Hannah M. Cotton, Roman Rule and Jewish Life: Collected Papers, ed. by O. Pogorelsky, (Studia Judaica – 89), De Gruyter, Berlin–Boston 2022, pp. 607, ISBN 978-3-11-019144-8; ISSN 0585-5306

Hannah M. Cotton, a renowned and prolific scholar of Roman Judaea and Arabia, made a name for herself in the scholarly community through publishing scores of seminal texts across decades. Cotton’s diverse output comprises case studies, analyses and critical editions of inscriptions and papyri, some of them in form of book chapters, many more in form of articles in respected scholarly journals. Since it is often difficult to access Cotton’s older works, Ofer Pogorelsky edited a recently published collection of 34 articles by H. M. Cotton. The collection divides into four thematic sections: A. Government, Power, and Jurisdiction (pp. 3–111) with six articles;1 B. Documents, Languages, and Law (pp. 115–271) with nine articles;2 C. Land, Army, and Administration (pp. 275–400) with ten articles;3 D. Law, Custom, and Provincial Life (pp. 403–546) with nine articles.4 This editorial di-

The section A of the collection comprises early texts by H. M. Cotton, with her focus on Cicero and other Roman authors. 5The next stage of her career was devoted to editing papyri texts excavated at Masada during the expedition of Y. Yadin, with the analysis and interpretation of these texts becoming her key research interest. 6H. M. Cotton became one of the greatest experts in the field due to her studies on philological, historical and legal aspects of papyri dated to the Bar-Kokhba Revolt and, most significantly, of the so-called Babatha's Archive.Many of these studies are reprinted in sections B, C and D. The author directed special attention in her research to the Jewish law in the Roman era and to the role of oral traditions in Jewish divorces.H. M. Cotton recurrently presented her views on these matters in speech and writing, with some of her arguments appearing in texts reprinted in this collection.The said issue continues to attract her scholarly attention, as evinced by an extensive section of the introduction (Preface, pp.viii-x), in which she presents her current view on legal aspects of the Jewish marriage and divorce procedures.
Even though the majority of texts reprinted in the collection touch upon historical and legal issues, only the section C includes some texts on the military and administrative history of the Near East under the early Roman Empire.One can only regret that the editor chose to include so few of them out of the author's voluminous output on that matter.
Every reprinted collection of texts follows a particular selection schema, with the discussed one rightly prioritising legal and historical matters.H. M. Cotton devoted much of her time and effort to analysing and elucidating intricate ancient sources; the scholars who are not deeply conversant with legal formulae would often not be able to interpret them correctly if not for H. M. Cotton's guidance and learning.
The collection comes with an updated (up to the submission) and exhaustive list of the author's scholarly output (List of Publications, pp.xxv-xxxii), followed by a combined bibliography for all reprinted texts (pp.549-583), a general index (pp.585-594) and an index of sources (pp.595-607).One should also note the high quality and coherence of the collection's editing.
Without any doubt, every scholar of history of Judaea and Arabia in the early Roman Empire should familiarise themselves with the carefully curated selection of H. M. Cotton's works that is now reprinted as Roman Rule and Jewish Life.The collection not only

1
Cicero, ad Familiares XIII, 26 and 28: Evidence for revocatio or reiectio Romae/Romam?, pp.3-22; Military Tribunates and the Exercise of Patronage, pp.23-34; The Concept of Indulgentia under Trajan, pp.35-59; The Role of Cicero' Letter of Recommendation: Iustitia versus Gratia?, pp.61-78; Cassius Dio, Mommsen and the Quinquefascales, pp.79-97; The Evolution of the So-Called Provincial Law, or: Cicero's Letter of Recommendation and Private International Law in the Roman World, pp.99-111. 2 Subscriptions and Signatures in the Papyri from the Judaean Desert: The χειροχρήστης, pp.115-125; The Languages of the Legal and Administrative Documents from the Judaean Desert, pp.127-146; 'Diplomatics' or External Aspects of the Legal Documents from the Judaean Desert: Prolegomena, pp.147-160; Survival, Adaptation and Extinction: Nabataean and Jewish Aramaic versus Greek in the Legal Documents from the Cave of Letter in Nahal Hever, pp.161-172; The Bar Kokhba Revolt and the Documents from the Judaean Desert: Nabataean Participation in the Revolt (P.Yadin 52), pp.173-193; Language Gaps in Roman Palestine and the Roman Near East, pp.195-212; Private International Law or Conflict of Laws: Reflections on Roman Provincial Jurisdiction, pp.213-235; Continuity of Nabataean Law in the Petra Papyri: A Methodological Exercise, pp.237-256; Change and Continuity in Late Legal Papyri from Palaestina Tertia: Nomos Hellênikos and Ethos Rômaikos, pp.257-271. 3Babatha's 'Patria': Mahoza, Mahoz 'Eaglatain and Zo'ar, pp.275-283; Courtyard(s) in Ein-Gedi: P. Yadin 11, 19 and 20 of the Babatha Archive, pp.285-291; Land Tenure in the Documents from the Nabataean Kingdom and the Roman Province of Arabia, pp.293-308; Ἡ νέα ἐπαρχεία Ἀραβία: The New Province of Arabia in the Papyri from the Judaean Desert, pp.309-316; Some Aspects of the Roman Administration of Judaea/Syria-Palaestina, pp.317-335; The Legio VI Ferrata, pp.337-346; Ein Gedi between the Two Revolts, pp.347-361; The Roman Census in the Papyri from the Judaean Desert and the Egyptian κατ'οἰκίαν ἀπογραφή, pp.363-378; The Administrative Background to the New Settlement Recently Discovered near Givʻat Shaul,Ramallah-Shuʻafat Road, pp.379-386; The Impact of the Roman Army in the Province of Judaea/Syria Palaestina, pp.387-400.4The Guardianship of Jesus Son of Babatha: Roman and Local Law in the Province Arabia, pp.403-430; The Guardian (ἐπίτροπος) of a Woman in the Documents from the Judaean Desert, pp.431-441; The Law of vision is more of a guideline, since the majority of texts reprinted within the collection concentrate, in one way or another, on H. M. Cotton's distinctive research interest: legal issues appearing in ancient literary works, papyri and other documents of the Roman provincial administration.