Graduate Student, Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies
Arts and Law
Thesis Title: The Impact of Islamic Expansion on Byzantine Monasticism and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land c.650-950.
About
I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Birmingham. My research focuses on monasticism and pilgrimage in Early Islamic Palestine. I am interested in the development of the material culture of monastic communities between c.650-950, as well as monastic responses to Islamic rule. I also address Islamic perceptions and attitudes towards monasticism, the role of monks in early Islamic society and transitions in the profile of monastic communities during the Islamic period. Furthermore, my research analyses the symbolic and ideological significance of the 'Holy Land' (the region now covering modern Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, southern Syria & the Sinai peninsula) in Byzantine and Islamic thought and devotion between the seventh and tenth centuries.
An additional focus of my research is the reception of 'history' and historical research in contemporary dialogue between Muslim, Christian and government bodies in the UK.
