Dynasty Journal

192 lined pages ] 7-1/4" wide x 9" high (18.4 cm wide x 22.9 cm high) ] Bookbound ] Ribbon bookmark ] Hardcover books lie flat for ease of use ] Archival/acid-free paper ]Iridescent highlights, embossed, gold gilded edges. This elegant journal reproduces a 19th-century Persian bookbinding in leather and gold.

This book uses the monographic study of litigation subjects, prosecution, trial, and enforcement to reveal the formation, operation, and development of criminal proceeding conventions in the Tang Dynasty. It also outlines the combination, coordination, and interaction of rules, conventions, and ideas in the traditional Chinese legal system, and presents an overview of the evolution and development of traditional litigation in China. This book is intended mainly for scholars and graduate and undergraduate students in the fields of law and Chinese history.

This volume is the publication and analysis of the tomb of pharaoh Seneb-Kay (ca. 1650-1600 BCE), and a cemetery of associated tombs at Abydos, all attributable to a group of kings of Egypt's Second Intermediate Period. The tomb of Seneb-Kay has provided the first known king's tomb of pharaonic Egypt that included decorated imagery in the burial chamber. That evidence, presented in full-color and discussed in detail in the volume, allows us to identify this previously unknown ruler along with a group of seven similar tombs that can be attributed to an Upper Egyptian Dynasty that survived for approximately half a century during a period of pronounced territorial fragmentation in the Nile Valley. The book examines the architecture and artifacts associated with these tombs as well as presents an osteological analysis of the bodies of Seneb-Kay and the other anonymous individuals buried at South Abydos. Seneb-Kay's skeletonized mummy was recovered inside his tomb and provides a rare opportunity to examine the body of a king of this era. He is the earliest substantially preserved body of an Egyptian king to survive in the archaeological record, and the first known Egyptian pharaoh whose skeletal remains show that he died in battle. The analysis of his death in a military encounter, along with insights from the other skeletal remains indicates a line of kings whose rise to power was associated with their social background as members of the military elite. The book examines the wider implications of these bodies in terms of the pronounced militarization of society in the Second Intermediate Period. Seneb-Kay's tomb has also provided extensive evidence, through its use of reused blocks bearing decoration, of earlier elite and royal monuments at Abydos. The combination of evidence provides a new archaeological and historical window into the political situation that defined Egypt's Second Intermediate Period.

This book contains original essays on various aspect of the Han’s political economy and its legacy, written by leading Chinese and Western scholars whose collective expertise spans Economic History, History of Economic Thought and Sinology.

Go behind the scenes to discover why the Colosseum was the king of amphitheaters in the Roman world—a paragon of Roman engineering prowess. Early one morning in 80 CE, the Colosseum roared to life with the deafening cheers of tens of thousands of spectators as the emperor, Titus, inaugurated the new amphitheater with one hundred days of bloody spectacles. These games were much anticipated, for the new amphitheater had been under construction for a decade. Home to spectacles involving exotic beasts, elaborate executions of criminals, gladiatorial combats, and even—when flooded—small-scale naval battles, the building itself was also a marvel. Rising to a height of approximately 15 stories and occupying an area of 6 acres—more than four times the size of a modern football field—the Colosseum was the largest of all amphitheaters in the Roman Empire. In A Monument to Dynasty and Death, Nathan T. Elkins tells the story of the Colosseum's construction under Vespasian, its dedication under Titus, and further enhancements added under Domitian. The Colosseum, Elkins argues, was far more than a lavish entertainment venue: it was an ideologically charged monument to the new dynasty, its aspirations, and its achievements. A Monument to Dynasty and Death takes readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Colosseum from the subterranean tunnels, where elevators and cages transported gladiators and animals to the blood-soaked arena floor, to the imperial viewing box, to the amphitheater's decoration and amenities, such as fountains and an awning to shade spectators. Trained as an archaeologist, an art historian, and a historian of ancient Rome, Elkins deploys an interdisciplinary approach that draws on contemporary historical texts, inscriptions, archaeology, and visual evidence to convey the layered ideological messages communicated by the Colosseum. This engaging book is an excellent resource for classes on Roman art, architecture, history, civilization, and sport and spectacle.

Compiled during the Song dynasty (960–1279) at the behest of Emperor Taizong, the Taiping Guangji anthologized thousands of pages of unofficial histories, accounts, and minor stories from the Tang dynasty (618–907). The twenty-two tales translated in this volume, many appearing for the first time in English, reveal the dynamism and diversity of society in Tang China. A lengthy Introduction as well as introductions to each selection further illuminate the social and historical contexts within which these narratives unfold. This collection offers a wealth of information for anyone interested in medieval Chinese history, religion, or everyday life.