Recent archaeological excavations at the early urban settlement of Early Bronze Age III Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel presented the opportunity to reconstruct the life-history of basalt ground stone artefacts. In specific, this investigation sought to establish the nature of production, distribution, consumption, and discard associated with these commodities. This study involved a provenance analysis using XRF, a typological analysis, a morphometric analysis, and a spatial analysis. The results indicate that the basalt sources in the northeastern sub-regions of the southern Levant were locally exploited for the small-scale production of basalt artefacts by non-specialised artisans. These commodities were redistributed to Tell es-Safi/Gath residents by a centralised authority. The role Tell es-Safi/Gath played in these long-distance exchange networks indicates the socio-economic prominence this settlement held in the Shephelah. This results further demonstrate the potential of ground stone artefacts for understanding the behaviour and daily life of non-elite people.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1953. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [364-378]).

Yes

The objective of this thesis is to analyse the British Mandate in Palestine with a view to developing a new understanding of the interconnections and dissonances between the principal agencies. Through a critical examination of British government papers the thesis argues that the moment of the British Mandate in Palestine signalled a new phase in the development of British imperialism constituting a rupture with the colonialist past and the advent of a new type of imperialist relationship. The encounter between this new-imperialism which developed from the end of the nineteenth century and a Palestinian society which was in the process of transformation between a predominantly pre-capitalist agricultural society into a commodity producing capitalist one engendered a conflictual environment dislocating the economic, social and political structures that existed. The Balfour Declaration constituted an agreement between British imperialism and organised Zionism which was the establishment of a symbiotic relationship emerging from the coalescence of two interdependent political goals. The British, intent on preserving their position as an imperial hegemon perceived the occupation of Palestine as a critical component of their strategy and a vital adjunct of their objective of remaining the dominant force in the region of the Near East. The combined aspects of this strategy cannot be reduced to but may be expressed as: a desire to retain untrammelled communications through the Suez Canal with the Empire at large; a pre-occupation with seeking to establish a dominant position in respect of the exploitation and marketisation of oil and the implantation of a colonising surrogate to act as the agency through which its objectives might be mediated. The Zionist objective, to create a National Home for the Jews, constituted a nationalist endeavour premised on the acquisition of an imperialist sponsor. The British course of action through the implementation of the Mandate constituted an intervention which distorted and gravely damaged the evolution of the economic, social and political life of the indigenous Palestinians. The thesis in analysing these events in a new way argues for a fresh appreciation of the origin and character of the British Mandate in Palestine.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 204-206).

No description available.

This thesis takes a novel, inter-disciplinary approach to an examination of the Markan evangelist’s portrayal of Jesus’ interface with Gentiles in a central section of his Gospel (Mk 4.35-9.29). As a framework to this section, Mark created a connected account of Jesus’ itinerary that included trips to perform miracles in the Gentile territories of Gerasa, Tyre, Bethsaida, the wider Decapolis and Caesarea Philippi. This thesis examines the role of these pericopae in the narrative as a whole and challenges the view that Mark’s geographical references were largely symbolic, rural and for the most part aimed at Jewish followers. The study scrutinizes Mark’s choice of geographical locations, systematically examines recent research on the religious milieu in these specific locations and brings this research into connection with the Gentile mission portrayed by Mark. The polytheistic and social environment in which Mark’s first century audience functioned has received little attention in recent scholarship and represents a lacuna in New Testament historical-critical research which this study addresses. A detailed exegesis of this section of the narrative concludes that Mark (a) deliberately redacts his text to place miracles in geographical regions where Gentiles predominate; (b) emphasizes obduracy and faithlessness on the part of Jewish officialdom and the Jewish disciples, in contrast to an implied understanding on the part of the Gentiles; (c) orchestrates a prolonged and sustained Jesus mission to the Gentiles as a precursor to his own community’s mission, to respond to their need for support and reassurance and (d) formulates his narrative to engage with his intended first century audience's Graeco-Roman religious and social worldview, inviting them to make comparison between the activities of Jesus and other contemporary miracle-performing men and polytheistic gods.

The Green Movement of 2009 was a moment where the Iranians took to the streets and protested for democracy. This is nothing new, throughout the whole 20th century gave Iranian people many different options of their country. This thesis examines those moments and differentiates the Green Movement as an event that is unique in that it has not yet led to top-down reforms. Previous literature has yet to incorporate the Green Movement in contemporary analysis of Iranian history.

This thesis is intended to be an analysis of a book entitled "Important Counsels to Kings and Imams." It is, in the same time, a research on the book's author, named Alwan Ibn Atiyyah al-Hamawi. Alwan was a Syrian muslim scholar, who lived in the sixteenth century. Alwan witnessed the Ottoman conquering of Syria, so, he wrote his book, Important Counsels to Kings and Imams, as a reflection of his views toward the Ottoman regime. Alwan addressed his book to Sultan Selim I, encouraging him to establish justice through the religious law, the Sharia. The thesis is composed of four main sections; which are the following: The Middle East in the time of Alwan. This section contains a short history of the Islamic states and the political relations among them. Those states were the Ottoman Turks in Anatolia, the Safawid Dynasty in Persia and the Mamluks' State in Egypt. Life and career of Shaykh Alwan, his education and his influence upon his society and students. Analysis and commentaries on the manuscript, “Important Counsels to Kings and Imams.” This section discusses the causes and goals of writing the book, the issues, which Alwan talked about, and finally the style of writing and organizing of the book. Complete English translation of the Arabic copy including all those chapters which are arranged by the author of the book, Shaykh Alwan. The writer of this thesis has faced several problems with collecting information about Alwan's life, tracing prophetic hadiths and Quranic ayats, that Alwan included in his book, also translating an old manuscript, written in a classic language. Although, Alwan was one of the leading sixteenth century scholars and mystics, he has not been well-known to editors and publishers in this time in the Arab world. Only two books, out of twenty-four books and essays, are published. All those references which I have used at Portland State University Library and al-Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, mention little information about the life and career of Alwan; especially his family and early life. As for Quranic ayats and prophetic hadiths, which Alwan included in his book, all were mentioned without references or footnotes. Therefore, the writer footnoted every aya, but in the case of those hadiths, it was almost impossible to trace every hadith used in Alwan's book, and evaluate them according to texts, because of the writer's limited knowledge of the "Science of Hadith." Alwan's book, which exists in manuscript form only, is grammatically correct in language, and the style of writing is generally good. However, the translation was difficult because some ideas are not clear and some classic Arabic words must be fully understood by using old Arabic dictionaries, then English dictionaries. It seems that Alwan penned his thoughts haphazardly because the book seems rather unorganized in its contents. Alwan divided his book into twenty-seven chapters. In fact some of those chapter titles are not necessary. He, sometimes, discussed some issues more than once, such as alcohol and adultery. Alwan in his book discussed numerous social problems. and issues, i.e., alms, commanding good, forbidding evils, adultery, alcohol, wearing pure gold for men, decorations of cities for the Sultan's joy, land taxes, and enslaving free people, all attempting to set rules for the Sultan's judgment. At any rate the manuscript "Important Counsels to Kings and Imams" reflects the attitudes of a Syrian Arab scholar toward the new Ottoman regime that conquered Syria and Egypt between 1516-1517. Alwan and his book are a significant commentary of Islamic history of Syria and Egypt in the beginning of the sixteenth century. This research shows that Alwan felt that the regime of Sultan Selim I was not following its responsibilities toward the Sharia and the, only law of the Empire. The most important consideration for Alwan, in his manuscript, was his concern for justice for the subjects of the Ottoman Empire. His goal in writing that book was that all people should benefit from the Quran and Sharia, and that justice would be established through only the religious law (Sharia) within the Ottoman Empire.

The thesis deals with the change from the circular to a rectangular building during the Pre- Pottery Neolithic B period (PPNB) in the Levant and researches the possible influence of environmental conditions on this transition. The observed area comprises variable regions from northern Syria to central Jordan. Sites for the analysis were selected according to architectural and chronological criteria. The chosen chronological scope is delimited by final phases of late Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (10 000-9500 BP) and by middle PPNB (9200-8500 BP) periods, with the early PPNB period as a key one, considered as a period of the commencement of rectangular buildings. Because of the high architectural variability across the northern and the southern Levant, besides the chronological scope also the architectural criteria must be extended. Therefore, circular, and rectangular building shapes were classified too. A database of Levantine sites was compiled, which enabled to compare distinct development of the ground plan within a diverse environment of the arid, steppe, and Mediterranean territories and revealed a relatively broad time scope of the change. In the process of evaluation, the main attention was paid to the variable environmental conditions of the northern and southern Levant: the individual...