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Papers by Sebastian Bitsch

Research paper thumbnail of The Rhetoric of Caliphal Legitimacy. On the Use of alqāb by the Umayyad Rulers in the East. In: Der Islam 100.2 (2023), S. 370–396.

Der Islam, 2023

The Umayyad caliphs of Damascus have been remembered in Arabic historiography by their respective... more The Umayyad caliphs of Damascus have been remembered in Arabic historiography by their respective given name (ism). While epithets (alqāb) are widely documented from the ʿAbbāsid period onward for rulers, emirs, viziers, and courtiers, and have been treated in some detail in research, no comparable studies exist for the Umayyads. This paper discusses the style and validity of epithets ascribed to Umayyad caliphs drawing on a wide array of sources, including historiographical works and panegyric as well as material evidence. It is argued that an interpretation of alqāb in the sense of individual throne names, which only became the norm under the ʿAbbāsids, distorts our perspective of the process of augmenting the ruler's name with honorific epithets, which can already be observed in the Umayyad period. This expansion of the ruler's titulature, it is argued, mirrors a broader process of sacralizing caliphal power to legitimize the claim to authority in the face of competing factions within the nascent Islamic empire.

Research paper thumbnail of Hell's Kitchen: The Banquet in the Hereafter and the Reflexion of Zoroastrian Eschatological Motifs in the Qurʾān. In: Iran and the Caucasus 26.4 (2022), S. 323–344.

Iran and the Caucasus, 2022

This article discusses potential Zoroastrian prefigurations concerning the Qurʾānic imagination o... more This article discusses potential Zoroastrian prefigurations concerning the Qurʾānic imagination of tormenting and distasteful food in hell. Although research on paradise and hell in the Qurʾān and the Islamic tradition has recently undergone a significant revival, recognizing potential allusions to Jewish, Christian, and-to a lesser extent-ancient Arabic traditions, Zoroastrian texts continue to be largely neglected. While scholars have argued that the banquet scenes in hell have no antecedents in Jewish or Christian literature and should therefore be understood as echoing or rather inverting and perverting ancient Arabic evocations of generous hospitality, some remarkable parallels in the Zoroastrian tradition will be brought to attention here. It is thus intended to argue for the plausibility of a reflection of Zoroastrian ideas in the Qurʾānic milieu, particulary in relation to eschatological ideas.

Research paper thumbnail of Sengende Hitze, Eiseskälte oder Mond? Zum Echo zoroastrischer eschatologischer Vorstellungen am Beispiel des koranischen zamharīr. In: Der Islam 97.2 (2020), S. 313–366.

Der Islam, 2020

Abstract: This article discusses eventual Qurʾānic allusions to Zoroastrian texts by using the ex... more Abstract: This article discusses eventual Qurʾānic allusions to Zoroastrian texts by using the example of zamharīr (Q 76:13). In the early tafsīr and ḥadīth-literature the term is most commonly understood as a piercing cold, which has frequently been interpreted as a punishment in hell. This idea, it is argued, has significant parallels to the concept of cold as a punishment in hell or to the absence of cold as a characteristic of paradise in the Avestan and Middle-Persian literature. In addition, Christian and Jewish texts that emphasize a similar idea and have not been discussed in research so far are brought into consideration. The article thus aims to contribute to the inclusion of Zoroastrian texts in locating the genesis of the Qurʾān – or early Islamic exegesis – in the “epistemic space ” of late antiquity.

Keywords: Qurʾān, Eschatology, Zoroastrianism, zamharīr

Review Articles by Sebastian Bitsch

Research paper thumbnail of The Story of a Lost Book: Two Recent Studies on the Khwadāynāmag. In: Iran and the Caucasus 24.1 (2020), pp. 92–105.

Iran and the Caucasus, 2020

The Arabic historiographical tradition is considered to be one of the most important textual sour... more The Arabic historiographical tradition is considered to be one of the most important textual sources for the reconstruction of Sāsānian history. Historians such as al-Ṭabarī, al-Masʿūdī or al-Thaʿālibī explicitly claimed to have used older material of Persian origin. The basis of their accounts seem to have been translations, excerpts and adaptations of translations, which commonly are traced back to the Middle-Persian "Book of Kings", the Khwadāynāmag. While it may be assumed a scientific consensus that there were in the late Sāsānian period books dealing with Iran's history, the opaque character of this historical tradition has repeatedly given rise to scientific controversy over the question of whether there was one or several books bearing the title Khwadāynāmag, when the content was first written down, whether the tradition could be regarded as sound or not, which earlier sources finally became a part of the Khwadāynamag, etc. In the following, two inspiring recent contributions to the research on the Khwadāynāmag will be presented.

Book Reviews by Sebastian Bitsch

Research paper thumbnail of (zusammen mit Jens Scheiner), Islamische Geschichte. In: Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht 73.3/4 (2022), S. 208–233.

Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht, 2022

Der letzte islamwissenschaftlichen-Themen gewidmete Literaturpericht in dieser Zeitschrift liegt ... more Der letzte islamwissenschaftlichen-Themen gewidmete Literaturpericht in dieser Zeitschrift liegt inzwischen fünf Jahre zurück.' Wie in dem vorangegangenen Beitrag soll auch hier sowohl auf grundlegende Literatur, wie Einführung und Handbücher, so

Research paper thumbnail of Zishan Ghaffar, Der Koran in seinem religions- und weltgeschichtlichen Kontext. Eschatologie und Apokalyptik in den mittelmekkanischen Suren, Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2020. In: Der Islam 98.2 (2021), S. 591-598.

Research paper thumbnail of Savran, Scott, Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative. Memory and Identity Construction in Islamic Historiography, 750-1050, London/New York: Routledge, 2018. In: Iran and the Caucasus 23.1 (2019), pp. 134–138.

Iran and the Caucasus, 2019

Conference Presentations by Sebastian Bitsch

Research paper thumbnail of The Long Shadow of Zoroaster. Spolia of Mazdean eschatological motifs in the Qurʾān

Unlocking the Byzantine Qurʾān, University of Paderborn 29th-31th August 2022

Research paper thumbnail of The Rhetoric of Caliphal Legitimacy. On the use of alqāb by the Umayyad rulers in East and West

The Umayyads from West to East: New Perspectives 22-23 March 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Scorching heat, freezing cold or moon? On the echo of Zoroastrian eschatological ideas in the Koran based on the case of zamharīr

Ninth European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS 9), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 9–13 Sep... more Ninth European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS 9), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 9–13 September 2019.

Research paper thumbnail of Qurʾānic Allusions to Zoroastrian Eschatology? Some Evidence from the Avesta and Middle Persian Apocalyptic Literature

Conference: Aspects of Qurʾānic Scholarship- Philology meets Theology Berlin, 23-25 September ... more Conference: Aspects of Qurʾānic Scholarship- Philology meets Theology

Berlin, 23-25 September 2016

Catalogue contributions by Sebastian Bitsch

Research paper thumbnail of (zusammen mit Silvia Naef), Moderne Islamische Kunst. Begriff und Beispiele

J.Scheiner/L.Weydmann (Hrsg.), Eine Flucht in Bildern, Göttingen, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of The Rhetoric of Caliphal Legitimacy. On the Use of alqāb by the Umayyad Rulers in the East. In: Der Islam 100.2 (2023), S. 370–396.

Der Islam, 2023

The Umayyad caliphs of Damascus have been remembered in Arabic historiography by their respective... more The Umayyad caliphs of Damascus have been remembered in Arabic historiography by their respective given name (ism). While epithets (alqāb) are widely documented from the ʿAbbāsid period onward for rulers, emirs, viziers, and courtiers, and have been treated in some detail in research, no comparable studies exist for the Umayyads. This paper discusses the style and validity of epithets ascribed to Umayyad caliphs drawing on a wide array of sources, including historiographical works and panegyric as well as material evidence. It is argued that an interpretation of alqāb in the sense of individual throne names, which only became the norm under the ʿAbbāsids, distorts our perspective of the process of augmenting the ruler's name with honorific epithets, which can already be observed in the Umayyad period. This expansion of the ruler's titulature, it is argued, mirrors a broader process of sacralizing caliphal power to legitimize the claim to authority in the face of competing factions within the nascent Islamic empire.

Research paper thumbnail of Hell's Kitchen: The Banquet in the Hereafter and the Reflexion of Zoroastrian Eschatological Motifs in the Qurʾān. In: Iran and the Caucasus 26.4 (2022), S. 323–344.

Iran and the Caucasus, 2022

This article discusses potential Zoroastrian prefigurations concerning the Qurʾānic imagination o... more This article discusses potential Zoroastrian prefigurations concerning the Qurʾānic imagination of tormenting and distasteful food in hell. Although research on paradise and hell in the Qurʾān and the Islamic tradition has recently undergone a significant revival, recognizing potential allusions to Jewish, Christian, and-to a lesser extent-ancient Arabic traditions, Zoroastrian texts continue to be largely neglected. While scholars have argued that the banquet scenes in hell have no antecedents in Jewish or Christian literature and should therefore be understood as echoing or rather inverting and perverting ancient Arabic evocations of generous hospitality, some remarkable parallels in the Zoroastrian tradition will be brought to attention here. It is thus intended to argue for the plausibility of a reflection of Zoroastrian ideas in the Qurʾānic milieu, particulary in relation to eschatological ideas.

Research paper thumbnail of Sengende Hitze, Eiseskälte oder Mond? Zum Echo zoroastrischer eschatologischer Vorstellungen am Beispiel des koranischen zamharīr. In: Der Islam 97.2 (2020), S. 313–366.

Der Islam, 2020

Abstract: This article discusses eventual Qurʾānic allusions to Zoroastrian texts by using the ex... more Abstract: This article discusses eventual Qurʾānic allusions to Zoroastrian texts by using the example of zamharīr (Q 76:13). In the early tafsīr and ḥadīth-literature the term is most commonly understood as a piercing cold, which has frequently been interpreted as a punishment in hell. This idea, it is argued, has significant parallels to the concept of cold as a punishment in hell or to the absence of cold as a characteristic of paradise in the Avestan and Middle-Persian literature. In addition, Christian and Jewish texts that emphasize a similar idea and have not been discussed in research so far are brought into consideration. The article thus aims to contribute to the inclusion of Zoroastrian texts in locating the genesis of the Qurʾān – or early Islamic exegesis – in the “epistemic space ” of late antiquity.

Keywords: Qurʾān, Eschatology, Zoroastrianism, zamharīr

Research paper thumbnail of The Story of a Lost Book: Two Recent Studies on the Khwadāynāmag. In: Iran and the Caucasus 24.1 (2020), pp. 92–105.

Iran and the Caucasus, 2020

The Arabic historiographical tradition is considered to be one of the most important textual sour... more The Arabic historiographical tradition is considered to be one of the most important textual sources for the reconstruction of Sāsānian history. Historians such as al-Ṭabarī, al-Masʿūdī or al-Thaʿālibī explicitly claimed to have used older material of Persian origin. The basis of their accounts seem to have been translations, excerpts and adaptations of translations, which commonly are traced back to the Middle-Persian "Book of Kings", the Khwadāynāmag. While it may be assumed a scientific consensus that there were in the late Sāsānian period books dealing with Iran's history, the opaque character of this historical tradition has repeatedly given rise to scientific controversy over the question of whether there was one or several books bearing the title Khwadāynāmag, when the content was first written down, whether the tradition could be regarded as sound or not, which earlier sources finally became a part of the Khwadāynamag, etc. In the following, two inspiring recent contributions to the research on the Khwadāynāmag will be presented.

Research paper thumbnail of (zusammen mit Jens Scheiner), Islamische Geschichte. In: Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht 73.3/4 (2022), S. 208–233.

Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht, 2022

Der letzte islamwissenschaftlichen-Themen gewidmete Literaturpericht in dieser Zeitschrift liegt ... more Der letzte islamwissenschaftlichen-Themen gewidmete Literaturpericht in dieser Zeitschrift liegt inzwischen fünf Jahre zurück.' Wie in dem vorangegangenen Beitrag soll auch hier sowohl auf grundlegende Literatur, wie Einführung und Handbücher, so

Research paper thumbnail of Zishan Ghaffar, Der Koran in seinem religions- und weltgeschichtlichen Kontext. Eschatologie und Apokalyptik in den mittelmekkanischen Suren, Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2020. In: Der Islam 98.2 (2021), S. 591-598.

Research paper thumbnail of Savran, Scott, Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative. Memory and Identity Construction in Islamic Historiography, 750-1050, London/New York: Routledge, 2018. In: Iran and the Caucasus 23.1 (2019), pp. 134–138.

Iran and the Caucasus, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of The Long Shadow of Zoroaster. Spolia of Mazdean eschatological motifs in the Qurʾān

Unlocking the Byzantine Qurʾān, University of Paderborn 29th-31th August 2022

Research paper thumbnail of The Rhetoric of Caliphal Legitimacy. On the use of alqāb by the Umayyad rulers in East and West

The Umayyads from West to East: New Perspectives 22-23 March 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Scorching heat, freezing cold or moon? On the echo of Zoroastrian eschatological ideas in the Koran based on the case of zamharīr

Ninth European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS 9), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 9–13 Sep... more Ninth European Conference of Iranian Studies (ECIS 9), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 9–13 September 2019.

Research paper thumbnail of Qurʾānic Allusions to Zoroastrian Eschatology? Some Evidence from the Avesta and Middle Persian Apocalyptic Literature

Conference: Aspects of Qurʾānic Scholarship- Philology meets Theology Berlin, 23-25 September ... more Conference: Aspects of Qurʾānic Scholarship- Philology meets Theology

Berlin, 23-25 September 2016

Research paper thumbnail of (zusammen mit Silvia Naef), Moderne Islamische Kunst. Begriff und Beispiele

J.Scheiner/L.Weydmann (Hrsg.), Eine Flucht in Bildern, Göttingen, 2017