Camels and Arabian balîya and other forms of sacrifice: a review of archaeological and literary evidence

The paper surveys the recent archaeological information for the balîya immolation tradition of pre-Islamic Arabia, whereby a camel or other valued animal was slaughtered to accompany a person of status in death so that they had an animal to ride or to maintain their status in the afterlife. In contrast to the dhibh immolation, which is prescribed in the Holy Qur'ân in memory of the sacrifice of the Prophet Ibrâhîm, the balîya is forbidden in Islam. Unlike the dhibh immolation, the balîya sacrifice was interred whole and provides precise archaeological information about the circumstances of its slaughter and burial. Information about such immolations derives largely from excavations in southern and eastern Arabia.     

春秋时代的私徒属

私徒属是春秋时期随社会分化而产生的社会群体 ,主要指卿大夫属下团聚着的依附人口 ,包括家臣、私卒、养士及贫民依附者。私徒属是卿大夫的私有领民 ,不受国君直接控制 ,在政治上依附于其贵族主人 ,通过为贵族主人服务而活跃于春秋时的政治舞台 ,对当时社会生活的各个方面都有着重要影响。战国时期 ,随着集权国家的形成和官僚政治的确立 ,私徒属这一社会群体渐趋消亡。     

浙江三泉村700年变迁模式试探

三泉村自南宋淳熙八年(1181)建村,至明嘉靖三十四年(1555),先后产生了2名进士、1名举人,但随着人口的繁衍,村区人口无传率上升,夫妇年龄差增大,人文逐渐衰弱,700年问历经了盛衰变迁。这一变迁模式对于以农业为主业的传统山村社会具有一定的普遍意义。     

楚长城的建筑时间和形式考

春秋楚长城是中国历史上最早的长城。楚长城并不是一道帽形长城,而是在春秋战国时期的400年间根据不同防御对象建筑的三道长城。楚长城是依山而筑、因地制宜、就地取材的军事战略防御工程,其建筑方式是石垛或土筑,主墙体为单护城栏型长城,建筑原始、粗糙、古朴、实用。     

春战变革与集权趋势

社会自然变化与社会政治经济的变化,互为因果,是春战变革的原动力,中央集权是其发展的必由之路。     

春秋时期徐国都城遗址的发现与研究

近年徐州众多的徐国遗存被发现,证明献中关于春秋时期徐人曾在汉彭城一带活动的记载是真实的。     

春秋时期诸侯国是独立主权国家吗?--与叶自成先生商榷

叶自成先生于近期发表的《中国外交的起源——试论春秋时期周王室和诸侯国的性质》一文提出了春秋时期诸侯国是独立主权国家的理论。本文认为,诸侯国无论对内还是对外都要尊天子、循周礼,因此不拥有主权。对中国这样一个多民族国家来说,不能简单地用中央政权对割据政权制约能力的强弱来确定这些政权是否为国家。统一的政治一文化空间和大一统的国家认同是更重要的因素。     

小邾国媵器随葬于本国贵族墓地原因探析

小邾国与胙国是姻亲国,邾友父鬲是小邾君为其嫁为胙国夫人的女儿制的媵器,本应随其女儿陪嫁到胙国,而却随葬在小邾国贵族基地.邾友父鬲和1号墓的年代为春秋早期,胙国被灭也在春秋早期.二者年代相同,绝非偶然巧合.其原因应与胙国灭亡的重大变故有关.当时邾友父的女儿很可能未及出嫁胙国就灭亡了,也可能已经出嫁到胙国,在南燕兼并胙国时为避难而逃回到母国,同时也把媵器带到了娘家,或仅仅是把媵器转移到了小邾国,后因胙国灭亡,媵器便留在了母国,为其兄弟亦即第二代小邾君所得,到第二代小邾君或其夫人去世时,便把这些媵器随葬在墓中.如果此说不妄,则又可反证胙国灭亡的更为具体的年代.     

Rethinking Security: Perspectives from Arab–American and British Arab Activists

Abstract: In this article, we analyse the experience of securitization from the perspective of Arab–American and British Arab activists. Based on interviews with over 100 activists in both countries, we explore the ways in which Arab immigrant communities have experienced the enhanced security measures taken by governments. Our respondents describe the ways in which these measures have increased feelings of fear and insecurity within their communities. They emphasized how immigration, border and surveillance technologies lent a pervasive sense of insecurity to daily life. At the same time, they argued for the importance of the legal rights of citizenship in anchoring a sense of security in and belonging to British and American society.     

Mediated mobilisation after the Arab Spring: how online activism is shaping Bahrain’s opposition

Drawing on fieldwork interviews and analysis of opposition social media posts, this article investigates how online forms of activism have been utilised by opposition groups during Bahrain's post-Arab Spring crackdown. Arguing that the antisystem opposition in particular has embraced ‘mediated mobilisation’ techniques, this article highlights the popularity of hybrid campaigns as drivers of online and offline activism. Contrasting the then-legal opposition society al-Wefaq with the banned, underground youth movement known as the February 14 Coalition, this article asserts that Bahrain's decentralised and anonymous antisystem opposition enjoys a structural advantage over regime-tolerated groups in their use of online activism. This article makes the case that mediated forms of mobilisation have fundamentally altered inter-opposition dynamics in post-Arab Spring Bahrain, and have strengthened the ability of antisystem groups such as the February 14 Coalition to challenge both the government and Bahrain's more established opposition societies.