Tag: Achaemenid Empire

Brennan, Shane. 2022. Xenophon’s Anabasis: A Socratic History. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Xenophon’s Anabasis has engaged and entertained readers from antiquity to the present day. Through his telling of the story of Cyrus the Younger’s attempt on the Persian throne and its aftermath, Xenophon integrates many of the prominent themes and concerns in his writings, including leadership, panhellenism, Sparta and apologia.

Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, Brennan offers a fresh reading of the text which originates in a broad-ranging consideration of Xenophon’s aims in writing the book some thirty years after the event. The central argument brings the presence of Socrates into relief and demonstrates how the author, representing himself in the story as a model pupil of the philosopher, perpetuates Socratic teachings and values through ‘Xenophon’s’ leadership. Ultimately, Anabasis is revealed to be a ‘Socratic history’, a narrative rooted in a historical event or period and in which the author embeds a reflection of the philosopher and his values.

Nevin, Sonya. 2022. The Idea of Marathon: Battle and Culture. London: Bloomsbury.

The Battle of Marathon changed the course of history in ancient Greece. To many, the impossible seemed to have been achieved – the mighty Persian Empire halted in its advance. What happened that day, why was the battle fought, and how did people make sense of it? This bold new history of the battle examines how the conflict unfolded and the ideas attached to it in antiquity and beyond. Many thought the battle offered lessons in how people should behave, with heroism to be emulated and faults to be avoided. While the battle itself was fought in one day, the battle for the idea of Marathon has lasted ever since. After immersing you in the battle, this work will help you to explore how the ancient Athenians used the battle in their relations between themselves and others, and how the battle continued to be used to express ideas about gods, empire, and morality in the age of Alexander and his successors, at Rome and in Greece under the Roman Empire, and in the ages after antiquity, even in our own era, in which Marathon plays a remarkable role in sport, film, and children’s literature with each retelling a re-imagining of the battle and its meaning. A clash of weapons, gods, and principles, this is Marathon as you’ve never seen it before!

Table of Contents
Introduction

1. Athenians at a Turning Point
2. The Greek World
3. Persia
4. Revolt in Ionia
5. The Plain of Marathon
6. The Fight
7. Surviving Marathon
8. Events after Marathon
9. Memories of Marathon in Fifth-Century Art and Literature
10. Marathon beyond the Fifth-Century
11. Marathon under Rome
12. Marathon after Antiquity

Afterword

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Shafer-Elliott, Cynthia, Kristin Joachimsen, Ehud Ben Zvi & Pauline A. Viviano (eds.). 2022. The Hunt for Ancient Israel: Essays in Honour of Diana V. Edelman. Sheffield: Equinox.

The Hunt for Ancient Israel celebrates the contribution of Diana V. Edelman to the field of biblical studies and celebrates her personally as researcher, teacher, mentor, colleague, and mastermind of new research paths and groups. It salutes her unconventional, constant thinking and rethinking outside the box, and her challenging of established consensuses. This volume includes essays addressing biblical themes and texts, archaeological fieldwork, historical method, social memory and reception history.

Table of Contents

Front Matter

Abbreviationsvii-x

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott,Kristin Joachimsen,Ehud Ben Zvi,Pauline A. Viviano

Introduction

Introduction [+]1-9

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott,Kristin Joachimsen,Ehud Ben Zvi,Pauline A. Viviano

Chapter 1

The Covenant of Circumcision (Genesis 17) as an Identity Marker of Nascent Judaism [+]10-26

Thomas Römer

Chapter 2

Pain, Gain, or Both? Circumcision, Trauma, and (R)Emasculation in Post-Exlic Israel [+]27-49

Anne-Mareike Schol-Wetter

Chapter 3

Remembering the Roles of Mother, Wives and Daughter in the Formation of the Identity and Story of Israel in Genesis 25–36 [+]50-68

Steinar Skarpnes

Chapter 4

The Joseph Story: Between a Family and a Polemical Story [+]69-92

Yairah Amit

Chapter 5

Shibboleth: Folklore and Redaction-History [+]93-104

Christoph Levin

Chapter 6

A Masterpiece of Early Hebrew Storytelling: The Seance at En-Dor (1 Samuel 28) [+]105-125

Reinhard Müller

Chapter 7

The Irrevocable Word of God (1 Kings 13:1–32) [+]126-136

Pauline A. Viviano

Chapter 8

The Pragmatic Challenge to Moses: Jeremiah 30:1-4 in Light of Deuteronomy [+]137-151

Benedetta Rossi

Chapter 9

Dating Haggai: Or Reframing the Context of a Prophetic Book [+]152-167

Bob Becking

Chapter 10

It’s All in the Lists! Building the Community through the Lists in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah [+]168-194

Maria Häusl

Chapter 11

References to Josiah in the Chronicles’ Narrative [+]195-217

Lowell K. Handy

Chapter 12

Keys to the Past? Archaeological Correlates of Social and Cultural Memory from the Ancient Levant [+]218-232

Aren Maeir

Chapter 13

Putting One’s House in Order: Household Archaeology at Tell Halif, Israel [+]233-257

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott

Chapter 14

Jericho by Qumran and Qumran by Jericho in Late Antiquity: A Multispectral Cultural Landscape through the New Cultural Studies [+]258-293

David Hamidovic

Chapter 15

Kings Saul, David, and Arthur: On Writing a History of the ‘Dark Age’ [+]294-312

Lester L. Grabbe

Chapter 16

The Appearance of Hebrew Prose and the Fabric of History [+]313-335

Daniel Pioske

Chapter 17

If I Ever Forget You, Benjamin… [+]336-359

James Anderson,Philippe Guillaume

Chapter 18

“He Shall Accomplish My Desired Will”: The Yehudized Cyrus in the Book of Isaiah [+]360-382

Kristin Joachimsen

Chapter 19

Where a Shattered Visage Lies? Warrants for Authority in Persian Yehud [+]383-406

Jason Silverman

Chapter 20

The Production of Literature in Judean Military Communities in Egypt [+]407-435

Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley

Chapter 21

Praying History: Taking a Joyful Leap of Trust [+]436-454

Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher

Chapter 22

Cultural Memory, Identity, and the Past [+]455-475

Kåre Berge

Chapter 23

Alexander as a Site of Memory in Hellenistic Judah in the Context of Mnemonic Appropriations of ‘High-Value’ Outsiders [+]476-495

Ehud Ben Zvi

Chapter 24

Women’s Bravery: Jane Dieulafoy, Queen Parysatis, and the Reception of the Persian Empire in Nineteenth-Century France [+]496-520

Jorunn Okland

End Matter

List of Diana V. Edelman’s Publications [+]521-530

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott,Kristin Joachimsen,Ehud Ben Zvi,Pauline A. Viviano

Index of Authors [+]531-544

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott,Kristin Joachimsen,Ehud Ben Zvi,Pauline A. Viviano

Index of Ancient Textual Sources[+]545-571

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott,Kristin Joachimsen,Ehud Ben Zvi,Pauline A. Viviano

Hensel, Benedikt, Ehud Ben Zvi & Diana V. Edelman (eds.). 2022. About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period: Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Sheffield: Equinox.

This volume highlights and advances new developments in the study of Edom and Idumea in eighteen essays written by researchers from different disciplines (history, archaeology, Assyriology, epigraphy, memory studies, and Hebrew Bible studies). The topics examined include the emergence of Idumea, the evolution of Edomite/Idumean identity, the impact of the Arabian trade on the region, comparative and regional studies of Idumea and Judah, studies of specific sites, artifacts, epigraphic and literary sources, and a section on literary and ideological constructions and memories of “Edom” reflected in the Hebrew Bible. This volume is a “go-to” for all who are interested in the current state of research about Edom and Idumea.

Waters, Matt. 2022. King of the world: The life of Cyrus the Great. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The Persian Empire was the world’s first hyperpower, with territory stretching from Central Asia to Northeastern Africa and from Southeastern Europe to the Indus Valley. It was the dominant geopolitical force from the later sixth century to its conquest by Alexander in the 330s BCE. Much of the empire’s territory was conquered by its founder, Cyrus the Great, who reigned from 559-530 BCE. Cyrus became a legend in his own lifetime, and his career inspired keen interest from Persia’s unruly neighbors to the west, the ancient Greeks. The idealized portrait of Cyrus by the Greek Xenophon had a profound impact on ancient, medieval, and early modern debates about rulership.

King of the World provides an authoritative and accessible account of Cyrus the Great’s life, career, and legacy. While Greek sources remain central to any narrative about Cyrus, a wealth of primary evidence is found in the ancient Near East, including documentary, archaeological, art historical, and biblical material. Matt Waters draws from all of these sources while consistently contextualizing them in order to provide a cohesive understanding of Cyrus the Great. This overview addresses issues of interpretation and reconciles limited material, while the narrative keeps Cyrus the Great’s compelling career at the forefront. Cyrus’ legacy is enormous and not fully appreciated― King of the World takes readers on a journey that reveals his powerful impact and preserves his story for future generations.