The Rise and Decline of Christianity in Southern Jordan. A Case Study of Religious Change in Late Antiquity from the 4th to 9th Centuries A.D.

大约六个世纪（公元4至9世纪），现代约旦南部的人口主要是基督徒。公元3世纪末至4世纪初，基督徒的存在首次得到证实。在公元4世纪和5世纪期间，他们的人数增长，并在6世纪达到顶峰，当时基督徒构成了约旦南部人口的大多数。在30年代穆斯林征服之后，基督徒也继续存在了几代人，但到了9世纪，他们的存在几乎不再被发现。基督教在约旦南部的兴衰可以作为一个特定地区人口宗教信仰反复变化的测试案例。该项目的目标是在证据允许的情况下，根据主要的历史资料和对早期基督教遗迹遗址的考古调查结果，追溯所讨论时期约旦南部的基督教历史。根据所获得的结果并与其他地区进行比较，可以得出约旦南部发展的特点，并可以调查该地区基督徒大规模失踪的原因。可以借鉴的历史资料包括教会记录、拜占庭历史学家的著作和莎草纸上的行政文件。此外，大约有100个考古遗址可以研究早期基督教存在的证据，以确定他们的职业历史。为此目的，计划编制一个包含早期基督教遗迹的约旦南部考古遗址文集。该项目的成果将在专著中发表。基督徒在约旦南部的存在将首先按时间顺序进行研究，从3世纪末和4世纪初开始，直到9世纪。其他章节将专门讨论具体问题，例如该地区非基督教人口的作用以及他们改信基督教或继续忠于自己的宗教；这个地区基督教化的速度有多快，有多彻底；基督徒在城市和农村的分布；正统和非正统基督徒的存在（即迦克墩和米阿菲斯基督徒）；以及基督徒是如何通过皈依和移民被穆斯林所取代的。与其他地区的发展进行比较，并加上遗址的语料库，将构成本专著的结论。研究结果还将被整合到地理信息系统（GIS）数据库和拜占庭帝国地图中，该数据库和地图将在东西方之间的拜占庭WissenschaftsCampus Mainz框架内进行。

For around six centuries (4th to 9th centuries A.D.), the population of the southern part of modern-day Jordan was largely Christian. A Christian presence is first attested since the late 3rd-early 4th century A.D. In the course of the 4th and 5th centuries their numbers grew and reached their peak in the 6th century, when Christians formed the majority of the population of southern Jordan. The Christians also continued for a few generations after the Muslim Conquests of the 630s, but by the 9th century their presence can scarcely be detected any longer. This rise and decline of Christianity in southern Jordan can serve as a test case of repeated change in the religious affiliation of a population in a specific area.The goal of this project is to trace the history of Christianity in southern Jordan in the period under discussion based on primary historical sources and the results of archaeological investigation of sites with early Christian remains, so far as the evidence permits. Based on the results gained and a comparison with other regions, the special features of the developments in south Jordan can be worked out and the reasons for the large-scale disappearance of the Christians there can be investigated. The historical sources that can be drawn upon include ecclesiastical records, the writings of Byzantine historians and a corpus of administrative documents on papyrus. In addition around one hundred archaeological sites with evidence for an early Christian presence can be studied to determine their occupational history. For that purpose the preparation of a corpus of the archaeological sites in southern Jordan with early Christian remains is planned. The results of the project will be presented in a monograph. The Christian presence in southern Jordan will first be studied chronologically from the beginnings in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries until the 9th century. Other chapters will be devoted to specific topics, such as the role of the non-Christian population in the area and their conversion to Christianity or continued allegiance to their own religion; how quickly and how thoroughly the area became Christianized; the urban and rural distribution of Christians; the presence of orthodox and heterodox Christians (i.e. Chalcedonian and Miaphysite Christians); and how the Christian population came to be replaced by Muslims through conversion and migration. A comparison with developments in other regions, along with the corpus of sites will form the conclusion of the monograph. The results will also be integrated into a Geographical Information System (GIS) database and map of the Byzantine Empire in the framework of the WissenschaftsCampus Mainz - Byzantium between Orient and Occident.