Conflict and Cooperation

Between 300 and 700 CE, intense religious controversies shaped the sociocultural landscape of Late Antiquity. Although many disputes are extensively documented in letters, scholarship has focused mainly on their doctrinal dimensions, paying less attention to the complex social relationships in which they unfolded. Yet letters did more than convey ideas: they connected individuals across distances, forged alliances, expressed loyalties, and defined religious opponents. Understanding these social dynamics is essential to explaining how controversies developed, why conflicts escalated and how cooperation became possible.This interdisciplinary volume explores the role of letter writing in shaping the social networks that influenced religious disputes in Late Antiquity. Using descriptive, qualitative and quantitative methods, it examines how letters circulated religious ideas, established and maintained relationships, communicated expectations of allegiance and assistance, and negotiated boundaries between competing groups.The volume sheds new light on communication, social networks and religious change in Late Antiquity. It will appeal to scholars and students of Late Antiquity, ancient epistolography and historical network research.