A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East

Discover a comprehensive and cross-disciplinary handbook exploring several sub-regions and key themes perfect for a new generation of students   A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East delivers the first complete handbook in the area of Hellenistic and Roman Near Eastern history. The book is divided into sections dealing with interdisciplinary source material, each with a great deal of regional variety and engaging with several key themes. It integrates discussions of the classical Near East with the typical undergraduate teaching syllabus in the Anglo-Saxon world.  All contributors in this edited volume are leading scholars in their field, with a combination of established researchers and academics, and emerging voices. Contributors  hail from countries across several continents, and work in various disciplines, including Ancient History, Archaeology, Art History, Epigraphy, Numismatics, and Oriental Studies.   In addition to furthering the integration of the Levantine lands in the classical periods into the teaching canon, the book offers readers:   The first comprehensively structured Companion and edited handbook on the Hellenistic and Roman Near East  Extensive regional and sub-regional variety in the cross-disciplinary source material  A way to compensate for the recent destruction of monuments in the region and the new generation of researchers’ inability to examine these historical stages in person  An integration of the study of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East with traditional undergraduate teaching syllabi in the Anglo-Saxon world  Perfect for undergraduate history and classics students studying the Near East, A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East will also earn a place in the libraries of graduate students and scholars working within Near Eastern studies, as well as interested members of the public with a passion for history.

Preface xii List of Figures xiii List of Maps xxi Contributor Biographies xxii Abbreviations xxviii Maps xxx 1 Introduction 1 Ted Kaizer 2 Historical Narrative 9 Maurice Sartre Part I Sources 19 3 Geographical Sources and Documents 21 Gillian Ramsey 4 Berossos between Greek and Babylonian Culture 34 Johannes H. Haubold 5 Lucian, Philo of Byblos, and Ps.-Meliton 44 J.L. Lightfoot 6 Jewish Sources 54 C.T. Robert Hayward Copyrighted Material 7 Josephus 66 Jan Willem van Henten 8 Syriac Sources 76 Alberto Rigolio 9 Greek and Latin Inscriptions 86 Pierre-Louis Gatier 10 Ancient North Arabian 99 Ahmad al-Jallad 11 Parchments and Papyri 105 Kimberley Czajkowski 12 Statues, Reliefs, and Paintings: Hellenism versus Local Culture 114 Lucinda Dirven 13 Archaeology and Architecture 126 Rubina Raja 14 Numismatics 135 Kevin Butcher 15 Air-Photography 154 David L. Kennedy 16 Mosaics 177 Janine Balty Part II Regions, Places, and Peoples 189 17 The Tetrapolis and Other City Foundations 191 Apostolos Bousdroukis 18 The Decapolis 213 Achim Lichtenberger 19 Commagene 223 Margherita Facella 20 Hellenistic and Roman Phoenicia 240 Michael Sommer 21 Lebanon 249 Julien Aliquot 22 Judaea, the Palestinian Coast, the Galilee, Idumaea, and Samaria 259 Yaron Z. Eliav 23 The Nabataeans 272 David F. Graf 24 Palmyra 284 Jean-Baptiste Yon 25 Dura-Europos 295 J.A. Baird 26 The Middle Euphrates 305 P.M. Edwell 27 The Parthian and Sasanian Near East (including Hatra, Edessa, and the Characene) 316 Tommaso Gnoli 28 The Desert and its Peoples 327 M.C.A. Macdonald Part III Themes 335 29 The Roman Armies in the Near East 337 Oliver Stoll 30 Roads and Harbors 350 Benjamin Isaac 31 Kingdoms and Principalities 365 Andreas J.M. Kropp 32 Trade 378 Michał Gawlikowski 33 Local and Regional Economies 389 Kai Ruffing 34 The Arabs 397 M.C.A. Macdonald 35 Indigenous Law 402 John F. Healey 36 Funerary Traditions 412 Lidewijde de Jong 37 Religious Life 423 Alison C. Ewins and Eris B. Williams Reed 38 Early Christianity in the Near East 435 L. Van Rompay Bibliography 445 Index 518