TeTra | Reyhan Durmaz "Rural lives and global visions in the Life of Aḥo of Rishʿayno"

TeTra Research Seminar | October 26th
Reyhan Durmaz (UPenn)
"Rural lives and global visions between Syria, Armenia, and Rome in the Life of Aḥo of Rishʿayno: Introductory notes on a new translation project"
The Life of Aḥo of Rishʿayno (Vat. Sir. 37, 173r-192v) takes the reader on a sensational journey in the 6th-century northern Mesopotamian countryside. The text starts as the story of a family in the turbulent Roman-Persian borderland, then it turns to tell the stories of various monastic communities in Syria and Armenia through the pious deeds of its hero, Aḥo Aksnoyo. The author weaves together military history, monastic rivalries, the economy of relics, and various models of piety in this story. In my talk I will first contextualize the Life within Syriac literature, commenting on its content, style, authorship, and transmission. In the second part of the talk, I will present the invaluable insight we gain regarding religion and everyday life in the late antique countryside through the lens of this understudied member of Syriac hagiography.
upenn.academia.edu/ReyhanDurmaz