With a total of 306 pages, including almost sixty pages of annexes (list of sovereign dynasties studied, list of currencies boards representing the analyzed currencies, no less than 20 pages of bibliography, a list of abbreviations and an index) This book aims to analyze how the Jewish and Nabatean represent dynasties in ancient times. This is the analysis of a political speech, but mostly cultural.
The central notion is that of "ethnic monarchy". Ethnicity is defined as "a discursive construction, a claim of identity" (p. 17). The first chapter, in fact, addresses the issues, sources and patterns of this comparative study. In this regard, Christian George Schwentzel recalls the challenges of the term "cultural transfer" or "acculturation" rather than speak of Hellenization and romanization. "A Greek element can be completely reinterpreted and reappropriated by those who adopt" he writes (p. 21). "Ethnic discourse appears as a construction evolving and revaluation under the historical context" (p. 22). Thus the author he speaks willingly "janiformes companies" to refer to these Semitic monarchies that adopt a number of Greek characters without totally adhering to Hellenism.
The sources are mainly the work of Josephus, and numismatics, with an emphasis on this tool that brings the self-representation of power ("the direct expression of the power that emits" p. 32).
Following this first methodological chapter is the study itself, divided as follows:
2) The functions of the Hasmonean rulers (the Maccabees, John Hyrcanus I and his successors, the Hasmonean symbols of power and their image in the manuscripts "Dead Sea").
3) The propaganda of Herod the Great (the great themes of the official discourse, the official iconography).
4) The official image of the Herodians (the son of Herod Agrippa I and Herod of Chalcis, Agrippa II and Aristobulus, and a sub-section on messiahs and rebel leaders)
5) The Nabatean kingdom (images, symbols and titles of rulers from numismatics, the political iconography of Nabatean kings).
It will be seen a difference in weight between the two study areas; Here we recall the lack of sources on the Nabataean civilization, especially on the representation of power which is the subject of this study. Chapter 3, devoted to the image of Herod, recalls the work of the same author, "Herod the Great", published in 2009. Chapter 4 highlights the ambiguous status of the successors of Herod, caught between culture Latin, traditional culture and heritage of the ruler who left his mark in Judea.
A book that brings a clear vision on the notion of "ethnic monarchy", highlighting the ambiguities of those powers that are at once traditional and inserted into a larger whole.
