The object of this article is to point out, analyzing chiefly the administrative tablets from Lagash, some characteristics of agricultural production in ancient Sumer and to explain how closely these characteristics were related to the collective labor-system.
This paper consists of three parts. In the first chapter, I illustrated the productivity of the fields in Lagash. 6 gur-sag-gál 49 sìla per bùr (2179.1l per ha) and 76.1-fold of sowing amount, the figures which I gained from RTC71 and DP574 written in the same year, can be regarded as the average land and seed-productivity of barley in Lagash at the end of the Early Dynastic Period.
But fertility declined greatly by the time of the Third Dynasty of Ur. My estimate of 30 gur-lugal per bùr (1193.2l per ha) was obtained from RTC407 in which were written the total area of directly-controled fields of barley in Lagash at that time, the amount of barley expected to be yielded from this area and lastly the amount actually yielded. As 1.5 gur-lugal of barley was sowed per bùr, seed-productivity was 20-fold. Th. Jacobsen and R. M. Adams think salinization of soil to be the cause of decline in fertility. But what brought about salinization still remains unsolved.
At any rate, 20-fold at the period of the Third Dynasty of Ur is still higher than the figures reported about Italy in the Roman period. And 76.1-fold at the end of the Early Dynastic Period shows clearly the extraordinary fertility of Sumer. This was possible, of course, only by the elaborate irrigation-system.
In the second and third chapter, I discussed the character of irrigating-works in Sumer. To begin with, I dealed with the so-called ‘Farmers' Almanac’ in which were described various advices for a good harvest given by a farmer to his son. The farmer gives his son many, sometimes too trifle, advices about the agricultural activities at the time of preparing land, sowing and harvesting. To irrigate three or four times according to the growth of barley is, however, the only one instruction by him about the period between sowing and harvesting. That is to say, a good harvest could be expected in ordinary years only by doing such works during the interval period. Naturally it was chiefly between sowing and harvesting that people were engaged in the collective irrigating-labor. In fact, we know from CT III 18343, a large Lagash-tablet of the Third Dynasty of Ur, that erìn-people worked exclusively at the ditches of various fields and canals from the seventh month to the twelfth, roughly between sowing and harvesting.
A further study must be made about the interrelations between agricultural production and collective labor-organization, because ‘the pattern of despotism in Sumer’ will be defined by these two fundamental factors of sumerian society.

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The present study examined by both the Old Testament and archaeological materials using a historical method, in an attempt to describe the social structure of Ancient Israel, not based upon either of the opinions of the so-called European School and Soviet School.
In the first place the author examined three main terms for slaves in the Old Testament, and then based on the Old Testament he tried to reconstitute the classes of slaves in forms of ownership which had private slaves and state slaves, the former being domestic slaves, the latter temple slaves and royal slaves, in comparison with the institutions in the ancient countries in the Near East. The institution of royal slavery existed in Ancient Israel from the period of David down to the period of Nehemia and Ezra, and the same is attested by the technical terms in the Old Testament: mas, mas 'obed and 'obdê šelômô (twenty-three passages).
The author checked the terms mas is employed in a threefold sense, and mas 'obed means Royal Slave. However Royal Slave has been know little as Temple Slave.
In conclusion the author studied based on above mentioned method on the mas 'obed during the period of the United Monarchy of Israel, especially Solomon (ca. 961-22 B. C.), and its historical position in relation to the social development in the Ancient Israel. In reference to the sources of slavery in the Ancient Israel see Journal of Dokkyo University Studies, No. 1. in pp. 34-55. by the present writer.

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The Problems
(a) From what kind of subjective view did Prophet Hosea put out the crisis in the stream of the history he experienced, and analyze it theologically?
(b) What was the characteristic of the eschatology which he conceived by means of his criticism on “The Constitution of the Kingdom of North-Israel and the cult”?
Conclusions
(a) Through his symbolical-tragic experience of marriage Hosea acknowledged as follows: “Tkere are no faith, true contract between God and men, and the knowledge of God in his own country.” (Hos. 4:1)
(b) The characteristic of his eschatology are as follows:
(i) He founded of “Between-time” (between the actual history and the world of the last.) (Hos. 2:17, 3:4)
(ii) His eschatology has two aspects.
(1) the contents of the last day has. the contract between God and animals. (Hos. 2:20) the recovery of peace among the nations who were under state of war. (Hos. 2:20)
(2) the abiding by laws God gave. (Hos. 2:21-22)

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The intention of this thesis is, by the method of so-called “Redaktionsgeschichte, ” to throw light upon the thought of Mark, which was shown in geographical representations, especially in the name “Galilee”, in his Gospel. How to interpret Mk xiv. 28, xvi. 7, is here the main point of the problem. Through the examination of theories by E. Lohmeyer, W. Marxsen, M. Karnetzki, E. Trocmé etc., the following is explained; that is, “Galilee” in Mark does not mean “heathen Galilee, ” but means the home and the place of daily vocations to those who follow Jesus. To insert xiv. 28, xvi. 7, will not be for the justification of the flight of disciples, but rather for the suggestion to the positive meaning of their remaining in “Galilee.”

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A German philologist E. Norden (Agnostos Theos, 1913, 4th ed., 1957) first made a comparative study of liturgical formulas in Hellenistic religions, Judaism and Christianity, laying the foundation for further studies by other scholars. In this study, Norden discovered a liturgical formula (das Liturgische) in Colossians 1, 15-20 and observed that this liturgical formula was formulated under the influence of Hellenistic Judaism.
After him, M. Dibelius, E. Lohmeyer and others made further studies of this passage. E. Käsemann (Eine urchristliche Taufliturgie, Festschrift Rudolf Bultmann zum 65 Geburtstag überreicht, 1949, 133-48, now in: Exegetische Versuche und Besinnungen, Bd. I, 1960, 34-51) saw in 1, 12-20 of this letter a formula of Baptismal-liturgy of Primitive Christianity and pointed out that, there was in 1, 15-20 a Christhymn which was derived from Gnosis.
The study of this passage was further advanced by the scholars such as James M. Robinson (A Formal Analysis of Colossians 1, 15-20, JBL, 1961), H. Hegermann (Die Vorstellung vom Schöpfungsmittler im hellenistischen Judentum und Urchristentum, Berlin, 1961) and H. M. Schenke(Der Widerstreit gnostischer und kirchilicher Christologie im Spiegel des Kolosserbriefes, ZThK, 1964).
The aim of this article is to present the Christology of this passage against its religious background, criticizing and examining the above mentioned studies.

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It is remarkable that in the later Islamic history from the 13th century up till the nineteenth century, the Sufi brotherhoods had reorganized the Muslim society. This article stresses less the opposing inter-relationship between the Sufi orders and the orthodox Islamic Church than the complementary relationship between the two. From this point of view, the integration of Islam in later Islam could be realized only through the intermediary social function of Sufi orders. Sociologically viewed, Sufi orders could succeed provided with its adaptation to the corporate structure of society, based especially upon the craft guilds.
In modern history, for the creation of the basis of the modernization of Islamic society, the rationalization of objects, or the concentration of diversified values was necessary condition for the Muslims, hence, firstly the purificationist Wahhabism attacked the Sufism as the inner enemy, and much later the Modernists followed the same attack. So far the two movements have contributed to the effect of further disintegrating the essential social basis of Islam. This underlies the identity crisis of modern Muslims.

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It is noteworthy that the verdict given by Orientalists on the medieval Persian erudite scholar Nasir al-Din Tusi has changed in the course of time, especially after the Second World War. Before the War, he used to be condemned for his treachery to his master and the part played by him in the fall of Baghdad. But, on the contrary, after the War he is sometimes regarded as a benefactor to the renaissance of Islamic culture.
So in this article the writer intends to re-examine his life at a crucial time through the following periods:
(1)-His connection with the Ismailites.
(2)-The role played by him in the fall of Baghdad.
(3)-His academic activities in Maragheh.
In conclusion his value should be estimated, not from the viewpoint of his political career, but from the standpoint of his great contributions to the re-birth of Islamic civilization after its destruction by Mongols.

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Prof. F. Babinger a publié tout récemment une lettre italienne conservée dans les Archives du Topkapi Serayi d'Istanbul: F. Babinger, Lorenzo de' Medici e la Corte ottomana. Archivio storico italiano. Anno CXXI. Fase. 439. 1963. p. 305-361. C'est une lettre de Pagolo da Colle, “espion” de Laurent le Magnifique auprès de la cour ottomane, et adressée le 26 août 1483 au sultan Bayazid II. Il y fait un rapport sur des resultats de sa mission qu'il s'est chargeé de la part du sultan de visiter son frère Gjem et de s'informer de la vie que celui-ci menait sous la surveillance des chevaliers de Rhodes en Savoie.
Ce rapport, en la traduisant en japonais, représente aux orientalistes de noire pays un aspect très intéressant dans l'histoire des relations diplomatiques qui s'est dèroulèe dans la Mèditerranèe orientale durant le XV^e siècle.

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Ottoman admiral, Piri Reis' old map was discovered by Bay H. E. Eldem, Director of National Museums in 1929, when the old Ottoman Imperial Palace—Topkapu Saray was being turned into a Museum of Antiquites. This old map was missing for a long time.
The detailed research of Prof. P. Kahle and other scholars have presented very important informations regarding this map, because it was sometimes called “the map of Columbus”.
This paper gives the explanation about figure, substance matter, preserved condition and two varieties of this old map, and shows the big image of well-known Turkish admiral in the 16th century with some interesting episode. At the same time, this paper points out that Ottoman Turks were excellent experts in the field of cartography and they stood very far above the level of European cartography in those days.

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