alentina Grasso was another guest of our project. On 25 May 2023, she gave the paper “A Sixth-Century Miaphysite Commonwealth? The Case of North-West Arabia”. An important issue raised in her talk were the Greek inscriptions of the Jafnid phylarchs, compared with the Old Arabic graffito of Jabal Says, which give insight into different patterns of the choice of epithets and titles of Arab phylarchs, depending on the selection of the language – Greek or Old Arabic.

Abstract: Some of the Syriac leaves of the neglected British Library manuscript BL ADD. 14.602, also known as Documenta ad origines monophysitarum illustrandas, offer a precious overview of the political and religious framework of late antique Afro-Eurasia. This paper focuses on six letters found only in the dossier and written by leading figures of the sixth century Miaphysite episcopal networks. In the aftermath of the Council of Chalcedon, at a time of fragmentation, Miaphysitism became adroit at establishing an efficient network of authoritative bishops involved in politics and able to forge solid partnerships with ruling elites, as exemplified by the letters mentioning the North-West Arabian leader al-Ḥārith. This paper thus offers reflections on the shaping of a sixth-century “Miaphysite Commonwealth” through a close reading of the letters on the Christian milieu of North-West Arabia, arguing for the crucial role of Arabian elites in strengthening the Miaphysite party.

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