Michał Marciak – författare

How did the Persian King of Kings Get His Wine? the upper Tigris in antiquity (c.700 BCE to 636 CE)' explores the upper valley of the Tigris during antiquity. The area is little known to scholarship, and study is currently handicapped by the security situation in southeast Turkey and by the completion during 2018 of the Ilısu dam. The reservoir being created will drown a large part of the valley and will destroy many archaeological sites, some of which have not been investigated. The course of the upper Tigris discussed here is the section from Mosul up to its source north of Diyarbakır; the monograph describes the history of the river valley from the end of the Late Assyrian empire through to the Arab conquests, thus including the conflicts between Rome and Persia. It considers the transport network by river and road and provides an assessment of the damage to cultural heritage caused both by the Saddam dam (also known as the Eski Mosul dam) in Iraq and by the Ilısu dam in south-east Turkey. A catalogue describes the sites important during the long period under review in and around the valley. During the period reviewed this area was strategically important for Assyria’s relations with its northern neighbours, for the Hellenistic world’s relations with Persia and for Roman relations with first the kingdom of Parthia and then with Sassanian Persia.

How did the Persian King of Kings Get His Wine? the upper Tigris in antiquity (c.700 BCE to 636 CE)'' explores the upper valley of the Tigris during antiquity. The area is little known to scholarship, and study is currently handicapped by the security situation in southeast Turkey and by the completion during 2018 of the Ilısu dam. The reservoir being created will drown a large part of the valley and will destroy many archaeological sites, some of which have not been investigated. The course of the upper Tigris discussed here is the section from Mosul up to its source north of Diyarbakır; the monograph describes the history of the river valley from the end of the Late Assyrian empire through to the Arab conquests, thus including the conflicts between Rome and Persia. It considers the transport network by river and road and provides an assessment of the damage to cultural heritage caused both by the Saddam dam (also known as the Eski Mosul dam) in Iraq and by the Ilısu dam in south-east Turkey. A catalogue describes the sites important during the long period under review in and around the valley. During the period reviewed this area was strategically important for Assyria’s relations with its northern neighbours, for the Hellenistic world’s relations with Persia and for Roman relations with first the kingdom of Parthia and then with Sassanian Persia.

The novelty of this book concerns the uniqueness of the topic, its chronological scope and thematic range. Thus far, many publications about Idumeans were very limited in chronological scope and thematic range. They have also relied mainly on materials from their own expertise (ancient history being represented especially by A. Kasher and N. Kokkinos, and archaeology by A. Kloner and I. Stern). In contrast, Michał Marciak in his book presents the first-ever comprehensive treatment of history and culture of Idumea and Idumeans from its beginnings to the early Roman Period. He deals with both literary and documentary evidence and the latest archaeological data. Marciaks conclusions are of relevance to scholars interested in both the ethnic and cultural diversity of ancient Palestine and the Jewish identity in the Second Temple Period.

In Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene, M. Marciak offers the first-ever comprehensive study of the history and culture of these three little-known countries of Northern Mesopotamia (3rd century BCE – 7th century CE). The book gives an overview of the historical geography, material culture, and political history of each of these countries. Furthermore, the summary offers a regional perspective by describing the history of this area as a subject of the political and cultural competition of great powers. This book answers both a recent growth of interest in ancient Mesopotamia as the frontier area, as well as the urgent need for documentation of the cultural heritage of a region that has recently become subject to the destructive influence of sectarian violence.