Nabataean echoes in al-Ḥarrah: New evidence in light of recent field work†

ABSTRACT

During a survey conducted by the authors in the eastern part of al-?arrah in Jordan in 2017,¹1. The term al-?arrah is used to refer to the basalt steppe-desert located in northern Jordan and southern Syria. a number of new Safaitic and Nabataean texts were found. Some of them mention events dated during the reigns of ?r?t and rb?l, others refer to the revolt of dm?y. Other Safaitic texts contain references to the Nabataeans. Three Nabataean graffiti were also found and are presented here. These sixteen new texts constitute a remarkable addition to the corpus of Safaitic and Nabatean texts found in this region.     

Ideology and the ‘Liberation of Theology’: The Role of Critique in Juan Luis Segundo and Slavoj Žižek

The turn to religion within critical theory has brought the critique of ideology back into theological view. This essay examines the relation of theology to ideology in the liberation theology of Juan Luis Segundo. Segundo's key contribution is his use of the concept of ideology as an efficacious force in theological work in service to poor communities. I argue that the critical and political force of Segundo's theology is dulled by this neutral use of ideology critique. This may be ameliorated by consulting Slavoj ?i?ek's negative use of Christianity as ideology critique. Without endorsing ?i?ek over Segundo, I propose that ?i?ek's critical use of political theology can help liberation theology reengage the role of negativity and critique in the immanent relation of theory and praxis.     

Bringing Order Out of Chaos: Stanisław August Poniatowski’s Political Patronage of Architectural Classicism in the Late Eighteenth-Century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

This article examines the political uses of classical architecture in the late eighteenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It focuses specifically on the direct connection between the rise of the classical idiom on the eve of the collapse of the Commonwealth and the ill-fated idea of political recuperation of the deteriorating and dysfunctional state under the aegis of King Stanis?aw August Poniatowski (r. 1764–95). In particular, it outlines the extent and character of Polish-Lithuanian architectural classicism’s political engagement in the last decades of the eighteenth century. It also underscores the specific role of this architectural idiom as a political symbol and instrument of propaganda, which served to represent the idea of restoring political order to the Commonwealth and building a strong and self-sustaining political community headed by the king. Finally, it presents a selection of characteristic buildings and publications that contributed to this political discourse, and examines the ways classical architecture retained a political importance in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795.     

Late Middle Palaeolithic occupations in Ciemna Cave,southern Poland

Recent excavations in Ciemna Cave in the Pr?dnik valley near Ojców, southern Poland have brought to light new stratigraphic and techno-typological evidence concerning Late Middle Palaeolithic groups and their cultural affinities. In 2007, excavations began in the hitherto-unexplored main chamber of Ciemna Cave, with the goal of clarifying the results of previous work in other parts of the cave. During excavation the rocky floor of the cave was reached. About 1000 stone artifacts have been collected to date. Three cultural traditions have been documented: Mousterian, Taubachian, and Micoquian. Within the Micoquian tradition, three cultural levels were observed, which enriches the previous understanding of occupational phases at the site. These findings permit revision of the traditional terms “Pr?dnik industry” and “Pr?dnik technique.”     

A Zoroastrian Dispute in the Caliph’s Court: The Gizistag Abāliš in its Early Islamic Context

The Gizistag Abāli? is a ninth- or tenth-century Pahlavi text, recording a debate which took place at the court of al-Ma?mūn between a Zoroastrian priest and a heretical dualist. This article, the first in-depth study of this important work, examines the text in its broader Islamicate environment. It argues that the narrative itself is probably fictional, but reflects a real historical phenomenon, namely the interreligious debates which took place among Zoroastrians, Muslims, Christians, and Jews during the ?Abbasid period. It argues that the text is a unique Zoroastrian example of a literary genre that was common among Christians at the time, namely, “the monk in the emir’s majlis.” By comparing the Gizistag Abāli? to these Christian texts, it explores why Zoroastrians generally did not launch explicit polemics against Islam, comparable to those of other non-Muslim communities. It seems that Zoroastrian authors were more concerned with explaining their own doctrines than critiquing the beliefs of others. This is curious considering the large numbers of Zoroastrians who were converting to Islam at the time. Finally, the article proposes new ways of refining the way we read Pahlavi texts, by analyzing them alongside the literatures of other religious communities in the early Islamic empire.     

Jiří Procháska (1749–1820): Part 1: A Significant Czech Anatomist,Physiologist and Neuroscientist of the Eighteenth Century

Ji?í (George) Procháska (1749–1820), a Czech anatomist, physiologist, and neuroscientist of the eighteenth century, ranks among the major figures of Czech and European cultural history. The works of Ji?í Procháska, due to historical circumstances, were published mostly in Latin and only some in German. However, given that only one treatise was partially translated into English, the results of his extensive research activities are currently unavailable to the international scientific community. The achievements of Ji?í Procháska undoubtedly belong to the major intellectual heritage of European science and certainly deserve attention as such, although his research reflected the time in which he lived and therefore has been reevaluated by later researchers. Undoubtedly, it is our duty not only to remember the work and legacy of Ji?í Procháska, which significantly influenced the development of our knowledge, but also to try to critically assess his contribution in terms of today. This article surveys the important biographical events of Ji?í Procháska’s life, taking into account the significance of his research.     

Travail, redistribution et construction des espaces économiques (XIe–XVe siècle)

Although a popular topic among historians for most of the XX^th century, the expansion of the European medieval economy has recently fallen out of favour. This paper seeks to bring attention back to this subject, at an important moment of the construction of a global European economy, by replacing it in a long term perspective, from the XI^th to the XV^th century, and by analysing its own process of economic development and growth trends. Particular attention is devoted to the social processes developed for the promotion of worker groups and productive activities, which made possible the intensification of labour that is remunerated by a complex set of mechanisms for the redistribution of wealth, which are among the most original creations of medieval societies.     

Le plan de sauvetage des scientifiques français

From 1940 to 1942, a number of French scientists take refuge in America with their families. They are part — often not being aware of it — of a rescue program organized from New York by two of their colleagues. Henri Laugier and Louis Rapkine, with the help of the Rockefeller Foundation (financial and logistic). Reconstitution of the different stages that paved way to an applicant for exile proves that the Vichy government did not prevent, as a rule, the temporary departure of French intellectuals, even if Jews. As for the United States, they made easier the reception of the only scientists who could enrich durably the American intellectual life.     

北京紫禁城背景环境及其保护

伴随文化遗产诞生与发展的历史过程,其周围的历史人文和自然景观环境构成文化遗产的背景环境,应该加以妥善的保护。紫禁城的背景环境经过长时期的积累,明清北京城的整体格局是它的骨架,传统城市设计与建筑和前人对北京地区自然环境的开发成果构成它的美学和景观特色,众多文物古迹是其中的重点元素。北京城市性质发生革命突变以后,在城市规划上的缺陷造成紫禁城背景环境的改变与破坏。北京历史文化名城保护规划的确定和故宫缓冲区的建立,将净化和恢复紫禁城背景环境。