Rubens Duval, known for his Syriac grammar and editions of Syriac texts, here offers a historical study of Edessa up to the first Crusade. The book’s chapters cover Edessa’s topography and geographical situation, the founding of the city and origins of the royal family, early political interaction with neighboring rulers, non-Christianity in the city, the Abgar legend and related traditions, and of course what can be known of earliest Christianity there, including literature related to Edessa, such as the Peshitta and Diatessaron. Succeeding chapters cover later centuries and especially deal with interactions between Roman, Persian, and Arab rulers and armies, as well as important figures, political and religious, who were active in the city. An appendix includes the Greek text and French translation of pertinent extracts from the church historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret.