A Whole World: Reading Global Byzantium Through Coptic Art | ||
| International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management | ||
| Article 1, Volume 1, Issue 2, December 2018, Pages 8-38 PDF (1.63 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ijthm.2018.29017 | ||
| Abstract | ||
| This paper explores the influence of the global culture of Byzantium on the social life of Egyptians in the Early Byzantine period, focusing on the appearance of common women on Coptic artefacts as one of the implications of this influence. The communication between Egypt and other parts of the empire secured its economic and cultural integration into the broader Byzantine culture, which viewed the Mediterranean provinces as parts of a whole world. To common women in Egypt, imperial women were the most significant manifestation of this global culture. They were presented by the imperial house, and perceived by locals, as paradigms of feminine power because of their reputed wealth, virtue, nobility and wisdom. Therefore, visual representations of women on Coptic artefacts display signs of feminine power that were inspired by the appearance of imperial women. This feature underlines the significance of Coptic art as a supplementary source for women’s histories, which have been neglected, biased or omitted in contemporary literary sources. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Women; Gender; Global Byzantium; Coptic Art; Byzantine Art; Empress; Social History | ||
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