Magic in the period of Judaism of the second temple and early Christianity Abstract The presented work focuses on the history of esotericism in the period of the Second Temple of Judaism and early Christianity, and shows the cultural intersections of magical and religious communities as well as individuals who have studied the art of magic. It points out the main sources of their magical and religious teachings and the origin of magic and magical thinking. It traces the main roots of both religion and magic and describes the development of magical practices in that specifical period of the time. Furthermore, after a small analysis, a comparison is made of the five basic cultures living in the territory of the "fertile crescent" just at the time of the Second Temple and their magic. There is also a detailed discussion on the field of demonology and some personalities of the time who were obviously dealing with magic and also how the magic circle of protection was blessed and magicaly activated. The first part describes all of the available magical disciplines and techniques that a mortal can come into contact with during the Second Temple in the region known as "Fertile Crescent". All the disciplines I mention in my work were already known at the time of the Second Temple, but some of them were not that...

Magic in the period of Judaism of the second temple and early Christianity Abstract The presented work focuses on the history of esotericism in the period of the Second Temple of Judaism and early Christianity, and shows the cultural intersections of magical and religious communities as well as individuals who have studied the art of magic. It points out the main sources of their magical and religious teachings and the origin of magic and magical thinking. It traces the main roots of both religion and magic and describes the development of magical practices in that specifical period of the time. Furthermore, after a small analysis, a comparison is made of the five basic cultures living in the territory of the "fertile crescent" just at the time of the Second Temple and their magic. There is also a detailed discussion on the field of demonology and some personalities of the time who were obviously dealing with magic. The first part describes all of the available magical disciplines and techniques that a mortal can come into contact with during the Second Temple in the region known as "Fertile Crescent". All the disciplines I mention in my work were already known at the time of the Second Temple, but some of them were not that developed, so they were expanded or were elaborated on in a later period. A...

No description available.

This dissertation considered trade and trade finance in Mesopotamia over a period of 2000 years commencing with Sumeria and ending with Achaemenid Persia, taking in Ur III and Assyria. A range of financial instruments was selected together with important business transactions, for instance, agricultural finance, specifically the brewing industry and the working capital requirements of merchants and money lenders. The role of women in private enterprise was examined, including their role in retail finance. The great estates of temple and palace had a substantial impact on finance and trade throughout the periods. Their interaction with merchants and money lenders was important to the study. I used reductionism to facilitate analysis of complex products highlighting the essentials of finance namely, borrowing, lending and return. The study concludes that, during the era under consideration, the evolution and enhancement of the financial instruments and products developed in self-generated, incremental and progressive steps. / Biblical & Ancient Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)

Early modern English Catholic eschatology, the belief that the present was the last age and an associated concern with mankind’s destiny, has been overlooked in the historiography. Historians have established that early modern Protestants had an eschatological understanding of the present. This thesis seeks to balance the picture and the sources indicate that there was an early modern English Catholic counter narrative. This thesis suggests that the Catholic eschatological understanding of contemporary events affected political action. It investigates early modern English Catholic eschatology in the context of proscription and persecution of Catholicism between 1558 and 1603. Devotional eschatology was the corner stone of individual Catholic eschatology and placed earthly life in an apocalyptic time-frame. Catholic devotional works challenged the regime and questioned Protestantism. Devotional eschatology is suggestive of a worldview which expected an impending apocalypse but there was a reluctance to date the End. With an eschatological outlook normalised by daily devotional eschatology the Reformation and contemporary events were interpreted apocalyptically. An apocalyptic understanding of the break with Rome was not exclusively Protestant. Indeed, the identification of Antichrist was not just a Protestant concern but rather the linchpin of Reformation debates between Catholics and Protestants. Some identified Elizabeth as Jezebel, the Whore of Babylon. The Bull of Excommunication of 1570 and its language provided papal authority for identifications of Elizabeth as the Whore. The execution of Mary Queen of Scots was a flashpoint which enabled previously hidden ideas to burst into public discourse. This was dangerous as eschatology and apocalypticism was a language of political action. An eschatological understanding of contemporary events encouraged conspiracy. The divine plan required human agents. Catholic prophecy and conspiracy show that eschatology did not just affect how the future was thought about but also had implications for the present. This thesis raises questions about Catholic loyalism which other scholars have also begun to challenge. Yet attempts to depose or murder the monarch was not the only response which could be adopted. Belief that one was living in the End also supported what this thesis terms ‘militant passivity’. Martyrs understood their suffering as a form of eschatological agency which revealed and confirmed the identities of the Antichrist and the Whore. The Book of the Apocalypse promised that they would be rewarded at God’s approaching Judgement and the debates of the Reformation would be settled by the ultimate Judge. As martyrs came to symbolise the English Catholic community, it came to understand itself eschatologically. This thesis argues that acknowledging the eschatological dimensions of Catholic perception and action helps us to re-think the nature of early modern English Catholicism.

This dissertation considered trade and trade finance in Mesopotamia over a period of 2000 years commencing with Sumeria and ending with Achaemenid Persia, taking in Ur III and Assyria. A range of financial instruments was selected together with important business transactions, for instance, agricultural finance, specifically the brewing industry and the working capital requirements of merchants and money lenders. The role of women in private enterprise was examined, including their role in retail finance. The great estates of temple and palace had a substantial impact on finance and trade throughout the periods. Their interaction with merchants and money lenders was important to the study. I used reductionism to facilitate analysis of complex products highlighting the essentials of finance namely, borrowing, lending and return. The study concludes that, during the era under consideration, the evolution and enhancement of the financial instruments and products developed in self-generated, incremental and progressive steps. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)

The chronology of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Near East is currently a topic of intense scholarly debate. The conventional/orthodox chronology for this period has been assembled over the past one-two centuries using information from King-lists, royal annals and administrative documents, primarily those from the Great Kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. This major enterprise has resulted in what can best be described as an extremely complex but little understood jigsaw puzzle composed of a multiplicity of loosely connected data. I argue in my thesis that this conventional chronology is fundamentally wrong, and that Egyptian New Kingdom (Memphite) dates should be lowered by 200 years to match historical actuality. This chronological adjustment is achieved in two stages: first, the removal of precisely 85 years of absolute Assyrian chronology from between the reigns of Shalmaneser II and Ashur-dan II; and second, the downward displacement of Egyptian Memphite dates relative to LBA Assyrian chronology by a further 115 years. Moreover, I rely upon Kuhnian epistemology to structure this alternate chronology so as to make it methodologically superior to the conventional chronology in terms of historical accuracy, precision, consistency and testability.