The Journal of the American Oriental Society articles from January 2004

The Journal of the American Oriental Society archives from January 2004

The abna' al-dawla: the definition and legitimation of identity in response to the fourth fitna.
January 1, 2004... This article will reopen the question about the identity and provenance of the abna' aldawla. Who were they? When did they form as a collective and why? The standard view is that the abna' al-dawla were the backbone of the Abbasid dynasty,...

The markers of person, gender, and number in the prefixes of G-preformative conjugations in Semitic.
January 1, 2004... As is well known, the preformative conjugations in the individual Semitic languages all operate according to the same basic principles in marking person, gender, and number. Person is usually indicated by a prefix that is attached to the verbal...

Neo-Assyrian royal women and male identity: status as a social tool.
January 1, 2004... For the three centuries between approximately 900 and 600 B.C., Assyria was the major power of the Near East, ruling over the largest empire the world had ever seen. Having become rich with the spoils of war and tribute of subject nations,...

Tonal prosody in three poems by Wang Rong.(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2004... I. INTRODUCTION This study is an exercise in reading the pentasyllabic poems of Wang Rong [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (467-93) by giving careful consideration to their tonal arrangements. Wang Rong was, as we are told in Zhong Hong's...

The Chinese names of the four directions.
January 1, 2004... 1. INTRODUCTION The Chinese characters for the four directions: [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] "east," [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] "west," [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] "south," and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] "north" are...

Mahimabhatta's analysis of poetic flaws.
January 1, 2004... The revolutionary Dhvanyaloka of the mid-ninth-century Kashmiri literary theorist Anandavardhana challenged many of the doctrines and presuppositions of both earlier Sanskrit literary theory (Alamkarasastra) and general linguistic philosophy....

The date of the death of Jesus: further reflections.
January 1, 2004... In his thought-provoking and convincing article, "The Date of Death of Jesus of Nazareth" (JAOS 122 [2002]: 466-80), Leo Depuydt argues that the most plausible date for the crucifixion is 18 March, 29 C.E. This date was generally accepted until...

A further note on yan [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] and an [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII].
January 1, 2004... Professor E. G. Pulleyblank's response (JAOS 123: 635-39) to my article on the Chinese particles yan [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] and an [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] gives me an opportunity to correct a defect in the published version...

Alexander of Aphrodisias on the Cosmos.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Alexander of Aphrodisias on the Cosmos. By CHARLES GENEQUAND. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science, Texts and Studies, 44. Leiden: BRILL, 2001. Pp. 187. $54. Charles Genequand's Alexander of Aphrodisias on the Cosmos offers a welcome...

Al-Ghazali's Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul: Unveiling the Esoteric Psychology and Eschatology of the Ihya'.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Al-Ghazali's Unspeakable Doctrine of the Soul: Unveiling the Esoteric Psychology and Eschatology of the [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. By TIMOTHY J. GIANOTTI. Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, vol. 104. Leiden: BRILL, 2001. Pp. 205....

Zur Sozialterminologie der iranischen Manichaer: Eine semantische Analyse im Vergleich zu den nichtmanichaischen iranischen Quellen.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Zur Sozialterminologie der iranischen Manichaer: Eine semantische Analyse im Vergleich zu den nichtmanichaischen iranischen Quellen. By IRIS COLDITZ. Iranica, vol. 5. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2000. Pp. xiii + 454. This is the...

On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's Faysal al-Tafriqa.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... On the Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam: Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's Faysal al-Tafriqa. By SHERMAN A. JACKSON. Studies in Islamic Philosophy. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002. Pp. xv + 141. This book is a translation and study...

Ibn Hazms Evangelienkritik: Eine methodische Untersuchung.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Ibn Hazms Evangelienkritik: Eine methodische Untersuchung. By SAMUEL-MARTIN BEHLOUL. Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and Science: Texts and Studies, vol. 50. Leiden: BRILL, 2002. p. xv + 274. Ibn Hazms Evangelienkritik is a work that begins...

Body of Text: The Emergence of the Sunni Law of Ritual Purity.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Body of Text: The Emergence of the Sunni Law of Ritual Purity. By MARION HOLMES KATZ. SUNY Series in Medieval Middle East History. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 2002. Pp. viii + 275 (paper). In this revised University of...

Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Thought.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Thought. By MICHAEL COOK. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000. Pp. xvii + 702. $85.00. As I write this review newspapers are reporting that "vigilante groups" are bursting into...

The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Qaraqosh.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Qaraqosh. By GEOFFREY KHAN. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, vol. 36. Leiden: BRILL, 2002. Pp. xxiv + 750. $208. All of the Neo-Aramaic dialects have been used predominantly for everyday speech. A...

The Politics of Ancient Israel.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Politics of Ancient Israel. By NORMAN K. GOTTWALD. Louisville: WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX PRESS, 2001. Pp. xvii + 366. $46.95. In this volume Gottwald not only introduces his topic conceptually but also tackles the more formidable task of...

Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. By LARRY W. HURTADO. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO., 2003. Pp. xxii + 746. $55. In this study, Larry Hurtado aims to offer "a full-scale analysis of...

A Law Book for the Diaspora: Revision in the Study of the Covenant Code.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... A Law Book for the Diaspora: Revision in the Study of the Covenant Code. By JOHN VAN SETERS. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2003. Pp. xii + 236. In this book John Van Seters crystallizes his recent work on the Covenant Code (CC). His...

Gottes Recht als Menschenrecht: Rechts- und literaturhistorische Studien zum Deuteronomium.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Gottes Recht als Menschenrecht: Rechts- und literaturhistorische Studien zum Deuteronomium. By ECKART OTTO. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur Altorientalistische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte, vol. 2. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2002. Pp. vii +...

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. By STEPHEN BERTMAN. New York: FACTS ON FILE, 2003. Pp. xii + 396, illus. $50. The subject of this review is one of five volumes in the Handbook to Life series published by Facts on File--the...

Piety and Politics: The Dynamics of Royal Authority in Homeric Greece, Biblical Israel, and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Piety and Politics: The Dynamics of Royal Authority in Homeric Greece, Biblical Israel, and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia. By DALE LAUNDERVILLE. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO., 2003. Pp. xvii + 407, maps. $75. The study...

The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People. By JORUNN JACOBSEN BUCKLEY. Pp. v + 200. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002. $45. Jorunn J. Buckley has become the foremost scholar of the Mandaeans, the sole surviving Gnostic community....

Archaologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, vol. 9.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Archaologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, vol. 9. Mainz: PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2002. [euro]76.80. Having appeared last in 1993, this welcome journal contains studies on the archaeology and epigraphy of Old South Arabia (OSA), which show a high...

Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert, vol. 1: Gebel Tjauti Rock Inscriptions 1-45 and Wadi el-Hol Rock Inscriptions 1-45.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Theban Desert Road Survey in the Egyptian Western Desert, vol. 1: Gebel Tjauti Rock Inscriptions 1-45 and Wadi el-Hol Rock Inscriptions 1-45. By JOHN COLEMAN DARNELL, with the assistance of Deborah Darnell. Oriental Institute Publications, vol....

Les textes de la pyramide de Pepy Ier.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Les textes de la pyramide de Pepy Ier. By CATHERINE BERGER-EL NAGGAR, JEAN LECLANT, BERNARD MATHIEU, and ISABELLE PIERRE-CROISIAU. 2 vols. Memoires de l'Institut francais d'archeologie orientale, vol. 118/1-2. Cairo: INSTITUT FRANCAIS...

Die Toponymen- und Kultnamenlisten zur Tempelanlage von Dendera nach den hieroglyphischen Inschriften von Edfu und Dendera.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Die Toponymen- und Kultnamenlisten zur Tempelanlage von Dendera nach den hieroglyphischen Inschriften von Edfu und Dendera. By HOLGER KOCKELMANN. Die Inschriften des Tempels von Edfu, Begleithefte, vol. 3. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2002....

The Archaeology of Israelite Samaria, vol. 2: The Eighth Century B.C.E.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Archaeology of Israelite Samaria, vol. 2: The Eighth Century B.C.E. By RON E. TAPPY. Harvard Semitic Studies, vol. 50. Winona Lake, Ind.: EISENBRAUNS, 2001. Pp. xxviii + 668, illus. $89.95. The salvage of unpublished excavation material...

Hittite Prayers.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Hittite Prayers. By ITAMAR SINGER, edited by Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. Writings from the Ancient World, vol. 11. Atlanta: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE, 2002. Pp. xv + 141. $24.95 (paper). Voici presque vingt-cinq ans que je publiais un corpus...

Life and Society in the Hittite World.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Life and Society in the Hittite World. By TREVOR BRYCE. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002. Pp. xiv + 312, illus. The book under review follows on the heels of Trevor Bryce's The Kingdom of the Hittites (Oxford, 1998), which was a...

Hattuschili und Ramses: Hethiter und Agypter--ihr langer Weg zum Frieden.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Hattuschili und Ramses: Hethiter und Agypter--ihr langer Weg zum Frieden. By HORST KLENGEL. Mainz: PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2002. Pp. 199, illus. [euro]39.80. In this time when, on one hand, an almost century-old enmity between the United...

Tell Kosak Shamali, vol. 1: The Archaeological Investigations on the Upper Euphrates, Syria: Chalcolithic Architecture and the Earlier Prehistoric Remains.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Tell Kosak Shamali, vol. 1: The Archaeological Investigations on the Upper Euphrates, Syria: Chalcolithic Architecture and the Earlier Prehistoric Remains. Edited by YOSHIHIRO NISHIAKI and TOSHIO MATSUTANI. UMUT Monographs, vol. 1. Tokyo: THE...

The Pantheon of Uruk during the Neo-Babylonian Period.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Pantheon of Uruk during the Neo-Babylonian Period. By PAUL-ALAIN BEAULIEU. Cuneiform Monographs, vol. 23. Leiden: BRILL-STYX, 2003. Pp. xxvi + 424. [euro]99, $118. This admirably designed book represents an enormous step in the study...

Die Bauornamentik von Resafa-Sergiupolis: Studien zur spataniken Architektur und Bauausstattung in Syrien und Normesopotamien (Resafa 6).(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Die Bauornamentik von Resafa-Sergiupolis: Studien zur spataniken Architektur und Bauausstattung in Syrien und Normesopotamien (Resafa 6). By GUNNAR BRANDS. Pp. xvi + 290, figs., plates. Mainz: PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2002. The city of...

Nabataische Architektur: Insbesondere Graber und Tempel.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Nabataische Architektur: Insbesondere Graber und Tempel. By EHUD NETZER. Zaberns Bildbander zur Archaologie. Mainz: PHILLIP VON ZABERN, 2003. Pp. 190, illus. [euro]41. This volume provides a clear, up-to-date survey of Nabataean...

Dan II: A Chronicle of the Excavations and the Late Bronze Age "Mycenaean" Tomb.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Dan II: A Chronicle of the Excavations and the Late Bronze Age "Mycenaean" Tomb. By AVRAHAM BIRAN and RACHEL BEN-DOV. Annual of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology. Jerusalem: HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION,...

Rulin waishi and Cultural Transformation in Late Imperial China.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Rulin waishi and Cultural Transformation in Late Imperial China. By SHANG WEI. Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, no. 59. Cambridge, Mass.: HARVARD UNIVERSITY ASIA CENTER, 2003. Pp. 356. $40. Of the six lengthy Chinese fictional...

Metamorphosis of the Private Sphere: Gardens and Objects in Tang-Song Poetry.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Metamorphosis of the Private Sphere: Gardens and Objects in Tang-Song Poetry. By XIAOSHAN YANG. Harvard East Asian Monographs, no. 225. Cambridge, Mass: HARVARD UNIVERSITY ASIA CENTER, 2003. Pp. 301. $45. Yang Xiaoshan, true to his...

Merit and the Millennium: Routine and Crisis in the Ritual Lives of the Lahu People.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Merit and the Millennium: Routine and Crisis in the Ritual Lives of the Lahu People. By ANTHONY R. WALKER. New Delhi: HINDUSTAN PUBLISHING CORPORATION, 2003. Pp. xxxi + 907 + plates, maps, figures. $55. This massive work must surely rank as...

Histoire des marchands sogdiens.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Histoire des marchands sogdiens. By ETIENNE DE LA VAISSIERE. Bibliotheque de l'Institut des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, vol. 32. Paris: COLLEGE DE FRANCE, BIBLIOTHEQUE DE L'INSTITUT DES HAUTES ETUDES CHINOISES, 2002. Pp. 413, plates, maps. ...

Yogasutrabhasyavivarana of Sankara: Vivarana Text with English Translation and Critical Notes along with Text and English Translation of Patanjali's Yogasutras and Vyasabhasya, vols. 1 and 2.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Yogasutrabhasyavivarana of Sankara: Vivarana Text with English Translation and Critical Notes along with Text and English Translation of Patanjali's Yogasutras and Vyasabhasya, vols. 1 and 2. By T. S. RUKMANI. New Delhi: MUNSHIRAM MANOHARLAL...

Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry. By HERMAN TIEKEN. Groningen: EGBERT FORSTEN, 2001. Pp. 270. One of the most difficult issues in dealing with much of premodern Indian literature is chronology. Unless we are lucky enough to...

Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Destiny and Human Initiative in the Mahabharata. By JULIAN F. WOODS. McGill Studies in the History of Religions. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 2001. Pp. ix + 237. In the preface to this stimulating book on the themes of...

Morphologische Varianz und semantische Konkurrenz: Verbalabstrakta im Rig-Veda.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Morphologische Varianz und semantische Konkurrenz: Verbalabstrakta im Rig-Veda. By STEFAN NIEDERREITER. Arbeiten aus der Abteilung "Vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft" Graz, vol. 16. Graz: LEYKAM BUCHVERLAGSGESELLSCHAFT, 2001. Pp. 80. The...

The Iconography of Hindu Tantric Deities, vol. 1: The Pantheon of the Mantramahodadhi.(The Iconography of Hindu Tantric Deities, vol. 2: The Pantheons of the Prapancasara and the Saradatilaka)(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Iconography of Hindu Tantric Deities, vol. 1: The Pantheon of the Mantramahodadhi. By GUDRUN BUHNEMANN. Gonda Indological Studies, vol. 9. Groningen: EGBERT FORSTEN, 2000. Pp. xxix + 280. [euro]80. The Iconography of Hindu Tantric...

Silk Road Art and Archaeology, vol. 6: Papers in Honour of Francine Tissot.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Silk Road Art and Archaeology, vol. 6: Papers in Honour of Francine Tissot. Edited by ELIZABETH ERRINGTON and OSMUND BOPEARACHCHI. Kamakura: INSTITUTE OF SILK ROAD STUDIES, 1999/2000. This special issue of the journal Silk Road Art and...

Les sources et le temps: Sources and Time.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Les sources et le temps: Sources and Time. Edited by FRANCOIS GRIMAL. Publications du Departement d'Indologie, vol. 91. Pondicherry: INSTITUT FRANCAIS D'INDOLOGIE--ECOLE FRANCAISE D'EXTREME-ORIENT, 2001. Pp. v + 412. The volume under...

Education in Ancient India.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Education in Ancient India. By HARTMUT SCHARFE. Handbook of Oriental Studies, sect. 2: India, vol. 16. Leiden: BRILL, 2002. Pp. 355, illus. A statement on the back cover of this volume rightfully claims that Hartmut Scharfe has produced "a...

Buddhist Reliquaries from Ancient India.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Buddhist Reliquaries from Ancient India. By MICHAEL WILLIS, with contributions by Joe Cribb and Julia Shaw. London: BRITISH MUSEUM PRESS, 2000. Pp. 112, figs. $175. The central focus of this book is the Buddhist reliquaries which were...

Possessors and Possessed: Museums, Archaeology, and the Visualization of History in the Late Ottoman Empire.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Possessors and Possessed: Museums, Archaeology, and the Visualization of History in the Late Ottoman Empire. By WENDY M. K. SHAW. Berkeley and Los Angeles: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS, 2003. Pp. xi + 269, illus. $60. By the late...

1 Samuel.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... 1 Samuel. By ANTHONY F. CAMPBELL, S.J. The Forms of the Old Testament Literature, vol. 7. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING Co., 2003. Pp. xviii + 350. $55 (paper). The Forms of the Old Testament Literature (FOTL) is a...

Sheep Husbandry and Production of Wool, Garments and Cloths in Archaic Sumer.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Sheep Husbandry and Production of Wool, Garments and Cloths in Archaic Sumer. By KRYSTYNA SZARZYNSKA. Warsaw: AGADE, 2002. Pp. iv + 60, illus. [euro]12 (paper). One wants to be kind to the short treatment of textile production in the Late...

Annotierte Bibliographie zum Sport im Alten Agypten II: 1978-2000.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Annotierte Bibliographie zum Sport im Alten Agypten II: 1978-2000. By WOLFGANG DECKER and FRANK FORSTER. Nikephoros Beihefte, vol. 8. Hildesheim: WEIDMANN, 2002. Pp. 307. [euro]50. [Distrib. by Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim.] This...

Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. By SCOTT B. NOEGEL and BRANNON M. WHEELER. Historical Dictionary of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements, vol. 43. Lanham, Md.: SCARECROW PRESS, 2002. Pp. xxxvii + 522. $70. ...

Ulrich Schneider: Opera Minora.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Ulrich Schneider: Opera Minora. Edited by MARION MEISIG. Beitrage zur Indologie, vol. 39. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2002. Pp. xii + 273. This welcome collection of twenty-two previously published articles by the distinguished...

A Century of British Orientalists 1902-2001.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... A Century of British Orientalists 1902-2001. Edited by C. EDMUND BOSWORTH. Oxford: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS for THE BRITISH ACADEMY, 2001. Pp. i + 264. $65. The British Academy, an honorary society for scholars in the humanities and social...

The Worlds of the East India Company.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... The Worlds of the East India Company. Edited by H. V. BOWEN, MARGARETTE LINCOLN, and NIGEL RIGBY. Woodbridge, Suffolk: BOYDELL PRESS, 2002. Pp. xvii + 246, plates. $75. This handsome volume constitutes the proceedings of a conference held...

Portraits of Buddhist Women: Stories from the Saddharmaratnavaliya.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Portraits of Buddhist Women: Stories from the Saddharmaratnavaliya. By RANJINI OBEYESEKERE. SUNY series in Buddhist Studies. Albany: STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, 2001. Pp. 231. $54.50 (cloth); $21.95 (paper). Ranjini Obeyesekere's...

A Poem at the Right Moment: Remembered Verses from Premodern South India.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... A Poem at the Right Moment: Remembered Verses from Premodern South India. Edited and translated by VELCHERU NARAYANA RAO and DAVID SHULMAN. Voices from Asia, vol. 10. Berkeley and Los Angeles: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS, 1998. Pp. xiii +...

Beyond the Gorges of the Indus: Archaeology before Excavation.(Book Review)
January 1, 2004... Beyond the Gorges of the Indus: Archaeology before Excavation. By KARL JETTMAR, edited by Ellen Kattner. Karachi: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002. Pp. xix + 248, plates. In this volume, Karl Jettmar, one of the main explorers and historians...