Syro-Uigurica III: Enochic Material in a Christian Text from Turfan

This article examines a fragmentary Christian text from Turfan written in Uyghur which contains an embedded Syriac magical text intended to be used for corralling a horse. Aft er giving a transcription and translation of the Syriac passage and setting it in its literary context, including the role of amulets and other magical texts in the history of Syriac Christianity, the article discusses the angelic name Saraqael found in the Syriac extract, in an effort to trace the origins of the text. Excurses are given on the book of I Enoch and the Book of Giants, the first because the angelic name is found in it, the second because of its connections with the Aramaic and Central Asian cultural zones. The article then examines another text where the angelic name occurs, the Pishra de-Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa, before discussing possible links to other Syriac amulets and incantation bowls.

The Forgotten Reign of the Emperor Jovian (363-364)

This book is the first modern scholarly monograph on the emperor Jovian (363–364). It offers a new assessment of his reign and argues that Jovian’s reign was of more importance than assumed by most (ancient and modern) historians. This study argues that Jovian restored the Roman Empire after the failed reign of Julian by returning to the policies of Constantius II and Constantine the Great. Jovian’s general strategies were directed to getting the Roman Empire back on its feet militarily, administratively, and religiously after the failed reign of his predecessor Julian (361–363), as well as to establish more peaceful relations with the Sassanid Empire. For an emperor who ruled only eight months, Jovian had an unexpected and surprising afterlife. The rarely studied and largely unknown Syriac Julian Romance offers a surprising and different perspective on person and reign of Jovian. In the Romance, Jovian is presented as the ideal Christian emperor and a new Constantine. But the Romance is also an important source for Roman–Persian relations and the positioning of Syriac Christianity in the late antique world of Christendom.