The Oxford illustrated history of the Holy Land

The Oxford illustrated history of the Holy Land

Book - 2018

This book covers the 3,000 years which saw the rise of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - and relates the familiar stories of the sacred texts with the fruits of modern scholarship. Beginning with the origins of the people who became the Israel of the Bible, it follows the course of the ensuing millennia down to the time when the Ottoman Empire succumbed to British and French rule at the end of the First World War. Parts of the story, especially as known from the Bible, will be widely familiar. Less familiar are the ways in which modern research, both from archaeology and from other ancient sources, sometimes modify this story historically. Better understanding, however, enables us to appreciate crucial chapters in the story of the Holy Lan...d, such as how and why Judaism developed in the way that it did from the earlier sovereign states of Israel and Judah and the historical circumstances in which Christianity emerged from its Jewish cradle. Later parts of the story are vital not only for the history of Islam and its relationships with the two older religions, but also for the development of pilgrimage and religious tourism, as well as the notions of sacred space and of holy books with which we are still familiar today. From the time of Napoleon on, European powers came increasingly to develop both cultural and political interest in the region, culminating in the British and French conquests which carved out the modern states of the Middle East.

Saved in:
Place a Hold Save to List Email this

2nd Floor Show me where

956.94/Oxford
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 956.94/Oxford Checked In
Subjects
Palestine > History.
Palestine > Historical geography.
Published
Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press 2018.
Language
English
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
vi, 402 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps ; 26 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-385) and index.
ISBN
9780198724391
  • List of Maps
  • Introduction
  • 1. The Birth of Israel
  • 2. Iron Age: Tribes to Monarchy
  • 3. Israel and Judah, c.931-587 bce
  • 4. Babylonian Exile and Restoration, 587-325 bce
  • 5. The Hellenistic and Roman Era
  • 6. A Christian Holy Land, 284-638 ce
  • 7. The Coming of Islam
  • 8. The Holy Land in the Crusader and Ayyubid Periods, 1099-1250
  • 9. The Holy Land from the Mamluk Sultanate to the Ottoman Empire, 1260-1799
  • 10. From Napoleon to Allenby: The Holy Land and the Wider Middle East
  • 11. Pilgrimage
  • 12. Sacred Spaces and Holy Places
  • 13. Scripture and the Holy Land
  • Further Reading
  • Index
  • Picture Acknowledgements
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A reference guide to the Holy Land offers up-to-date scholarship to a general readership.Williamson (Emeritus, Hebrew/Oxford Univ.; He Has Shown You What is Good: Old Testament Justice Then and Now, 2012, etc.) and Hoyland (Late Antique and Early Islamic Middle Eastern History/New York Univ. Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire, 2014, etc.) have assembled a series of essays about the so-called "Holy Land"the editors explain their choice of that term in the thoughtful introduction. Most of the essays focus on a particular chronological slice, including the history of Israel, from its earliest moments through the fourth century B.C.E. Yale Divinity School professor John J. Collins overviews the Hellenistic and Roman periods, introducing several men who participated in resistance movementse.g., Simon, a servant of King Herod whose friends and followers declared him king (he was beheaded). Men like Simon, writes Collins, provide important context for considering "the career of Jesus." Collins concludes by correcting widespread assumptions about the rise of rabbinic Judaism. Ancient history professor Konstantin Klein shows how Christian clergymen and theologians of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries thought about the land of Jesus' birth. Very early in the life of the church, influential writers discouraged Christians from traveling to Jerusalem, since "going to the Holy Land would involve stays in guest houses, inns, and taverns, generally perceived as hotbeds of sin." But in time, clergymen began to self-consciously "promote" the idea of a "Christian Holy Land." Other essays consider the history of Muslims in the Holy Land and the Crusades. The chronological survey ends in the early 20th century (the volume avoids controversies about the modern state of Israel), and three thematic essaysaddressing pilgrimage, sacred space, and Scriptureround out the volume. Especially welcome is the discussion of Jewish and Muslim pilgrimage, which have generally received less attention than Christian pilgrimage.One-stop shopping for tourists, graduate students, and Sunday school teachers seeking reliable historical information. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Similar Items