The term canonicity implies the recognition that the domain of literature and of the library is also a cultural and political one, related to various forms of identity formation, maintenance, and change. From the very earliest days of writing, texts from the written traditions of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt were accumulated, codified, and to some extent canonized, as various collections developed primarily in the environment of the temple and the palace. Problems of Canonicity and Identity Formation in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia addresses the interrelations between various forms...

Published here for the first time, the Catalogue of Egyptian Funerary Papyri in Danish Collections presents an exhaustive assemblage of Egyptian funerary manuscripts in Danish collections. The volume features sixteen papyrus manuscripts, two of which are preserved intact, and smaller pieces of inscribed linen from six mummies. Thomas Christiansen and Kim Ryholt bring together material that spans a period of more than a millennium, ranging from around 1200 B.C. E. to 100 C.E. Most of the manuscripts are guides to the afterlife; eighteen of them contain texts and vignettes from the Book...

Globalization and cheaper travel have led to a rapid increase in cross-cultural encounters worldwide--which makes understanding problems of conflict, prejudice, interaction, and adaptation ever more important.

Fortunately, we have a powerful historical example to draw on: the closely knit, yet very different cultures that inhabited and interacted in the Near East. Contributors look at the interactions of nomads, traders, religious groups, armies, and more to help answer questions about cultural encounters through both theoretical and empirical lenses. They present cases drawn from a...