Scribes are paradoxically both central and invisible in most societies before the typographic revolution of the 15th century, witnessed by every manuscript, but often elusive as historical figures. The act of writing is a quotidian and vernacular practice as well as a literary one, and must be observed not only in the outputs of literary copyists or reports of their activities, but in the documents of everyday life. This volume collects contributions on scribal practice as it features on diverse media (including papyri, tablets, and inscriptions) in a range of ancient societies, from the Ancient Near East and Dynastic Egypt through the Graeco-Roman world to Byzantium. These discussions of the role and place of scribes and scribal activity in pre-typographic cultures both contribute to a better understanding of one of the key drivers of these cultures, and illuminate the transmission of knowledge and traditions within and between them.

Throughout history, many states have attempted to harness the attention of their populations for their own ends. This study argues that the Assyrian Empire in the year 672 BC is such a case. In 672 BC, Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, imposed a succession covenant (adê) on his subjects, the inhabitants of the Assyrian Empire. This covenant required the empire's population to monitor one another, and themselves, for signs of disloyalty to the monarch and his chosen successor, Ashurbanipal. This study examines the aims and outcomes, desired and undesired, of imposing this duty of vigilance across the Assyrian Empire. To consider the presentation and implementation of this duty of vigilance, the study draws largely on evidence supplied by the covenant and other royally-commissioned texts. To examine the outcomes of the covenant's enactment, meanwhile, it explores cuneiform sources, such as letters to the crown, private legal documents, and literary compositions, as well as the Aramaic Story of Ahiqar and the biblical Book of Deuteronomy. By providing a sustained analysis of the real-world implications and outcomes of the covenant, this book sheds new light on a text that fundamentally altered the political makeup of the Assyrian Empire.

The First Chapters uncovers the origins of the first paragraph or chapter divisions in copies of the Christian Scriptures. Its focal point is the magnificent, fourth-century Codex Vaticanus (Vat.gr. 1209; B 03), perhaps the single most significant ancient manuscript of the Bible, and the oldest material witness to what may be the earliest set of numbered chapter divisions of the Bible. The First Chapters tells the history of textual division, starting from when copies of Greek literary works used virtually no spaces, marks, or other graphic techniques to assist the reader. It explores the origins of other numbering systems, like the better-known Eusebian Canons, but its theme is the first set of numbered chapters in Codex Vaticanus, what nineteenth-century textual critic Samuel P. Tregelles labelled the Capitulatio Vaticana. It demonstrates that these numbers were not, as most have claimed, late additions to the codex but belonged integrally to its original production. The First Chapters then breaks new ground by showing that the Capitulatio Vaticana has real precursors in some much earlier manuscripts. It thus casts light on a long, continuous tradition of scribally-placed, visual guides to the reading and interpreting of Scriptural books. Finally, The First Chapters exposes abundant new evidence that this early system for marking the sense-divisions of Scripture has played a much greater role in the history of exegesis than has previously been imaginable.

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, and its constitution also asserts that health for all people is “dependent on the fullest co-operation of individuals and States”. The ongoing pandemic has highlighted the power of both healthy and unhealthy information, so while healthcare and public health services have depended upon timely and accurate data and continually updated knowledge, social media has shown how unhealthy misinformation can be spread and amplified, reinforcing existing prejudices, conspiracy theories and political biases. This book presents the proceedings of MedInfo 2021, the 18th World Congress of Medical and Health Informatics, held as a virtual event from 2-4 October 2021, with pre-recorded presentations for all accepted submissions. The theme of the conference was One World, One Health – Global Partnership for Digital Innovation and submissions were requested under 5 themes: information and knowledge management; quality, safety and outcomes; health data science; human, organizational and social aspects; and global health informatics. The Programme Committee received 352 submissions from 41 countries across all IMIA regions, and 147 full papers, 60 student papers and 79 posters were accepted for presentation after review and are included in these proceedings. Providing an overview of current work in the field over a wide range of disciplines, the book will be of interest to all those whose work involves some aspect of medical or health informatics.

This proceedings book covers the theory, design and applications of computer networks, distributed computing and information systems. Today’s networks are evolving rapidly, and there are several developing areas and applications. These include heterogeneous networking supported by recent technological advances in power wireless communications, along with silicon integration of various functionalities such as sensing, communications, intelligence and actuations, which is emerging as a critically important disruptive computer class based on a new platform, networking structure and interface that enables novel, low-cost and high-volume applications. However, implemeting these applications has sometimes been difficult due to interconnection problems. As such, different networks need to collaborate, and wired and next-generation wireless systems need to be integrated in order to develop high-performance computing solutions to address the problems arising from these networks’ complexities. This ebook presents the latest research findings, as well as theoretical and practical perspectives on the innovative methods and development techniques related to the emerging areas of information networking and applications

This book presents a novel methodology to study economic texts. The author investigates discrepancies in these writings by focusing on errors, mistakes, and rounding numbers. In particular, he looks at the acquisition, use, and development of practical mathematics in an ancient society: The Old Babylonian kingdom of Larsa (beginning of the second millennium BCE Southern Iraq). In so doing, coverage bridges a gap between the sciences and humanities. Through this work, the reader will gain insight into discrepancies encountered in economic texts in general and rounding numbers in particular. They will learn a new framework to explain error as a form of economic practice. Researchers and students will also become aware of the numerical and metrological basis for calculation in these writings and how the scribes themselves conceptualized value. This work fills a void in Assyriological studies. It provides a methodology to explore, understand, and exploit statistical data. The anlaysis also fills a void in the history of mathematics by presenting historians of mathematics a method to study practical texts. In addition, the author shows the importance mathematics has as a tool for ancient practitioners to cope with complex economic processes. This serves as a useful case study for modern policy makers into the importance of education in any economy.

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This concise guide helps you involve parents in Family Scribe Groups that will increase a sense of community in your school. Designed by author Art Kelly for his highly diverse and mobile school in urban Las Vegas, Writing with Families takes you step-by-step through the five-week Family Scribe Group and gives you all the information you need to set up a successful group in your school.

The title itself is the Greek word for fish. The sequence of the Greek letters of the word forms an acrostic for Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour used by the early Christians as a secret symbol to identify themselves to one another. The focus of this historical religious novel is the letter the Apostle Paul wrote to a slave owner named Philemon on behalf his runaway slave Onesimus. Probably one of the least read and underappreciated portions of the New Testament. It is Onesimus’ story which becomes the vehicle to explore and discover the dynamics of the life, expansion and early history of the Christian faith and its development, using the best of biblical scholarship as well as historical research. From his capture as a youngster by the Romans along the Rhine frontier following the defeat of the Chatti tribe and his subsequent separation from his mother who is sent to Rome, he is taken to the East to be sold into slavery in Ephesus in the province of Asia. But in his leave taking from his mother she gives him her amber amulet that bears the crude outline of a fish, the symbol of their clan to remember her and in turn he vows that someday he will find her. In the years that follow he grows up and serves in the household of Philemon, a wealthy estate owner in Laodecia and establishes a quixotic relationship with his young master Archippus that has a long lasting effect on his life that becomes ruptured and eventually leads Onesimus to risk to run away in search of his mother in Rome. That search becomes central for what follows and his eventual encounter with the Apostle Paul. His search for his mother is also a search for his own identity and the meaning of his life in the midst of a society in which he is an outsider, fugitive and very much alone. Unknown to him he is on a spiritual quest despite being devoid of any need or attraction to the religiosity of his time. All of this becomes a preparation for the “good news” of the crucified risen Christ and a coming Kingdom that meets the needs and longings of his search. It turns out to be a double search in which he not only finds his mother but also enters upon a new life that will lead to his return to his former master, leaving Rachel the love of his life behind. What follows is set up against the background of the great fire of Rome and the persecution unleashed by the Emperor Nero as recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus. The final phase of Onesimus’ life and his preservation of the writings of the Apostle Paul ends with his martyrdom recorded by the Christian historian Eusebius and the rather miraculous preservation of the Letter to Philemon, “the Gospel in a nutshell.”