Reformen im Alten Orient und der Antike

The contributors to this volume provide a critical analysis of historical events and processes for which scholars use the term »reform.«. This is done by problematizing the term itself and by describing the backgrounds of selected reforms in antiquity, their stylization and the history of their reception. Beginning with Tutankhamen's restoration as a counter-reaction to Echnaton's reform, the authors deal with reform processes in Greek and Roman antiquity and the processes of transformation in Middle Eastern Oriental societies, using Uruk and Yehud in the Persian era as examples. Those articles related specifically to the Old Testament range from the question of Deuteronomy as a reform program to the description of the reforms of Ezekiel, Esdras and Nehemiah. In conclusion, the authors deal with the figure of Esdras as a reformer in classical Jewish literature.