The Cambridge History of Religions in the Ancient World

The Cambridge History of Religions in the Ancient World provides a comprehensive examination of the history of the religions of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The essays in these volumes have a broad reach, covering the ancient Near East and Mediterranean, and extending from the Bronze Age into the late Roman period. Its contributors, acknowledged experts in their fields, incorporate a wide spectrum of textual and material evidence into their analyses of their subjects. The regional and historical orientations of the essays will enable readers to see how a religious tradition or movement assumed a distinctive local identity, as well as to understand how each tradition developed within its broader regional context. Supplemented with maps, illustrations and detailed indexes, these volumes will be an excellent reference tool for scholars and students.

Table of Contents:
Volume 1. From the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Era: Introduction Marvin A. Sweeney; Part I. Mesopotamia and the Near East: 1. Sumerian religion Graham Cunningham; 2. Assyrian and Babylonian religions Tammi J. Schneider; 3. Hittite religion Gary Beckman; 4. Zoroastrianism P. Oktor Skaervo; 5. Syro-Canaanite religions: a construct of metaphors David Wright; 6. Ancient Israelite and Judean religions Marvin A. Sweeney; Part II. Egypt and North Africa: 7. Egyptian religion Denise M. Doxey; 8. Phoenician and Punic religion Philip C. Schmitz; Part III. Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean: 9. Minoan religion Nanno Marinatos; 10. Mycenaean religion Ian Rutherford; 11. Religion in the Greek world, c.750–400 BCE Emily Kearns; Part IV. The Western Mediterranean and Europe: 12. Etruscan religion Nancy T. de Grummond; 13. Archaic Roman religion through the Early Republic Jörg Rüpke; 14. Celtic religion in western and central Europe Dorothy Watts; Suggestions for further reading. Volume 2. From the Hellenistic Era to Late Antiquity: Introduction William Adler; Part I. Iran and the Near East: 1. Religion in Iran: the Parthian and Sassanian periods (247 BCE–654 CE) Albert de Jong; 2. Creating local religious identities in the Roman Near East Ted Kaizer; 3. Judaism in Palestine in the Hellenistic-Roman periods Esther Eshel and Michael E. Stone; 4. Post-70 Judaism in Judaea and the Near East Hayim Lapin; 5. Christianity in Syria Sidney H. Griffith; Part II. Egypt and North Africa: 6. Traditional religion in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt Françoise Dunand; 7. Judaism in Egypt Joseph Mélèze Modrzejewski; 8. Ancient Egyptian Christianity Jacques van der Vliet; 9. Cult and belief in Punic and Roman Africa Brent Shaw; 10. Christianity in Roman Africa Robin M. Jensen; Part III. Greece and Asia Minor: 11. Religions of Greece and Asia Minor Lynn E. Roller; 12. Judaism in Asia Minor Pieter W. van der Horst; 13. Christianity in Asia Minor: observations on the epigraphy Frank R. Trombley; Part IV. Italy, Roman Gaul, and Spain: 14. Roman religion: cult and belief in Rome and Italy Michele Renee Salzman; 15. Judaism in Italy and the West Giancarlo Lacerenza; 16. Christianity in Italy Dennis Trout; 17. Religions and cities in Roman Gaul (first to fourth centuries CE) William van Andringa; 18. Christianity in Gaul William Klingshirn; 19. Religions of Roman Spain Michael Kulikowski; Suggestions for further reading; Maps.

About the Author :
Michele Renee Salzman is Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside. She is the author of three books and numerous articles, including On Roman Time: The Codex-Calendar of 354 and the Rhythms of Urban Life in Late Antiquity (1990), The Making of a Christian Aristocracy (2002) and The Letters of Symmachus: Book 1, a translation, introduction and commentary (with Michael Roberts, 2011). She is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Archaeology and on the Executive Committee of the American Academy in Rome.

Review :
'The book is praiseworthy for the high scholarly quality of the essays that it comprises, many of which include tables, maps, figures and vast bibliographies that extend beyond sheer cited references, but also suggest further readings on specific subjects that may interest the reader.' Nordicum-Mediterraneum