CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Davtyan, Ashkhen |
|---|---|
| Title | The Imperial Projection of the Umayyads: The Transformation of the Church of St. John the Baptist into the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus |
| Summary | The construction of the Umayyad mosque of Damascus in the early eighth century was a major proclamation of imperial power by the late Umayyads. The construction of such a monumental building shows the self-confidence and the imperial projection of the ruling dynasty. The thesis discusses the gradual shift in the policy of the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty focusing on ‘Abd al-Malik and al-Walid, who moved away from a policy of sharing and adaptation towards genuine innovation. The previous policy of sharing characterizes the so called transitional phase of the Umayyad Empire. The transitional phase was also a phase of adaptation: Byzantine motifs and models were adapted and later used to oppose the rival Byzantine Empire. The phenomenon of the Damascene Temenos (sacred space) initially shared between Muslims and Christians as well the usage of the mixed Arab-Byzantine and Arab-Sassanid coinage are among the most emblematic expressions of the transitional phase. The thesis discusses in much detail the end of this transitional period, which is marked by the construction of the Umayyad mosque in Damascus and by introduction of an anionic, purely epigraphic coinage. |
| Supervisor | Al-Azmeh, Aziz |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/davtyan_ashkhen.pdf |
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