AD 33: The Year that Changed the World - Hardcover

Duriez, Colin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0750939753 ISBN 13: 9780750939751

Publisher: Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

AD 33 was the year when an obscure religious teacher died a criminal's death in an outpost of the Roman empire, an event which had world changing consequences in the form of the beginnings of Christianity. But what was the world like in that momentous year? Colin Duriez's compelling and wide-ranging book brings to life events in the Roman empire and beyond.

In AD 33 the huge Roman empire encompassed the countries surrounding the Mediterranean and much of north-western Europe. Cities had water and sewage systems, theatres and public baths. Roads cut across the countryside, facilitating both travel and governmental control. Beyond the empire other cultures and civilisations thrived. In Britannia, which had a well-developed Celtic oral tradition, Boudicca was a young girl and King Cunobelinus-immortalised by Shakespeare as Cymbeline-ruled much of south-east and central England. The vast Han dynasty of China was one of the major empires of the time, while, outside the known world, the Nazca culture, famous for its enormous geoglyphs, had been established in South America for centuries.

Back in Jerusalem, Colin Duriez draws on contemporary descriptions and Jewish scriptures of the early Church to portray the city during the year of Christ's death. He explores characters such as Pilate, King Herod, Tiberius, Peter, and Mary and Martha, and discusses the method of crucifixion and the likely cause of the darkness which descended on Jerusalem when Jesus was dying.

There is a widespread curiosity about the history that lies behind the Gospel tests. This richly detailed book reveals, for the first time, what the year that saw the inauguration of Christianity as a world religion was actually like.

About this title

About the Author:

Colin Duriez is a writer and lecturer whose books include 'Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings: A Guide to Middle Earth', 'The Cs Lewis Encyclopedia' and 'J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Story of their Friendship. He lives in Leicester.

Review:

"Colin Duriez is best known for his studies in the life and work of Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Here he ventures further back in time, offering a compelling case for dating the crucifixion of Jesus to Friday 13 April, AD 33. Much of the book is spent setting the death of Jesus in its historical contexts, Jewish and Roman. Where firm evidence is missing, Duriez suggests plausible scenarios." (Church Times)

"Author Colin Duriez's compelling and wide-ranging work examines the huge Roman Empire which encompassed the Mediterranean region and much of north-western Europe. . . . There is a universal curiousity about the history that lies behind the Gospel texts and the book reveals what the year that saw the inauguration of Christianity as a world religion was actually like." (Belfast News Letter Group)

"Colin Duriez's 'AD 33' offers readers a fascinating and creative view of the most important year in human history. This book takes readers back in time, back to the world of Jesus, back to the culture of Jews and Romans and to the events that changed everything. Scholars and students will learn much from this informed and very readable book. I recommend it enthusiastically." (Craig A. Evans, Ph.D., Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College and author of Fabricating Jesus)

About this edition

• Publisher: Sutton Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0750939753
• ISBN 13: 9780750939751
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256