Reveals a religiously diverse pre-industrial society in the Middle East, broadening studies of global Christianity and challenging Islamic history's exceptionalism.

Thomas A. Carlson is Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern History at Oklahoma State University. His research explores the religious, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of medieval society from Cairo to Samarqand to Constantinople, as well as the multifaceted and contingent process of Islamization. His articles have appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies, the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, and elsewhere.

Introduction; 1. Coming into focus: the world of fifteenth-century Iraq and al-Jaz¿ra; 2. Muslim lords and their Christian flocks; 3. Living with suspicious neighbors in a violent world; 4. Interlude: concepts of communities; 5. Bridges and barriers of doctrine; 6. Practical theology in a dangerous time; 7. Rituals: the texture of belonging; 8. Desperate measures: the changing ecclesiastical hierarchy; 9. The power of the past: communal history for present needs; Conclusion; Appendix A. Glossary; Appendix B. Lists of rulers and patriarchs; Appendix C. The patriarchal succession of the Church of the East; Appendix D. Dating the ritual for reception of heretics.