by Joel Walker (Author)

This pioneering study uses an early seventh-century Christian martyr legend to elucidate the culture and society of late antique Iraq. Translated from Syriac into English here for the first time, the legend of Mar Qardagh introduces a hero of epic proportions whose characteristics confound simple classification. During the several stages of his career, Mar Qardagh hunts like a Persian King, argues like a Greek philosopher, and renounces his Zoroastrian family to live with monks high in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. Drawing on both literary and artistic sources, Joel Walker explores the convergence of these diverse themes in the Christian culture of the Sasanian Empire (224-642). Taking the Qardagh legend as its foundation, his study guides readers through the rich and complex world of late antique Iraq.

Front Jacket

Walker's impressive command of modern scholarship helps reveal fascinating cultural intersections during Late Antiquity.--Michael G. Morony, author of Iraq after the Muslim Conquest

The Legend of Mar Qardagh is a richly textured narrative, and one that opens up vast spaces barely considered in much of western scholarship.--Susan Ashbrook Harvey, author of Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination

Back Jacket

Walker's impressive command of modern scholarship helps reveal fascinating cultural intersections during Late Antiquity.--Michael G. Morony, author of Iraq after the Muslim Conquest

"The Legend of Mar Qardagh is a richly textured narrative, and one that opens up vast spaces barely considered in much of western scholarship."--Susan Ashbrook Harvey, author of Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination

Author Biography

Joel Thomas Walker teaches in the Department of History at the University of Washington in Seattle.

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