Water is one of the most benign, and destructive, powers in the lives of all people, in particular in arid areas such as the Near East. This book provides an alternative way of thinking about the Roman Near East by exploring how its inhabitants managed and lived with their water supplies, especially in the wake of the Roman conquest. Through geographical, hydrological, and anthropological perspectives, this study aims to see how water can inform us about the nature of Roman Imperialism, the Roman economy, change and transformation in Late Antiquity.

This study provides an English translation of the texts for initiation in the Byzantine tradition, drawing on early manuscripts of the euchology and the typikon of the Great Church (Hagia Sophia). This includes texts for the enrollment of children in the rites of the eighth and fortieth days, catechesis and prayers during Lent, final preparations, including consecration of Chrism and the rites of apotaxis and syntaxis on Good Friday, Baptism at the Easter Vigil, postbaptismal rites and rites of closure, and provisions for the other baptismal feasts.

The aim of this book is to demonstrate the movement of Greek thought into Arabic via the Syriac language. Al-Hamad devotes the four sections of this book to profiling four different authors who either wrote in Syriac or whose works were transmitted into Arabic via Syriac translations: Porphyry, John Philoponos (‘the Grammarian’), Jacob of Edessa and Dionysios of Tellmahre.

This book begins with a discussion of the contribution of the areas of al-Raqqa (Kallinikos) and Diyar Mudar for translations into the Arabic language; it also covers the importance of Christian monasteries in the region of the Jazira for the history of translations into Greek.

This is a collection of poems and essays by Ghattas Maqdasi Elias, an important figure in twentieth-century Syrian Orthodox letters and education, also known as ‘Malfono Denho.’ The book contains writings previously published in books and journals as well as items published for the first time in this volume.

The West Syrian Liturgy has come down to the present in three major traditions: that of Za‘faran, that of Sadad and that of Edessa. This book represents the culmination of many years of recording and effort, undertaken in both the Middle East and the US, aimed at preserving the complete Beth Gazo of Edessa in musical annotation.

Among the works Jacob al-Bartilli has left us is this theological treatise, entitled The Book of Treasures, which has here been translated in its entirety into Arabic. The Syriac text remains unpublished and this Arabic translation has been executed by the Deacon Behnam Daniel al- Bartilli on the basis of three different manuscripts.

Nearly three years were spent assembling and editing this volume, which contains the diary of Mar Georgios Dionysios, the former Bishop of Aleppo. The diary covers the years 1943-1981 and offers a fascinating look at the day-to-day life of an important figure in the Syrian Orthodox Church over the course of nearly 40 years.

The question of the relationship between Arab identity and Islam is a pressing one for all Christian minorities in the Middle East. In this book, Syrian and Arab intellectual George Jabbur publishes a series of lectures concerned with examining the matter of Arabness, Arabhood, Islam, and political participation and belonging in the constitutions of the countries of the Arab world.

The Gospels mention that Jesus had twelve male disciples who aided Him in His earthly mission of proclaiming the Gospel. But were Jesus’ helpers only men? Convinced that women played an important role in assisting Jesus’ preaching and proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven, Tuma al-Khuri has written a book, in Arabic, highlighting twelve different females who appear in the Gospel text—the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Lazarus, the Samaritan woman, and the Syro-Phoenician woman, among others.