Byzantine Adab and Falsafah in 11th Century Antioch

Both medieval Arab historians and modern Byzantinists have generally ignored the Arabophone cultural life of Antioch during its period under Byzantine rule from 969–1084 CE, preferring to equate Christian rule with Greek culture. Nevertheless, lay intellectuals closely connected to the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch were active in promoting the translation of Greek patristic works into Arabic during this period. This article examines the career of the deacon ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Faḍl al-Anṭākī, whose translations, compilations, and original works evince close familiarity with contemporary intellectual trends in Baghdad and a desire to produce translations of high literary quality. Moreover, in Ibn al-Faḍl’s criticisms of local philosophers who had strayed from Christian dogma, we find further evidence for Byzantine Antioch as a center of Arabic literary and philosophical activity.