Beyond religion : cultural exchange and economy in northern Phoenicia and the Hauran, Syria
This PhD research challenges current scholarly debate on religion and religious architecture during the Roman Empire by offering a new understanding on the role of rural sanctuaries and a new approach on the subject. It re-evaluates the socio-economic significance of rural sanctuaries, and of the society that they represent, to a regional level and in a wider context of the Near East. This research can be seen as innovative because scholarly work on Syrian sanctuaries from the Roman period has, up to the present day, mainly discussed their religious connotations, including their architecture and deities, with no reference to their potential socio-economic significance. Furthermore, these studies have mostly focused on sanctuaries in cities rather than rural centres, and a comprehensive analytical overview is still lacking. This thesis demonstrates that a comprehensive analysis of archaeological, iconographic and written evidence placed within a historical and socio-economic context and landscape can provide us with a different perspective on rural cult centre, i.e. their central social and economic role in their region and within the Near East. The rural cult centres that this study looks at are from the pre-provincial
Mazzilli, Francesca
Beyond religion : cultural exchange and economy in northern Phoenicia and the Hauran, Syria. This PhD research challenges current scholarly debate on religion and religious architecture during the Roman Empire by offering a new understanding on the role of rural sanctuaries and a new approach on the subject. It re-evaluates the socio-economic significance of rural sanctuaries, and of the society that they represent, to a regional level and in a wider context of the Near East. This research can be seen as innovative because scholarly work on Syrian sanctuaries from the Roman period has, up to the present day, mainly discussed their religious connotations, including their architecture and deities, with no reference to their potential socio-economic significance. Furthermore, these studies have mostly focused on sanctuaries in cities rather than rural centres, and a comprehensive analytical overview is still lacking. This thesis demonstrates that a comprehensive analysis of archaeological, iconographic and written evidence placed within a historical and socio-economic context and landscape can provide us with a different perspective on rural cult centre, i.e. their central social and economic role in their region and within the Near East. The rural cult centres that this study looks at are from the pre-provincial
beyond religion cultural_exchange economy northern syria phd challenge_current scholarly_debate religion religious architecture roman_empire offer_new role rural sanctuary new subject re_evaluates socio_economic significance rural sanctuary society represent regional_level wider_context near_east see innovative scholarly work syrian sanctuary roman_period mainly discuss religious connotation include architecture deity reference potential socio_economic significance furthermore study mostly focus sanctuary city rather rural centre comprehensive analytical overview still_lack demonstrates comprehensive_analysis archaeological iconographic write evidence place_within historical socio_economic context landscape provide different_perspective rural cult centre central social_economic role region within near_east rural cult centre study_look pre provincial