Middle East Books

Written by Russian Orthodox priest Andrew Louth, Greek East and Latin West: The Church AD 681-1071 is the third volume of "The Church in History" series and continues the scholarly accounting, from the end of the Sixth Ecumenical Synod in 681 to the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Examining the "Greek East" and "Latin West" branches of the church in parallel, and noticing developments destined to eventually foster a schism between Eastern and Western Christianity, Greek East and Latin West discusses iconoclasm, monastic developments, spiritual and intellectual life in Byzantium, and much more. An inset selection of black-and-white photographic plates round out this informed and informative analysis of a pivotal phase in Christian history.

In the series "The Church in History," St. Vladimir's Seminary Press has now added a volume that starts with the Sixth Ecumenical Synod and ends with the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. This is the tragic period in which what had once been only a language border, no more than a thin line in the sand, steadily grew into a wall of division, until finally Christians East and West were no longer in communion with each other.

At the same time it was also a period of Byzantine growth, with Byzantium once again the most powerful Christian empire, if not the empire it had been in Justinian's day.

Andrew Louth, Orthodox priest and professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies at Durham University, carefully follows many of the crucial events of this four-century period, including the two periods of iconoclasm in the East, the rise of the Carolingians in the West, the monastic reforms that reshaped Christian life and civilization in both East and West, the mission activities that brought Christianity to the north and east of Europe, and the crisis in relations between Rome and Constantinople that culminated in the break of communion between the two patriarchates.

Yet, as Louth points out, the break was far from complete in 1054:

"To contemporaries of the event, and for many years after, it did not seem that anything had changed in 1054. Tensions between East and West were long-standing, and they occasionally flared up, but for the most part Christians of East and West acted as it they belonged to a common cumene. This was particularly true ... among the monks..."

One of the chief issues of division in the early eleventh century was the question of whether the eucharistic bread should be leavened or unleavened. Other points of dispute included the celibacy that had been imposed on priests in the West, and the West's introduction of the Filioque into the Creed.

Might patient dialogue have restored unity? No doubt. But it has yet to happen. In both East and West today, there are many who would rather die than see the Great Schism ended.

For any reader who wishes to better understand the divisions we still live with, but also the possibility of finding common ground that might at last restore our shattered unity, this is an essential book.

Fr. Louth's book does a great service to the whole Church - both East and West. It carefully and fairly explains the events that led up to the "Great Schism" of 1054 (which, as Louth explains, was but one minor event in the estrangement between East and West).

The main benefit of this book, in my mind, is how he carefully interweaves the history of the Church in both the East and the West during this period. Although it was a time of growing division that eventually led to schism, Fr. Louth demonstrates how many similar currents flowed in both East and West during this time, such as monastic reform.

Finally, for those of us in the West, he also introduces us to characters that most are unfamiliar with: St. Theodore of Stoudios, Patriarch Photios, St. Symeon the New Theologian and other lights of the East. Knowing these men sheds light on Christian Tradition in new and important ways.

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Oasis City of Saudi Arabi

I highly recommend this book. It is always difficult doing business in strange countries and purchasing property must rank as one of the most difficult and demanding transactions to undertake. It is also necessary to get it right the first time as it can be very expensive to rectify a mistake.

This book is ideal as a primer on purchasing property in Turkey. It explains the whole process in great detail and includes a lot of other interesting information - such as the different regions and cities, getting around the country, finding a reputable agent and lawyer as well as dealing with food and customs. It is more than a list of facts and details and is a surprisingly good read as a memoir...

Really this book is ideal for travelers generally as well as being essential for prospective property owners in Turkey.

I was quite pleased with the information that was in Pat Yale's book. I moved to Turkey in 1990 and it would have been very helpful to have had it at that time. She covers all the bases. I highly recommend it to anyone considering living in Turkey. She had a very gentle way of stating the difficulties that lie in getting things done in Turkey that are very different from what we experience here in the US. I recommend it for those who know people living in Turkey. It will give you a very good picture of life there.

In the "good old days" before intifadas, etc. one could browse in English-language book shops on Saladin St. in Jerusalem (now called "East Jerusalem; back then it was one city)and come across amazing bargains. This is where I found "The Harvest of Hellenism", and I remember reading the first chapters in a coffee house in the Moslem Quarter of the Old City, drinking Turkish coffee and eating baklawa.
Alas, all that is in the past--as is Hellenism. Although, as Peters demonstrates with knowledge and humor, it was not the Greek culture of the Hellenes themselves, but the Hellenistic culture of their descendants, that changed the Middle East forever--and later, the Roman and Byzantine cultures too.
Immensely informative, never dull, often written with an eye for the absurd and humorous, the book describes both the history and the cultural phenomena from the death of Alexander the Great to Constantine. Chapters of history alternate with chapters on various philosophies. The rise of Christianity is delineated without bias--which I found very pleasant, as I am not a Christian enthusiast. The various conflicts of the early Christian sects are well-explained, as is the incredibly complicated politics of the entire region, and for the first time, I found Greek philosophical movements like the Epicurians and the Pythagoreans understandable. In the past quarter century, I must have reread the book half a dozen times.

This massive history serves as a superb general synopsis of the phenomenon of Hellenization. It is not only extremely interesting but also very readable. It covers all major historical events as well as major schools of thoughts and important personalities. In addition, special attention is given to how Hellenization affected people's everyday life and how the political systems functioned. If you know nothing of Hellinization, this is the place to start.

People have been drinking tea for hundreds of years. Sylvia Schneider not only provides numerous tea recipes from China, Japan, India, Tibet, Arabia, the Americas, and Europe, she also includes the history and traditions of tea, as well as tea recipes for a wide range of ailments.

The popularity of tea combined with the popularity of herbs as medicine makes this title not only an interesting and informative book, but a practical one as well. The reader will enjoy learning about the history of these teas and the ingredients from which they are made. Preparing and drinking these teas, which can improve health and well-being, will also be an enjoyable experience.

This book is a jewel. A good friend gave it to me as a "hope you feel better gift" the last time I was down with a bad cold. You don't have to be sick, however, to learn about the ancient history and healing power of teas and infusions.

Sylvia Schneider is a freelance writer and medical and scientific editor who works as a medical journalist. In this book she explores the history, traditions, ingredients and recipes for tea from China, Japan, India, Tibet, Latin America, Aboriginal America, and Europe. There is also information about the use of exotic herbs and spices.

This beautiful volume is illustrated with more than 50 color photographs and includes many recipes to improve the overall state of health and well-being. Makes an excellent gift. I know firsthand!
JANA

This is a gripping story of the brutal and evil occupation of Hebron by Jewish extremist settlers and the Israeli Army. I had the privilege of working with the Christian Peacemakers in Hebron for a few days in the summer of 2002, so I could relate to the picture of suffering and survival of the Palestinians. Arthur Gish is an optimist and a true Christian, but is equally at home with Jews, Muslims, and Christians of all denominations. In fact he seemed happiest when he could work together with Israeli Peace Activists in helping Palestinans in Hebron. Mr. Gish himself was raised on an Amish farm and is a firm pacifist and exponent of nonviolent opposition to evil. He was in Hebron five times, from 1995 to 2001, each time several weeks. I wish he would update his journal to reflect the horrible happenings there since the Sharon war. Nonetheless it is an inspiring chronicle of a man of faith and good works. I highly recommend it.

This is a gripping story of the brutal and evil occupation of Hebron by Jewish extremist settlers and the Israeli Army. I had the privilege of working with the Christian Peacemakers in Hebron for a few days in the summer of 2002, so I could relate to the picture of suffering and survival of the Palestinians. Arthur Gish is an optimist and a true Christian, but is equally at home with Jews, Muslims, and Christians of all denominations. In fact he seemed happiest when he could work together with Israeli Peace Activists in helping Palestinans in Hebron. Mr. Gish himself was raised on an Amish farm and is a firm pacifist and exponent of nonviolent opposition to evil. He was in Hebron five times, from 1995 to 2001, each time several weeks. I wish he would update his journal to reflect the horrible happenings there since the Sharon war. Nonetheless it is an inspiring chronicle of a man of faith and good works. I highly recommend it.

This book is written by Dr. FRYE who has travel to Iran Zamin on several occasions and he has first hands experince about Iran Zamin people.

This book caught my attention on PG 95 that Cyrus the Great name was half Persian and half Luri.

I first read the Persian translation of this book many years ago before reading this original English version recently. This is one of the best books available on the civilization of ancient Persia (Iran). Unfortunately, the quality of (offset) (re-)printing does not match the quality of its content. However, given that it costs the price of a modest dinner, it is worth the purchase. I found it quite informative -- even though it was first published a few decades ago. Truly an authoritative work and fun to read if you are interested in the history of civilization.

I have a number of historical atlases.
I prefer larger books and this is a large sized book.

The book tries to cover a lot of time. From -6000 BC to 700 AD.
At present I am only half way through (around 700 BC).

The first part of the book covers the first settlements and the first cities well. You have a layout for each pre-eminent city of a particular time. So we see the first city layouts (from ruins) like Uruk and Lagash. Then later Babylon and Ashur.

We also see the 'big' picture of the way the cities are scattered about in the area. One thing that could be better is the paths of the rivers - Tigris and Euphrates - at the different times. Unfortunately they do not know enough of where the rivers were at each period so most maps show the current paths. They do show the ancient coastline of the gulf.

They also cover the related nations to Mesopotamia. The Hittites in modern Turkey and the Egyptians are shown in the strategic maps. What they do not show is the movements of peoples. Like where the Hittites came from? they suggest a possible origin but they do not even have an arrow on the map to show these possibilities.

There are many photographs of artwork, sculpture, mosaics, some jewelry and many ruins of buildings and ziggurats.

I recently bought four other maps (Penguin): Ancient Rome, Ancient History , Medieval History and Ancient Civilizations. All of these were good but they were only 9" x 13".

This book is (guess) 14" x 20". I like bigger books. The type is larger too which means there is not a whole lot more information but will be easier to read for older people and those with glasses.

I really like this book. Compared with my other 18 or so historical atlases this is one of the top four in colour, size, and content.

I also think this information is more up-to-date than other atlases I have. Ex: Here the Hurrians and Mitanni shown to be the same people.

(Also has semi complete information on the Sumerian King List)

Enjoy

Ralph

The large format and full-color maps are spectacular, and the focus on archaeology and material culture is great. Covers a very large time period, making it a great companion for survey courses.

Drawing upon their rather impressive expertise, Robert Cribb (Senior Fellow, Australian National University, Canberra) and Audrey Kahin (Managing Editor of Southeast Asia publications at Cornell and editor of the journal "Indonesia" from 1978 to 1995), provide students and non-specialist general readers alike with a comprehensive compilation of people, places and events in the social, political, religious, and economic history of the tropical archipelago that is Indonesia (Asia's third largest country in both population and geography). Now in an updated second edition, Historical Dictionary Of Indonesia pre-sents its wealth of in-depth researched information in easy-to-look-up alphabetical entries, from "adat" (indigenous customary laws) to "Zeven Provincien, mutiny of the" referring to the ill-fated 1933 protest aboard the Dutch naval vessel De Zeven Provincien. Supplements include several maps, lists of common acronyms for easy reference, appendices that list governors and rulers, electoral performance of the parties from 1945 to 1999, and much more. An all-around excellent, easy to use general reference.

First of all, many thanks to Scarecrow Press for its Asian Historical Dictionary series. These are fantastic references.

This volume is now eclipsed by the new edition. Haven't yet seen the new edition, but I anticpate many updated and new entries since the 1990-92 work done on this still-useful resource.

This is not to say this book is perfect. For a country as abbrevation- and acronym-dependent as Indonesia is, this abbreviation/acronym list is woefully inadequate. This being said, a comprehensive abbreviation/acronym listing is not practicable as acronym dictionaries available in Indonesia are themselves hundreds of pages long. What is needed is a much more in depth compilation, edited for use primarily by foreign students and scholars.

The map section is also disappointing. For a reference costing as much as this does, the maps should be full-color glossies, better annotated, and more detailed. The best solution would be fold-out maps to best show the detail that is needed to complement such a fine reference.

The dictionary portion is excellent, very well cross-referenced, with thorough entries for each item. The numerous appendices are also superb, with leadership and governmental ministers listings for the colonial period as well as the post-revolution period.

The true gem of this dictionary is the 118-page bibliography, listing other references and bibliographies, works sorted by discipline and subject, as well as important periodicals and journals.

This has been and will continue to be an indispensable part of my Southeast Asia/Indonesia collection. Although overtaken by the new edition, this is an unparalleled reference, an essential tool for the Indonesia student and scholar.

This is a vivid chronological history of the civilization of ancient Egypt from its foundation some 5000 years ago to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE - effectively the first half of written human history. It is based on Professor Hornung's unrivalled knowledge of archaeological and documentary evidence, and provides as straightforward a story as the varied nature and extent of that evidence allows.
From 3050BCE through to around 642CE Egyptian culture developed and evolved, leaving the modern student with so much to decipher and understand that it might just take a lifetime! This book is ideal for anyone who wants to enrich their knowledge and understanding of Egyptian magick and religion through an understanding the history of this ancient culture.
The book works through the different stages of cultural and political development in ancient Egypt, working from the Archaic period through the old, middle and new kingdoms and the late period. The Chronology at the start of the book provides an excellent time line reference guide. Both the author and translators are distinguished Egyptologists and this book is evidently the result of much research and work, and is as such highly recommended for all interested in history and particular Egyptology.

Extremely well translated by American Egyptologist David Lorton, Hornung's book covers the history of Ancient Egypt from its Archaic to its Late Periods. It provides a concise description of important events through historical facts. A thorough yet brief explanation of political, economical, social, literary and artistical changes of Ancient Egyptian society leads to the development of the kingdoms. Black and white photographs, an excellent bibliography and a glossary explaining commonly used Egyptological terms accompany the main body. Recommended for professionals and amateurs.