Before and After Muhammad The First Millennium Refocused

60 | CHAPTER 3

First Millennium cultural traditions: Prophetic, scriptural, and exegetical phases

GREEK PHILOSOPHy

(ARISTOTELIANISM) CHRISTIANITy JUDAISM

c. 305 Death of Porphyry, pupil
of Plotinus, advocate of har-
mony of Aristotle with Plato.

306–37 Emperor Constan-

tine I.

325 First Oecumenical Coun-
cil at Nicaea: formulation of
creed.
339 Death of Eusebius of
Caesarea, historian of the
Church under Rome.
367 Earliest exact witness
(Athanasius of Alexandria,
d. 373) to full N.T. canon.
373 Death of Ephrem of Nisi-
bis, Syriac Church Father.
later 4th century Cappado-
cian Fathers (Basil of Cae-
sarea, Gregory of Nazianzus,
Gregory of Nyssa).
5th to 6th centuries Flourishing
of Alexandrian schools.

407 Death of John Chrysos-

tom, Antiochene exegete.

c. 400 Completion of Jerusa-
lem Talmud.
419 Death of Jerome, Latin
exegete and Hebrew scholar.
430 Death of Augustine,
Latin theologian.
444 Death of Cyril of Alexan-
dria, theologian.
451 Fourth Oecumenical
Council at Chalcedon: deci-
sive definition of Christ’s na-
ture. Death of Nestorius,
theologian.
485 Death of Proclus, Athenian
Platonist.

c. 489 School of the Persians
(Church of the East) expelled
from Edessa to Sasanian
territory.
fl. c. 500 Ps.-Dionysius the
Areopagite, Platonizing
theologian.

c. 500 “Closure” of Babylonian

Talmud.

c. 525 Death of Boethius, trans-
lator of Aristotle into Latin.

525 Dionysius Exiguus in-
vents era of the Incarnation.
529 Justinian closes Athens
philosophy schools.