Egypt's Copts make up one of the oldest and largest Christian communities in the Middle East. Yet despite the availability of a large number of books on aspects of Coptic culture, including art and architecture, monasticism, theology, and music, there is to date no single volume that provides a comprehensive cultural history of the Copts and their achievements. Coptic Civilization aims to fill this gap, by introducing the general reader, the interested non-specialist, to Coptic culture in all its variety and multi-faceted richness. With contributions by twenty scholars, Coptic Civilization includes chapters on monasticism, the Coptic language, Coptic literature, Christian Arabic literature, the objects and documents of daily life, magic, art and architecture, and textiles, as well as the history of the Coptic Church, its liturgy, theology, and music.

Contributors: Dominique Bénazeth, Lois Farag, Cäcilia Fluck , Peter Grossmann, Gisele Helmecke, Magdalena Kuhn, Marvin Meyer, Samuel Moawad, Elisabeth R. O'Connell, Monica René , Tonio Sebastian Richter, Saad Michael Saad, Mark Sheridan, Mark N. Swanson, Hany N. Takla , Jacques van der Vliet, Nelly van Doorn-Harder, Gertrud J.M. van Loon, Youhanna Nessim Youssef, Ewa D. Zakrzewska

Includes chapters on Coptic Historiography ullet Church History ullet Monasticism ullet Alexandrian Theology ullet Liturgy ullet Music ullet The Coptic Language ullet Gnosticism and Manichaeism ullet The Coptic Bible ullet Coptic Literature ullet Documentary Evidence of Daily Life ullet Magic ullet Copto-Arabic Literature ullet Archaeology ullet Architecture ullet Church Decoration ullet Objects of Daily Life ullet Post-pharaonic Textiles ullet The Coptic Church Today ullet Contemporary Coptic Art ullet Coptic Civilization in the Diaspora