Author: Jose C. Carvajal Lopez
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781803277912
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The Seminar for Arabian Studies is the longest-running academic forum for the presentation of research on the cultural and natural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula. Since its first meeting in 1968, the Seminar has covered a wide range of subjects including archaeology, epigraphy, history, ethnography, art, architecture, linguistics, and literature from prehistory to the present. Since 2019 the Seminar has changed from being a British-based forum to an international setting, starting with a meeting in the University of Leiden and continuing with other European institutions. The 56th Seminar in Aarhus in 2023 was a special one, as it marked the 70th anniversary of the first Danish archaeological expedition to Bahrain led by T. Geoffrey Bibby and P.V. Glob, from the Prehistoric Museum of Moesgaard. This is justly considered the starting point of archaeological research on Arabia, as it was the first time that formal excavations were undertaken in the region. This volume of the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies includes 21 papers presented at Aarhus.
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Volume 53 2024
Author: Jose C. Carvajal Lopez
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781803277912
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The Seminar for Arabian Studies is the longest-running academic forum for the presentation of research on the cultural and natural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula. Since its first meeting in 1968, the Seminar has covered a wide range of subjects including archaeology, epigraphy, history, ethnography, art, architecture, linguistics, and literature from prehistory to the present. Since 2019 the Seminar has changed from being a British-based forum to an international setting, starting with a meeting in the University of Leiden and continuing with other European institutions. The 56th Seminar in Aarhus in 2023 was a special one, as it marked the 70th anniversary of the first Danish archaeological expedition to Bahrain led by T. Geoffrey Bibby and P.V. Glob, from the Prehistoric Museum of Moesgaard. This is justly considered the starting point of archaeological research on Arabia, as it was the first time that formal excavations were undertaken in the region. This volume of the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies includes 21 papers presented at Aarhus.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781803277912
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The Seminar for Arabian Studies is the longest-running academic forum for the presentation of research on the cultural and natural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula. Since its first meeting in 1968, the Seminar has covered a wide range of subjects including archaeology, epigraphy, history, ethnography, art, architecture, linguistics, and literature from prehistory to the present. Since 2019 the Seminar has changed from being a British-based forum to an international setting, starting with a meeting in the University of Leiden and continuing with other European institutions. The 56th Seminar in Aarhus in 2023 was a special one, as it marked the 70th anniversary of the first Danish archaeological expedition to Bahrain led by T. Geoffrey Bibby and P.V. Glob, from the Prehistoric Museum of Moesgaard. This is justly considered the starting point of archaeological research on Arabia, as it was the first time that formal excavations were undertaken in the region. This volume of the Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies includes 21 papers presented at Aarhus.
The Verb in Classical Hebrew
Author: Bo Isaksson
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1805113526
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 751
Book Description
The consecutive tenses are fundamental in all descriptions of Classical Hebrew grammar. They are even basic to the textbooks on Biblical Hebrew. Being fundamental in the verbal system, and part of any beginner’s grammar, they pose a serious problem to a linguistic understanding of the verbal system, since grammars describe an alternation of ‘forms’ or ‘tenses’ in double pairs: wayyiqṭol alternates with its ‘equivalent’ qaṭal, and wə-qaṭal alternates with its ‘equivalent’ yiqṭol. This ‘enigma’ in the verbal system is handled in the book by recognising that the alternation of the consecutive tenses with other tenses, in the reality of the text, represents a linking of clauses. The ‘consecutive tenses’ are clause-types with a natural language connective wa- directly followed by a finite verbal morpheme, a type of clause that expressed continuity in the earliest stage of Semitic. The commonly held assumption that there is a special ‘consecutive waw’ is unwarranted. The use of the ‘consecutive’ clause-types in order to express discourse continuity indicates that Classical Hebrew has retained the old unmarked declarative word order of Semitic syntax. Seen in the light of recent research on the Tiberian reading tradition, the ‘consecutive’ wayyiqṭol can be analysed as a retention of the old Semitic past perfective *wa-yaqtul, which was pronounced wa-yiqṭol in Classical Hebrew. The ‘consecutive’ wə-qāṭal (pronounced wa-qaṭal in the classical language) constitutes the result of an internal Hebrew development into a construction (in the sense of Joan Bybee) already foreshadowed in the earliest Northwest Semitic languages. The book understands the ‘consecutive tenses’ as discourse continuity clauses, which typically form chains of main line clauses. Such chains can be interrupted by other types of clauses. This interruption is a clause linking that receives special attention in the interpretation of the Classical Hebrew verbal system. Chapter six presents a regenerated text linguistics founded on the new terminology. A clause linking approach is the central methodological procedure in this book. To this must be added diachronic typology in a comparative Semitic setting. The linguistic examples of clause linking are gathered from a large Classical Hebrew corpus, the Pentateuch and the Book of Judges, and made searchable in a database of 6559 non-archaic text records.
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1805113526
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 751
Book Description
The consecutive tenses are fundamental in all descriptions of Classical Hebrew grammar. They are even basic to the textbooks on Biblical Hebrew. Being fundamental in the verbal system, and part of any beginner’s grammar, they pose a serious problem to a linguistic understanding of the verbal system, since grammars describe an alternation of ‘forms’ or ‘tenses’ in double pairs: wayyiqṭol alternates with its ‘equivalent’ qaṭal, and wə-qaṭal alternates with its ‘equivalent’ yiqṭol. This ‘enigma’ in the verbal system is handled in the book by recognising that the alternation of the consecutive tenses with other tenses, in the reality of the text, represents a linking of clauses. The ‘consecutive tenses’ are clause-types with a natural language connective wa- directly followed by a finite verbal morpheme, a type of clause that expressed continuity in the earliest stage of Semitic. The commonly held assumption that there is a special ‘consecutive waw’ is unwarranted. The use of the ‘consecutive’ clause-types in order to express discourse continuity indicates that Classical Hebrew has retained the old unmarked declarative word order of Semitic syntax. Seen in the light of recent research on the Tiberian reading tradition, the ‘consecutive’ wayyiqṭol can be analysed as a retention of the old Semitic past perfective *wa-yaqtul, which was pronounced wa-yiqṭol in Classical Hebrew. The ‘consecutive’ wə-qāṭal (pronounced wa-qaṭal in the classical language) constitutes the result of an internal Hebrew development into a construction (in the sense of Joan Bybee) already foreshadowed in the earliest Northwest Semitic languages. The book understands the ‘consecutive tenses’ as discourse continuity clauses, which typically form chains of main line clauses. Such chains can be interrupted by other types of clauses. This interruption is a clause linking that receives special attention in the interpretation of the Classical Hebrew verbal system. Chapter six presents a regenerated text linguistics founded on the new terminology. A clause linking approach is the central methodological procedure in this book. To this must be added diachronic typology in a comparative Semitic setting. The linguistic examples of clause linking are gathered from a large Classical Hebrew corpus, the Pentateuch and the Book of Judges, and made searchable in a database of 6559 non-archaic text records.
The Queens of the Arabs During the Neo-Assyrian Period
Author: Ellie Bennett
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1646023102
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
The title “Queen of the Arabs” is applied in Neo-Assyrian texts to five women from the Arabian Peninsula. These women led armies, offered tribute, and held religious roles in their communities from 738 to approximately 651 BCE. This book discusses what the title meant to the women who carried it and to the Assyrians who wrote about them. Whereas previous scholarship has considered the Queens of the Arabs in relation to the military and economic history of the Neo-Assyrian empire, Eleanor Bennett focuses on identity, using gender theory to locate points of the women’s alterity in Assyrian sources and to analyze how Assyrian cultural norms influenced the treatment of the “Queens of the Arabs.” This kind of analysis shows how Assyrian perceptions of the Queens of the Arabs, and of Arabian populations more generally, changed over time. As the Queens of the Arabs were located on the periphery of the Assyrian Empire, Bennett incorporates data from the Arabian Peninsula. The shift from an Assyrian lens to an Arabian one highlights inaccuracies in the Assyrian material, which brings into focus Assyrian misunderstandings of the region. The Arabian Peninsula also offers comparative models for the Queens of the Arabs based on Arabian cultures.
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1646023102
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
The title “Queen of the Arabs” is applied in Neo-Assyrian texts to five women from the Arabian Peninsula. These women led armies, offered tribute, and held religious roles in their communities from 738 to approximately 651 BCE. This book discusses what the title meant to the women who carried it and to the Assyrians who wrote about them. Whereas previous scholarship has considered the Queens of the Arabs in relation to the military and economic history of the Neo-Assyrian empire, Eleanor Bennett focuses on identity, using gender theory to locate points of the women’s alterity in Assyrian sources and to analyze how Assyrian cultural norms influenced the treatment of the “Queens of the Arabs.” This kind of analysis shows how Assyrian perceptions of the Queens of the Arabs, and of Arabian populations more generally, changed over time. As the Queens of the Arabs were located on the periphery of the Assyrian Empire, Bennett incorporates data from the Arabian Peninsula. The shift from an Assyrian lens to an Arabian one highlights inaccuracies in the Assyrian material, which brings into focus Assyrian misunderstandings of the region. The Arabian Peninsula also offers comparative models for the Queens of the Arabs based on Arabian cultures.
The Other Ancient Civilizations
Author: Raven Todd DaSilva
Publisher: Mango Media
ISBN: 1684813255
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357
Book Description
Discover Other Civilisations and Cultures With Rich and Unique Histories Journey through 15,000 years of history and discover fascinating ancient civilisations and cultures that may have been overlooked in history class with Raven Todd DaSilva, award-winning scholar, archaeologist, and creator of the popular archaeology online educational platform Dig it With Raven. #1 Best Seller in Mayan History Lesser-known ancient civilisations and cultures. Go beyond the popular stories of Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Inca and the Maya, and uncover the rich diversity of people that are often overlooked. From the world's first peace treaty to daring expeditions across the Pacific, learn about 20 ancient and historic cultures from around the world that have had monumental impacts on our modern world. A more nuanced look at the ancient world. The Other Ancient Civilisations looks outside mainstream ancient civilisations and cultures and delves into astounding finds unearthed at archaeological sites around the world. Discover the archaeology that sheds light on the secret stories of the Nubians, Olmec, Xiongnu, Minoans, Akkadians, and many more. Each chapter delves beyond the rise and fall of each society, highlighting the lives of everyday peoples of the past. Discover who they interacted with and how they lived, and what we can learn from them. How archaeologists decode ancient cultures from what they left behind. Packed with summaries of current archaeological evidence, detailed maps and striking images of astounding artefacts and archaeological sites, The Other Ancient Civilisations is an indispensable collection of fascinating stories and facts that have helped archaeologists change the way we understand history. Inside discover: A more in-depth understanding of lesser-know ancient cultures from around the world An appreciation for the people who lived during these times and in these cultures--not just the great rulers and the monumental buildings left behind A realization that ancient people were not that different from who we are today If you've read books such as The Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World, The Lost World of The Old Ones, or 1177 B.C., you'll love Raven's The Other Ancient Civilizations
Publisher: Mango Media
ISBN: 1684813255
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357
Book Description
Discover Other Civilisations and Cultures With Rich and Unique Histories Journey through 15,000 years of history and discover fascinating ancient civilisations and cultures that may have been overlooked in history class with Raven Todd DaSilva, award-winning scholar, archaeologist, and creator of the popular archaeology online educational platform Dig it With Raven. #1 Best Seller in Mayan History Lesser-known ancient civilisations and cultures. Go beyond the popular stories of Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Inca and the Maya, and uncover the rich diversity of people that are often overlooked. From the world's first peace treaty to daring expeditions across the Pacific, learn about 20 ancient and historic cultures from around the world that have had monumental impacts on our modern world. A more nuanced look at the ancient world. The Other Ancient Civilisations looks outside mainstream ancient civilisations and cultures and delves into astounding finds unearthed at archaeological sites around the world. Discover the archaeology that sheds light on the secret stories of the Nubians, Olmec, Xiongnu, Minoans, Akkadians, and many more. Each chapter delves beyond the rise and fall of each society, highlighting the lives of everyday peoples of the past. Discover who they interacted with and how they lived, and what we can learn from them. How archaeologists decode ancient cultures from what they left behind. Packed with summaries of current archaeological evidence, detailed maps and striking images of astounding artefacts and archaeological sites, The Other Ancient Civilisations is an indispensable collection of fascinating stories and facts that have helped archaeologists change the way we understand history. Inside discover: A more in-depth understanding of lesser-know ancient cultures from around the world An appreciation for the people who lived during these times and in these cultures--not just the great rulers and the monumental buildings left behind A realization that ancient people were not that different from who we are today If you've read books such as The Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World, The Lost World of The Old Ones, or 1177 B.C., you'll love Raven's The Other Ancient Civilizations
The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History
Author: Jeannie Whayne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190924160
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 673
Book Description
Agricultural history has enjoyed a rebirth in recent years, in part because the agricultural enterprise promotes economic and cultural connections in an era that has become ever more globally focused, but also because of agriculture's potential to lead to conflicts over precious resources. The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History reflects this rebirth and examines the wide-reaching implications of agricultural issues, featuring essays that touch on the green revolution, the development of the Atlantic slave plantation, the agricultural impact of the American Civil War, the rise of scientific and corporate agriculture, and modern exploitation of agricultural labor.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190924160
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 673
Book Description
Agricultural history has enjoyed a rebirth in recent years, in part because the agricultural enterprise promotes economic and cultural connections in an era that has become ever more globally focused, but also because of agriculture's potential to lead to conflicts over precious resources. The Oxford Handbook of Agricultural History reflects this rebirth and examines the wide-reaching implications of agricultural issues, featuring essays that touch on the green revolution, the development of the Atlantic slave plantation, the agricultural impact of the American Civil War, the rise of scientific and corporate agriculture, and modern exploitation of agricultural labor.
Qanat
Author: Dale Lightfoot
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0755650808
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 881
Book Description
Qanats are ubiquitous, yet unseen, and a clever way to create streams where none exist in nature. For 3,000 years, they have made life possible in impossible places and still sustain life and livelihoods in many countries today. After 30 years of field research, Dale Lightfoot provides the first comprehensive study of the qanat and sheds new light on their unique locations and distribution, their origins and history, their ecology, current status and use. Qanats are remarkably engineered underground aqueducts, using gravity to bring water to villages and towns where reliable flowing surface water is scarce or absent. Although an ancient technology, more than 46,000 of them still flow around the world today, with their sustainable nature making them a focus of renewed interest. Richly illustrated with images and a series of original maps, this is the most complete record to date of the locations and distribution of qanats worldwide, including examples from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Central Asia, China, India, Mexico and South America.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0755650808
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 881
Book Description
Qanats are ubiquitous, yet unseen, and a clever way to create streams where none exist in nature. For 3,000 years, they have made life possible in impossible places and still sustain life and livelihoods in many countries today. After 30 years of field research, Dale Lightfoot provides the first comprehensive study of the qanat and sheds new light on their unique locations and distribution, their origins and history, their ecology, current status and use. Qanats are remarkably engineered underground aqueducts, using gravity to bring water to villages and towns where reliable flowing surface water is scarce or absent. Although an ancient technology, more than 46,000 of them still flow around the world today, with their sustainable nature making them a focus of renewed interest. Richly illustrated with images and a series of original maps, this is the most complete record to date of the locations and distribution of qanats worldwide, including examples from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Central Asia, China, India, Mexico and South America.
Textbook of Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea, Volume 5
Author: Bezalel Porten
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1646022564
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 469
Book Description
Since the early 1990s, about two thousand Idumean Aramaic ostraca have found their way onto the antiquities market and are now scattered across a number of museums, libraries, and private collections. This fifth and final volume of the Textbook of Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea completes the work of bringing these ostraca together in a single publication. Volumes 1–4 published some 1,600 ostraca that gave us insight into agriculture, economics, politics, onomastics, and scribal practices from fourth/third-century BCE Idumea and Judah. The ostraca in volume 5 come from the same milieu, but the information they provide is entirely new and different. This volume presents 485 ostraca, including 99 land descriptions, 168 uncertain texts, and 218 assorted remains, scribal exercises, and forgeries, along with useful indexes and tables and a comparative list of entries. The land descriptions—which record local landmarks, ownership boundaries, and land registration—provide rich complementary material to the rest of the Idumean ostraca. The “uncertain texts” are fragmentary, in poor condition, or contain other abnormalities. As the TAO corpus becomes better understood and as imaging techniques improve, these texts will help to fill gaps in knowledge. The final section includes the remains of scribal practices and forgeries, important because they help to show the authenticity of the other two thousand pieces. A unique collection of documentary sources for fourth/third-century BCE Idumea—and, by extension, Judah—this multivolume work will be a powerful resource for those interested in onomastics and social and economic history.
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1646022564
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 469
Book Description
Since the early 1990s, about two thousand Idumean Aramaic ostraca have found their way onto the antiquities market and are now scattered across a number of museums, libraries, and private collections. This fifth and final volume of the Textbook of Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea completes the work of bringing these ostraca together in a single publication. Volumes 1–4 published some 1,600 ostraca that gave us insight into agriculture, economics, politics, onomastics, and scribal practices from fourth/third-century BCE Idumea and Judah. The ostraca in volume 5 come from the same milieu, but the information they provide is entirely new and different. This volume presents 485 ostraca, including 99 land descriptions, 168 uncertain texts, and 218 assorted remains, scribal exercises, and forgeries, along with useful indexes and tables and a comparative list of entries. The land descriptions—which record local landmarks, ownership boundaries, and land registration—provide rich complementary material to the rest of the Idumean ostraca. The “uncertain texts” are fragmentary, in poor condition, or contain other abnormalities. As the TAO corpus becomes better understood and as imaging techniques improve, these texts will help to fill gaps in knowledge. The final section includes the remains of scribal practices and forgeries, important because they help to show the authenticity of the other two thousand pieces. A unique collection of documentary sources for fourth/third-century BCE Idumea—and, by extension, Judah—this multivolume work will be a powerful resource for those interested in onomastics and social and economic history.
Advances in UAE Archaeology
Author: Zayed National Museum
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1803276746
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472
Book Description
New excavations conducted across the United Arab Emirates over the last few years are presented here, revealing a wealth of new data on all periods of UAE archaeology from the Palaeolithic to the recent past. Some of these discoveries fill important gaps in our knowledge, while others have fundamentally revised what we thought we knew already.
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1803276746
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472
Book Description
New excavations conducted across the United Arab Emirates over the last few years are presented here, revealing a wealth of new data on all periods of UAE archaeology from the Palaeolithic to the recent past. Some of these discoveries fill important gaps in our knowledge, while others have fundamentally revised what we thought we knew already.
Diversity across the Arabian Peninsula
Author: Fabio Gasparini
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1805113399
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
This edited volume brings together a diverse and rich set of contributions on the Arabian Peninsula. Ranging from history, field linguistics, and cultural studies these essays address the diversity of languages, ways of life, and natural environments that have marked the region throughout its history. The book stems from the intellectual exchange and collaboration fostered by a virtual workshop that met regularly in 2020-21 and which drew participants from within and beyond the academy. The contributions gathered in this volume highlight the need for a better understanding of a region that hosts a vast amount of culturally and linguistically diverse material, often in a precarious state of conservation. Diversity Across the Arabian Peninsula argues for the importance of holistic, community-based, and interdisciplinary approaches to linguistic endangerment and deep social and cultural changes: there is no documentation of language without attention to language use, the material lifeworld and its ecology, and social and cultural setting. Such research is enriched and made more impactful through collaboration with communities and scholars from the Global South. The essays in this volume thus spearhead a contextualized study of South Arabian linguistic varieties and their connection with the natural and cultural world they inhabit.
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1805113399
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
This edited volume brings together a diverse and rich set of contributions on the Arabian Peninsula. Ranging from history, field linguistics, and cultural studies these essays address the diversity of languages, ways of life, and natural environments that have marked the region throughout its history. The book stems from the intellectual exchange and collaboration fostered by a virtual workshop that met regularly in 2020-21 and which drew participants from within and beyond the academy. The contributions gathered in this volume highlight the need for a better understanding of a region that hosts a vast amount of culturally and linguistically diverse material, often in a precarious state of conservation. Diversity Across the Arabian Peninsula argues for the importance of holistic, community-based, and interdisciplinary approaches to linguistic endangerment and deep social and cultural changes: there is no documentation of language without attention to language use, the material lifeworld and its ecology, and social and cultural setting. Such research is enriched and made more impactful through collaboration with communities and scholars from the Global South. The essays in this volume thus spearhead a contextualized study of South Arabian linguistic varieties and their connection with the natural and cultural world they inhabit.
Pox Romana
Author: Colin Elliott
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691220697
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
A wide-ranging and dramatic account of the Antonine plague, the mysterious disease that struck the Roman Empire at its pinnacle In the middle of the second century AD, Rome was at its prosperous and powerful apex. The emperor Marcus Aurelius reigned over a vast territory that stretched from Britain to Egypt. The Roman-made peace, or Pax Romana, seemed to be permanent. Then, apparently out of nowhere, a sudden sickness struck the legions and laid waste to cities, including Rome itself. This fast-spreading disease, now known as the Antonine plague, may have been history’s first pandemic. Soon after its arrival, the Empire began its downward trajectory toward decline and fall. In Pox Romana, historian Colin Elliott offers a comprehensive, wide-ranging account of this pivotal moment in Roman history. Did a single disease—its origins and diagnosis still a mystery—bring Rome to its knees? Carefully examining all the available evidence, Elliott shows that Rome’s problems were more insidious. Years before the pandemic, the thin veneer of Roman peace and prosperity had begun to crack: the economy was sluggish, the military found itself bogged down in the Balkans and the Middle East, food insecurity led to riots and mass migration, and persecution of Christians intensified. The pandemic exposed the crumbling foundations of a doomed Empire. Arguing that the disease was both cause and effect of Rome’s fall, Elliott describes the plague’s “preexisting conditions” (Rome’s multiple economic, social, and environmental susceptibilities); recounts the history of the outbreak itself through the experiences of physician, victim, and political operator; and explores postpandemic crises. The pandemic’s most transformative power, Elliott suggests, may have been its lingering presence as a threat both real and perceived.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691220697
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
A wide-ranging and dramatic account of the Antonine plague, the mysterious disease that struck the Roman Empire at its pinnacle In the middle of the second century AD, Rome was at its prosperous and powerful apex. The emperor Marcus Aurelius reigned over a vast territory that stretched from Britain to Egypt. The Roman-made peace, or Pax Romana, seemed to be permanent. Then, apparently out of nowhere, a sudden sickness struck the legions and laid waste to cities, including Rome itself. This fast-spreading disease, now known as the Antonine plague, may have been history’s first pandemic. Soon after its arrival, the Empire began its downward trajectory toward decline and fall. In Pox Romana, historian Colin Elliott offers a comprehensive, wide-ranging account of this pivotal moment in Roman history. Did a single disease—its origins and diagnosis still a mystery—bring Rome to its knees? Carefully examining all the available evidence, Elliott shows that Rome’s problems were more insidious. Years before the pandemic, the thin veneer of Roman peace and prosperity had begun to crack: the economy was sluggish, the military found itself bogged down in the Balkans and the Middle East, food insecurity led to riots and mass migration, and persecution of Christians intensified. The pandemic exposed the crumbling foundations of a doomed Empire. Arguing that the disease was both cause and effect of Rome’s fall, Elliott describes the plague’s “preexisting conditions” (Rome’s multiple economic, social, and environmental susceptibilities); recounts the history of the outbreak itself through the experiences of physician, victim, and political operator; and explores postpandemic crises. The pandemic’s most transformative power, Elliott suggests, may have been its lingering presence as a threat both real and perceived.