Christians in Middle Eastern History: Strangers No More

Challenges the field of Middle Eastern studies by imagining the history of the region from the perspective of its Christian inhabitants • Covers the history of the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean from the rise of Islam until the modern period Considers the place of Christians alongside Muslims in the historiography of the region Challenges dominant narratives which often elide the history of the Middle East and the history of Islam by showing how Christian actors, experiences, and sources can enrich our understanding of the region • Advances a renewed sense of methodological awareness and reflexivity in the writing of Middle Eastern history The dazzling array of languages and religions in the Middle East, from Late Antiquity to the present, has long made the region a source of fascination. But the specific features of pluralism in the Middle East have also made writing its history a difficult enterprise, as scholarly specialisation has often meant that this or that religious group becomes invisible. The challenges of the Middle East’s particular pluralism, however, also represent an opportunity for creative reflection and innovation in historical research. This volume takes as its starting-point the fact that, for much of the past 1, 500 years, the population of the Middle East has been significantly Christian. It offers a series of case studies by leading scholars that offer different answers to the question of what histories of the region might look like if this demographic situation were taken seriously. Critiquing dominant narratives that conflate the history of the Middle East and the history of Islam, they show how integrating Christian actors, experiences and sources can enrich our understanding of the region.