Alexander the Great in Syriac: Master of places, knowledge and times.
The Beautiful Letters| N° d'inventaire | 30312 |
| Format | 12.5 x 19 |
| Détails | 656 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2024 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782251454900 |
The historical figure of Alexander and the legends associated with him have continued to arouse fascination and admiration, well beyond the borders of the Mediterranean and Europe. The stories about Alexander, both historical and legendary, are well known, but what echoes did this character find in the very regions where he was active (the Near and Middle East, Central Asia, and India)? To discover this, this book offers, for the first time, a dive into the literature on Alexander written in Syriac, which then circulated in Arabic and Persian, and from there in Malay, Turkish, and Ethiopian.
This literature includes both translations from Greek sources (notably the famous Romance of Alexander – with several episodes unknown in Western versions – moral and philosophical sentences, texts on numerology and alchemy) and original texts composed in Syriac in Late Antiquity, in the form of Christian apocalypses. In these texts, some of which have an echo as far as the Koran, the figure of Alexander is surprisingly mixed with elements of ancient Mesopotamian cosmography and politico-religious conceptions of the first centuries of Christianity.
The book translates these often colorful texts and makes them accessible through brief introductions. In each of the three parts, the translation of the Syriac texts is followed by a comprehensive dossier, reporting on the most recent research on the dating, circulation, sources, and interpretation of these texts, which highlights the importance of Alexander, who became, long after his death, an explorer of the world and its mysteries, protector of Syriac Christians against the Sassanid Persians, and pivotal in time and history.
The historical figure of Alexander and the legends associated with him have continued to arouse fascination and admiration, well beyond the borders of the Mediterranean and Europe. The stories about Alexander, both historical and legendary, are well known, but what echoes did this character find in the very regions where he was active (the Near and Middle East, Central Asia, and India)? To discover this, this book offers, for the first time, a dive into the literature on Alexander written in Syriac, which then circulated in Arabic and Persian, and from there in Malay, Turkish, and Ethiopian.
This literature includes both translations from Greek sources (notably the famous Romance of Alexander – with several episodes unknown in Western versions – moral and philosophical sentences, texts on numerology and alchemy) and original texts composed in Syriac in Late Antiquity, in the form of Christian apocalypses. In these texts, some of which have an echo as far as the Koran, the figure of Alexander is surprisingly mixed with elements of ancient Mesopotamian cosmography and politico-religious conceptions of the first centuries of Christianity.
The book translates these often colorful texts and makes them accessible through brief introductions. In each of the three parts, the translation of the Syriac texts is followed by a comprehensive dossier, reporting on the most recent research on the dating, circulation, sources, and interpretation of these texts, which highlights the importance of Alexander, who became, long after his death, an explorer of the world and its mysteries, protector of Syriac Christians against the Sassanid Persians, and pivotal in time and history.