David Brown Book Company 2012 Near East Mailing

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The Near East - Ancient and Modern The David Brown Book Company Presents a Selection of titles on

Picturing the Past

Cultural Change

Imaging and Imagining the Ancient Middle East edited by Jack Green, Emily Teeter and John A Larson

Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Coins of the Holy Land by David Hendin

This fully illustrated catalog of essays, descriptions, and commentary accompanies the Oriental Institute special exhibit Picturing the Past: Imaging and Imagining the Ancient Middle East.

This is a full color catalog of the coins featured in the ANS acclaimed temporary exhibit of the same name. All coins are illustrated in full color, with explanatory text, illustrations of related material, maps and family-trees. The volume serves as the ideal introduction to the coinage of the Holy Land, as well as providing a history of the region from the 4th century BC to Crusader times, illustrated by the coinage that was produced there. As such, it contains some of the earliest Jewish coins, as well as the earliest to bear overtly Christian symbolism. The coins contained in this exhibit are often the finest examples of their kind in existence, and the text has been written by one of the foremost experts in the field, so the resulting volume is as attractive to look at as it is informative. 128p, color illus.

Picturing the Past presents paintings, architectural reconstructions, facsimiles, models, photographs, and computer-aided reconstructions that show how the architecture, sites, and artifacts of the ancient Middle East have been documented. It also examines how the publication of those images has shaped our perception of the ancient world, and how some of the more “imaginary” reconstructions have obscured our real understanding of the past. The exhibit and catalog also show how features of the ancient Middle East have been presented in different ways for different audiences, in some cases transforming a highly academic image into a widely recognized icon of the past. 184p, 168 illus. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Museum Publications 34, 2012 9781885923899, paperback – $29.95. Special Offer $24.00

Sea of Pearls Seven Thousand Years of the Industry that Shaped the Gulf by Robert A. Carter

American Numismatic Society, 2011 9780897223195, paperback – $40.00. Special Offer $32.00

Medieval and Ottoman Hajj Route in Jordan An Archaeological and Historical Study edited by Andrew Petersen

Since Antiquity the natural pearls of the Gulf have been famed as the finest, most lustrous and most plentiful that the world can offer. From the beginnings of trade until the 1930s, these pearls were a major product of the Gulf’s coastal peoples. Latterly, from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, rising international demand turned pearling into their economic mainstay.

As one of the five pillars of Islam, the pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj) is central to the life of all Muslims. A network of roads radiates from the Hijaz like a giant spider’s web, connecting Mecca to all parts of the Muslim world. Historically the most significant of these routes starts at Damascus in Syria, and is a direct continuation of the ancient trade route connecting Arabia to the Levant.

There has until now been no book taking the entire history of pearling as its subject. Dr Carter’s ground-breaking work traces its evolution on both the Arabian and the Persian sides of the Gulf, and explores the role it played in shaping the political, social and urban configuration that we see in the region today. Lavishly illustrated, it will fascinate not only those wishing to understand the growth and conduct of the pearl fishery, but also those interested in the history of the region and the origins of the Gulf states. 364p, full color illus throughout.

A significant part of this route runs through Jordan and this book documents the archaeological and architectural remains which line this route, paying particular attention to the forts and cisterns built and maintained by the Ottoman rulers from the 16th century onwards. The final part of the book describes the results of excavations at one of the forts, which gives an insight into the material culture of both the pilgrims and the soldiers who manned the forts. 256p.

Arabian Publishing, October 2012 9780957106000, hardback – $190.00. Special Offer $152.00

Oxbow Books, Levant Supplementary Series 12, August 2012 9781842175026, hardback – $104.00. Special Offer $83.00

Please quote discount code 505-12 when ordering to receive special offer prices

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