In this monograph Bradly Bowman discusses some of the topics that scholars encounter when dealing with varied historical sources about Christian monasticism in the early centuries of Islamic rule across the Mediterranean area. Several themes stand out, such as social and religious identities, as well as political, administrative, and legal interactions with the ruling authorities. Bowman argues that these aspects, dictated by a diversity of interests, conceal the archetypes of some leitmotivs that would become part of the later Islamic image of monasticism and Christianity. The core of the book unfolds in six chapters, each focusing on a variety of textual sources (all quoted only in translation) that originated in different adjacent contexts and traditions. Starting with the introduction, the methodological approach involves a broad outline of the main research questions related to one of the most resilient religious institutions of the Levant, Mesopotamia, and North Africa in the Islamic period. Bowman shares his subject areas and organizational framework, offers an overview of the principal views expressed in extant scholarship, and strongly argues for the existence of a mutual common ground built upon ideas and ideals of monasticism within the broader religious landscape of late antique Christianity.
Chapter 1 (“An Inquiry into Christian Monastic Life of the Medieval Islamic Era”) presents a historical survey and investigation into Christian monastic life in the seventh to the ninth centuries. Bowman considers the different views on the confessional boundaries and the negotiation of identities (both collective and of the self) in the light of the barriers between Christians and Muslims. He puts forward the idea that fluid boundaries, based on the shared concept of piety and submission to God, prevailed in the first decades of Islamic rule. The discussion touches upon the essential role of monasticism in local society and its instrumental role in the advancement of Christianity as a religious belief and its spatial expansion. Such territorial spread is witnessed by a high number of coenobitic monasteries, lavras, and hermitages mentioned in Greek, Syriac, and Coptic sources and echoed in the narratives of authors such as Yaqut, al-Shabushti, and al-Maqrizi (just to mention a few). To this, one should add those sites identified in archaeological excavations and surveys in Bilad esh-Sham, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Notwithstanding the attention of some members of the Umayyad (and later Abbasid) ruling class accorded to monasteries (the case of Dayr Murran is exemplary), their record is twinned with vividly described episodes of drinking and merrymaking (addressed in chapter four), events that were sometimes addressed as negative propaganda towards certain caliphs. Yet it should not be overlooked that the economic vitality of the monasteries and the vast landed property they possessed, which provided considerable tax revenues, were in fact a boon for the Diwan or State treasury.
Chapter 2 (“The Changing Fortunes of Christian Holy Places in the Seventh-Century Near East”) discusses the destiny and precarious position of monasteries in the first decades of the seventh century, especially in the lands affected by growing conflicts and hostilities between Byzantium and Persia. Bowman explores a wide range of sources, primarily Greek and Syriac chronicles, histories, and hagiographic texts (in translation), along with excerpts from modern authors on the subject, mostly reacting to the devastations afflicted upon several monastic communities on the eve of the Arab conquest. In contrast with Persian plundering, treaties with the leaders of the Arab armies allowed for a revival of monasteries on the grounds of cross-confessional respect. This understanding was also reflected in the regard and deference accredited to monks as holy men in an enlarged community of believers. In this context, their shared devotion towards Biblical figures (prophets or anbiya’) should not be overlooked. Such associated places of worship often coincided with coenobitic settlements in Greater Syria, which in turn provided ground for the acceptance of monasteries as places of local Muslim veneration. The dual devotion is evinced from graffiti in Kufic left on the walls of some monastery sanctuaries quoting the Qur'an, thus manifesting an awareness of the holy and religious destinations of the places (for example at the monastery of Lot in Deir ‘Ain Abata on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea).
Further insights into the benign political circumstances for monasteries are given in Chapter 3 (“Monastic Life under Caliphal Rule in the Early Centuries”). Bowman identifies the ecumenical attitude of Islam and the formation of an interconfessional community of believers as the driving force behind the prosperity of monastic life. The emergence of ecclesiastical officials as local elites certainly granted them a special status, a degree of autonomy, and was thus reflected in a privileged negotiation position while being subject to state and local administrative regulations. Bowman offers valuable comparative insights into the conditions and rules regarding the jiziah (poll-tax) and kharaj (land-tax) and meticulously discusses a number of cases that highlight either tolerance and benevolence or, alternatively, episodes of oppression, plunder, and destruction. These fluctuations in local policies apparently reached their apex at the end of Umayyad rule, while the rise of the Abbasid dynasty appears to have sharpened to some extent the confrontation terms between the two parties.
Chapter 4 (“Between Temples and Taverns: The Case for Confessional Flexibility at Monasteries”) focuses on the complexity of how direct contacts between Muslims and Christians came into being. Some sources center their narrative on spiritual fascination and mystical impulse, whereas others were inclined to stress monasteries as venues of pleasure. No less interesting are the descriptions of the physical environment (location, topography, construction, religious artefacts, relics, icons, and miraculous objects), healing shrines, and Christian festivals, all revealing a great degree of firsthand knowledge. Uniquely cross-confessional blending experiences are also evinced in the dual devotional practices of al-Khadir intertwined with the Christian figure of Mar Jirjis, both identified in St George, to whom Muslims and Christians celebrated a common festival, thereby mirroring the fluidity of religious parameters and the interconfessional milieu of the Levant in Late Antiquity.
Chapter 5 (“Medieval Muslim Appreciation for Christian Monasticism and Intersecting Boundaries”) attempts to understand why monasteries were given a privileged status in Early Islam. Bowman examines the identification of the concept of “believers” as addressed by modern authors and in literary evidence. A special focus lies on the extent of ecumenical boundaries that determined initial interactions between Muslims and Christians in forming a joint community of “believers.” The second section examines the reaction recorded in Arabic sources to ascetic practices, often defined by a specific role, religious purpose, conduit, and mysticism built on the commonly shared values of piety and devotion (birr and taqwa).
The sixth and final chapter (“The God-Fearers: A Righteous Tie That Binds”) builds on the conviction that shared sentiments of devotional mysticism and piety formed a sort of confessional allegiance, transcending boundaries between Muslims and Christians. In this equation, monasticism, holy men, and ascetics each played a crucial role (the Sira of Ibn Ishaq d. 767 is a clear example).
Bowman's book certainly deserves attention and appreciation for its scope and complexity. Nevertheless, there are few remarks on the treatment of the primary sources (exclusively in translation), and small excerpts are given in transliterated Arabic, which is very difficult to consult (besides being doubtfully useful); offering references to publications may have helped to mitigate this lacuna. In addition, minor overlaps across the chapters can be found. The overwhelmingly positive image that the book conveys overlooks some aspects expressed in monastic texts composed in Arabic. Leontius of Damascus in the Life of St Stephan the Sabaite, dated around 807, has decidedly less optimistic views when he states how Christians suffered having to pay kharaj and the jiziah and that tax collectors oppressed the monastery of Mar Saba. The Commemoratorium de Casis Dei, dated to the ninth century, illustrates the drop in the number of monks in local monasteries, while archaeological excavations and surveys attest to the decline of many monasteries in the Levant during the early years of Abbasid rule. However, Bowman's work is thought provoking besides being of great value and interest; it will be extremely useful to those seeking insights into the complexity of monasticism, early Islam, and interconfessional contacts, interaction, religious affiliation, and political allegiance between Muslims and Christians in Late Antiquity and beyond.
