The Dynamics of the Philosophical and Theological Cultures in the Levant and Mesopotamia in Late Antiquity (6th-9th c.): A glimpse into the transfer of Aristotle from Greek culture into Syriac and Arabic

Abstract

This paper introduces the reader into the cultural and linguistic dynamics of the Levant during the 6th-9th centuries, a period characterized by the interaction of Greek and Syriac-Aramaic culture, and their transfer to the Arab world. The Levant was culturally diverse. The Syriac theologians have contributed decisively to this diversity. Personalities such as Sergius of Rēš'ainā, Athanasius of Balad and Jacob of Edessa translated the Greek philosophers and incorporated this type of philosophical reasoning into their theological treatises. The inheritance of Greek thought was also present at the Medical School of Gundīšāpūr, at the Theological Academies of Nisibis and Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and in the monastery centres such as Qennešrīn (near the Euphrates) and Mār Mattai (near Mosul). It was during this time that both concepts and modes of philosophical reasoning became part of the Syriac-Aramaic theology. This transfer continued between the 8th and 9th centuries to the Arab world, when actors such as Ḥunain ibn Ishāq returned to Greek culture, and assimilated it at the Caliphs'court in aghdad through Syriac-Arabic traductology.