In this widely cited study of the hymns and prayers to Marduk, Hehn has brought together a very useful resource for students of Babylonian religion. The genealogy of Marduk, his sphere of influence, his names and his role as a determiner of fate open the work. Marduk’s function as the protector of Babylon and his persona compared to the biblical idea of the divine, as well as the conflict with the dragon are addressed. There follow several texts that fit into the categories of hymns and prayers to Marduk. Each one is given in transliteration, translation, and with comments. The study concludes with line drawings of the individual tablets.

In this continuously cited article on the Babylonian legends of Etana, Zu, Adapa and the South Wind, and Dibbarra, Harper provides a substantial wealth of detail. Each of these myths is treated with an introduction, transliteration, and translation. Philological notes are given along with a summary of the contents. Comparison is also made with other ancient tales that bear resemblance to those contained in this volume. Further remarks by H. Zimmern on the Adapa legend are also included. This study is accompanied by hand-drawn copies of the cuneiform tablets and a photographic archive of the various fragments of the texts.

In this study on relative pronouns and relative sentences in Assyrian, Kraetzschmar begins with the origin and demonstrative use of relative pronouns, noting the primary position of ša as a genitive and a preposition. Kraetzschmar also addresses relative sentences without ša. He also addresses the conjunctive relative sentence in Akkadian, considering subjective, objective, and sentences with time and syllogistic elements. Although a technical study, this exploration into a key form of expression in the burgeoning era of Akkadian studies will still find a place in libraries of specialists in Mesopotamian languages.

In this formative study of the Babylonian and Assyrian letters, originally published over three articles in Beiträge zur Assyriologie, Delitzsch presents in transliteration and translation, 40 Akkadian letters, along with critical notes and remarks. These letters are addressed to the Queen-Mother and to the King and generally date from the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods and contexts. An example of early analysis of the still-young discipline of Assyriology, this study provides insights into the dynamics of royal life in the late Mesopotamian empires.

Taken from the collection of studies published under the collective title Mémoires de l'histoire et de Ia geographie orientales, Mémoire sur la Conquête de la Syrie stands as a monument to the insight of M. J. de Goeje on the Arabic conquest of Syria. This brief account of an important phase of Syria’s history will be sure to please those interested in the general history of the Middle East as well as scholars studying the rise of Islam.

This set of essays originate in Lagarde’s printed collection Orientalia. The first contribution to this booklet is Lagarde’s analysis of the Coptic manuscripts of the Göttingen library. In addition to describing the manuscripts, he provides data concerning the content, including the biblical passages slated for various liturgical seasons, in keeping with the character of the material. To this is attached an article on selections of the Coptic translation of the Old Testament. Here annotated extracts of the Bible are presented in their original Coptic script, along with relevant apparatus by the author.

In this set of articles originally published together in his booklet Orientalia, Lagarde addresses several issues concerning Hebrew studies. The first article, Explanation of Hebrew Words, addresses the use of twelve significant lexemes. Added to this essay is a contribution of Lagarde to the Hebrew reflected in Ephraim the Syrian’s work on Genesis, extant in Armenian. Select passages from Genesis 2 through 38 are given consideration in the light of philological investigation. Together these pieces represent a useful collection of insights into the Hebrew language both through classic philology and through the ecclesiastical interpretation of a scholar in the tradition of Syriac Christianity.

Lagarde’s edition of the British Museum manuscript of an abridged version of the Geoponica is here made available again for the use of scholars and interested historians. Originally composed by Vindonius Anatolius of Beirut, a fourth-century Greek author, the Geoponica is an example of early natural science, a collection of agricultural tracts. Published here with Lagarde’s Latin commentary on the material from his Gesammelte Abhandlungen, this obscure and difficult text is now available for the first time with the insightful comments of the linguist who edited the Syriac text.

Published for the first time by Paul de Lagarde in the extant Syriac, this volume reproduces the initial edition of the Didascalia Apostolorum. This important document, which purports to have been written by the apostles is a third-century pseudepigraphon. Presenting a view of the Catholic doctrine as it was believed to have been held by the original apostles, the topics addressed include worship, doctrine, and Christian discipline. For the Syriac scholar wishing to engage a foundational document in the early history of the church, this publication represents an excellent starting point.

This study considers the topography of Asia Minor during a period of intense historical interest, the era spanning the Crusades. Useful for historians of the Middle Ages and especially those interested in the events surrounding the use of Asia Minor as a bridge to the distant lands of the Holy Land, this brief examination will retain its value. Presenting Turkey as it was seen during the Ottoman period, this topographical history will also appeal to historians of the final days of the empire.

Originally a two-part publication, geographer Wilhelm Tomaschek’s study on the historic topography of Persia is here published in one volume. Beginning with the street layout of the Tabula Peutingerana, the author describes the major routes of the Persian realm as reflected in antiquity. Although reflecting the period of the Qajar Dynasty prior to the developments during the World Wars, this guide still provides historic information concerning the mapping of one of the great empires of the ancient world.

Sebastian Euringer publishes here the Ethiopic text and German translation of an anaphora attributed to James, the brother of Jesus.

Arthur Allgeier publishes here two articles concerning the “Legend of the Seven Sleepers” in the Syriac tradition. The first article includes a discussion of the text’s transmission history and the second includes the Syriac text, German translation, and apparatus.

Bernhard Vandenhoff publishes here a German translation of the letter of Elias bar Shenaya in which he publicly denounces the election of Catholicos Isho’yahb IV. In the introduction, Vandenhoff also briefly describes the historical circumstances that produced the letter.

Oriental liturgical experts Jules Jeannin and Julien Puyade survey the historical development and musical features of the Greek Octoechos musical tradition as it was adopted, adapted, and utilized in the Syriac tradition.

Marius Chaîne publishes the Coptic text and French translation of a letter attributed to Severus of Antioch and addressed to the deaconess Anastasia. In the introduction, Chaîne discusses the attribution to Severus and the exegetical method displayed within the letter.

The ancient myth of a hero who slays a mythical beast worked its way into the lore of early Christianity. Willy Hengstenberg discusses here the sources for the dragon-slaying legend attributed to two separate fourth-century figures named Theodore.

Joseph Michael Heer discusses the philological, text-critical, and liturgical value of five parchment pages containing the resurrection narratives from the Gospels of Mark and Luke in parallel columns of Greek and Sahidic Coptic and provides a transcription of the texts.

Wladimir de Grüneisen surveys the history of the basket-design in art and architecture in the Greco-Roman world based on a column capital and transom discovered at Tusculum.

Presented in the original Persian, this volume represents the solely published first volume of the Haft Ásmán “seven heavens,” or a compendium of poetry in the seven epic meters of Persian poetry. This history of the masnawí, or Middle Persian poetic form, written in rhymed couplets, is here presented by one of the recognized teachers of Persian in India. This, his final work, was intended to be an introduction to the works of Nizami. As such it contains invaluable nuggets about the Persian poets and their poetry.

Jacob Wickert offers one of the most thorough discussions of Euthymios Zigabenus ever produced, including an introduction to his life and a detailed discussion of the contents of Euthymios’s compendium of heresies, the Panoplia Dogmatica.

Bernhard Vandenhoff publishes here a German translation of three Neo-Aramaic poems and one Syriac poem. In the introduction to these translations, Vanderhoff discusses the dialects and provides an overview of the content of the poems.

Franz Cöln publishes here an anonymous treatise that deals with the topic of church authority from the perspective of the Syriac tradition. Cöln publishes the Arabic text of the treatise and includes a Latin translation and a brief introduction.

Anton Baumstark discusses the critical issues in the dating of the text of the Peregrinatio of Egeria. After comparing the account with other texts, Baumstark concludes in favor of the traditional fourth-century date and provides needed support for this conclusion.

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.