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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
After orientalism : critical perspectives on western agency and eastern re-appropriations /
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The debate on Orientalism began some fifty years ago in the wake of decolonization. While initially considered a turning point, Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) was in fact part of a larger academic endeavor - the political critique of "colonial science" - that had already significantly impacted the humanities and social sciences. In a recent attempt to broaden the debate, the papers collected in this volume, offered at various seminars and an international symposium held in Paris in 2010-2011, critically examine whether Orientalism, as knowledge and as creative expression, was in fact fundamentally subservient to Western domination. By raising new issues, the papers shift the focus from the center to the peripheries, thus analyzing the impact on local societies of a major intellectual and institutional movement that necessarily changed not only their world, but the ways in which they represented their world. World history, which assumes a plurality of perspectives, leads us to observe that the Saidian critique applies to powers other than Western European ones - three case studies are considered here: the Ottoman, Russian (and Soviet), and Chinese empires. Other essays in this volume proceed to analyze how post-independence states have made use of the tremendous accumulation of knowledge and representations inherited from previous colonial regimes for the sake of national identity, as well as how scholars change and adapt what was once a hegemonic discourse for their own purposes. What emerges is a new landscape in which to situate research on non-Western cultures and societies, and a road-map leading readers beyond the restrictive dichotomy of a confrontation between West and East. With contributions by: Elisabeth Allès; Léon Buskens; Stéphane A. Dudoignon; Baudouin Dupret; Edhem Eldem; Olivier Herrenschmidt; Nicholas S. Hopkins; Robert Irwin; Mouldi Lahmar; Sylvette Larzul; Jean-Gabriel Leturcq; Jessica Marglin; Claire Nicholas; Emmanuelle Perrin; Alain de Pommereau; François Pouillon; Zakaria Rhani; Emmanuel Szurek; Jean-Claude Vatin; Mercedes Volait
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Original French title: Après l'orientalisme : l'Orient créé par l'Orient.
Includes index. :
1 online resource (xiii, 289 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004282537 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Western Arabia in the Leiden collections : traces of a colourful past /
: "This book is published in association with Leiden University Libraries and Museum Volkenkunde (Museum of Ethnology)k Leiden, and is made possible through a grant from Aramco, Dhahran, Saudia Arabia"--Colophon. : 192 pages : illustrations (some color), portraits ; 30 cm. : Includes bibliographical references (pages 184-189) and index. : 7989087282592
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
The 'Abbasid and Carolingian Empires : comparative studies in civilizational formation /
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Circa AD 750, both the Islamic world and western Europe underwent political revolutions; these raised to power, respectively, the ʿAbbasid and Carolingian dynasties. The eras thus inaugurated were similar not only in their chronology, but also in the foundational role each played in its respective civilization, forming and shaping enduring religious, cultural, and societal institutions. The ʿAbbāsid and Carolingian Empires: Studies in Civilizational Formation , is the first collected volume ever dedicated specifically to comparative Carolingian-ʿAbbasid history. In it, editor D.G. Tor brings together essays from some of the leading historians in order to elucidate some of the parallel developments in each of these civilizations, many of which persisted not only throughout the Middle Ages, but to the present day. Contributors are: Michael Cook, Jennifer R. Davis, Robert Gleave, Eric J. Goldberg, Minoru Inaba, Jürgen Paul, Walter Pohl, D.G. Tor and Ian Wood.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004353046 :
1929-2403 ; :
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
Susa and Elam : archaeological, philological, historical and geographical perspectives : proceedings of the international congress held at Ghent University, December 14-17, 2009 /
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In December 2009, an international congress was held at Ghent University in order to investigate, exactly 20 years after the 36th RAI "Mésopotamie et Elam", the present state of our knowledge of the Elamite and Susean society from archaeological, philological, historical and geographical points of view. The multidisciplinary character of this congress illustrates the present state of research in the socio-economic, historical and political developments of the Suso-Elamite region from prehistoric times until the great Persian Empire. Because of its strategically important location between the Mesopotamian alluvial plain and the Iranian highlands and its particular interest as point of contact between civilizations, Susa and Elam were of utmost importance for the history of the ancient Near East in general.
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1 online resource (xiii, 554 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004207417 :
1782-4168 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ancient Greeks west and east /
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This volume deals with the concept of 'West' and 'East', as held by the ancient Greeks. Cultural exchange in Archaic and Classical Greece through the establishment of Hellenic colonies around the ancient world was an important development, and always a two-way process. To achieve a proper understanding of it requires study from every angle. All 24 papers in this volume combine different types of evidence, discussing them from every perspective: they are examined not only from the point of view of the Greeks but from that of the locals. The book gives new data, as well as re-examining existing evidence and reinterpreting old theories. The book is richly illustrated.
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1 online resource (xxi, 623 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004351257 :
0169-8958. Supplementum ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Human Rights: Thirty Years After the Universal Declaration : Commemorative Volume on the Occasion of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights /
: 1 online resource (306 pages) : illustrations. : Includes bibliographical references and index. : 9789004638075
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).
Freedom of religion /
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The idea of freedom of religion was developed in Europe in the 16th and 17th century in the context of religious diversity as an alternative for religious wars. The concept requires reconsideration in the current globalized culture: religious plurality has increased as has the awareness of the religious potential for social cohesion and for sectarian division and violence. In this volume, legal experts, sociologists, theologians, and philosophers clarify the historical development of the concept, and analyze the present situation in various countries with religious tensions. They propose possible models and solutions, and discuss the fundamental question of whether the Western model of human rights with its separation of religion and state and freedom of religion can be conceived as universal.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004193635 :
1571-4799 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Conquête ottomane de l'Égypte (1517) : arrière-plan, impact, échos /
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Conquête ottomane de l'Égypte (1517) est le premier ouvrage collectif consacré à la victoire de Selīm Ier sur les Mamelouks, qui a fait du sultanat ottoman l'unique puissance musulmane en Méditerranée orientale, et ravalé l'Égypte au rang de province. Il en renouvelle l'approche en faisant appel à des sources ottomanes, arabes et occidentales très variées. Les contributions réunies par Benjamin Lellouch et Nicolas Michel s'attachent à mesurer les transformations structurelles qu'a induites l'événement dans la société, les pouvoirs, la culture littéraire, artistique et matérielle en Égypte. Elles explorent ses antécédents et son impact géopolitique, et restituent les échos, bruyants puis assourdis, qu'il a suscités, au Proche-Orient, en Italie, et plus généralement en Méditerranée. Conquête ottomane de l'Égypte (1517) is the first collective work that deals with Selīm Ist's crushing victory over the Mamluks, which made the Ottoman sultanate into the sole remaining Muslim power in the eastern Mediterranean, and reduced Egypt to the rank of a province. The book offers new insights into this major event by using a wide range of Ottoman and Arabic as well as Western sources. These essays in French and English collected by Benjamin Lellouch and Nicolas Michel examine to what extent the Ottoman conquest altered the structures of Egyptian society, power relations, literature, arts and material culture. They explore both its backgrounds and geopolitical aftermath, and reconstruct its echoes - loud at first, then gradually fading out - in the Middle East, Italy, and the Mediterranean.
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1 online resource (xxi, 434 pages) : illustrations (some color) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004232082 :
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.
Religious and sexual nationalisms in Central and Eastern Europe : gods, gays, and governments /
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Religious and Sexual Nationalisms in Central and Eastern Europe: Gods, Gays, and Governments. presents case studies from some ten countries that serve to explore the ways in which religion, nationalism, and (homo)sexuality intersect in public discourse. It shows how religious leaders, political and social movements, LGBT-organizations, governments, and media negotiate the powers of religion and state in taking position regarding sexual diversity. These negotiations are as much about sexual morality as they are about national identity, anti-EU sentiments, and the efforts of religious institutions to regain power in post-communist societies.
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1 online resource (viii, 186 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9789004297791 :
1061-5210 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Offerings to the discerning eye : an Egyptological medley in honor of Jack A. Josephson /
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Egyptologist Jack A. Josephson, a writer and researcher in the tradition of the "gentleman scholar," has achieved broad recognition as an authority in Egyptian art history. His lucid investigative analyses have probed and redefined the limits of inquiry, expanded research parameters, and broadened perspectives, emphasizing the undeniable contributions of art history in an intra-disciplinary framework. This volume of collected essays is dedicated to Josephson by distinguished friends and colleagues, a select roster including eminent, established scholars in the field of Egyptology and rising stars of the younger generation. Josephson views Egyptian art history as a critical but neglected area of study, and is a strong proponent of its reinstatement in the academic curriculum as an essential component in the formation of new cadres. The quality of the articles in this Egyptological medley is a tribute to the honoree and an affirmation of the esteem of his peers, while the range of subjects and variety of themes addressed reflect the degree to which he has, in his own scholarship, undertaken to implement his ideal.
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"Bibliography of Jack A. Josephson": pages [xv]. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047441090 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Mélanges offerts à Ola el-Aguizy /
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OCLC 911611276
Pagination: second sequence numbered in western Arabic numerals 1-450; in eastern Arabic numerals 451-490.
This volume presents forty articles offered to Professor Ola el-Aguizy by her friends and colleagues to express their respect for her contribution to Egyptology, whether in the scientific domain or in the international links she created between Cairo University and many other academic institutions across the world. Emeritus Professor at the Cairo University Faculty of archeology in which she made all her career, Ola el-Aguizy greatly contributed to the formation of her students and to the mentoring of their research through her scientific strictness. -- Publisher's website. :
xiii, 490 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 28 cm. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9782724706635
A gift of geology : ancient Egyptian landscapes and monuments /
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""While much is known about Egypt's towering pyramids, mighty obelisks, and extraordinary works of art, less is known about the role played by Egypt's geological history in the formation of pharaonic culture's artistic and architectural legacy. The fertile soils that lined the Nile Valley meant that the people of Egypt were able to live well off the land. Yet what allowed ancient Egypt to stand apart from other early civilizations was its access to the vast range of natural resources that lay beyond the Nile floodplain. In this engagingly written book, Colin Reader invites readers to explore the influence of geology and landscape on the development of the cultures of ancient Egypt. After describing today's Egyptian landscape and introducing key elements of the ancient Egyptian worldview, he provides a basic geological toolkit to address issues such as geological time and major earth-forming processes. The developments that gave the geology of Egypt its distinct character are explored, including the uplifting of mountains along the Red Sea coast, the evolution of the Nile river, and the formation of the vast desert areas beyond the Nile Valley. As the story unfolds, elements of Egypt's archaeology are introduced, together with discussions of mining and quarrying, construction in stone, and the ways in which the country's rich geological heritage allowed the culture of ancient Egypt to evolve. Ideal for non-specialists and specialists alike, and supported with over one hundred illustrations, A Gift of Geology takes the reader on a fascinating journey into Egypt's geological landscape and its relationship to the marvels of pharaonic culture.""--
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xi, 210 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 22 cm. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9781649032188
1649032188