Search results for ""Severus""

The great historic city of York owes its origins to the Roman army which built a fortress here on the banks of the River Ouse in AD 71. By the early third century York had also became the site of a major urban center and the capital of the northern half of Britain when what had been a single Roman province was divided into two. York’s importance is reflected in the fact that two Roman emperors died in the city: Septimius Severus in the year 211, and Constantius I in 306, his son Constantine was then acclaimed emperor here by his father’s troops.Roman York tells the story of the fortress and town from their foundation until the early fifth century when Britain ceased to be part of the Roman Empire. Particular emphasis is placed on the results of recent excavations and research which have added great deal to our knowledge and understanding of the people who lived in a place the Romans knew as Eboracum.

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Maximinus was a half-barbarian strongman of frightening appearance and colossal size who could smash stones with his bare hands and pull fully laden wagons unaided. Such feats impressed the emperor Severus who enlisted him into the imperial bodyguard whereupon he embarked on a distinguished military career. Eventually he achieved senior command in the massive Roman invasion of Persia in 232 and three years later became emperor himself in a military coup. Supposedly over seven feet tall (it is likely he had a pituitary disorder), Maximinus was surely one of Rome's most extraordinary emperors. He campaigned across the Rhine and Danube for three years until a rebellion erupted in Africa and the snobbish senate engaged in civil war against him. This is a narrative account of the life and times of Maximinus, from his humble origins up to and beyond the civil war of 238, written for enthusiasts of Roman history and warfare.

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Two brothers founded Rome. Will two brothers tear it apart?AD 193. After a year of brutal civil war, Rome is settled under Septimius Severus and his aspirations for a new dynasty of emperors.Severus's sons, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus better known as Caracalla and the younger brother, Geta, promise a stable future; a clear line of succession to steer Rome into the future.A promise that might be hard to deliver upon.With two brothers, there are two possible heirs, and Severus's close friend Plautianus has his own ideas about the succession, favouring Geta over Caracalla. Though the pair are still children, the Praetorian Prefect sows in young Geta's mind seeds of superiority, resentment and bitterness against his older brother.As these seeds take root, the relationship between the pair grows strained, and their parents desperately attempt to reconcile the feuding siblings before it is too late.Are the brothers able to set their differences

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The early 3rd century AD saw the Roman Empire confronted with an increasing number of problems: the northern frontiers shattered under the impact of attacks at the hands of Germanic and Sarmatian tribes, while the Persians ravaged the Eastern provinces almost with impunity. Economic crisis, the effects of the Antonine Plague, endless usurpations and climate change brought the Roman Empire to the verge of collapse. In the year 238 AD, the Emperor Alexander Severus was murdered at Mainz by his own troops. The accession of his successor Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus ushered in five decades of inner unrest and enemy incursions, in which emperors in quick succession constantly fought among themselves while desperately trying to stabilize the tottering Empire. The fateful era of the Soldier Emperors had begun. This book seeks to provide a concise overview over organisation, tactics, and equipment of the Roman army at the beginning of this era, and also sheds light on Maximinus' German campaign, in which Rome's army once more ventured deep into unconquered German territory. The discovery of the Harzhorn battlefield has enabled archaeologists and historians to reconstruct a dramatic episode from this dramatic time.

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Two brothers founded Rome. Will two brothers tear it apart?AD 193. After a year of brutal civil war, Rome is settled under Septimius Severus and his aspirations for a new dynasty of emperors.Severus’s sons, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus – better known as Caracalla – and the younger brother, Geta, promise a stable future; a clear line of succession to steer Rome into the future.A promise that might be hard to deliver upon.With two brothers, there are two possible heirs, and Severus’s close friend Plautianus has his own ideas about the succession, favouring Geta over Caracalla. Though the pair are still children, the Praetorian Prefect sows in young Geta’s mind seeds of superiority, resentment and bitterness against his older brother.As these seeds take root, the relationship between the pair grows strained, and their parents desperately attempt to reconcile the feuding siblings before it is too late.Are the brothers able to set their differences aside, or will Rome see the blood of a fratricide?The masterful final novel in the Damned Emperors series by S.J.A. Turney, perfect for fans of Harry Sidebottom and Conn Iggulden.

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Britannia Romana: Roman Inscriptions and Roman Britain is based on the author’s 40 years’ experience of the epigraphy of Roman Britain. It collects 487 inscriptions (mostly on stone, but also on metal, wood, tile and ceramic), the majority from Britain but many from other Roman provinces and Italy, so as to illustrate the history and character of Roman Britain (AD 43–410). Each inscription is presented in the original (in Latin, except for eight in Greek), followed by a translation and informal commentary; they are linked by the narrative which they illustrate, and more than half (236) are accompanied by photographs. All Latin terms in the narrative and commentary are translated and explained. The author demonstrates his unrivalled ability to read and understand Roman inscriptions and their importance as a source of historical knowledge. They are treated by chronology or theme in 14 chapters. The first eight take the narrative from Claudius’ invasion (AD 43) to the death of the last emperor to attempt the conquest of Britain, Septimius Severus (AD 211). The next four cover the general themes of soldier and civilian, economy and society, government, religion. The last two continue the narrative to the death of the last emperor to rule Roman Britain, Constantine III (AD 411).

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A philosophical exploration of the entire seven-book Harry Potter series Harry Potter has been heralded as one of the most popular book series of all time and the philosophical nature of Harry, Hermione, and Ron's quest to rid the world of its ultimate evil is one of the many things that make this series special. The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy covers all seven titles in J.K. Rowling's groundbreaking series and takes fans back to Godric's Hollow to discuss life after death, to consider what moral reasoning drove Harry to choose death, and to debate whether Sirius Black is a man or a dog. With publication timed to coincide with the release of the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1), this book will be the definitive guide for all fans looking to appreciate the series on a deeper level. Covers a range of intriguing topics such as the redemption of Severus Snape, the power of love, and destiny in the wizarding world Gives you a new perspective on Harry Potter characters, plot lines, and themes Makes a perfect companion to the Harry Potter books and movies Packed with interesting ideas and insights, The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy is an ideal companion for anyone interested in unraveling the subtext and exploring the greater issues at work in the story.

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This book reconceives the rewriting of Byzantine hagiography between the eighth and fourteenth centuries as a skilful initiative in communication and creative freedom, and as a form of authorship. Three men – Makarios (late C13th-C14th), a monk; Constantine Akropolites (d.c.1324), a statesman; and an Anonymous educated wordsmith (c. C9th) – each opted to rewrite the martyrdom of a female virgin saint who suffered and died centuries earlier. Their adaptations, respectively, were of St. Ia of Persia (modern-day Iran), St. Horaiozele of Constantinople, and St. Tatiana of Rome. Ia is described as a victim of the persecutions of the Persian Shahanshah, Shapur II (309–79 C.E), Horaiozele was allegedly a disciple of St Andrew and killed anachronistically under the emperor Decius (249–51 C.E), and Tatiana, we are told, was a deaconess, martyred during the reign of emperor Alexander Severus (222–35 C.E). Makarios, Akropolites, and the Anonymous knowingly tailored their compositions to influence an audience and to foster their individual interests. The implications arising from these studies are far-reaching: this monograph considers the agency of the hagiographer, the instrumental use of the authorial persona and its impact on the audience, and hagiography as a layered discourse. The book also provides the first translations and commentaries of the martyrdoms of these virgin martyrs.

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Let the magic of J.K. Rowling’s classic Harry Potter series transport you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This Slytherin House Edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix celebrates the noble character of the Hogwarts house famed for its pride, ambition and cunning. Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts is packed with more great Slytherin moments and characters, including Harry’s eventful Occlumency lessons with Severus Snape and the inauspicious arrival of Professor Dolores Umbridge … Each Slytherin House Edition features vibrant sprayed edges and intricate silver foiling. The Order’s iconic phoenix symbol rises from the flames at the very centre of the front cover, framed by stunning iconography of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, the historic Black family residence. In addition to a bespoke introduction, the book also includes new illustrations by Kate Greenaway Medal winner Levi Pinfold, including an imposing portrait of Slytherin alumna Dolores Umbridge. All seven books in the series will be issued in these highly collectable, beautifully crafted House Editions, designed to be treasured and read for years to come. A must-have for anyone who has ever imagined sitting under the Sorting Hat in the Great Hall at Hogwarts waiting to hear the words, ‘Better be SLYTHERIN!’

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A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2022: ENTERTAINMENTA MAIL ON SUNDAYS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022Alan Rickman remains one of the most beloved actors of all time across almost every genre, from his breakout role as Die Hard's villainous Hans Gruber to his heart-wrenching run as Professor Severus Snape, and beyond. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate new audiences today. But Rickman's artistry wasn't confined to just his performances. Rickman's writing details the extraordinary and the ordinary in a way that is anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid. He takes us behind the scenes on films and plays ranging from Sense & Sensibility, the Harry Potter series, Private Lives, My Name Is Rachel Corrie and many more.The diaries run from 1993 to his death in 2016 and offer insight into both a public and private life. Here is Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveller, the fan, the director, the enthusiast: in short, the real Alan Rickman. Here is a life fully lived, all detailed in intimate and characteristically plain-spoken prose. Reading the diaries is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close friend. Madly, Deeply also includes a foreword by Emma Thompson and a selection of Rickman's early diaries, dating from 1974 to 1982, when his acting life first began.

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An anthology celebrating the witches and sorcerers of epic fantasy – featuring stories by George R. R. Martin, Scott Lynch, Megan Lindholm, and many more! Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois’s (Rogues, Old Venus) acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf…and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda…and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore…and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped – or misshaped – by the potent magic they seek to wield. Yet though their abilities may be godlike, these men and women remain human…some might say all too human. Such is their curse. And their glory. In these pages, seventeen of today’s top fantasy writers – including award-winners K. J. Parker (The Two of Swords), Megan Lindholm (The Windsingers), John Crowley (The Deep), Tim Powers (Last Call), Liz Williams (Snake Agent), Elizabeth Bear (Eternal Sky Trilogy), George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), Kate Elliott (The Court of Fives Trilogy), Scott Lynch (The Republic of Thieves), and more – cast wondrous spells that thrillingly evoke the mysterious, awesome, and at times downright terrifying worlds where magic reigns supreme: worlds as far away as forever…and as near as next door.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER & BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023 THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A TELEGRAPH BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023 A BLOOMBERG BEST BOOK OF 2023 A PROSPECT BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023 BLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 '[Mary Beard] has always had the sharpest eyes for telling detail and colourful anecdote' Sunday Times 'Britain's most famous classicist ... at the peak of her powers' The Times 'Extraordinary ... a deliciously varied tapestry of detail drawn from across nearly three centuries' Telegraph 'The reigning Queen of Classics' Spectator What was it really like to rule and be ruled in the Ancient Roman world? In her international best-seller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now, she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained? Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.

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New York Times bestselling Harry Potter Film Wizardry was the first book to delve into the fascinating and intriguing world of an enormously successful film franchise. The book features interviews with cast members, including: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes stories from the producer on all eight films, David Heyman, director David Yates, and production designer Stuart Craig. In this new, updated edition, readers will now be able to explore all eight of the films. This revised edition will include additional pages about the final two film installments and also feature a large blueprint of the layout of Hogwarts and a Ministry of Magic poster warning against Death Eaters. The interior features high-quality, close-up pictures of the props, sets, costumes, and special effects that bring depth to Harry's world. It is loaded with never-before-seen concept art and photos from Dumbledore's embroidered robes to the sets of Diagon Alley. The book will answer questions such as: How was Dobby created How was Hedwig trained How did the filmmakers bring the game of Quidditch to the big screen In short: How does the movie magic happen It will go beyond the usual moviemaking books by offering reproductions of production memos, notes from filmmakers, cast interviews, and fabulous bells and whistles, providing a truly interactive reading experience.

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This is the first in depth study on the history of Legio VI Victrix in Britain. Brought over from Germany in 122 to assist in the building of Hadrian's Wall the Sixth Legion remained in Britain until the end of Roman rule. The book will investigate the changing military organisation, weapons and warfare as well as the many auxiliary units posted in the north of Britain. We will meet members of the Sixth Legion known from inscriptions and literary sources. From lowly legionaries helping to build Hadrian's or the Antonine Wall to Pertinax, tribune of the Sixth, and destined to become Emperor. Case studies will include a praefectus castrorum, Lucius Artorius Castus, along with the legionary bases at York and Corbridge. The men of the Sixth witnessed the tumultuous, and often bloody, history of Roman Britain: the border shifting back and forth under Antoninus; barbarian incursions and army mutinies under the murderous Commodus; the bloody civil war against Septimius Severus and the subsequent invasion of Caledonia. In the last century of Roman rule, the Sixth supported several rival emperors from Constantine the Great, Magnus Maximus until finally Constantine III. The journey will end with a discussion of the likely fate of the Sixth in the early fifth century after the end of Roman authority. A must read for anyone interested in the evolution of the Roman legion, the empire or Roman Britain in particular.

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In 55 BC, on a stretch of beach near Deal in East Kent, the Romans’ first invasion was in great danger of being pushed back into the sea by a host of Britons defending the beach. The eagle bearer of the Tenth Legion jumped into the surf and urged his comrades to follow him, a pivotal moment in Julius Caesar’s first invasion. It was to be another ninety years before Claudius finally subdued part of the island and paraded in triumph into the stronghold at Camulodunum. Roman authority quickly expanded, from Vespasian’s dramatic campaign against the hillforts of southern Britain to Hadrian’s famous Wall in the north. This book will cover not the reign of Emperors but what posts they held in Britain prior to their achieving the throne. Titus served as a tribune directly after the Boudiccan revolt. Pertinax served in three posts: equestrian tribune of the Sixth Legion; praefectus of an auxiliary unit; and finally as a governor of Britannia. It will cover the civil war between Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus and the later campaigns into Scotland. The upheavals of the third century and the breakaway regimes of Postumus and Carauius, ‘the pirate king’. In the fourth century Britain continued to produce usurpers and tyrants but only one managed to unite the empire, Constantine I. His namesake, Constantine III, was to be the last emperor to lead troops from Britain to Gaul, leaving the province to fend for itself into the fifth century.

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The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination. Born in AD 126, he made a late career change from working as a grammar teacher to a position in the army. As he moved up the ranks and further along the aristocratic cursus honorum, he took on many of the most important postings in the Empire, from senior military roles in fractious Britain, the Marcomannic Wars on the Danube, to the Parthian Wars in the east. He held governorships in key provinces, and later consulships in Rome itself. When Emperor Commodus was assassinated on New Year's Eve AD 192/193, the Praetorian Guard alighted on Pertinax to become the new Emperor, expecting a pliable puppet who would favour them with great wealth. But Pertinax was nothing of the sort and when he then attempted to reform the Guard, he was assassinated. His death triggered the beginning of the Year of the Five Emperors' from which Septimius Severus, Pertinax's former mentoree, became the ultimate victor and founder of the Severan Dynasty. This previously untold story brings a fascinating and important figure out of the shadows. A self made everyman, a man of principle and ambition, a role model respected by his contemporaries who styled himself on his philosophising predecessor and sometime champion Marcus Aurelius, Pertinax's remarkable story offers a unique and panoramic insight into the late 2nd century AD Principate Empire.

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Bestselling classical historian Barry Strauss delivers “an exceptionally accessible history of the Roman Empire…much of Ten Caesars reads like a script for Game of Thrones” (The Wall Street Journal)—a summation of three and a half centuries of the Roman Empire as seen through the lives of ten of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine.In this essential and “enlightening” (The New York Times Book Review) work, Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire from rise to reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and moved the capital east to Constantinople. During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. By the fourth century, the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire had changed so dramatically in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture that it would have been virtually unrecognizable to Augustus. Rome’s legacy remains today in so many ways, from language, law, and architecture to the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Strauss examines this enduring heritage through the lives of the men who shaped it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. Over the ages, they learned to maintain the family business—the government of an empire—by adapting when necessary and always persevering no matter the cost. Ten Caesars is a “captivating narrative that breathes new life into a host of transformative figures” (Publishers Weekly). This “superb summation of four centuries of Roman history, a masterpiece of compression, confirms Barry Strauss as the foremost academic classicist writing for the general reader today” (The Wall Street Journal).

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This title presents a pioneering history of this 'period of crisis' for the Roman Empire. The Roman empire during the period framed by the accession of Septimus Severus in 193 and the rise of Diocletian in 284 has conventionally been regarded as one of crisis. Between 235 and 284, at least 18 men held the throne of the empire, for an average of less than three years, a reckoning which does not take into account all the relatives and lieutenants with whom those men shared power. Compared to the century between the accession of Nerva and the death of Commodus, this appears to be a period of near unintelligibility. The middle of the century also witnessed catastrophic, if temporary, ruptures in the territorial integrity of the empire. Large portions of the eastern and western halves of the empire passed under the control of powers and principalities who assumed the mantle of Roman government and exercised meaningful and legitimate power over millions. Even those regions that remained Roman were subjected to deprivation and pillage by invading armies. The Roman peace, which had become in the last instance the justification for empire, had been shattered. Clifford Ando describes and integrates the contrasting histories of different parts of the empire and assesses the impacts of administrative, political and religious change. It follows Rome's confrontation and conflict with a new world power, Sassanian Persia, in which two Roman emperors lost their lives. It devotes special attention to legal history. It examines the changing nature of religious pluralism and the Christian persecutions.

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Considering that York was always an important Roman city there are few books available that are devoted specifically to the Roman occupation, even though it lasted for over 300 years and played a significant role in the politics and military activity of Roman Britain and the Roman Empire throughout that period. The few books that there are tend to describe the Roman era and its events in date by date order with little attention paid either to why things happened as they did or to the consequences of these actions and developments. This book is different in that it gives context to what happened here in the light of developments in Roman Britain generally and in the wider Roman Empire; the author digs below the surface and gets behind the scenes to shed light on the political, social and military history of Roman York (Eboracum), explaining, for example, why Julius Caesar invaded, what indeed was really behind the Claudian invasion, why was York developed as a military fortress, why as one of Roman Britain's capitals? Why did the emperors Hadrian and Severus visit the fortress? You will also discover how and why Constantine accepted and projected Christianity from here, York's role in the endless coups and revolts besetting the province, the headless gladiators and wonderful mosaics discovered here and why the Romans finally left York and Roman Britain to its own defence. These intriguing historical events are brought to life by reference to the latest local archaeological and epigraphical evidence, to current research and to evolving theories relating to the city's Roman treasures, of which can be seen in the Yorkshire Museum in York, or in situ.

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In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome, from its slightly shabby Iron Age origins to its reign as the undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean. Now, drawing on more than thirty years of teaching and writing about Roman history, Beard turns to the emperors who ruled the Roman Empire, beginning with Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) and taking us through the nearly three centuries—and some thirty emperors—that separate him from the boy-king Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Yet Emperor of Rome is not your typical chronological account of Roman rulers, one emperor after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Instead, Beard asks different, often larger and more probing questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained? What kind of jokes did Augustus tell? And for that matter, what really happened, for example, between the emperor Hadrian and his beloved Antinous? Effortlessly combining the epic with the quotidian, Beard tracks the emperor down at home, at the races, on his travels, even on his way to heaven. Along the way, Beard explores Roman fictions of imperial power, overturning many of the assumptions that we hold as gospel, not the least of them the perception that emperors one and all were orchestrators of extreme brutality and cruelty. Here Beard introduces us to the emperor’s wives and lovers, rivals and slaves, court jesters and soldiers, and the ordinary people who pressed begging letters into his hand—whose chamber pot disputes were adjudicated by Augustus, and whose budgets were approved by Vespasian, himself the son of a tax collector. With its finely nuanced portrayal of sex, class, and politics, Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman fantasies (and our own) about what it was to be Roman at its richest, most luxurious, most extreme, most powerful, and most deadly, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.

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This work centres on the post-Roman period of Narbonne and its territory, up to its capture by the Arabs in 720, encompassing not only recent archaeological findings but also perspectives of French, Spanish and Catalan historiography that have fashioned distinct national narratives. Seeking to remove Narbonne from any subsequent birth of France, Catalonia and Spain, the book presents a geopolitical region that took shape from the late fifth century, evolving towards the end of the eighth century into an autonomous province of the nascent Carolingian Empire. Capturing this change throughout a 300-year period somewhat lacking in written sources, the book takes us beyond an exclusive depiction of the classical city to an examination of settlement in various forms. Discourses of literary criticism also lie behind aspects of this study, mapped around textual commentaries which highlight a more imaginative biography of a city. Narbonne's role as a point of departure and travel across the Mediterranean is examined through a reading of the correspondence of Paulinus of Nola and the writings of Sulpicius Severus, enabling the reader to gain a fuller picture of the city and its port. The topography of Narbonne in the fifth century is surveyed together with Bishop Rusticus’s church-building programme. Later chapters emphasise the difficulties in presenting a detached image of Narbonne, as sources become mainly Visigothic, defining the city and its region as part of a centralised kingdom. Particular attention is given to the election of Liuva I as king in Narbonne in 568, and to the later division into upper and lower sub-kingdoms shared by Liuva and his brother Leovigild, a duality that persisted throughout the sixth and seventh centuries. The study therefore casts new light on Narbonne and its place within the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo, suggesting that it was the capital of a territory with roots in the post-Roman settlement of barbarian successor states.

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A work entitled the "Book of Giants" figures in every list of the Manichaean "canon" preserved from antiquity. Both the nature of this work and the intellectual baggage of the third-century Persian prophet to whom it is ascribed remained unknown to scholars until 1943, when fragments of several Middle Iranian versions of the Book of Giants were published by W. B. Henning. Twenty-eight years later, at Qumran, J. T. Milik discovered several copies of a fragmentary Aramaic work which is unquestionably the precursor of the later Manichaean recension. One other important work, Mani's "autobiography," the so-called Cologne Mani Codex, was brought to scholarly attention in 1970 with evidence that Mani spent his youth among the Elchasaites, a Judeo-Christian sect that observed the Sabbath, strict dietary laws, and rigorous purification practices. Although leading Orientalists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have consistently stressed the Iranian component in Mani's thought, Reeves argues, in the light of evidence drawn from the above-mentioned discoveries and from a rich panorama of other textual sources, that the fundamental structure of Manichaean cosmogony is ultimately indebted to Jewish exegetical expansions of Genesis 6:1-4. Reeves begins with an examination of the ancient testimonies about the contents of Mani's Book of Giants. Then, using documents from Second Temple Judaism, classical Gnostic literature, Christian and Muslim heresiological reports, Syriac texts, and Manichaean writings, he provides a detailed analysis of both the Qumran and Manichaean rescensions of the work, demonstrating additional interdependencies and suggesting new narrative arrangements. He addresses a series of quotations from an unnamed Manichaean source found in a paschal homily of the sixth-century Monophysite patriarch Severus of Antioch and a narrative from Thoeodore bar Konai. In sum, Reeves demonstrates that the motifs of Jewish Enochic literature, in particular those of the story of the Watchers and Giants, form the skeletal structure of Mani's cosmological teachings, and that Chapters 1 to 11 of Genesis fertilized Near Eastern thought, even to the borders of India and China.

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