First coming to the attention of scholars in the first half of the 19th century, Nabatean Agriculture, said to be an Arabic translation by the early tenth-century author Ibn Wahshiyya of an ancient Syriac text produced by Mesopotamians prior to the arrival of Islam, initially was enthusiastically received as a significant source of information about Babylonian agriculture as well folklore, magic, myths, and religion. Later scholars disputed the text's claimed provenance and interest in it rapidly fell away. Acknowledging that the text is not what it claims to be and that dating remains problematic, Hämeen-Anttila (Arabic and Islamic studies, Helsinki U., Finland) nevertheless believes it to be an extremely valuable source on the rituals, beliefs, and magic of pagan Late Antiquity in Iraq. In the first part of this volume he explores questions of provenance and dating. In the second part he presents the first English translation of Nabatean Agriculture, accompanied by his own textual analysis of what the text reveals about the pagan beliefs of ancient Mesopotamia. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)