The Book of Crowns on the Kings of Himyar

The first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of a fascinating text which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher. After converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’), he is martyred by his father. In a detailed introduction, Butts and Gross challenge the use of this text by previous scholars as evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians, reevaluating its purpose and situating the story in its Late Antique Babylonian context.

This volume presents five vivid tales of Christian martyrs from the fifth century. These accounts thematize the conflict between the martyrs' identity as Persian subjects loyal to the Zoroastrian king and their devotion to Christianity.

The History of Mar Behnam and Sarah tells the story of two siblings who convert to Christianity under the tutelage of Mar Mattai, a monastic leader and wonderworker from the Roman Empire. In this volume, Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent and Kyle Smith provide the first critical edition and English translation of this fascinating martyrdom narrative.

A substantial Festschrift for Sebastian P. Brock, this volume contains 34 essays from a variety of scholars across the field of Syriac studies. The breadth of the submissions illustrates the multiplicity of approaches taken in contemporary Syriac studies, and while no overall limitations were set for the contributions, a lively interest in Jacob of Serug remains evident. No scholar in this discipline will want to miss this important collection that represents the latest in serious exploration of the world of Eastern Christianity in Late Antiquity.