Book review:Asaf Friedman, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Byzantine Palaestina, Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019 (original) (raw)

Aspects of the impact of Christian art and architecture on synagogues in Byzantine Palestine

2002

This thesis examines the relationship between Jews and Christians in the Holy Land from the age of Constantine the Great to the conquest of the eastern provinces by the Arabs from an archaeological viewpoint. At stake is a better understanding of how Jews adapted to changing times, particularly during the rise of Christianity in Palestine. Whereas earlier scholars have viewed the growth of the Byzantine empire as time of persecution toward the Jews, a re-evaluation of the archaeological evidence indicates that Jews prospered along with their Christian neighbors. In scope, this dissertation aims first to re-evaluate how many ancient building remains can be classified as synagogues, and how many of those can be accurately dated. For only after a solid body of archaeological research is firmly established can further progress be made toward our better understanding of the ancient world. Diversity in contemporaneous synagogue layouts, rather than a linear development throughout this p...

From Temple to Mosque: The transformation of religious architecture in the Byzantine Empire during Late Antiquity.

2012

This essay focuses on the comparison between religious architecture and their art from the late Roman-, the early Byzantine- (early Christian & the age of Justinian) and the early Islamic (Umayyad) period. Most of the related case-studies will come from the area of the Byzantine Empire. There was definitely a transformation of religious buildings, but the whole of the Byzantine Empire didn’t suffer much decay during Late Antiquity (as often assumed). The transformation from Roman temple to Byzantine basilica is mainly marked by a change in shape. The transformation from Byzantine basilica to Islamic mosque is marked by the usage of purely Islamic elements and the change of direction in shape.

Art and Identity in Late Antique Synagogues of the Roman-Byzantine Diaspora

Arts, 2019

Late antiquity witnessed the increased construction of synagogues in the Jewish diaspora of the Roman-Byzantine world. Although not large in number, these synagogues were impressive and magnificent structures that were certainly conspicuous in the urban landscape, especially when constructed within a central location. This paper focuses on mosaic carpets discovered at these synagogues, to discern their distinguishing features through a comparative perspective. Two focal points are examined: on the one hand, local Roman-Byzantine mosaics in civic and religious buildings, and on the other hand, Jewish mosaics carpets in Palestinian synagogues. This comparison reveals several clear distinctions between the Jewish diasporic mosaic carpets and the other two groups of mosaics, that broaden our understanding of the unique nature of Jewish art in the Roman-Byzantine diaspora in particular, and of Jewish diasporic identity in late antiquity in general.

Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Art and Architecture

The mighty German Reallexikon zur byzantinischen Kunst is now nearing completion. Italians have the splendid Enciclopedia dell'arte medievale available both on paper and (minus the plentiful colour illustrations) online. Francophones can read several long art-historical chapters in the recent three-volume collection Le monde byzantin. Since no comparable guide to Byzantine art was previously available in English, 1 the handbook under review is a much-needed reference work. One will dip into it to get a notion of, say, Byzantine fortifications, Byzantine imperial imagery, or Byzantine enamel, and to learn what has been published on those topics. 2 One can also read it from cover to cover, as a general reflection of the state of research in our field of study. But who precisely are we? What is our field? How do we study it, and to what end? The first question is partly answered by the choice of contributors. These number thirty-eight, including the editor herself. Two, if I am not mistaken, are under the age of fifty. Twenty-five are graduates of North American universities. (Germany, France, Denmark, and Georgia are represented by a scholar each. Italy and Russia are missing.) Twenty-three are women. All are professional academics-except one, who argues for the benefit that private collecting and the antiquities market bring to scholarship (pp. 147-157). It does the editor credit to have invited him.