The pharaoh's treasure : the origin of paper and the rise of Western civilization /
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For our entire history, humans have always searched for new ways to share information. This innate compulsion led to the origin of writing on the rock walls of caves and coffin lids or carving on tablets. But it was with the advent of papyrus paper when the ability to record and transmit information exploded, allowing for an exchanging of ideas from the banks of the Nile throughout the Mediterranean--and the civilized world--for the first time in human history. In The Pharaoh's Treasure, John Gaudet looks at this pivotal transition to papyrus paper, which would become the most commonly used information medium in the world for more than 4,000 years. Far from fragile, papyrus paper is an especially durable writing surface; papyrus books and documents in ancient and medieval times had a usable life of hundreds of years, and this durability has allowed items like the famous Nag Hammadi codices from the third and fourth century to survive. The story of this material that was prized by both scholars and kings reveals how papyrus paper is more than a relic of our ancient past, but a key to understanding how ideas and information shaped humanity in the ancient and early modern world.
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xxi, 356 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 24 cm :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
168177853X
9781681778532
Civil Society, Religion, and the Nation : Modernization in Intercultural Context: Russia, Japan, Turkey /
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Japan, Russia, and Turkey are major examples of countries with different ethnic, religious, and cultural background that embarked on the path of modernization without having been colonized by a Western country. In all three cases, national consciousness has played a significant role in this context. The project of Modernity is obviously of European origin, but is it essentially European? Does modernization imply loss of a country's cultural or national identity? If so, what is the "fate" of the modernization process in these cases? The presence of the idea and reality of civil society can be considered a real marker of Modernity in this respect, because it presupposes the development of liberalism, individualism and human rights. But are these compatible with nationalism and with the idea of a national religion? These questions are the more pressing, as Japan is considered part of the Western world in many respects, and Russia and Turkey are defining their relation to the European Union in different ways. An investigation of these three countries, set off against more general reflections, sheds light on the possibilities or limitations of modernization n a non-European context.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401201421
9789042016651
Adab and modernity : a "civilising" process? (sixteenth--twenty-first century) /
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Adab is a concept situated at the heart of Arabic and Islamic civilisation. Adab is etiquette, ethics, and literature. It is also a creative synthesis, a relationship within a configuration. What became of it, towards modernity ? The question of the "civilising process" (Norbert Elias) helps us reflect on this story. During the modern period, maintaining one's identity while entering into what was termed "civilisation" ( al-tamaddun ) soon became a leitmotiv . A debate on what was or what should be culture, ethics, and norms in Middle Eastern societies accompanied this evolution. The resilient notion of adab has been in competition with the Salafist focus on mores ( akhlāq ). Still, humanism, poetry, and transgression are constants in the history of adab . Contributors: Francesca Bellino, Elisabetta Benigni, Michel Boivin, Olivier Bouquet, Francesco Chiabotti, Stéphane Dudoignon, Anne-Laure Dupont, Stephan Guth, Albrecht Hofheinz, Katharina Ivanyi, Felix Konrad, Corinne Lefevre, Cathérine Mayeur-Jaouen, Astrid Meier, Nabil Mouline, Samuela Pagani, Luca Patrizi, Stefan Reichmuth, Iris Seri-Hersch, Chantal Verdeil, Anne-Sophie Vivier-Muresan.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004415997
Stories of Globalization: The Red Sea and the Persian Gulf from Late Prehistory to Early Modernity : Selected Papers of Red Sea Project VII /
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This book contains a selection of papers presented at the Red Sea VII conference titled "The Red Sea and the Gulf: Two Maritime Alternative Routes in the Development of Global Economy, from Late Prehistory to Modern Times". The Red Sea and the Gulf are similar geographically and environmentally, and complementary to each other, as well as being competitors in their economic and cultural interactions with the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. The chapters of the volume are grouped in three sections, corresponding to the various historical periods. Each chapter of the book offers the reader the opportunity to travel across the regions of the Red Sea and the Gulf, and from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean from prehistory to the contemporary era. With contributions by Ahmed Hussein Abdelrahman, Serena Autiero, Mahmoud S. Bashir, Kathryn A. Bard, Alemsege, Beldados, Ioana A. Dumitru, Serena Esposito, Rodolfo Fattovich, Luigi Gallo, Michal Gawlikowski, Caterina Giostra, Sunil Gupta, Michael Harrower, Martin Hense, Linda Huli, Sarah Japp, Serena Massa, Ralph K. Pedersen, Jacke S. Phillips, Patrice Pomey, Joanna K. Rądkowska, Mike Schnelle, Lucy Semaan, Steven E. Sidebotham, Shadia Taha, Husna Taha Elatta, Joanna Then-Obłuska and Iwona Zych
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004362321 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Receptions of antiquity, constructions of gender in European art, 1300-1600 /
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Receptions of Antiquity, Constructions of Gender in European Art, 1300-1600 presents scholarship in classical reception at its nexus with art history and gender studies. It considers the ways that artists, patrons, collectors, and viewers in late medieval and early modern Europe used ancient Greek and Roman art, texts, myths, and history to interact with and shape notions of gender. The essays examine Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes, Michelangelo's Medici Chapel personifications, Giulio Romano's decoration of the Palazzo del Te, and other famous and lesser-known sculptures, paintings, engravings, book illustrations, and domestic objects as well as displays of ancient art. Visual responses to antiquity in this era, the volume demonstrates, bore a complex and significant relationship to the construction of, and challenges to, contemporary gender norms.
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1 online resource (XV, 467 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004289697 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Receptions of Greek and Roman antiquity in East Asia
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Receptions of Greek and Roman Antiquity in East Asia is an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and global effort to examine the receptions of the Western Classical tradition in a cross-cultural context. The inclusion of modern East Asia in Classical reception studies not only allows scholars in the field to expand the scope of their scholarly inquiries but will also become a vital step toward transcending the meaning of Greco-Roman tradition into a common legacy for all of human society.
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1 online resource. :
9789004370715
After one hundred years : the 1910 exhibition "Meisterwerke muhammedanischer Kunst" reconsidered /
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The exhibition \'Meisterwerke muhammedanischer Kunst\' that took place in Munich in 1910 marked a turning point in the approach to Islamic Art. The show attempted to break free of Orientalism and exotic fantasies and, in doing so, set a new standard for the reception of Islamic art in Europe. Moreover, naming the Islamic artefacts masterpieces, it layed claim to bestow upon Islamic art "a place equal to that of other cultural periods". This book is the first comprehensive study on this path-breaking exhibition. It includes a wealth of unpublished material and numerous novel ideas on the subject and addresses the exhibition's historical context, organization, realization and display as well as its reception in the West and its later influence on the study of Islamic art.
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Outgrowth of a scholarly conference held in Munich on the 24th and 25th of October 2008 in the International Meeting Centre (IBZ) of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004191020 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Rewriting the ancient world : Greeks, Romans, Jews and Christians in modern popular fiction /
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Rewriting the Ancient World looks at how and why the ancient world, including not only the Greeks and Romans, but also Jews and Christians, has been rewritten in popular fictions of the modern world. The fascination that ancient society holds for later periods in the Western world is as noticeable in popular fiction as it is in other media, for there is a vast body of work either set in, or interacting with, classical models, themes and societies. These works of popular fiction encompass a very wide range of society, and the examination of the interaction between these books and the world of classics provides a fascinating study of both popular culture and example of classical reception.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004346383 :
2212-9405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Renaissance Papacy 1400-1600 /
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After having been weakened by the Great Western Schism, the papacy recovered its leadership position during the Renaissance. It expanded and reformed its bureaucracy, gained control over councils and cardinals, and established its authority over the Papal States and the city of Rome, which it developed and beautified. The papacy also negotiated working relationships with civil rulers through concordats and resident nuncios, worked to defend Christendom from Muslim conquest, sought to bring the Eastern churches into unity with Rome, promoted the expansion of Christendom through missions, tried to suppress heresies and clarify Catholic doctrine, and removed many abuses. To a remarkable degree, it succeeded.
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1 online resource (472 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004713222
Encounters of the children of Abraham from ancient to modern times /
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Christianity, Judaism and Islam - the Children of Abraham - constitute the spiritual foundations of Western civilization. They affect the interactions of entire nations and individuals, though their history is often understood as one of conflict and controversy. The present volume documents past encounters and confrontations, though it also shows that the history of the three faiths is not merely one of conflict but also one of co-existence and dialogue. The rich shared theological traditions of the Abrahamic religions provide positive encouragement to present-day meetings between their followers. The book contains 16 contributions by scholars from various fields of religious studies. It should appeal to everyone interested in interreligious encounters.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004188501 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Brill's Companion to the Reception of Ancient Rhetoric /
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This volume, examining the reception of ancient rhetoric, aims to demonstrate that the past is always part of the present: in the ways in which decisions about crucial political, social and economic matters have been made historically; or in organic interaction with literature, philosophy and culture at the core of the foundation principles of Western thought and values. Analysis is meant to cover the broadest possible spectrum of considerations that focus on the totality of rhetorical species (i.e. forensic, deliberative and epideictic) as they are applied to diversified topics (including, but not limited to, language, science, religion, literature, theatre and other cultural processes (e.g. athletics), politics and leadership, pedagogy and gender studies) and cross-cultural, geographical and temporal contexts.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004470057
9789004373655
The Persianate World : Rethinking a Shared Sphere /
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The Persianate World: Rethinking a Shared Sphere is among the first books to explore the pre-modern and early modern historical ties among such diverse regions as Anatolia, the Iranian plateau, Central Asia, Western Xinjiang, the Indian subcontinent, and southeast Asia, as well as the circumstances that reoriented these regions and helped break up the Persianate ecumene in modern times. Essays explore the modalities of Persianate culture, the defining features of the Persianate cosmopolis, religious practice and networks, the diffusion of literature across space, subaltern social groups, and the impact of technological advances on language. Taken together, the essays reflect the current scholarship in Persianate studies, and offer pathways for future research.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004387287 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Why did ancient states collapse? : the dysfunctional state
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Ancient states were rooted in agriculture, sedentism and population growth. They were fragile and prone to collapse, but there is no consensus on the causes or meaning of collapse, and there is an ongoing debate about the importance, nature and even existence of state-wide collapse
Explanations of collapse in terms of competing mono-causal factors are found inferior to those incorporating dynamic, interactive systems. It is proposed that collapse should be explained as failure to fulfil the ancient state’s core functions: assurance of food supplies, defence against external attack, maintenance of internal peace, imposition of its will throughout its territory, enforcement of state-wide laws, and promotion of an ideology to legitimise the political and social status quo.
To fulfil these functions certain necessary conditions must be met. The legitimacy of the political and social status quo, including the distribution of political power and wealth, needs to be accepted; the state should be able to extract sufficient resources to fulfil its functions such as defence; it must be able to enforce its decisions; the ruling elite should share a common purpose and actions; the society needs to reflect a shared spirit (asibaya) and purpose across elites and commoners who believe it is worthy of defence.
Weaknesses and failure to meet any condition can interact to exacerbate the situation: maladministration, corruption and elite preoccupation with self aggrandisement can induce fiscal weakness, reduced military budgets and further invasion; it can induce neglect of key infrastructures (especially water management). Inequality, a commonly neglected factor despite ancient texts, can erode asibaya and legitimacy and alienate commoners from defence of the state.
These themes are explored in relation to the Egyptian Old Kingdom, Mycenae, the Western Roman Empire (WRE), and the Maya. They all exhibit, to varying degrees, weaknesses in meeting the above conditions necessary for stability. (Some of the explanatory political and social factors involved have modern analogies but that issue is not examined).