In the Ur III period, the neighboring cities Lagash and Umma had different organizations for public administration. Lagash reorganized the temples to fulfill the role as a secular administration. On the other hand, in Umma temples did not have any administrative role, and consequently this role was filled by the district.
The ensi₂ of Lagash gave his sons the position of chief administrators (sanga) of the temples. In contrast, the ensi of Umma gave members of his family important positions in the city-state organization, such as ka-gur₇, nu-banda₃ and chief administrator of the Apisal district.
Through the use of the administrative means described above, the ensis of Lagash and Umma as viceroys of the Ur III king were able to fulfill their obligation to the king and at the same time build up power of their own in their native cities.

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In the Topographical Bibiliography by Porter and Moss, the tomb of Ramose (TT 46) is listed as probably belonging to “the time of Amenhotep III (?)”. This tomb was first recorded by John Gardner Wilkinson in the 19^th Century. On the basis of Wilkinson's manuscript, Helck gave some of Ramose's titles in Urkunden IV. Graefe later published a brief communication concerning Ramose's titles based on this limited information. In 1991 Bohleke assumed that Ramose's career and tomb should date to the reigns of Tutankhamun, Ay, and perhaps, the first year of Horemheb. Most recently, Kampp discussed tomb 46, mainly focusing on architecture. She dates TT 46 to the reigns of Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV, with Ramose as the usurper of a tomb originally constructed for someone from the end of the Seventeenth Dynasty to the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
As a part of my study on the reign of Tutankhamun, I had the opportunity to visit the tombs of officials active during the reigns of Tutankhamun and his successors from the late Eighteenth Dynasty in the Theban Necropolis. A certain Ramose who has the title of Overseer of Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt is mentioned in the year 3 stela of King Ay from Giza. Since Ramose, the owner of TT 46, also has the title of Overseer of Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt, the tomb and the stela seem to refer to the same person, and thus the generally accepted date of Ramose's tomb seems to be questionable. During my study of TT 46, it became clear that this is a tomb from the post-Amarna period for the following reasons: 1. Ramose held the titles of the Steward of the temple of Aten as well as the High Priest of Amun in Mn-st at the same time. The names of Amun were not expunged at all but those of Aten were clearly chiseled out on the tomb walls. This strongly indicates the tomb was decorated after the Amarna period. 2. The artistic style also suggests that the tomb was decorated in the post-Amarna period. 3. A headless block statue of Ramose, Overseer of Double Granaries, may support this date. 4. Since it is known that Khaemhat was the Overseer of Granaries during the later part of the reign of Amenhotep III, Ramose could not have served as the Overseer of Double Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt at that period.
Therefore, it is likely that Ramose served in the post-Amarna period, most probably under Tutankhamun as well as Ay, as the Overseer of Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt, Steward of the Temple of the Aten, and High Priest of Amun in Mn-st. If so, his titulary provides the first Theban evidence that the temple of Aten was still functioning even after the Amarna period, supplementing the contemporary evidence from the Memphite necropolis.

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Most scholars today still tend to define m=k as a nonenclitic particle. But as early as the 19th century, Adolf Erman described m=k as the sdm=f form of the optative. In this paper, I have accepted Erman's proposition, and have suggested the following points:
1) m=k is the prospective sdm=f form.
2) The initial main sentence could be embedded as a nominal clause used as the object of m=k.
3) When a non-adverbial or non-pseudo-verbal sentence is embedded, that sentence undergoes no transformation.
4) When iw sdmw=f/iw N sdm=f/iw sdm. tw=f/iw sdm. n=f is embedded, iw should be omitted in the embedded nominal clause.
5) When an adverbial or pseudo-verbal sentence is embedded, that sentence undergoes transformation such that the independent pronoun is used as the subject of an adverbial or pseudo-verbal sentence in the embedded nominal clause.
6) Most of the m=k constructions have their counterparts in initial main sentences.

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In the research of ancient Palestine, Tel Zeror, located in the northern Sharon plain, is generally considered to be a site once occupied by the Sikil Sea People (formerly known in the scholarship as Tjekker) in the early Iron Age. The examination of artifacts brought from mid 1960s excavations of Tel Zeror, some of which are examined here for the first time, reveals that the site's ethnic association with the Sikils is not sufficiently supported, despite the fact that some “Philistine” indicators, such as the lion-headed cup, or “rhyton”, and bottle pyxis were found at the site. The material culture revealed by the early Iron Age layers, including collared-rim pithoi, fails to demonstrate that a certain ethnic group was dominant among the population of Tel Zeror in this period. Furthermore, the common assumption that a fortress that once stood at Tel Zeror that dates back to the late 11th century BC was built by the Sikils is belied by the fact that recent excavations at nearby Dor indicate that the Sikil's settlement there had been destroyed before the fortress was constructed at Tel Zeror.
The history of the northern Sharon plain in the late 11th century BC should not be characterized chiefly in terms of Philistine material culture. The local Canaanite tradition still existed, and “Phoenician” influences had started to emerge. The Philistine, or Sea Peoples, culture only played a limited role outside the southern coastal plain, with the probable exceptions of coastal cities in the north, like Dor and Akko. It is more likely that the basic cultural character of early Iron Age Tel Zeror belonged to the continuity of the local tradition. New elements, which can possibly interpreted as belonging to the Sea Peoples, do not have any significance in the material culture of early Iron Age Tel Zeror, particularly in the late 11th century BC. Archaeologically, the Sikil's dominance over the northern Sharon plain cannot be demonstrated in the way most scholars have come to accept.

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The aim of this article is to examine the argument for jihad made by Hasan al-Banna (1906-49), the founder-leader of the Muslim Brotherhood (Jam'iya al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin). Al-Banna is widely regarded as one of the most important Islamic thinkers of the twentieth century. With his theories of jihad, he further developed the Islamic revivalist thought propagated in the journal al-Manar by another great thinker, Rashid Rida, especially concerning its practical application for a mass movement. In concrete terms, al-Banna provided his mass movement with the theoretical underpinnings for certain of its activities.
Jihad has been one of the most important issues in contemporary Islamic politics, and al-Banna did not fail to address it. He made the following statement the slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood: “God is our goal; the Prophet is our leader; the Qur'an is our constitution; jihad is our way; death for the sake of God is our loftiest wish.” Facing the West's “invasion” of Muslim land, al-Banna concluded that jihad had become an individual duty obligatory on all Muslims. Thus, for the purpose of liberating the Muslim land, he constructed a theory of jihad in which the masses could fulfill this obligation by participating in the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood. An examination of his theory makes it clear that the Muslim Brotherhood's activities, which allowed its members to fulfill the obligation of jihad, involved not only armed struggle, but also social activities such as athletic clubs or business enterprises. Accordingly, I analyze his theory of jihad from two perspectives: “jihad as armed struggle” and “jihad as social activism.” Furthermore, I examine how al-Banna argued about jihad, which bears many shades of meaning in Islam, in the context of the Muslim Brotherhood.

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The purpose of the present paper is to examine the position women held in the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt. In the beginning of the last century, the heiress theory predominated in Egyptology. This theory held that, among royalty, the fixed and movable property was inherited through the female line. This applied also in private families. The position of women was therefore considered to be as high as that of men. In the 1960's, G. Robins published a paper denying the heiress theory. In the present paper, focus is placed on the disposition of the property in wills, imyt-pr in order to establish a conclusion about the actual status of women. I will examine the four wills, those of Metjen (Mtn), Khenemti (Hnmti), Ni-kau-ra (Ni-k_??_w-r_??_) and the sisters Pepi and Buwt (Ppi, Bwt).
The wills address two types of property. One is property for the family; the other is the funeral foundation, which consists of arable lands given to the person who makes offerings for the deceased. The foundation could be given to only one person; it was not allowed to distribute among several people.
The will disposes of the rights that the testator possessed, and shows his wish for his family to make offerings for him. The will thus has a legal function and also suggests religious desire.
In ancient Egypt, anyone could make a will regardless of sex. Although women could make a will, fewer women did than men. I focus on the passages relating to women in the four wills. The emphasis is on the female priesthood of the funeral foundation. Women who became priests were able to possess the same status as men.

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The aim of this paper is to clarify the real character of the “Revolt of the Zanj, ” the great rebellion in the Abbasid empire, by analyzing the backgrounds of the participants in the revolt. To study it, I divided this revolt into three periods, the beginning (863-869), the heyday (869-879), and the decline (879-883), and analyzed the participants at the beginning and the heyday, and the rebels who surrendered to the Abbasid military at the decline.
In the beginning, the number of participants was small. The group consisted of townspeople and those from the upper echelons of society. The reason that participants consisted of various groups was that 'Ali b. Muhammad had not confined the scope of the rebellion to a particular social class.
The heyday of this revolt began when tens of thousands of Zanj, who had been taken from East Africa to Iraq as agricultural slaves, joined the revolt in 869. Through their participation, the rebel troops swelled in number and occupied Southern Iraq in 879. During this heyday, various types of people, such as townspeople, farmers, Arab nomads and people from the upper echelons of society, participated. However, they were lacking in solidarity as they participated merely because the rebel troops were powerful militarily.
The decline of this revolt began in 879 when the Abbasid military launched an attack against the rebels. The leader of the Abbasid military, Muwaffaq, while besieging the rebel stronghold of Mukhtara, called on the rebels to surrender to the Abbasid military and treated the rebels who did surrender respectfully. Therefore, the main body of the rebel troops surrendered and this revolt collapsed. The reason for this rapid collapse was that the main body of the rebel troops were people who put their own interests first, such as Zanj and townspeople.

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As nationalism was one of the most important aspects of Kemalism, the early Turkish Republic showed no interest in the areas and peoples beyond her border. Atatürk suppressed the activities of those advocating Pan Turkism and had them purged, but after his death, Ismet Inönü recognized their rights and the movement rose again.
During the final years of the First World War, Nuri Pasha, who was one of the younger brothers of Enver Pasha, and his uncle Halil Pasha advanced towards the Caucasus region with an army. After the war they stayed in Berlin. After returning to Turkey, Nuri established a weapon factory. Many people visited him because of the nostalgia they felt for his brother Enver Pasha. During the republican era, there were many generals and officers within the Turkish Armed Forces who admired Enver Pasha, and the relatives of generals monopolized the weapon industry.
Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir Erkilet fought together with German colleagues during the First World War and retired as a major general in 1932. As for the reason for his retiring at such a young age, a famous story has it that it was because he gave the map of the fortified zone of Çanakkale to the Germans, but the real reason was his intimate relationship with the Freedom Party.
In 1925, Nuri and Erkilet secretly assembled with friends who had fought in Caucasus, in 1940 Erkilet, Halil and their families vacationed together, and after 1941 they often held meetings concerned with the Turkic peoples living in the Soviet Union.
It was thought that Erkilet was pro-German, though in his articles in the ‘Cumhuriyet’ newspaper he seemed to be neutral. However, after the start of the Nazi-Soviet War, he was active against not only the Soviet Union but also the Russians.
In September 1941 Nuri visited Berlin, and proposed to persons of authority in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Turkic peoples found their own states and organize the Muslim corps to support the German forces. Moreover, he stated that a Pan Turkist cabinet would be formed in Turkey and most of the officers would support it, and he mentioned the name of General Kazim Orbay, his brotherin-law who commanded the 3rd Army, as a person who would play an important role in the Pan Turkism movement.
Hitler personally invited the two retired generals Erkilet and Ali Ihsan Sabis to the eastern front, and so they applied for the necessary visas for leaving the country. However the Turkish government intervened and replaced Sabis with General Ali Fuat Erden. In this way, the Turkish government turned the personal invitation into an official one.
In 1944, after the advance of the Red Army towards Eastern Europe, the Turkish government arrested the Pan Turkists and began the trial so-called “Racism and Pan Turkism Trial.” They were convicted on the pretext of having cooperated with the Germans. However since Nuri and Erkilet were prominent persons under the patronage of the Turkish Armed Forces, they were neither arrested nor indicted even though they had close German ties.
General Erden, who was promoted to chief judge of the Supreme Court-Martial, dismissed the verdict of the “Racism and Pan-Turkism Trial.” As the reason for this dismissal, it was thought that he believed that it was not necessary for Turkey to demonstrate any sympathy for the Soviet Union. However, at the same time, there were conflicts between Inonu and the Turkish Armed Forces as is shown by the contraversy over Fevzi Çakmak's pension and Orbay's resignation. After the war, the explosion in Nuri's factory and his death gave rise to active discussions in the Turkish National Assembly. This also proves that there were many opponents to Inönu.

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The “Modernization” that Oman has undergone since 1970 has influenced not only the economic, but also political and social spheres. Concerning the status of women, their circumstances have changed across all levels of society, from the increase in school attendance and social empowerment, to the procurement of suffrage. It is the new middle class women, highly educated, living and working in the capital, who have benefited from this “modernization”. This essay clarifies one aspect of their status connected to the recognition of Islam and feminism, focusing on their family life and the act of veiling.
The presence of foreign housemaids has wielded a big influence on family life. By employing a housemaid, most new middle class women are able to balance both home and work life.
Regarding the practice of veiling, almost all Omani women wear the veil (mainly one or two of four kinds). Those are lahaf and hijab, both of which cover the hair, niqab, which covers the whole face, and 'abaya, a black overcoat. They wear the veils mostly because of religious reasons but this is not necessarily the only reason. They recognize that wearing niqab and 'abaya is a regional tradition while they are certain that the act of covering their hair is a religious one.
Finally, I discuss social empowerment and veiling from the viewpoints of Islam and feminism. Middle class women are familiar with not only Western, but Arab feminism to some extent. Nevertheless, they feel that they do not need feminism in Oman, because they are satisfied with present conditions. They emphasize that Islam ‹religion› is always correct, and the problem, if any, is its interpretation and practice ‹tradition and culture›. Thus, the new middle class women distinguish between the influences of tradition and religion upon veiling and social empowerment.

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