From Hellenism to Islam: Cultural and Linguistic Change in the Roman Near East

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The 800 years between the 1st Roman conquests & the Islamic conquest saw a rich, constantly shifting blend of languages & writing systems, legal structures, religious practices & beliefs in the Near East. While different ethnic groups & cultural forms often clashed with each other, adaptation was as much characteristic of the region as conflict. This volume, emphasizing the inscriptions in many languages from the Near East, brings together informative studies by scholars in diverse fields. Together, they reveal how the different languages, peoples & cultures interacted, competed with, tried to ignore or were influenced by each other, & how their relationships evolved over time. It will be of great value to those interested in Greek, Roman & Jewish history & Near Eastern studies.
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Contributors
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: documentary evidence, social realities & the history of language/ Fergus Millar
The presence, role & significance of Latin in the epigraphy & culture of the Roman Near East/ Werner Eck
Latin in cities of the Roman Near East/ Benjamin Isaac
Euergetism in Josephus & the epigraphic culture of 1st-century Jerusalem/ Seth Schwartz
Legal & social status of threptoi & related categories in narrative & documentary sources/ Marijana Ricl
Ritual performances of divine justice: the epigraphy of confession, atonement & exaltation in Roman Asia Minor/ Angelos Chaniotis
Continuity of Nabataean law in the Petra papyri: a methodological exercise/ Hannah M. Cotton
Languages & religion in 2nd- to 4th-century Palestine: in search of the impact of Rome/ Nicole Belayche
The epigraphic habit & the Jewish diasporas of Asia Minor & Syria/ Walter Ameling
Religion & language in Dura-Europos/ Ted Kaizer
On the margins of culture: the practice of transcription in the ancient world/ Jonathan J. Price, Shlomo Naeh
Edessene Syriac inscriptions in late antique Syria/ Sebastian Brock
Samaritan writing & writings/ Dan Barag
The Jewish magical tradition from late antique Palestine to the Cairo Genizah/ Gideon Bohak
The Nabataean connection of the Benei Ḥezir/ Ernst Axel Knauf
Greek inscriptions in transition from the Byzantine to the early Islamic period/ Leah Di Segni
Arab kings, Arab tribes & the beginnings of Arab historical memory in late Roman epigraphy/ Robert G. Hoyland
Greek, Coptic & the language of the Hijra: the rise & decline of the Coptic language in late antique & medieval Egypt/ Tonio Sebastian Richter
What remains behind: Hellenism & Romanitas in Christian Egypt after the Arab conquest/ Arietta Papaconstantinou
Index