During the fourth century BC the number of Greeks who did not live as citizens in the city-states of southern mainland Greece increased considerably: mercenaries, pirates, itinerant artisans and traders, their origins differed widely. It has been argued that this increase was caused by the destruction of many Greek cities in the wars of the fourth century, accompanied by the large programme of settlement begun by Alexander in the East and Timoleon in the West. Although this was an important factor, argues Dr McKechnie, more crucial was an ideological deterioration of loyalties to the city: the polis was no longer absolutely normative in the fourth century and Hellenistic periods. With so many outsiders with specialist skills, Alexander and his successors were able to recruit the armies and colonists needed to conquer and maintain empires many times larger than any single polis had ever controlled.

During the fourth century BC the number of Greeks who did not live as citizens in the city-states of southern mainland Greece increased considerably: mercenaries, pirates, itinerant artisans and traders, their origins differed widely. It has been argued that this increase was caused by the destruction of many Greek cities in the wars of the fourth century, accompanied by the large programme of settlement begun by Alexander in the East and Timoleon in the West. Although this was an important factor, argues Dr McKechnie, more crucial was an ideological deterioration of loyalties to the city: the polis was no longer absolutely normative in the fourth century and Hellenistic periods. With so many outsiders with specialist skills, Alexander and his successors were able to recruit the armies and colonists needed to conquer and maintain empires many times larger than any single polis had ever controlled.

Heir of Ptolemy son of Lagus, Alexander the Great's general (who took Egypt over in 323BC), Ptolemy II Philadelphus reigned in Alexandria from 282 to 246. The greatest of the Hellenistic kings of his time, Philadelphus exercised power far beyond the confines of Egypt, while at his glittering royal court the Library of Alexandria grew to be a matchless monument to Greek intellectual life. In Egypt the Ptolemaic regime consolidated its power by encouraging immigration and developing settlement in the Fayum. This book examines Philadelphus' reign in a comprehensive and refreshing way. Scholars from the fields of Classics, Archaeology, Papyrology, Egyptology and Biblical Studies consider issues in Egypt and across Ptolemaic territory in the Mediterranean, the Holy Land and Africa.

The first three centuries of the early church were a period of struggle, transition and growth. Recent attempts by historians and social scientists to understand this era have produced various and conflicting accounts. Indeed, some have sought to overturn the former consensus regarding which texts provide reliable evidence and how they should be interpreted. In The First Christian Centuries, Paul McKechnie, a classical scholar, examines some key issues in the current debate. Which ancient sources are reliable? What was the social makeup of the early Christian movement? What can we determine about the growth rate and persecution of first-century Christians? What do we know about the second generation of Christians? How should we assess the reliability of our various sources from the second and third centuries? What were the nature and extent of persecutions in the second and third centuries? What were the long-term consequences of Paul's making converts within the household of Caesar? Can we gain historical perspective on the diversity that traveled under the name Christian in the early centuries? How were women regarded and what roles did they play? And how was it that a Roman emperor, Constantine, was converted--and what were the implications for the Christian movement? The value of McKechnie's study lies not in providing a comprehensive narrative of the origins and growth of the early church. Rather, it lies in critically examining key historical issues in sustained conversation with contemporary scholarship and the ancient sources. McKechnie will be valued by both students and scholars of early Christianity as an intelligent and informed companion who offers repeated and valuable insights into this critical era of Christian beginnings.

Paul McKechnie explores how Christianity grew and expanded in Roman Asia over the first three centuries of the religion. Focusing on key individuals, such as Aberkios (Avircius Marcellus) of Hierapolis, he assesses the pivotal role played by Early Christian preachers who, in imitation of Paul of Tarsus, attracted converts through charismatic preaching. By the early fourth century, they had brought many cities and rural communities to a tipping point at which they were ready to move under a 'Christian canopy' and push polytheistic Greco-Roman religion to the margins. This volume brings new clarity of our understanding of how the Christian church grew and thrived in Asia Minor, simultaneously changing Roman society and being changed by it. Combining patristic evidence with the archaeological and epigraphic record, McKechnie's study creates a strong factual and chronological framework to the study of Christianization, while bringing Church History and Roman history more closely together.