“…Considering, at different times, at different scales, these very different cities themselves, their populations, their districts, their competitions and their clashes, the studies gathered here and presented by the Center for Studies and Research on the Contemporary Middle East aim to shed light on some of the aspects of the changing societies of the Arab East. The city crisis is arguably one of the most dramatic signs of the changes taking place. …”

“…In our research for the critical edition of the Sahidic variants of the Gospel of Mark, the manuscript sa 123 stands out as a very special example: it is likely to be a fragmentary witness of philological work in the Fayyum well after the Arabic conquest. The manuscript features extensive corrections performed by a second hand and based on a different type of text than the first copy. …”

“…The conversion of Constantine to Christianity was commented upon in many ways by Arab historiographers, both Muslim and Christian. …”