In 701 B.C. the Assyrian empire was in its ascendancy. It had already vanquished the kingdom of Israel to the north including the capital at Samaria. It then prepared an assault on Judah and its capital at Jerusalem.
But in one of those significant events that changes the course of world history, Assyria was repelled. Jerusalem was saved until 586 B.C. when the Babylonians sacked the city, forcing its leadership class into exile.
Henry Aubin, in a major feat of scholarship, determines that Jerusalem was aided by a Kushite army from Africa which had marched northeast from the Nile valley. While the Bible attributes the Assyrian retreat to an angel and secular commentators cite pestilence, Aubin, in a meticulously documented work, demonstrates that an alliance with the African nation of Kush bolstered Jerusalem’s defences.
Kush, also known as Nubia, was located in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan. A monarchy that existed for more than 1000 years, from 900 B.C. to A.D. 350, Kushites held sway over Egypt from 712 B.C. to about 660 B.C. Of Egypt’s 31 dynasties, this, the 25th Dynasty, is the only one that all scholars agree, was black.
The commander of the Kushite expeditionary force was Taharqa (or as the Bible calls him Tirhakah). This Kushite prince, who had his own interests in halting Assyrian expansion, likely caught the aggressors by surprise as they prepared their siege of Jerusalem.
Aubin offers a thrilling military history and a stirring political analysis of the ancient world. He also sees the event as influential over the centuries.
The Kushite rescue of the Hebrew kingdom of Judah enabled the fragile, war-ravaged state to endure, to nurse itself back to economic and demographic health, and allowed the Hebrew religion, Yahwism, to evolve within the next several centuries into Judaism. Thus emerged the monotheistic trunk supporting Christianity and Islam.
The FreePress U.S.A. 2007
John Murray UK 2007
Penguin Canada 2007
Artemis Netherlands 2007
Weltbild Germany 2007
Cairo Italy 2007
Quidnovi Portugal 2007
Espasa Calpe/Planeta Spain 2007
Forum Sweden 2007
TV2Forlag Danish 2007
Psichogios Greece 2007
Tammerraamat Estonia 2007
Kinneret Israel 2007
Wisdom Korea 2007
Concept Marathi 2007
Jota Czech 2007
Planeta Brazil 2007
Trivium Kiado Hungary 2007
BWP Complex Chinese 2008
Alnari Serbian 2008
Duc in Altum Polish 2008
JCGawsewitch French 2008
Pustaka Alvabet Indonesia 2008
Ucila Inernational Slovenia 2009
Pegasus Yayincilik Turkey 2010
Kalimat Arabic 2010
Sarasavi Sinhalese 2011
Film Option Neraida Albania 2017
Grinzane Book Award Italy 2008
Marina Nemat
Prisoner of Tehran
“Marina Nemat’s beautiful book…is an act of bravery…as well as compassion. Her words, well wrought and heartfelt, expose her shocking dilemma and the terrible system that tried to defile her.”
Globe and Mail
On January 15, 1982 Marina Nemat was arrested and sentenced to death for political crimes. It was a deadly time in Ayatollah Khomeini’s new regime, when her mildly critical article of the state in her high school newspaper put her on a watch list. Her fate was sealed when she complained that the teacher of calculus was substituting “government propaganda” for math.
Marina was seized from her family’s apartment in Tehran and taken to Evin prison. In a bizarre twist, one of the Revolutionary Guards, Ali, fell in love with her. Using his family connections, he plucked her from the firing squad with only minutes to spare.
In return, he demanded that she convert from Catholicism to Islam and marry him. If she didn’t, he said, with the dizzying combination of terror and tenderness that would characterize their relationship for the next two years, he would ensure that her family was harmed. After Ali was gunned down by rival factions and died in her arms, Marina was eventually released.
For years, Marina Nemat, a waitress at a suburban Toronto restaurant, the wife of an electrical engineer, and mother of two sons, kept her secret until the silence became too burdensome. This important and enthralling book is a major international literary event.
• Bestseller in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Taiwan, Canada
“. ..the portrait of a world only too real, where women’s lives are cheap — but not this one.”
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Author of The Deep End of the Ocean
Click here for Marina’s website:
http://www.marinanemat.com/index.html
CBC interview on The Hour 2007:
KNXT Catholic TV presents: Forum for a Better Understanding: Marina Nemat, Prisoner of Tehran with host Jim Grant
Part 1:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_Ps6N2dEjPg
Part 2:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=OCms7CiEaIg
Part 3:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=q9L6K1adDK0
TVO film interview Feb 2010:
http://tinyurl.com/ykqpgzf
Chosen as one of five noteworthy books in the National Catholic Reporter:
http://tinyurl.com/ybvdrzx
Click here for Marina on Iran in the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marina-nemat/prisoners-in-tehran_b_527146.html
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