Philip Wood is a historian of Late Antiquity and the medieval Middle East, specialising in the history of Christianity and Islam and the relationships between religious communities. His research explores how religious identities and institutions developed in the Roman, Sasanian and Islamic empires, with particular emphasis on the Christian communities of Syria and Iraq.

His books include The Imam of the Christians, which examines the leadership of Christian communities under early Islamic rule and a historical commentary on The Chronicle of Seert, c. 580–660. His work draws on Syriac and Arabic sources to explore the political, social, and cultural history of the pre-modern Middle East.

He has previously taught at Oxford, Cambridge and SOAS. Most recently he held the Tejpar Chair in Inter-religious studies at Aga Khan University.

His current research focuses on the role of Christians in the formation of the Abbasid Caliphate and on the comparative history of religious communities and institutions across medieval Eurasia.

Research interests and PhD supervision

Philip's research focuses on the social and political history of religion between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (c.400-1000 CE), especially the interaction between religious communities and imperial states.

His principal areas of interest include:

• Christianity and Islam in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Relations between Christians and Muslims, religious conversion, and the development of Christian institutions under Islamic rule.
• Religious identities and group formation: The role of religious leaders, institutions and historical writing in defining and maintaining communal identities.
• The Abbasid Caliphate: The political and social history of Iraq and Syria, including the participation of Christians in government and intellectual life.
• Syriac and Arabic historiography and hagiography: Chronicles, hagiography and church canons as sources for the history of the Middle East.
• Comparative imperial history: The relationships between religious communities, political institutions and state formation across Eurasia.

Teaching

Philip teaches the history of Late Antiquity, the medieval Middle East and the development of Christianity and Islam. His teaching explores the connections between political, religious and social history, encouraging students to compare developments across different regions and traditions. He has extensive experience teaching and supervising students from a wide range of international and disciplinary backgrounds.

Expertise and public engagement

Philip contributes to public discussions of the history of Christianity and Islam, religious education and social integration and the historical relationships between the Middle East and Europe. He has written for outlets such as Open Democracy, politics.co.uk, RE Online, Le Point and Middle East Eye.

He is interested in communicating historical research to audiences beyond the university. He has run online courses for the general public and written curricula for primary schools on Islam. He is currently writing a history of Christianity in the Middle East for a general audience, commissioned by Polity.

Selected publications

• The Chronicle of Seert, c. 580–660 (with Michael R. J. Bonner, Harvard University Press, 2026).
• What Is Islamic Studies? European and North American Approaches to a Contested Field (co-edited with Leif Stenberg, Edinburgh University Press, 2022).
• The Imam of the Christians: The World of Dionysius of Tel-Mahre, c. 750–850 (Princeton University Press, 2021).
• The Chronicle of Seert: Christian Historical Imagination in Late Antique Iraq (Oxford University Press, 2013).
• History and Identity in the Late Antique East (Edited volume, Oxford University Press, 2013).
• We Have No King but Christ: Christian Political Thought in Greater Syria on the Eve of the Arab Conquest (Oxford University Press, 2010).