Although much of the primary information about the Parthian period comes from coins, there has been much new research undertaken over the past few decades into wider aspects of both the Parthian and Sassanian Empires including the Arsacid Parthians, and their material culture. Despite a change of ruling dynasty, the two empires were closely connected and cannot be regarded as totally separate entities. The continuation of Parthian influence particularly into the early Sasanian period cannot be disputed. An historic lack of detailed information arose partly through the relative lack of excavated archaeological sites dating to the Parthian period in Iran and western scholars’ lack of knowledge of recent excavations and their results that are usually published in Persian, coupled with the inevitable difficulties for academic research engendered by the recent political situation in the region. Although an attempt has been made by several scholars in the west to place this important Iranian dynasty in its proper cultural context, the traditional GrecoRoman influenced approach is still prevalent. The present volume presents 15 papers covering various aspects of Parthian and early Sasanian history, material culture, linguistics and religion which demonstrate a rich surviving heritage and provide many new insights into ideology, royal genealogy, social organization, military tactics, linguistic developments and trading contacts.

The papers gathered in this book were presented at the First International Conference (held in Paris, University of Sorbonne, October 27th-28th 2006), devoted to the newly discovered Gospel of Judas, preserved in the 4th century Coptic Codex Tchacos. These essays explore several crucial literary, historical and doctrinal issues related to this gospel, composed in the second half of the 2nd century. This unexpected discovery sheds a new light on the role attributed to Judas by some Gnostic Christian movements. A hotly debated question is precisely the significance of Judas in this gospel: hero or villain? Special attention is given to the sources - Greek, Jewish, Christian and even Iranian - used by the unknown author. This book will be of special interest for historians of late Antiquity religions and scholars in New Testament studies, Gnosticism and Coptic literature.

This is the commemorative edition for the 4th International Conference on the Church of the East in China. This is a collection of essays used as background research to seek and find the lost churches of the Silk Road. The author has used the "Da Qin Jing Jiao" Stone to provide clues for searching for the reported churches and monasteries that we built during the Tang dynasty. For later periods material from Mogao and other artifacts have been used in the investigation.

Through a series of original essays by leading international scholars, The Roman Empire in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives offers a comparative historical analysis of the Roman empire’s role and achievement and, more broadly, establishes Rome’s significance within comparative studies. Fills a gap in comparative historical analysis of the Roman empire’s role and achievement Features contributions from more than a dozen distinguished scholars from around the world Explores the relevance of important comparativist themes of state, empire, and civilization to ancient Rome

Taoism remains the only major religion whose canonical texts have not been systematically arranged and made available for study. This long-awaited work, a milestone in Chinese studies, catalogs and describes all existing texts within the Taoist canon. The result will not only make the entire range of existing Taoist texts accessible to scholars of religion, it will open up a crucial resource in the study of the history of China. The vast literature of the Taoist canon, or Daozang, survives in a Ming Dynasty edition of some fifteen hundred different texts. Compiled under imperial auspices and completed in 1445—with a supplement added in 1607—many of the books in the Daozang concern the history, organization, and liturgy of China's indigenous religion. A large number of works deal with medicine, alchemy, and divination. If scholars have long neglected this unique storehouse of China's religious traditions, it is largely because it was so difficult to find one's way within it. Not only was the rationale of its medieval classification system inoperable for the many new texts that later entered the Daozang, but the system itself was no longer understood by the Ming editors; hence the haphazard arrangement of the canon as it has come down to us. This new work sets out the contents of the Daozang chronologically, allowing the reader to follow the long evolution of Taoist literature. Lavishly illustrated, the first volume ranges from antiquity through the Middle Ages, while the second spans the modern period. Within this frame, texts are grouped by theme and subject. Each one is the subject of a historical abstract that identifies the text's contents, date of origin, and author. Throughout the first two volumes, introductions outline the evolution of Taoism and its spiritual heritage. A third volume offering biographical sketches of frequently mentioned Taoists, multiple indexes, and an extensive bibliography provides critical tools for navigating this guide to one of the fundamental aspects of Chinese culture.

This book by Antonio Panaino discusses the development of the Iranian cosmographical world and its interaction with the Greek, Mesopotamian and Indic civilizations.