In this revised and updated edition of his classic work, Robert Murray offers the fullest and most vivid picture yet available of the development and character of early Syriac Christian culture, illustrating both its original close relationship to Judaism and its remoter background in Mesopotamian civilization. This book deals with a topic of interdisciplinary importance, at the cultural crossroads of the ancient and medieval worlds of east and west, and of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It will be of interest to a correspondingly wide range of scholars and students. No knowledge of Syriac is assumed. (Back cover).