In Between Empires Greg Fisher tackles the problem of pre-Islamic Arab identity by examining the relationship between the Roman Empire and the Empire of Sasanian Iran; and a selection of their Arab allies and neighbours; the Jafnids; Nasrids; and Hujrids. Fisher focuses on the last century before the emergence of Islam and stresses the importance of a Near East dominated by Rome and Iran for the formation of early concepts of Arab identity. In particular; he examines cultural and religious integration; political activities; and the role played by Arabic as factors in this process. He concludes that interface with the Roman Empire; in particular; played a key role in helping to lay the foundation for later concepts of Arab identity; and that the world of Late Antiquity is; as a result; of enduring interest in our understanding of what we now call the Middle East.
#66405 in Books Oldridge Darren 2012-06-18Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 4.20 x .40 x 6.60l; .20 #File Name: 0199580995144 pagesThe Devil
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Serviceable; interesting; but slightly disjointedBy C. D. VarnLots of good historical and historically oriented theological information here; even if you are familiar with longer and more coherent works like Jeffery Burton Russell's several volume history of Satan. The main issue is that this covers too much with too little time; often making examples seem slightly disjointed; and the theological/philosophical commentary being inconsistently interwoven in with historical information. This makes the book a little hard to read even though it is not particularly "difficult" in other senses of the term. Oldridge's discussion of Auden; however; may be worth the price of the entire book; and was the most interesting topic. Overall; it is a serviceable introduction to the Christian idea of "the Devil" in a theological-historical context; and maybe should be paired with OUP's introductions to other Christian topic as well as Witchcraft: A Very Short Introduction.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Readers would also like "Jenna's Flaw"By Lee TaseyAn introduction to the devil as seen by Christian theologians; artists; filmmakers; poets and novelists. A nice book with which to begin your study of the devil. Oldridge also provides a nice "Further Reading" section in the back of the book for further study.Readers would also like "Jenna's Flaw;" a novel about Satanism and demonic possession in the Midwest.3 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Historia del demonismoBy pablo.crespovargasPara los interesados en conocer la historia del demonismo (del culto a los seres maléficos y al demonio); este libro es un excelente inicio. No es una obra muy condensada ni extensa. Todo lo contrario; de fácil lectura y con una extensión muy cómoda para cualquier lector. Para los interesados en abundar; les recomiendo revisar la bibliografÃa; la cual puede ser de mucho uso.
