This study examines the development of artillery used in and around the Latin East during the period of the crusades. It begins with an examination of the broader historiography of medieval artillery, an overview of the spread of swing-beam siege engines (trebuchets) across Europe and the Levant in the Early Middle Ages, and the mechanical physics that govern such machines. From these foundations, the development and significance of the engines are investigated. Incorporating as much textual and archaeological evidence as possible, the use of artillery by Frankish and Muslim forces is examined on a case-by-case basis. With an appreciation of the power of these machines, the influence of artillery on the design of twelfth- and thirteenth-century-fortifications is analysed. Both Frankish and Muslim forces were familiar with the traction trebuchet by the end of the eleventh century. While these engines remained relatively light throughout the period of the crusades, the counterweight trebuchet appears to have been introduced by the end of the twelfth century. Initially rather primitive and little stronger than the traction variety, these engines developed fairly quickly. The appearance of new vocabulary for identifying these engines in the early thirteenth century indicates their increasing strength and physical evidence from the middle of the century confirms that they had become much more powerful by the start of the Mamluk period. Although counterweight trebuchets appear to have grown steadily throughout the thirteenth century, these had a relatively limited impact on the design of most fortifications. Trebuchets, large and small, were an important part of Frankish and Muslim siege arsenals in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but even the largest were not effective breaching engines by the time the Franks were pushed out of the Holy Land.

<p> Evidence for violence is found in all periods of Mesopotamian history. Kingship, which was divine in origin, included the exercise of power and the legitimate use of violence. Mesopotamian violence reflects the culture's understanding of ontology, order, and justice. Although there is scant archaeological evidence for its actual practice, the worldview that allowed it to flourish can be reconstructed from myth, ritual, and historiography. </p><p> Approaching Mesopotamian conceptions of violence through these three modes of discourse, this study explores the behavior through the lens of theory, practice, and presentation. The investigation is guided by the following questions: </p><p> &bull; What do the myths say about violence? How is violence imagined and theorized? </p><p> &bull; How do the war rituals promote and normalize the practice of violence? </p><p> &bull; How and why is violence presented in the narrative(s) of the royal annals and in the visual program of the palace reliefs? </p><p> This study moves from offering a general account of Mesopotamian violence directed against the enemy "other" to analyzing the portrayal of a particular act. </p><p> Mesopotamian myths served as paradigms for successful kingship. It is argued that the thematic content, asymmetrical characterization, chronotypes, and emplotment observed in <i>Lugal-e, Bin &scaron;ar dadm&emacr;</i>, and <i>En&umacr;ma eli&scaron;</i> are also operative in the war rituals and the royal historiography. Central to Mesopotamian theorizing about violence is the concept of evil, which is best understood in relation to the culture's ideas about divine and social order. </p><p> Waging war in Mesopotamia entailed various practices that framed the conflict as part of the cosmic struggle against chaos. This study addresses the contexts in which these practices occur and the social structures that make them seem natural, necessary, and desirable. The so-called war rituals involved processes of socialization that allow violence to commence, escalate, and terminate. This symbolically loaded ritualized violence reflected and created (or destroyed) relationships, both natural and supernatural. </p><p> Finally, accounts of ritualized violence were strategically incorporated into the historiography of Mesopotamian rulers as expressions of royal ideology. This study analyzes the sources for the beheading of Teumman, arguing that variations in the textual and pictorial presentation were influenced by the Assyrian conflict with Egypt and Babylonia.</p><p>

This thesis will provide a sustained analysis of the relationship between the Rhetorica ad Herennium and its context in early first century BCE Rome. Over 250 examples in the Rhetorica ad Herennium illustrate the text’s rhetorical theory, but in so doing they also provide a significant insight into the history, law, and politics of this period. As I demonstrate, these examples show the preoccupations and perspectives of orators who were not necessarily from the political elite. They illustrate what could and could not be discussed in speech, and the modes of oratory that were encouraged by the author – popularis or not. The author’s focus on forensic oratory also has important implications for understanding the use of the law and legal knowledge. An important strand of this thesis is to compare the examples in the Rhetorica ad Herennium to those of Cicero’s contemporary De Inventione. Although the two texts have often been treated as a pair, there are differences between the two. The contrasts are noteworthy in themselves, but they also emphasise the independence of the author of the Rhetorica ad Herennium and the potential to adapt theories and approaches as necessary. This is also an educational text, and the way it is constructed relates closely to its audience. I argue that the post-Social War context of the Rhetorica ad Herennium is key to understanding this audience, who may include newly enfranchised Italians using the Roman legal system for the first time. By recontextualising the Rhetorica ad Herennium, it becomes clear that it is a very different text to the De Inventione in many ways. By highlighting these differences, I show that the work can stand alone as an object of enquiry and serve as a rich source for Roman Republican historians.

Perek Helek, the last chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin in the Babylonian Talmud (BT), is unusual in consisting almost entirely of aggadah (non-legal material). The present study is a source and literary analysis of six units ('sugyot') from the chapter, which are almost continuous over ten pages of Talmud. The 'sugyot' relate to specific groups and individuals who, according to the Mishnah, are denied a place in the World to Come. They cover subjects in the books of Genesis, Numbers and Samuel. Comparisons with the Tosefta, Palestinian Talmud and midrashim suggest that the BT is less concerned with the World to Come than Palestinian sources are. Rather, it focuses on the wrong-doing of the groups and individuals and issues of justice and authority. The BT also includes vivid stories which appear to be Babylonian in origin and are often self-mocking. My findings also suggest that the 'sugyot' based on passages in a given biblical book (Genesis or Numbers) have more elements in common than 'sugyot' based on the same mishnah but derived from a different biblical book. In conclusion I discuss the possible implications of my findings for the more general question of how the chapter was edited.

<p>This dissertation examines the role of Gregory I (r. 590-604 CE) in developing permanent ecclesiastical institutions under the authority of the Bishop of Rome to feed and serve the poor and the socio-political world in which he did so. Gregory's work was part culmination of pre-existing practice, part innovation. I contend that Gregory transformed fading, ancient institutions and ideas&mdash;the Imperial <i>annona</i>, the monastic soup kitchen-hospice or <i>xenodochium</i>, Christianity's "collection for the saints," Christian <i>caritas</i> more generally and Greco-Roman <i> euergetism</i>&mdash;into something distinctly ecclesiastical, indeed "papal." Although Gregory has long been closely associated with charity, few have attempted to unpack in any systematic way what Gregorian charity might have looked like in practical application and what impact it had on the Roman Church and the Roman people. I believe that we can see the contours of Gregory's initiatives at work and, at least, the faint framework of an organized system of ecclesiastical charity that would emerge in clearer relief in the eighth and ninth centuries under Hadrian I (r. 772-795) and Leo III (r. 795-816). Gregory's efforts at caritative organization had significant implications. This dissertation argues that Gregory's response to poverty and want in Rome from 590 to 604 CE permanently altered the trajectories of both ecclesiastical charity and the office that came to oversee its administration. </p>

The thesis draws together for the first time in print a comprehensive list of Roman temporary camps in Britain, drawn from published and archival sources. This material is presented as a corpus at the end of the volume. Following the introductory chapter, which outlines the scope of the work, the history of the development of study into the subject is reviewed in detail, examining the contributions made by both terrestrial and aerial archaeologists. Thereafter the evidence provided by the classical sources is examined and an attempt is made to trace the origins and subsequent development of the Roman military camp. The issue of definition forms the subject of the next section and it is argued that greater clarity than exists at present is required to allow these sites to be adequately addressed. This leads to a statement of the current state of knowledge in the subject, with a review of the central themes and arguments, and it is proposed that the role of terrestrial archaeology, and in particular excavation, has become unfairly undervalued. To support this contention a close study of the evidence provided by excavation is undertaken, leading to a call for renewed efforts through this medium, as a means of both supplementing and complementing the information obtained through the medium of aerial reconnaissance. Three case studies are then presented, utilising the methodological approaches championed in the preceding chapter. The thesis culminates in a critique of the existing knowledge base which concludes that while healthy, the subject is capable of significant advances of knowledge, some of which may best be achieved by recourse to a more balanced approach using all applications available to the discipline.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Leipzig, 1921. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [69]-71).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Leipzig, 1921. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [69]-71).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Classical Studies, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0163. Adviser: Eleanor W. Leach. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Dec. 12, 2006)."

With the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 and the subsequent establishment of four Frankish states in the Middle East, individuals of European descent came to control and administer areas of the Levant. Frankish regional authority persisted until 1291, when their diminished coastal territories fell to the Mamluks. Yet, despite a Frankish assumption of power in the Eastern Mediterranean, what e↵ect this had on communities in the countryside is still unknown. The purpose of this thesis is to resolve some of this uncertainty, by examining the Frankish impact on rural settlements in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Frankish impact on communities was investigated through an exploration of the medieval landscape and seigneurial obligations, two attributes that affected all rural sites in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, regardless of other settlement characteristics. Investigating physical qualities of the countryside through palaeoenvironmental information, medieval views of landscape, and the connection between natural attributes and settlement sites, suggested that despite a favourable climate, Frankish impact on rural communities was limited and regional. Likewise, exploration of seigneurial obligations imposed on settlements similarly implied that Frankish impact was localised to specific areas; however it also suggested that the Franks maintained a sound understanding of indigenous agricultural customs outside of areas they significantly a↵ected. It showed Frankish disinterest in intervening with local traditions when established conventions benefited landlords. This thesis contributes to the field of Crusader Studies by nuancing the current view of the e↵ect the Franks had on communities in the countryside. Frankish impact in rural environments is presented as localised and restricted, but consciously imposed in the settlements that were a↵ected.