This study explores how the use of complex decorative geometric patterns in Islamic architecture spatially relates to advances in the fields of science and philosophy in the Islamic world between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. This project examines hypotheses developed by vario~s scholars on the forces that shaped the use of these patterns (known as the geometric mode) in Islamic architecture. The prevailing assumption that advances in mathematics contributed to the use of the geometric mode is used as a starting point for subsequent analysis. For this study, two spatial databases were created. One contains over two hundred and twenty monuments of Islamic architecture exhibiting the geometric mode, while the other contains over one hundred records of activity in the sciences and philosophy. From these databases, decorative geometric pattern types were classified and ranked, and scholarly activities were classified. Density maps were developed from these classes and ranks for each century, and were compared in a series of analytical overlay maps. Each map depicts the spatial relationships of the activities in question over a span of three centuries, enabling a spatio-temporal analysis of the connections between disciplines within the context of the broader cultural elements at work. These maps allow for examination of these disciplines in a new way; there has never been a spatial analysis testing the existing hypotheses until now. The density overlay maps show that some of the prevailing hypotheses are partially supported by the data, but the primary hypothesized relationship-that activity in mathematics prompted use of the geometric mode-is not applicable to all regions of the Islamic world during this time period. The spatial analysis exposes the previously overlooked possibility that the geometric mode could have influenced activity in the sciences and philosophy. This study provides tools to better understand the complex relationships among art, science, and philosophy: two spatial databases, a geographic information systems (GIS) model, and resulting analytical overlay maps. The maps produced in this project reveal examples where the quality of contact among disciplines in these very specific times and places is worth examining in greater detail.

This thesis follows Quṭb al‐Dīn al‐Shīrāzī (d. 1311), a brilliant and influential polymath, through the eighty years of his long life and focuses on him navigating changing environments in the Persianate Mongol world (i.e., the second half of the thirteenth century to the early decades of the fourteenth century). In order to retrace his life, this study draws extensively on contemporary chronicles, biographical dictionaries, autobiographies, hagiographies, and some of his own manuscripts to illuminate parts of his life unknown before. Through that, this thesis illustrates Quṭb al‐Dīn al‐Shīrāzī’s intellectual, political, and religious networks, with special attention to his patrons. Moreover, even though his fame in the modern world is primarily due to his astronomical treatises as part of the Maragha school, my thesis demonstrates his investment in medicine, Sufism, and religious sciences, including jurisprudence, Qurʼān interpretations, and ḥadīth studies. Hence, Quṭb al-Dīn is an example of an intellectual in the Ilkhanid realm who developed informal networks transcending political, linguistic, and genre boundaries, that spanned an area from the western fringes of Anatolia to Khorasan, through bustling late medieval metropolises such as Shiraz, Sivas, Konya, Baghdad, Cairo, Tabriz, and Maragha.

To a large degree, historical analyses of the Levantine region tend to focus primarily upon martial interaction and state formation. However, perhaps of equitable impact is the chronology of those interactions which are cultural in nature. The long-term formative effect of cultural imperialism and cultural bleed can easily be as influential as the direct alterations imposed by martial invasion. While this study does not attempt to establish comparative causal weight or catalytic impact between these types of interactions, it does contend that the cultural evolution of the Levant has been significantly influenced by external interaction for a period of time extending beyond the Levantine Islamic Expansion. This study presents a chronological examination of the region from the pre-Expansion Period through the Mandate Period, focused upon relevant cultural structures. Specifically, emphasis is placed upon religious, ethnic, and nationalistic identity development, sociolinguistic shifts, and institutional changes within the societal structure. The primary conclusion of this study is that significant evidence exists to support a long-term historical narrative of externally influenced Levantine cultural evolution, inclusive of both adaptive and reactive interactions.

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The thesis of this dissertation is to explore the importance of Hebrew as contained in the Old Testament or Hebrew Canon, for a grasp of the spirituality or spiritualities of the people we encounter in these texts. Furthermore, to gauge the continued and extended importance of this language knowledge as it pertains to contemporary spirituality or spiritualities based upon these scriptures. This will be done with the laity and academia in mind and hence we will study these spiritualities as they pertain both to experience and academic enquiry. We will also explore the possible personal and societal transformation, which could result from such an investigation. In view of this, we will limit our scope to three test psalms all from Book I of the Psalter; and our assessment of the importance of Hebrew for Biblical Spirituality will be based on only three key areas, namely language, exegesis and continued meaning. / Christian Spirituality / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

The Sermo antequam iret in exilium and the Sermo cum iret in exsilium are two homilies allegedly pronounced by John Chrysostom in Constantinople at the end of summer 403, some time between the verdict of the Synod of the Oak and the day he left the city for his first exile. The aim of the thesis is to demonstrate that a new critical edition of these texts is needed before any study of their literary and historical value can be conducted. Chapter one sketches the historical background to which the text of the homilies refers and a concise survey about previous scholarship on the homilies on the first exile, from the time of Montfaucon’s edition until our days. The problem of the authenticity occupies the last part of the chapter. Chapter two investigates the history of the texts and takes into account both the direct and indirect traditions. It discusses the existence of double recensions hitherto unknown and provides the prefatory material for the new critical edition of recensio α of Sermo antequam iret in exilium and of the Sermo cum iret in exsilium. Chapter three comprises the Greek editions of the two homilies, as well as a provisional edition of the Latin version of the Sermo antequam iret in exilium. Chapter four is divided into two parts, each presenting a philological commentary on the text of the new editions. Systematic analysis of all the most important variant readings is offered. The final chapter summarizes the new findings and assesses the validity of previous criteria used for discerning the authenticity of the homilies on the exile.

Includes bibliographical references / Pages not numbered / Music has formed a part of human life as far back as demonstrable. Music existed long before musical instruments made their appearance. The examination of textual evidence read in conjunction with the available archaeologic evidence from the time and area clearly demonstrates which musical instruments were available and the instances they were used at. It clearly points to the lyre as the primary proponent of the musical culture of the time with regards to melodic music. This is confirmed from what we learn from the ancient tuning tablets. There thus is a direct demonstrable connection between the instrument and the theory of the time. Work done on the musical elements of the cantillation marks of the Hebrew Bible comfortably fits into this framework and appears to be a direct influence on the manner in which the Psalms were sung and composed. A combination of literary, archaeological and musical sources can thus be used within a literary and historical approach to demonstrate the availability of musical instruments in AIP, the manner in which tonality was recorded and its influence on the development of the Psalms. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)

Il percorso di ricerca si propone di studiare la Transgiordania, le sue tribù arabe, cristiane e musulmane, e le sue unità spazio-ecologiche in cui presero forma ambienti socio-politici differenti. La tesi si propone lo studio delle differenti fasi di transizione – dalla tribù allo stato e dalla tribù alla comunità – in cui gli spazi politici e sociali vennero riconfigurandosi secondo logiche di potere antiche e nuove al tempo stesso. L’obiettivo è individuare un itinerario storico che, attraversando i differenti distretti della Transgiordania durante il XIX secolo, la Grande guerra e il Mandato britannico, racconti la realtà del cristianesimo locale, le caratteristiche dei suoi micro-cosmi politici e la nascita dell’Emirato Hashemita di Transgiordania. / The thesis aims at studying Transjordan, its Arab Christian and Muslim tribes, and its spatial-ecological units in which different socio-political dynamics took place. The thesis analyzes different transition stages, from tribes to state and from tribe to community, in which political and social spaces have been reconfigured according to power logics, which were old and new at the same time. The objective is to identify a historical journey that deals with the reality of local Christianity, the characteristics of its political micro-cosmos and the birth of the Hashemite Emirate of Transjordan. This would be done by looking at the micro-history of the Transjordanian districts during the nineteenth century, the Great War and the British Mandate.

Este trabajo está dedicado al estudio de la arquitectura doméstica de los yacimientos del valle del Habur (Siria), durante el periodo que va desde el Neolítico hasta el segundo milenio a.C. Basándonos en la información de los registros arqueológicos de los asentamientos hemos podido observar en la arquitectura de las construcciones domésticas un empleo sistemático del ladrillo “crudo”, así como una gran homogeneidad en la forma, dimensiones y distribución espacial de las casas, durante todo el período estudiado. Nos encontramos con pequeñas construcciones rectangulares en su gran mayoría, con tres o cuatro habitaciones, más una habitación central que sirve para organizar la circulación interior. La entrada a las casas es estrecha, y se encuentran en su interior hornos, hogares, estructuras de almacenaje y bancos adosados a la pared, lo que nos indica una doble utilización del espacio, como vivienda y lugar de trabajo. El análisis de los datos de que disponemos sugiere una uniformidad arquitectónica en este periodo en el que se sitúa el origen de la sedentarización y el urbanismo. / The aim of this thesis is to the study the domestic architecture of the sites located in the Khabur Valley (Syria), during the period between the Neolithic and the second millennium b.C. According to the information found in the archaeological reports of the sites, we can observe a systematic use of the mud brick in the architecture of the domestic constructions, as well as a great homogeneity in the shape, dimensions and spatial distribution of the houses, during the whole period considered. We find mostly small rectangular constructions, with three or four rooms, plus a central room used to organize the internal circulation. The entrance to the houses is narrow, and inside we find ovens, fireplaces and associated structures, which indicates a double use of the interior space, as a house and a work place. The analysis of the data suggests an architectonic uniformity during this period when the origin of the sedentarization and urbanism took place.

The thesis of this dissertation is to explore the importance of Hebrew as contained in the Old Testament or Hebrew Canon, for a grasp of the spirituality or spiritualities of the people we encounter in these texts. Furthermore, to gauge the continued and extended importance of this language knowledge as it pertains to contemporary spirituality or spiritualities based upon these scriptures. This will be done with the laity and academia in mind and hence we will study these spiritualities as they pertain both to experience and academic enquiry. We will also explore the possible personal and societal transformation, which could result from such an investigation. In view of this, we will limit our scope to three test psalms all from Book I of the Psalter; and our assessment of the importance of Hebrew for Biblical Spirituality will be based on only three key areas, namely language, exegesis and continued meaning. / Christian Spirituality / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)