Pilgerfahrt im spätantiken Nahen Osten (3./4. - 8. Jahrhundert)

Paganes, christliches, jüdisches und islamisches Pilgerwesen. Fragen der Kontinuitäten

The phenomenon of Late Antique pilgrimage in the Middle East is often equated with the emergence of Christian pilgrimage. But the Christian practice of pilgrimage was only one - albeit significant - part of the Middle Eastern pilgrimage tradition. It competed for importance with the older traditions of Jewish pilgrimage in Palestine and pagan pilgrimage in Pharaonic Egypt on the one hand, and with early Islamic pilgrimage, which was also particularly focussed on Jerusalem, on the other. These varied pilgrim traditions, which can be observed concurrently in a single location (especially in Jerusalem, but also in many smaller pilgrim centres) are the central focus of this investigation.