This brief introduction to the state of Christianity in Iraq during the ascendancy of Islam begins with a discussion of the friction between Christians and Magians. The political role of the church among the Sassanians, both internally and externally, is addressed. With the Islamic conquest various traditions circulated regarding the tolerance of Christianity within Muslim jurisdiction. Morony skillfully navigates these traditions, providing a plausible historical view. The formation of the Assyrian Church of the East’s doctrine and identity as well as their schools, monasteries, laws, and their sense of community and separateness are considered. The contrast with Monophysites with their “Nestorian” competitors rounds out the discussion.

Originally the first in a series of five lectures delivered at Harvard University, this extract is an early attempt to tackle a formidable subject: the religion of ancient Iraq, or Mesopotamia. Rogers begins this exploration with a summary of the rediscovery of the religions of Babylonia and Assyria. Step by step he rehearses the rediscovery and recovery of ancient Babylon and Nineveh. Engaging and informative, Rogers’ narrative is accessible to the specialist and general reader alike.

The role of medieval Syriac scholars in the translation, and thus preservation, of classical literature cannot be underestimated. Gottheil provides all of the extant Syriac texts of the translation of Aristotle’s Categories, and a brief introduction.

This work is an excellent, concise history of the development of the Zoroastrian religion. Special attention is given to the historical development of the religion from monotheism to a dualistic system, with particular emphasis on ethical and eschatological teachings.

Ramsay makes a strong case for the southern location of the Galatia mentioned in the New Testament. Using several streams of evidence, Ramsay makes a forceful case for the South-Galatian theory.

Hewlett explores the specific use of the Ancient Greek articular infinitive in Polybius.

Ancient Locris stretched from Thermopylae to Larymna and was home to the Locrians. In this ariticle Oldfather presents a survey of the sites and topography of this important region of Greece.

Arthur Kingsley Porter here traces the roots of Renaissance sculpture to the smaller decorative sculptures found on the outside of churches and other buildings beginning around the turn of the first millennium A.D.

Extracted from Arthur Penrhyn Stanley’s Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church, this introduction to ecclesiastical history is a tribute to the insight of a former professor of ecclesiastical history at Oxford. Stanley’s introduction covers three main areas: the province of ecclesiastical history, the study of ecclesiastical history, and the advantages of such study.

In the days when many Americans were first becoming aware of the larger religious world, Sailer introduced them to Islam. Reaching for an understanding of how the two religions relate, he begins this study with an introduction to the Muslim world. Sailer approaches the subject with a respect for Islam and its believers. Aiming to prepare missionaries for Muslim regions, he writes for a general readership. Understanding, he believes, begins with an overview of Muslim life and the character and influences on Islam. Designed as a short adult course on the subject, this booklet has instructions for the leader of an adult group on the topic. Interested in the impact of Christianity on Islam, Sailer explores what churches might do. Taken all together, this little booklet spells out a plan of action for what the author saw as a missionary opportunity.

Charles Bishop, whose life work revolved around the study of -teos adjectives in Greek and cognate forms in other Indo-European languages, examines the specific role of such adjectives in the plays of Sophocles.

Prof. Radford uses early Latin poetry to examine patterns of vowel quantity in early spoken Latin.

Felix Haase presents one of the first in-depth surveys of the text of the Chronicle of Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre and focuses on the issue of the texts that were used as sources for the composition of the Chronicle

The “Autobiography” of Dionysius the (Pseudo-)Aereopagite exists in two separate recensions found in three manuscripts. Marc-Antoine Kugener publishes here the Syriac text of the two recensions along with an introduction and a German translation.

In the present article, Sebastian Euringer publishes the Ethiopic text of an anaphora attributed to Athanasius. Euringer also provides a German translation of the text as well as a critical apparatus with variant readings and critical notes.

Paul Krüger discusses the influence of the “rain prayer” of Ephrem by tracing its use throughout several stages in the development of the Syriac liturgical traditions.

The caves that make up the coenobitic Monastery of St. Euthymios include several interesting and well-preserved wall paintings. In the present article, Andreas Mader presents a thorough description of these caves and paintings and includes several photographs for reference.

This grammatical study focuses on how the relative particle is used in the Demonstrations of fourth century Syriac author Aphrahat. A great number of examples from Aphrahat’s writings are included in both Syriac and in German translation.

This Syriac edition with English translation is the historic first printing of such an edition of the manuscript available to European scholars. The unusual nature of Syriac monks translating the work of the Greek heathen Plutarch give this document inherent historical value.

The vexing question called the Synoptic Problem has long interested New Testament scholars. Woods weighs in on this question providing evidence for Mark’s priority based on the use of language in the Gospels.

The classic hagiography of Saint George is presented here by E. W. Brooks. He gives a critical edition of the Syriac accompanied by an annotated English translation of the Acts. The “Acts of Saint George” stands in the tradition of early Christian devotional and historical records, and is a standard source for information about this formative saint.

The three essays in this volume address the physical, historical and literary features of what were at the time two of the very earliest clearly datable manuscripts of the Pentateuch known to exist.

Presenting an original translation with introduction and commentary as well as an edited Hebrew text along with critical notes, this is an excellent resource for the study of the book of Nahum, both for the layperson and the scholar.

This article contributes to the knowledge of Jacob of Edessa’s (d. 708) Old Testament revision by editing twenty texts (a total of 80 verses) from the Book of Isaiah and comparing them with the Greek recensions of the Septuagint, with the Peshitta, and the Syrohexapla. Two special features are introduced to set out Jacob’s revision technique in some detail: 1. comparison with an earlier undeveloped stage of Jacob’s revision extant in Ms Add 17,134 of the British Library; and 2. the distinction (by different colours and fonts) of the ‘traditions’ involved in the definite stage of his revision. Both features point to the emphasis given to the Peshitta in translating the substantial Greek text of the Old Testament.

The Christian era in Syriac and Arabic sources does not always correspond with the western calculations. Until quite recently the members of the Syriac churches used the era of the Seleucids (of Alexander the Great; East and West Syrians) as the era of the creation of Adam (Melkites). The use of the Christian era became more common from the 16th century, due to the closer contacts between the Oriental and the Latin churches.