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From Hellenism to Islam, Cultural and Linguistic Change in the Roman Near East. Edited by Hannah M. Cotton, Robert G. Hoyland, Jonathan J. Price, , David J. Wasserstein, Cambridge University Press, 2009.The eight hundred years between the first Roman conquests and the conquest of Islam saw a rich, constantly shifting blend of languages and writing systems, legal structures, religious practices and beliefs in the Near East. While the different ethnic groups and cultural forms often clashed with each other, adaptation was as much a characteristic of the region as conflict. This 2009 volume, emphasizing the inscriptions in many languages from the Near East, brings together mutually informative studies by scholars in diverse fields. Together, they reveal how the different languages, peoples and cultures interacted, competed with, tried to ignore or were influenced by each other, and how their relationships evolved over time.&#160;&#160;Table of ContentsIntroduction Fergus MillarPart I. The Language of Power: Latin in the Roman Near East:1. The presence, role and significance of Latin in the epigraphy and culture of the Roman Near East Werner Eck2. Latin in cities of the Roman Near East Benjamin IsaacPart II. Social and Legal Institutions as Reflected in the Documentary Evidence:3. Euergetism in Josephus and the epigraphic culture of first-century Jerusalem Seth Schwartz4. Legal and social status of threptoi and related categories in narrative and documentary sources Marijana Ricl5. Ritual performances of divine justice: the epigraphy of confession, atonement, and exaltation in Roman Asia Minor Angelos Chaniotis6. Continuity of Nabataean law in the Petra papyri: a methodological exercise Hannah M. CottonPart III. The Epigraphic Language of Religion:7. 'Languages' and religion in second-fourth century Palestine. In search of the impact of Rome Nicole Belayche8. The epigraphic habit and the Jewish diasporas of Asia Minor and Syria Walter Ameling9. Religion and language in Dura-Europos Ted KaizerPart IV. Linguistic Metamorphoses and Continuity of Cultures:10. On the margins of culture: the practice of transcription in the ancient world Jonathan Price and Shlomo Naeh11. Edessene Syriac inscriptions in late antique Syria Sebastian Brock12. Samaritan writing and writings Dan Barag13. The Jewish magical tradition from late antique Palestine to the Cairo Geniza Gideon BohakPart V. Greek into Arabic:14. The Nabataean connection of the Benei Hezir Axel Knauf15. Greek inscriptions in transition from the Byzantine to the early Islamic period Leah Di Segni16. Arab kings, Arab tribes and the beginnings of Arab historical memory in late Roman epigraphy Robert Hoyland17. Greek, Coptic, and the 'language of the Hijra': rise and decline of the Coptic language in late antique and medieval Egypt Sebastian Richter18. 'What remains behind': Hellenism and Romanitas in Christian Egypt after the Arab conquest Arietta Papaconstantinou&#160;