The Paulicians: Heresy, Persecution and Warfare on the Byzantine Frontier, c.750-880 (The Medieval Mediterranean, 132)

Book info: The Paulicians: Heresy, Persecution and Warfare on the Byzantine Frontier, c.750-880 (The Medieval Mediterranean, 132) (Hardcover, 380 pages) – Brill, 2022. Language: English.

Disavowing their traditional portrayal as the progenitors of medieval Christian dualism, this book recasts the Paulicians as broadly conventional Christians inspired by the apostle Paul. Using previously neglected Paulician testimony and a critical reappraisal of the existing sources, it explains their fleeting regional prominence via a pluralistic approach to Paulician identity within the complex socio-religious milieus of Armenia and Asia Minor. Exploring their history of schism, persecution, and resistance, it reassesses their relationship with the iconoclast controversy and the changing fortunes of Byzantine-Islamic warfare, shedding new light on their obscure but fascinating transformation from itinerant preachers to militarized insurrectionists. Editorial Reviews About the Author Carl Dixon, Ph.D. (2018), University of Nottingham, has published articles on Byzantine-Armenian diplomacy and identity formation in heretical movements.