438 REVIEWS

purpose for which the scroll was written remains reconstructed from the data of ancient texts
obscure. Parallels are cited from other descrip- and maps, travellers' accounts, and the
tions of treasures, imaginary treasures. The author's personal observation of the region
place in religious tradition of the belief that between 1929 and 1932. It contains many
sacred treasures must be preserved—and some photographs, maps, and diagrams of what is
items here are clearly connected with the at the present time a frontier zone of a politi-
Temple—suggests the kind of religious motive cally unsettled nature and difficult access. The
which may be at work, and points to a time author's statement (p. 24) that ' en attendant
after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, que des trouvailles apportent une solution
a time when pious hopes of restoration would definitive a bien des problemes, l'exploitation
not unnaturally turn upon the belief that the des sources litteraires peut fournir encore
treasures of the shrine could not just have been d'utiles precisions et orienter les recherches au
wantonly destroyed. sol a condition d'etre poursuivie avec une
The conclusion seems warranted on the whole, connaissance plus complete de la geographie
but there is no answer to the question of why locale' illustrates a sound method and a
it was thought right to commit this pious hope scholarly reserve. The writings of previous
to permanent record on copper. And are the students of the area are constantly reviewed,
circumstantial details all part of the style, or and if it is evident that M. Dillemann has not
do they preserve something more substantial ? the knowledge of oriental languages possessed
There are those who believe that the treasures by, say, Markwart, whose opinions are fully
are still there to be found, though perhaps quoted and criticized throughout the work, he
with them the wish is father to the thought. often shows himself possessed of a more balanced
The publication of the texts, with the valu- judgment than that outstandingly brilliant
able notes and suggestions, marks a further but sometimes mistaken exponent of Quel-
stage in the evaluating of the Qumran finds. lenkritik.
The work proceeds too slowly for those who The provinces of Osrhoene, Gordyene,
wait, but when the detail and the intricacy are Adiabene, Mygdonia, Sophene, Arzanene,
seen, we may be sure that it is better to wait Arabia, and Southern Armenia, comprising the
for such an excellently produced edition than cities of Edessa, Diyarbekir, Tigranocerta,
suffer from the effects of an improper haste Nisibis, etc., the natural and man-made
which has resulted in much of the early writing features of which form the principal subject
on Qumran becoming very dated and in- matter of this work, are of special interest
adequate. to students of Greek, Roman, Byzantine,
PETER E. ACKROYD Armenian, and Syrian history. The author has
not attempted an exhaustive account of the
area between the chronological limits chosen,
Louis DILLEMANN : Haute Mesopotamie but has concentrated on problems within them
orientate et pays adjacents : contribu- on which he has something new to say, such as
tion a la geographie historique de la the ancient trade-routes, the Roman limes,
region, du ve s. avant Vere chretienne Trajan's Parthian campaign, Shapur II's opera-
au ne s. de cette ere. (Institut Francais tions around Bebasa, and various episodes
d'Archeologie de Beyrouth. Biblio- described by Ammianus Marcellinus and
theque Archeologique et Historique, Procopius. Of special interest for Armenian
Tom. LXXII.) 358 pp., 12 plates. studies are his chapters on the campaigns of
Paris : Paul Geuthner, 1962. Lucullus and Corbulo, and the much disputed
question of the site of Tigran II's capital,
Whether one accepts it or not, a geographical Tigranakert (Tigranocerta). On this latter
equation like Kerk = Kapxa-paifidv = (Castel- point the Armenian writers differ very much
lum) Reman = (C)arcaiapis = Carcha-Pes = among themselves, and Tigranakert is to-day
(Castellum) Busan (the present work, pp. misleadingly used as the Armenian form of
156-7) presupposes a knowledge of geography, Diyarbekir, which is not a candidate for
history, archaeology, languages, and textual recognition as the old Armenian capital.
criticism. One wonders whether such a state- Mommsen was right to conclude that the
ment, which is, of course, born of a solid Armenians had completely forgotten the site
European academic tradition, is that which is of the city (it was, after all, destroyed by the
now described in the current jargon as ' inter- Romans when only half finished), and placed
disciplinary ', or whether meta-disciplinary, or it wherever the fancy took them. In support
just scholarly would be apter terms. of their theory that Tigranocerta was at
This useful and well-produced volume deals Maiyafariqin, Lehmann-Haupt and Markwart
with the historical geography of northern appealed to the testimony of P'awstos Biw-
Mesopotamia and adjacent regions between the zand, which does not impress M. Dillemann,
fifth century B.C. and the sixth century A.D. as who finds the books concerned ' emailles
 REVIEWS 439
d'erreurs . . . inspirees par le chauvinisme the linguistic and ethnic resemblances of
de l'auteur ' (p. 260). M. Dillemann has little the Armenians and Aramaeans in general,
confidence in the widely-held view that the their view is interesting in connexion with
site was at Maiyafariqin, and brings forward the names of these two peoples. As is well
telling criticisms of the arguments of its main known, the Armenians do not refer to them-
propagators, Lehmann-Haupt and Markwart, selves by tbe name by which the Greeks and
in particular their somewhat desperate attempt Persians knew them, and it seems possible that
to discredit thefigure37 miles given by Tacitus both the names 'Ap/ievloi and 'Appapaloi
as the distance between it and Nisibis, a derive from a geographical rather than an
detail which led Sachau to regard the present ethnic term, viz. Hebrew DTN 'Aram (Syriac
Tell Armen, south of the Tur 'Abdin mountains, 'armayd, 'aramaya), which Gesenius inter-
as the real site. M. Dillemann, holding that preted as Hochland ' highlands '. Looked at
' Tell Armen est un des principaux carrefours from Palestine, both the inhabitants round
de la Mesopotamie, sur le passage de l'ancienne Mount Hermon and Mount Ararat would be
route royale de la grande route de l'Orient, sur highlanders, and the same term might well
une riviere qui n'est a sec en ete que parce que cover two peoples who were, in Strabo's words,
ses eaux sont retenues en amont', concludes •nXrjomxtapoi. In this light, Poseidonius' state-
that ' Tell Armen vaut mieux que Farqin ' ment .that those whom the Greeks called Zvpoi
(p. 268). All sources do not point to Tell called themselves 'Apfievioi and 'Appap-aioi,
Armen, however (Plutarch's data on the thus linking the two forms, is instructive.
position of the river at Tigranocerta are diffi-
cult to fit in with this site), and the question is Armenian/Aramaean could thus be essentially
still an open one. What is clear, however, is one name, shared,as in the case of the Albanians
that Tell Armen richly deserves excavation. and the Iberians, by two different peoples.
In his section on the numismatic evidence Despite the proper regard he pays to the
(p. 263), M. Dillemann could have mentioned linguistic side of his subject, it is in this domain,
the casual finds of Armenian coins at Tell one feels, that M. Dillemann is least sure. It is
Armen reported by Sachau in Die Lage von difficult to attribute a statement such as ' la
Tigranocerta (1881), even if they did subse- facilite avec laquelle la prononciation glisse du
quently disappear somewhere along official s au ch et au dj est prouvee par le nom de la
Ottoman channels. One feels that a turn of tribu kurde Bachnaoui, Bajnewi, Pasna ou
the spade would produce more. In an essay on Pazna' (p. 53) to any linguistic discipline.
the Armenian king Tigran II the Great, the There is no doubt about what the Armenian
author remarks that ' l'histoire de Tigrane, for ' valley ' is (p. 44, n. 4). There is a slight
conquerant, organisateur et colonisateur meri- confusion of Syriac p's and g's on p. 314, where
terait d'etre mieux connue ' (p. 249). Although S) is written twice for O. But these things are
Tigran's ally, Mithridates of Pontus, is well in only minor blemishes in an otherwise very
front in the memory of posterity with the works useful book. M. Dillemann justifiably refuses
of Reinach, Racine, and Mozart to his credit, to be swayed by Markwart's interpretation of
there is a chance that the most outstanding Btpanapdf as Djora Pahak ' the fortress of
king of Armenia will become better known Djora ' (p. 92), which latter is more usually
in the West, as a French translation of known in Armenian sources as dufn G'olay or
H. Manandian's Tigran 11 yev Hrom [Tigran II Cora ' the gates of &. or (?.' (this toponym
and Rome], Erevan, 1940, is soon to be pub- has not yet been explained ; i'olay might
lished by the Gulbenkian Foundation. represent Turkish col ' wasteland, steppe', a
In his account of the various races inhabiting word which occurs in the Armenian proverb
the area, M. Dillemann mentions Strabo's taw) aslan, c'olum katu ' a lion in the house, a
apparently naive view, based on Poseidonius, cat in the fields ' ; for the form, cf. Arm. lwd.
that the Armenians, Syrians, and Arabs c'op'ay ' remains of a sacrifice ', from Turkish
resembled each other in language, customs, cop ' sweepings, litter'). On the name of the
and physique (p. 86). He explains (p. 90) this river Djaghdjagh M. Dillemann writes : ' ce
linking of the Armenians and Aramaeans nom est un peu une anomalie dans la toponymie
by pointing to the largely Aramaean popula- locale ou les cours d'eau qui n'ont pas garde
tion of the province of Sophene, annexed by leur appellation antique ont generalement pris
Armenia, but which ' avait du garder sa propre un nom qui a un sens dans une des langues
langue ', thus casting (reasonable) doubt on actuellement en usage. Le Dj. ne semble entrer
Strabo's other statement concerning the lin- dans aucune de ces deux categories' (p. 51).
guistic unity of Armenia (ware 7rdvras OfioyXun-There is, however, for what it is worth, a
TOUS elvai, XI, xiv, 5). Poseidonius' identifica- modern Armenian word c'axc'ax, denoting the
tion, therefore,' ne reposait pas seulement sur pole regulating theflowof corn from the bin to
un mauvais jeu de mots' (p. 90). Although the grindstones in a mill; the word occurs in
the Greeks were certainly wrong about (again) a proverb : jalac'v Icotorela, c'axi'axin a
440 REVIEWS
man gali ' the mill has fallen in, and he's translation marked by half-brackets. There are
worried about the c'.'. Part of the river as 174 notes, mostly on grammatical points.
drawn on p. 52 is as straight as a rod, and the There is so much to praise in this work that
term might just be descriptive ; but in origin one hopes it may not seem ungracious to refer
the Armenian word is almost certainly ono- to a few very small points. At the end of verse
matopoeic, like the Arabic and Turkish words 3 wa-huwa ta'lil li-kaunihi muhan is translated,
put forward by M. Dillemann to support the ' The phrase adduces the reason for the thing
view that the river is named after its sound. being Regarded as! inspired '. Is the addition
Rich's guide, quoted on p. 53, was thinking of ' regarded as' necessary? Baidawi seems to
of Turkish qakmak ' steel for striking sparks say simply that it is inspired. In verse 6
from flint'. Baidawi refers to Isaac being delivered from
The work is a valuable contribution to the the sacrifice. As Muslims usually refer to
understanding of a region situated on the Ishmael as the one who was to be sacrificed,
borders of manyfieldsof studies. The workers perhaps a note to this effect might have been
in thesefieldsmay be grateful to have so much added. Fil 'adwi awi 'l-ramyi in verse 17 is
material conveniently placed at their disposal, translated, ' in running and shooting'. In
sifted and evaluated, and supplemented by the verse 51 rawadatni 'an nafsi is translated, ' She
author's own original findings. seduced me '. As Joseph was not seduced it
seems better here to say, ' She solicited me '.
C. J. F. DOWSETT The phrase subhdnahu wa-ta'ala in verse 76 is
not translated. (In verse 92 subhana man . . .
is given the interesting translation, ' Good
God !' with an explanation in the accompany-
ing note.) Verse 77 has ' as they describe '
A. F. L. BEESTON : Baidawi's commen- instead of ' as you describe '. In verse 83 fi
tary on Surah 12 of the Qur'an : text, tadbirihima is translated, ' in His disposing ',
accompanied by an interpretative ren- presumably leaving it to be understood that
dering and notes, viii, 98 pp. Oxford : the reference is to ' my condition and theirs '
Clarendon Press, 1963. 35s. which has immediately preceded. In verse
110 'prophets' is used for rusul, and 'the
A translation of Surah 12, published a few prophets ' is given for al-nabi, obviously treat-
years ago by Eric F.F. Bishop and Mohamed ing it as a generic use.
Kaddal (Glasgow, 1957), was undertaken This admirable work of fine scholarship will
because of the interest of the surah and its prove a valuable help to all who are interested
being a connected whole. This translation was in tafsir. It is an excellent example of how a
accompanied by notes almost entirely confined work like Baidawi's can be translated into
to references to the Joseph story in the works intelligible English, for the difficult task has
of Kisa'i and Tha'labi. Professor Beeston has been undertaken in masterly style. Further
now made a new translation of the commentary help is given in no small measure in the
on the surah with more complete annotation. illuminating notes.
He explains that it is intended for those who
JAMES ROBSON
can ' read an ordinary Arabic text, and who are
acquainted with the basic notions and techni-
calities of Arabic grammar '. The Arabic text
of Fleischer has been reproduced, so the
student has the advantage of being provided HADY ROGER IDRIS : La Berberie orien-
with both text and translation in one volume. tale sous les Zirides, x'-xif siecles.
Professor Beeston has very reasonably felt it (Publications de l'lnstitut d'Fjtudes
unnecessary to translate the Qur'an text, Orientales, Faculte des Lettres et
except for a few phrases, as the commentary Sciences Humaines d'Alger, xxn.)
discusses the meaning of the words. He there- 2 vols. : lii, 406 pp. ; [iii], 407-896 pp.
fore gives before each piece of commentary a Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1962.
transliteration of the words about to be ex- Fr. 150.
plained, omitting words and phrases on which
there is no commentary. He says, ' It is surely Professor Idris's book is a model for anyone
better to treat this work straightforwardly as wishing to try his hand at the historical mono-
what for Europeans it is : a commentary on a graph. The author has gathered what surely
foreign language text'. He thus avoids what must be every bit of known and accessible
he considers the ill-repaid ingenuity of trying information on that period of North African
to find two English equivalents for the same history between the withdrawal of the Fatimids
idea. As Baidawi's style is very concise, ex- to Egypt in the second half of the fourth/tenth
planatory additions are often inserted in the century and the Almohad conquest of the