The Thebaid in Times of Crisis-volume was published precisely three decades after the colloquium proceedings 'Hundred-Gated Thebes' (Leiden, 1995, ed. S.P. Vleeming), which included a seminal paper by Pieter Willem Pestman on the Great Theban Revolt. For the past thirty years, scholarly interest in the famines, uprisings, coups, dynastic disputes, and civil wars that have affected much of the country, especially since the reign of Ptolemy V, has remained undiminished. In 2004, Anne-Emmanuelle Veïsse published her standard monograph on the Ptolemaic revolts. Concurrently, an increasing focus has been directed toward the positive transformations instigated by periods of crisis. The reigns of Ptolemy VI and successors, who had to deal with multiple periods of crisis, were examined in the proceedings 'Ägypten zwischen innerem Zwist und äusserem Druck' (Wiesbaden, 2011, eds. Andrea Jördens and Joachim Friedrich Quack) and 'Quand la fortune du royaume ne dépend pas de la vertu du prince: un renforcement de la monarchie lagide de Ptolémée VI à Ptolémée X' (Leuven, 2020, eds. Gilles Gorre and Stéphanie Wackenier). Changes in the military sphere, including multiple waves of reinforcements throughout the country, were addressed in 'L'armée en Égypte aux époques perse, ptolémaïque et romaine' (Genève, 2014, eds. Anne-Emmanuelle Veïsse and Stéphanie Wackenier) and in Christelle Fischer-Bovet's standard work on the Ptolemaic army ('Army and society in Ptolemaic Egypt', Cambridge, 2014).

The excellent 'The Thebaid in Times of Crisis' volume, the result of the 2019 international conference held at the Freie Universität Berlin and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, shows with its 14 contributions that the Ptolemaic Empire's chaotic periods continue to offer significant potential for scholarly exploration. The volume's primary focus on Thebes and the broader Thebaid region is made possible by a wealth of source material for the periods of crisis, which is more abundant than that for other regions.

The volume includes an excellent introductory chapter, authored by one of the editors, Ralph Birk, that extends beyond a mere synopsis of the contributions. It provides a theoretical basis for the case studies by examining the concept of 'crisis' in historical research and discussing past and present research trends. The dichotomous view of nationalist Egyptians versus foreign Greeks, for example, has increasingly given way to a focus on the large-scale social mobility of the Egyptian population and to views that consider other potential causes and contexts of conflict.

The book's multidisciplinary approach is one of its strongest points. It draws on a wide range of understudied or newly interpreted sources, including palaeoclimatological datasets, archaeological and numismatic material, temple inscriptions, and historical sources of a documentary and literary nature. Readers will find, for example, a plea for an integrated approach to climate and social-economic history (Joseph Gilbert Manning), as well as an analysis of coin finds from Luxor and Karnak, showing that coin circulation remained resilient despite political and economic instability (Thomas Faucher).

Many contributions focus, either entirely or in part, on the impact of the Great Theban Revolt (206-186 BCE). During the revolt, cult activities in the Osirian cemeteries of Karnak and elsewhere, supported by the religious policies of the Lagids, came to a halt (Laurent Coulon), and building projects in the Montu temple complex of Medamud were affected, although widespread destruction by rebels cannot be proven (Felix Relats Montserrat). Demotic sources from Elephantine provide direct and indirect evidence of the impact of the rebellion on private and public life of a region that remained loyal to the Ptolemaic rulers (Jan Moje). Ralph Birk's prosopographical study of high-status priestly families in Thebes and Marie-Pierre Chaufray's contribution on the lesonis, the annually elected administrator of the temple administration, analyze the attitude and fragile survival of important priestly families during and after the rebellion under a dynasty that systematically strengthened its grip on temple structures and hierarchy. Anne-Emmanuelle Veïsse's contribution, which focuses on the revolt around 88 BCE, ties in with the Great Theban Revolt as well, as she examines whether the events around 88 BCE were motivated by the same factors that sparked the Great Revolt.

Several contributions discuss the changing character of the royal image in response to the challenging circumstances. Temple decorations, created in collaboration between priests and monarchs to define and justify kingship, reflect political events, particularly in the central 'schéma du culte royal' (René Preys). Ruler cults and their textual and iconographic expressions also underwent flexible trajectories, showing queens who were attributed with greater agency, thus contributing to the stability of the Ptolemaic regime (Martina Minas-Nerpel). Daniel von Recklinghausen illustrates how the synodal decree Philensis II (186 BCE) employed theological terminology and mythological motifs within the temple domain to interpret political events and reinforce the divine status of the Ptolemaic rulers. In addition, the representation of the king in the priestly decrees evolved towards greater realism as military prowess came to be embodied by generals such as Aristonikos rather than the king himself (Alexandra Nespoulous-Phalippou). Stefano Giovanni Caneva and Stefan Pfeiffer contextualize the bilingual decree in honor of the strategos Kallimachos II, dating to around 40 BCE, within the broader Hellenistic era, when local elites increasingly assumed the roles of saviors and benefactors during challenging times; hence, the decree should not be 'interpreted as an overt provocation against the legitimate rulers or as the sign that a new secession was being planned in the Thebaid' (75).

This carefully edited volume contains contributions that are arranged alphabetically, with each paper accompanied by its own bibliography. Indices of names, places, sources, and notable events conclude the volume.

Readers interested in the subject will undoubtedly enjoy the high-quality papers and the many new perspectives and angles that the volume offers on a theme that has captivated the field for several decades.

Katelijn Vandorpe