dove Efrem proseguì le proprie attività sotto l’episcopato di Barsai (363-371 o 373), ebbe un impulso rilevante nel coagulare un sistema proto-scolastico attrattivo non solo per i
locali ma per discepoli provenienti dall’alta Mesopotamia, dalla Siria e dalla Palestina, desiderosi di approfondire l’esegesi biblica. Interagendo con il tessuto cittadino e con l’organizzazione ecclesiastica locale, le pratiche didattiche vennero istituzionalizzate nei percorsi di studi della “scuola di Edessa”. Da ultimo si forniranno riflessioni in merito al tema della continuità tra le “scuole” dell’area nisibeno-edessena, discutendo alcuni passaggi della Causa della fondazione delle scuole, testo redatto tra la fine del VI sec. e l’inizio del VII da Barhadbeshabbā, vescovo nestoriano della città iranica di Halwan, nel quale si possono rintracciare elementi utili a delineare le ricadute del cambio di regime sulla frontiera nel IV secolo sui gruppi di studenti cristiani della regione.
Papers by Daniele Reano
The aim of this paper is to re-examine Alaric's "religious policy", during the period between 408 and 410, analyzing the diplomatic relations established between the Goths and the court of Emperor Honorius, the brief usurpation of Attalus and the sacking of Rome in August 410. The elements highlighted here lead us to believe that the impact of the anti-Homousian religious affiliation of Alaric must be reduced in the complex of political events "internal" and "external" to the group of goths in the two-year period under consideration. In particular, it is emphasized that adherence to "non-Nicene" Christianity, while having a certain role in the set of decisions taken by the Gothic leader before and during the sacking of the city, should not be interpreted as an instrument aimed at opposing the ”Nicene” position expressed by the palatine court of Ravenna.
Conference Presentations by Daniele Reano
along ethnic lines, sharing a certain degree of geographical-linguistic homogeneity. These 'schools', on which the sources are poor in details, it seems that developed into increasingly complex centres of theological and exegetical learning, attracting intellectuals from the Syro-Mesopotamian region and beyond the blurred boundaries between the Sasanians and the Romans. The environment in which this learning activities took place remain to be explore, likewise how the teaching of the 'schools' of Edessa influenced the overall identity of the scholars and bishops who were educated there. This paper analyses the construction of self-definition and the strategies used to shape cross-border identities among Christian intellectuals. This analysis will be based mainly on Philoxenus of Mabbug, Jacob of Sarug and Theodoret of Cyrrhus.
Forthcoming conferences by Daniele Reano
Literature”.
Ephrem was the most prominent theologian of the Syro-Mesopotamian area during the 4th century. As several studies have shown, his exceptional literary production is constantly innervated by a vivid symbolic imagination that make its comprehension nebulous, sometimes even to a reader with considerable familiarity with the contents of Holy Scripture. Far less attention has been paid to Ephrem's involvement in catechetical instruction as a malphānā (teacher), firstly in Nisibis (currently Diyarbakır) and after the city was ceded to the Sasanids in 363 due to the agreements between the emperor Jovian and the šāhān šāh Shāpūr II, in Edessa (Şanlıurfa). The aim of this paper is to analyze some passages from Ephrem's production (mēmrē and madrāšē, expecially Contra Haereses and De Fide), identifying and investigating rhetorical images and metaphors related to education and teaching. They range from allegories and symbolic images to similes and personifications of the learning process. It will be shown that, with a few exceptions, Ephrem's literary images reflect didactic practices of everyday life addressed to circles of disciples, aiming to show that the texts of the Old and New Testaments constitute the starting point and, at the same time, the arrival point of a path that promotes and reinforces the contemplation of Christian truth, which is intrinsically perfect. At last, the spread of rhetorical images used by Efrem on education in later Christian literature will be examinated, especially in the authors of the school of the Persians and Nisibis, who considered themselves heirs of Ephrem's teachings.
suoi successori Babu (337-346), Vologese (346-361) e Abramo (361-363). Si cercherà di mostrare come alcuni tra i complessi rivolgimenti che interessarono il settore siro-mesopotamico, insieme alla proliferazione di correnti manichee, marcionite, bardesanite e di altre sette percepite dall’ortodossia come ereticali, furono determinanti nell’influenzare i fenomeni di organizzazione e riorganizzazione dei centri di elaborazione culturale cristiana dell’area nel IV secolo. Edessa, capitale dell’Osroene, divenne, a seguito della ridefinizione dei confini orientali, il principale bacino di raccolta di allievi e di presbiteri/insegnanti (tra cui Efrem), la cui mobilità era probabilmente favorita dai meccanismi di un nascente network episcopale, che raggiunse un certo grado di maturità nel V secolo. L’interazione con l’ambiente edesseno, dove Efrem proseguì le proprie attività sotto l’episcopato di Barsai (363-371 o 373), ebbe un impulso rilevante nel coagulare un sistema proto-scolastico attrattivo non solo per i
locali ma per discepoli provenienti dall’alta Mesopotamia, dalla Siria e dalla Palestina, desiderosi di approfondire l’esegesi biblica. Interagendo con il tessuto cittadino e con l’organizzazione ecclesiastica locale, le pratiche didattiche vennero istituzionalizzate nei percorsi di studi della “scuola di Edessa”. Da ultimo si forniranno riflessioni in merito al tema della continuità tra le “scuole” dell’area nisibeno-edessena, discutendo alcuni passaggi della Causa della fondazione delle scuole, testo redatto tra la fine del VI sec. e l’inizio del VII da Barhadbeshabbā, vescovo nestoriano della città iranica di Halwan, nel quale si possono rintracciare elementi utili a delineare le ricadute del cambio di regime sulla frontiera nel IV secolo sui gruppi di studenti cristiani della regione.
The aim of this paper is to re-examine Alaric's "religious policy", during the period between 408 and 410, analyzing the diplomatic relations established between the Goths and the court of Emperor Honorius, the brief usurpation of Attalus and the sacking of Rome in August 410. The elements highlighted here lead us to believe that the impact of the anti-Homousian religious affiliation of Alaric must be reduced in the complex of political events "internal" and "external" to the group of goths in the two-year period under consideration. In particular, it is emphasized that adherence to "non-Nicene" Christianity, while having a certain role in the set of decisions taken by the Gothic leader before and during the sacking of the city, should not be interpreted as an instrument aimed at opposing the ”Nicene” position expressed by the palatine court of Ravenna.
along ethnic lines, sharing a certain degree of geographical-linguistic homogeneity. These 'schools', on which the sources are poor in details, it seems that developed into increasingly complex centres of theological and exegetical learning, attracting intellectuals from the Syro-Mesopotamian region and beyond the blurred boundaries between the Sasanians and the Romans. The environment in which this learning activities took place remain to be explore, likewise how the teaching of the 'schools' of Edessa influenced the overall identity of the scholars and bishops who were educated there. This paper analyses the construction of self-definition and the strategies used to shape cross-border identities among Christian intellectuals. This analysis will be based mainly on Philoxenus of Mabbug, Jacob of Sarug and Theodoret of Cyrrhus.