Collected Studies CS1070 The present book collects 31 articles that Jacques van der Vliet, a leading scholar in the field of Coptic Studies (Leiden University / Radboud University, Nijmegen), has published since 1999 on Christian inscriptions from Egypt and Nubia. These inscriptions are dated between the third/fourth and the fourteenth centuries, and are often written in Coptic and/or Greek, once in Latin, and sometimes (partly) in Arabic, Syriac or Old Nubian. They include inscriptions on tomb stones, walls of religious buildings, tools, vessels, furniture, amulets and even texts on luxury garments. Whereas earlier scholars in the field of Coptic Studies often focused on either Coptic or Greek, Van der Vliet argues that inscriptions in different languages that appear in the same space or on the same kind of objects should be examined together. In addition, he aims to combine the information from documentary texts, archaeological remains and inscriptions, in order to reconstruct the economic, social and religious life of monastic or civil communities. He practiced this methodology in his studies on the Fayum, Wadi al-Natrun, Sohag, Western Thebes and the region of Aswan and Northern Nubia, which are all included in this book.

More than 400 distinguished scholars, including archaeologists, art historians, historians, epigraphers, and theologians, have written the 1,455 entries in this monumental encyclopedia--the first comprehensive reference work of its kind. From Aachen to Zurzach, Paul Corby Finney's three-volume masterwork draws on archaeological and epigraphic evidence to offer readers a basic orientation to early Christian architecture, sculpture, painting, mosaic, and portable artifacts created roughly between AD 200 and 600 in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Clear, comprehensive, and richly illustrated, this work will be an essential resource for all those interested in late antique and early Christian art, archaeology, and history. -- Provided by publisher.

The volume explores linguistic practices and choices in the late antique Eastern Mediterranean. It investigates how linguistic diversity and change influenced the social dimension of human interaction, affected group dynamics, the expression and negotiation of various communal identities, such as professional groups of mosaic-makers, stonecutters, or their supervisors in North Syria, bilingual monastic communities in Palestine, elusive producers of Coptic ritual texts in Egypt, or Jewish communities in Dura Europos and Palmyra. The key question is: what do we learn about social groups and human individuals by studying their multilingualism and language practices reflected in epigraphic and other written sources?

Medieval Christian Nubia is often a neglected period of medieval African history. Because meaning is determined largely by context this work traces the Greco-Roman, Meroitic and Jewish precursors. The regional, historical and theological schisms within Christianity are also a highlight. The dynamics of the three Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Mukurra, and Alwa are the centerpiece of this book that covers mural arts, architecture, and the names of the leading kings and bishops. Another strength of the book is the analysis of the 700-year baqt peace treaty between Christian Nubia and Islamic Egypt; this is considered to be the longest lasting treaty in diplomatic history. The complex transition from Christianity to Islam in the 14th century is analyzed in great personal, political, and military detail. Historical Dictionary of Medieval Christian Nubia contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 200 cross-referenced entries on politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture of the medieval Nubians. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Medieval Christian Nubia.

This volume is the first in a new series of editions of Coptic-language "magical" manuscripts from Egypt, written on papyrus, ostraca, parchment, and paper, and dating to between the fourth and twelfth centuries CE. Their texts attest to non-institutional rituals intended to bring about changes in the lives of those who used them – heal disease, curse enemies, bring about love or hatred, or see into the future. These manuscripts represent rich sources of information on daily life and lived religion of Egypt in the last centuries of Roman rule and the first centuries after the Arab conquest, giving us glimpses of the hopes and fears of people of this time, their conflicts and problems, and their vision of the human and superhuman worlds. This volume presents 37 new editions and descriptions of manuscripts, focusing on formularies or "handbooks", those texts containing instructions for the performance of rituals. Each of these is accompanied by a history of its acquisition, a material description, and presented with facing text and translations, tracings of accompanying images, and explanatory notes to aid in understanding the text.