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Articles by Beatrice St. Laurent
Jerusalem Quarterly 91, 2022
This article focuses on the use of spolia as historic objects on display in the seventh-century m... more This article focuses on the use of spolia as historic objects on display in the seventh-century monuments of Bayt al-Maqdis or Jerusalem. This is not the incorporation of ruins in adaptive reuse such as columns built into walls. Rather, select historic objects figure prominently in the monumental construction of Mu'awiya I (638-80 CE), the first Umayyad Commander of the Faithful (Amir al-Mu'minin), including in the Mosque of Mu'awiya (638-60), the Dome of the Rock (640-92), the Dome of the Chain, Double Gate, Golden Gate, and the eastern arcade or mizan leading to the Dome of the Rock. The spolia include Herodian stones, marble columns, carved wooden beams, and decorative stones from the Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonian, and Roman periods and Christian churches. The patron, planners, and builders of the earliest Islamic monuments consciously incorporated spolia for prominent display as historic objects from earlier regional cultures and religions worthy of respect and preservation. This concept of displaying the ancient past has been linked with imperial power as early as the Greek Mouseion. Thus, the concept of a "Museum of Antiquities" was voiced by Muslim authority in midseventh century Jerusalem, invoking an egalitarian relationship with earlier Jewish and Christian monuments and proclaiming that message to a multicultural multireligious population.
Anatolia Moderna: Yeni Anadolu II Dervishes et cimitièreas ottomans, 1991
Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 2019
Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies , 2017
The focus of this article places the Rockefeller and its collections in historical context as the... more The focus of this article places the
Rockefeller and its collections in historical context as the
major antiquities museum of Palestine, based previously
in two other buildings in East Jerusalem now considered
by international law to be in the Occupied Territories.
Book chapters or articles by Beatrice St. Laurent
The Conversion of Spaces of Worship in Anatolia: International Conference Proceedings 10-11 April 2021, 2022
Bursa as the first capital of the Ottoman Empire is an interesting stage to examine the topic of ... more Bursa as the first capital of the Ottoman Empire is an interesting stage to examine the topic of the re-use of religious
spaces, for this paper limited to monuments surviving in the Tanzimat (1839-1876) and period of Abdülhamid
(1876-1909). This paper examines the status of some religious monuments, their transformation to other purposes or
abandonment in the face of population movement and political change. Also, to be examined are selective abandoned
properties designated as awqaf or evkaf land retaining their status as religious and their fate post-Tanzimat Era.
With the absorption of the Jews fleeing the Inquisition, Bursa absorbed a population from that migration and synagogues
sprang up in Jewish neighborhoods, which were later abandoned with the movement of Jews out of the city.
Affecting much of what occurred in Bursa was the silk industry, still flourishing today. Churches (and small mosques)
were built in the Greek and Armenian neighborhoods—areas that supported the silk factories up through the late
19th century. Also, France exploited the industry by construction of a rail line from the coast to that city and marking
their presence with French church. In the late 19th century period of Abdülhamid, evkaf properties were released from
their religious designation to be used for modernizing secular buildings such as the military school built on an upper
slope of the city.
The political events of the post-Hamidian Period and the establishment of the Republic resulted in the loss of
Greece as part of the Empire resulting in the movement of populations in both directions—Greeks to Greece and
Turks to Turkey. This affected the transformation of both religious buildings and residential architecture in Bursa but
will not be dealt with in this paper. Suffice it to say that mosques in Greece were destroyed or served new secular
purposes.
Ottoman Arcadia:The Hamidian Expedition to the Land of Tribal Roots (1886), 2018
©2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication, either text or photographs, may be repro... more ©2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication, either text or photographs, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission. The authors of this book acknowledge that the work is their original creation and that all the opinions are their own and no one else can be held accountable for them, and that there are no parts in their work that could infringe upon the rights of third parties. ©2018. Unless otherwise stated, all the images in this book are reproduced from the original photographs, drawings, books and documents preserved in the Ömer M. Koç Collection.
Book Reviews by Beatrice St. Laurent
The Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) is the sacred Muslim precinct occupying a large portion of ... more The Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) is the sacred Muslim precinct occupying a large portion of the Old City of Jerusalem. Prominently sited within the precinct are the Dome of the Rock (the oldest surviving monument of early Islam) and al-Aqsa Mosque (the congregational mosque of Jerusalem, dating from the eighth century), as well as many other small domed structures, madrasahs (religious colleges) and arcades from later periods. The site has significant symbolic associations for Judaism (as the site of the first and second Temples) and for Christianity as the site of the Jewish Temple, all of which add to its religious and political significance in this contemporary period of political negotiations in the region.
Conference Presentations by Beatrice St. Laurent
Palestinian Mosaic Art. Comparing Experiences. Proceedings of the First International Conference. Jericho-Sebastia-Bethlehem. Palestine 11-13 May 2016, 2017
Providence College This collaborative and ecumenical conference provides a common forum f or ... more Providence College This collaborative and ecumenical conference provides a common forum f or leading international scholars to address the history and archaeology of this extraord inary 35-acre platform and its sacred status. The project seeks to be an agent of dialogue by bringing together diverse scholars in the humanities whose research furthers our understanding of the site and its historical context. Marking the Sacred is an opportunity for experts on the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions to engage in unique and fruitful discussions leading to a scholarly publication that will reach a worldwide academic audience in multiple disciplines.
Jerusalem Quarterly 91, 2022
This article focuses on the use of spolia as historic objects on display in the seventh-century m... more This article focuses on the use of spolia as historic objects on display in the seventh-century monuments of Bayt al-Maqdis or Jerusalem. This is not the incorporation of ruins in adaptive reuse such as columns built into walls. Rather, select historic objects figure prominently in the monumental construction of Mu'awiya I (638-80 CE), the first Umayyad Commander of the Faithful (Amir al-Mu'minin), including in the Mosque of Mu'awiya (638-60), the Dome of the Rock (640-92), the Dome of the Chain, Double Gate, Golden Gate, and the eastern arcade or mizan leading to the Dome of the Rock. The spolia include Herodian stones, marble columns, carved wooden beams, and decorative stones from the Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonian, and Roman periods and Christian churches. The patron, planners, and builders of the earliest Islamic monuments consciously incorporated spolia for prominent display as historic objects from earlier regional cultures and religions worthy of respect and preservation. This concept of displaying the ancient past has been linked with imperial power as early as the Greek Mouseion. Thus, the concept of a "Museum of Antiquities" was voiced by Muslim authority in midseventh century Jerusalem, invoking an egalitarian relationship with earlier Jewish and Christian monuments and proclaiming that message to a multicultural multireligious population.
Anatolia Moderna: Yeni Anadolu II Dervishes et cimitièreas ottomans, 1991
Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 2019
Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies , 2017
The focus of this article places the Rockefeller and its collections in historical context as the... more The focus of this article places the
Rockefeller and its collections in historical context as the
major antiquities museum of Palestine, based previously
in two other buildings in East Jerusalem now considered
by international law to be in the Occupied Territories.
The Conversion of Spaces of Worship in Anatolia: International Conference Proceedings 10-11 April 2021, 2022
Bursa as the first capital of the Ottoman Empire is an interesting stage to examine the topic of ... more Bursa as the first capital of the Ottoman Empire is an interesting stage to examine the topic of the re-use of religious
spaces, for this paper limited to monuments surviving in the Tanzimat (1839-1876) and period of Abdülhamid
(1876-1909). This paper examines the status of some religious monuments, their transformation to other purposes or
abandonment in the face of population movement and political change. Also, to be examined are selective abandoned
properties designated as awqaf or evkaf land retaining their status as religious and their fate post-Tanzimat Era.
With the absorption of the Jews fleeing the Inquisition, Bursa absorbed a population from that migration and synagogues
sprang up in Jewish neighborhoods, which were later abandoned with the movement of Jews out of the city.
Affecting much of what occurred in Bursa was the silk industry, still flourishing today. Churches (and small mosques)
were built in the Greek and Armenian neighborhoods—areas that supported the silk factories up through the late
19th century. Also, France exploited the industry by construction of a rail line from the coast to that city and marking
their presence with French church. In the late 19th century period of Abdülhamid, evkaf properties were released from
their religious designation to be used for modernizing secular buildings such as the military school built on an upper
slope of the city.
The political events of the post-Hamidian Period and the establishment of the Republic resulted in the loss of
Greece as part of the Empire resulting in the movement of populations in both directions—Greeks to Greece and
Turks to Turkey. This affected the transformation of both religious buildings and residential architecture in Bursa but
will not be dealt with in this paper. Suffice it to say that mosques in Greece were destroyed or served new secular
purposes.
Ottoman Arcadia:The Hamidian Expedition to the Land of Tribal Roots (1886), 2018
©2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication, either text or photographs, may be repro... more ©2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication, either text or photographs, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission. The authors of this book acknowledge that the work is their original creation and that all the opinions are their own and no one else can be held accountable for them, and that there are no parts in their work that could infringe upon the rights of third parties. ©2018. Unless otherwise stated, all the images in this book are reproduced from the original photographs, drawings, books and documents preserved in the Ömer M. Koç Collection.
The Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) is the sacred Muslim precinct occupying a large portion of ... more The Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) is the sacred Muslim precinct occupying a large portion of the Old City of Jerusalem. Prominently sited within the precinct are the Dome of the Rock (the oldest surviving monument of early Islam) and al-Aqsa Mosque (the congregational mosque of Jerusalem, dating from the eighth century), as well as many other small domed structures, madrasahs (religious colleges) and arcades from later periods. The site has significant symbolic associations for Judaism (as the site of the first and second Temples) and for Christianity as the site of the Jewish Temple, all of which add to its religious and political significance in this contemporary period of political negotiations in the region.
Palestinian Mosaic Art. Comparing Experiences. Proceedings of the First International Conference. Jericho-Sebastia-Bethlehem. Palestine 11-13 May 2016, 2017
Providence College This collaborative and ecumenical conference provides a common forum f or ... more Providence College This collaborative and ecumenical conference provides a common forum f or leading international scholars to address the history and archaeology of this extraord inary 35-acre platform and its sacred status. The project seeks to be an agent of dialogue by bringing together diverse scholars in the humanities whose research furthers our understanding of the site and its historical context. Marking the Sacred is an opportunity for experts on the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions to engage in unique and fruitful discussions leading to a scholarly publication that will reach a worldwide academic audience in multiple disciplines.