The designs of synagogues and churches are acknowledged to be very alike. But the designers' procedure was confidential, and so far standard explanations have been unsatisfactory. A synagogue should express heavenly values with earthly materials. This combination was in fact expressed in numbers, for, as Plato said, they linked heaven and earth. Scripture described both the Jewish Tabernacle and Temple with a wealth of numbers. Proportions based on these numbers were used to design synagogues. Only a few Jewish documents survive, but they reveal a symbolism, which Christians sometimes repeat. The synagogue sanctuary was designed to contain the 'Holy Ark', and the mosaic floors reveal the point 'Before the Ark' for the prayers and readings. These places faced each other, with the idea that God was facing his people. The synagogue was seen as facing heaven and in church buildings Christians repeated the same proportions. This was a joint tradition among Jews and Christians. It was easy to design, was carried out secretly and accurately, and - without a computer - was extremely hard to unravel. This book, for the first time, does just that.
A knowledge of structural geology is fundamental to understanding the processes by which the earth's crust has evolved. It is a subject of fundamental importance to students of geology, experienced field geologists and academic researchers as well as to petroleum and mining engineers. In contrast to many structural textbooks which dwell upon geometrical descriptions of geological structures, this book emphasises mechanical principles and the way in which they can be used to understand how and why a wide range of geological structures develop. Structures on all scales are considered but the emphasis of the book is on those that can be seen on the scale of hand specimen or outcrop. Drawing on their considerable teaching experience the authors present a coherent and lucid analysis of geological structures which will be welcomed by a wide variety of earth scientists.
Interest in all kinds of interactions between Egypt and Rome has grown considerably over the last decade. This debate has not only altered our views on the impact of Rome on Alexandria and Egypt but also strongly put to the fore the reverse direction of this cultural interaction: Egyptian influences on the Roman world. It is this topic, Egypt in the Roman World, that was central to the IIIrd International Conference of Isis Studies, held in Leiden in May 2005. This book, a selection of the papers delivered at the conference, gives a clear overview of the debate as it has developed in recent years. In two parts (I. Interpretations of the meaning of Aegyptiaca Romana and II. Understanding the cults of Isis in their local context)preceded by a general introduction it offers a broad perspective on the various aspects of cultural interaction between Egypt and Rome, also by bringing together different research traditions in this field.
This book provides a background to the modern geography of the Middle East by tracing the evolution of humanized managed landscapes from the domestication of cereals through to the initiation of the great transformations of the region in the mid-nineteenth century. By examining the natural potential of the region in terms of climate, natural vegetation and physical conditions, and charting the emergence of basic long-lasting traditional economies based on this environment, the author shows how the environment stimulated traditional life styles, which in turn perpetuated and molded the region.
In combining and revising the two titles 'Past Glacial Environments' and 'Modern Glacial Environments', Dr Menzies and his contributors provide the most comprehensive and wide-ranging book ever prepared on both topics. This text is produced with the student mind, providing accessibility to a complex subject and introducing topics that provide the fundamental underpinnings of knowledge on glaciers, ice sheets, their sediments and landscapes. Modern and Past Glacial Environments features a large collection of photographs, line diagrams and tables and includes examples of glacial environments and landscapes which are drawn from a world wide perspective. Together with a web- based set of current and comprehensive references and bibliographic sources, it provides an ideal reference text. This survey includes coverage of the glaciology, geomorphology and sedimentology of modern glaciers and ice sheets, and the sediments and forms generated within Pleistocene and pre-Pleistocene glacial environments. Quaternary scientists and students will find this work their first point of reference. Likewise students of Physical Geography, Geology, Earth Science, Engineering Geology, Civil Engineering, and Environmental Sciences should find this a useful guide and reference to Glacial Geomorphology and Geology. Essential new academic version Highest contributors in their fields Well reviewed first editions
Basin Analysis is an advanced undergraduate and postgraduate text aimed at understanding sedimentary basins as geodynamic entities. The rationale of the book is that knowledge of the basic principles of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the lithosphere, the dynamics of the mantle, and the functioning of sediment routing systems provides a sound background for studying sedimentary basins, and is a pre-requisite for the exploitation of resources contained in their sedimentary rocks. The third edition incorporates new developments in the burgeoning field of basin analysis while retaining the successful structure and overall philosophy of the first two editions. The text is divided into 4 parts that establish the geodynamical environment for sedimentary basins and the physical state of the lithosphere, followed by a coverage of the mechanics of basin formation, an integrated analysis of the controls on the basin-fill and its burial and thermal history, and concludes with an application of basin analysis principles in petroleum play assessment, including a discussion of unconventional hydrocarbon plays. The text is richly supplemented by Appendices providing mathematical derivations of a wide range of processes affecting the formation of basins and their sedimentary fills. Many of these Appendices include practical exercises that give the reader hands-on experience of quantitative solutions to important basin analysis processes. Now in full colour and a larger format, this third edition is a comprehensive update and expansion of the previous editions, and represents a rigorous yet accessible guide to problem solving in this most integrative of geoscientific disciplines. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/allen/basinanalysis.
A chronicle of the region’s rich history, from the Ice Age to the dramatic political divisions of the current era. Syria—which in its historical wider sense includes modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and Jordan—has always been at the center of events of world importance. It was in this region that pastoral-stock rearing, settled agriculture, and alphabetic writing were invented (and the dog was domesticated). From Syria, Phoenician explorers set out to explore the whole Mediterranean region and sailed around Africa 2,000 years before Vasco de Gama. These are achievements enough, but the succeeding centuries also offer a rich tapestry of turbulent change, a cycle of repeated conquest, unification, rebellion and division. John D Grainger gives a sweeping yet detailed overview of the making of this historical region. From the end of the ice age through the procession of Assyrian, Phoenician, Persian, Greek, Roman, Arab, Turkish, French, and British attempts to dominate this area, the key events and influences are clearly explained and analyzed—and the events playing out on our TV screens over recent years are put in the context of 12,000 years of history.
A new perspective on parallels between ancient Rome and the modern world, and what comes next "[A] provocative short book . . . with a novel twist."--The Economist Over the last three centuries, the West rose to dominate the planet. Then, around the start of the new millennium, history took a dramatic turn. Faced with economic stagnation and internal political division, the West has found itself in rapid decline compared to the global periphery it had previously colonized. This is not the first time we have seen such a rise and fall: the Roman Empire followed a similar arc, from dizzying power to disintegration. Historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley explore the uncanny parallels, and productive differences between ancient Rome and the modern West, moving beyond the tropes of invading barbarians and civilizational decay to unearth new lessons. From 399 to 1999, they argue, through the unfolding of parallel, underlying imperial life cycles, both empires sowed the seeds of their own destruction. Has the era of Western global domination indeed reached its end? Heather and Rapley contemplate what comes next.
The study of Syria as a Roman province has been neglected by comparison with equivalent geographical regions such as Italy, Egypt, Greece and even Gaul. It was, however, one of the economic powerhouses of the empire from its annexation until after the empire’s dissolution. As such it clearly deserves some particular consideration, but at the same time it was a major contributor to the military strength of the empire, notably in the form of the recruitment of auxiliary regiments, several dozens of which were formed from Syrians. Many pagan gods, such as Jupiter Dolichenus and Jupiter Heliopolitanus Dea Syra, and also Judaism, originated in Syria and reached the far bounds of the empire. This book is a consideration, based on original sources, of the means by which Syrians, whose country was only annexed to the empire in 64 BC, saw their influence penetrate into all levels of society from private soldiers and ordinary citizens to priests and to imperial families.
The Byzantine Empire dates back to Constantine the Great, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, who, in 330 AD, moved the imperial capital from Rome to a port city in modern-day Turkey, which he then renamed Constantinople in his honor. From its founding, the Byzantine Empire was a major anchor of east-west trade, and culture, art, architecture, and the economy all prospered in the newly Christian empire. As Byzantium moved into the middle and late period, Greek became the official language of both church and state and the Empire's cultural and religious influence extended well beyond its boundaries. In the mid-15th century, the Ottoman Turks put an end to 1,100 years of Byzantine history by capturing Constantinople, but the Empire's legacy in art, culture, and religion endured long after its fall. In this revised and updated second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Byzantium, author John H. Rosser introduces both the general reader and the researcher to the history of the Byzantine Empire. This comprehensive dictionary includes detailed, alphabetical entries on key figures, ideas, places, and themes related to Byzantine art, history, and religion, and the second edition contains numerous additional entries on broad topics such as transportation and gender, which were less prominent in the previous edition. An expanded introduction introduces the reader to Byzantium and a guide to further sources and suggested readings can be found in the extensive bibliography that follows the entries. A basic chronology and various maps and illustrations are also included in the dictionary. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Byzantium.
The history of Roman Imperial architecture is one of the interaction of two dominant themes: in Rome itself the emergence of a new architecture based on the use of a revolutionary new material, Roman concrete; and in the provinces, the development of interrelated but distinctive Romano-provicial schools. The metropolitan school, exemplified in the Pantheon, the Imperial Baths, and the apartment houses of Ostia, constitutes Rome's great original contribution. The role of the provinces ranged from the preservation of a lively Hellenistic tradition to the assimilation of ideas from the east and from the military frontiers. It was--finally--Late Roman architecture that transmitted the heritage of Greece and Rome to the medieval world.
During the Middle Ages, travelers in Africa and Asia reported that monstrous races thrived beyond the boundaries of the known world. This work offers an introspective look at these races and their interaction with Western art, literature and philosophy.
With recipes for mixing, testing, applying, and firing hundreds of high-fire glazes, this fully illustrated reference will help all ceramists gain a better understanding of glazes and the factors that make them work."--Book Jacket.
These essays on late antiquity traverse a territory in which Christian and pagan imagery and practices compete, coexist, and intermingle. The iconography of the most significant late antique ceramic, African Red Slip Ware, is an important and relatively unexploited vehicle for documenting the diversity and interpenetration of late antique cultures. Literary texts and art in other media, particularly mosaics, provide imagery that complement and enhance the messages of the ceramics. Popular entertainments, pagan cults, mythic heroes, beasts, monsters, and biblical visions are themes dealt with on the patrician and popular levels. With interpretive supplements from these diverse realms, it is possible to achieve greater insight into the life, attitudes, and thought of Late Antiquity.
The reign of Justinian (527--65) was a key phase in the transition from the Roman empire of classical times to the Byzantine empire of the Middle Ages. Justinian himself, born of peasant stock in a provincial backwater, was one of the greatest rulers yet, despite prodigious achievements, he remained an outsider in the sophisticated society of Constantinople. Here, John Moorhead reinterprets Justinian as man and monarch, together with his formidable empress, the ex-actress Theodora, and assesses the evidence from their time for the evolution of a distinctively medieval world.
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