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Bet-Nahrain Forum
New Book: The Legend of Mar Qardagh : Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq
Posted By: David G. Malick (c-67-175-122-4.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: Friday, 16 June 2006, at 7:27 a.m.
Dear all:
Here is a valuable book I have just received. This history of Mar Qardagh is important because it claims that Mar Qardagh was descended from the Assyrian kings (a legend no doubt), and clearly shows that the Assyrians in the time and place when the story was written (pre-Islamic Sassanian Iran) clearly correctly identified northern Iraq as Assyria. They always knew they were living in Assyria. Our saint was from "Arbella of the Assyrians".
The book provides and excellent annotated translation as well as chapters devoted to various themes. It even mention the Kurds:
The Legend of Mar Qardagh : Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq
by Joel Walker
Book Description
This pioneering study uses an early seventh-century Christian martyr legend to elucidate the culture and society of late antique Iraq. Translated from Syriac into English here for the first time, the legend of Mar Qardagh introduces a hero of epic proportions whose characteristics confound simple classification. During the several stages of his career, Mar Qardagh hunts like a Persian King, argues like a Greek philosopher, and renounces his Zoroastrian family to live with monks high in the mountains of Iraqi #####. Drawing on both literary and artistic sources, Joel Walker explores the convergence of these diverse themes in the Christian culture of the Sasanian Empire (224-642). Taking the Qardagh legend as its foundation, his study guides readers through the rich and complex world of late antique Iraq.From the Inside Flap
"Walker's impressive command of modern scholarship helps reveal fascinating cultural intersections during Late Antiquity."--Michael G. Morony, author of Iraq after the Muslim Conquest"The Legend of Mar Qardagh is a richly textured narrative, and one that opens up vast spaces barely considered in much of western scholarship."--Susan Ashbrook Harvey, author of Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination
About the Author
Joel Thomas Walker teaches in the Department of History at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The Legend of Mar Qardagh : Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq
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