Middle East under Rome

Maurice Sartre is Professor of History, University of Tours and the Institut Universitaire de France.

Histories of the Roman Empire tend to stay close to Rome, so Sartre's summation of what we know about imperial influence in the region then known as Syria is highly welcome. Sartre offers an account of major events in the region, but the real treasure is the rich detail about ancient Syria's cultural life. Drawing on archeological evidence as well as historical texts, the author sketches a thriving region dotted by cosmopolitan city-states that were in many cases governed by local rulers with Roman guidance...Vivid descriptive prose could help this excellent treatise find a readership beyond the world of classical scholars.

• * Preface to the English-Language Edition * Acknowledgments * Translators' Note * Introduction 1. The Hellenistic Legacy * The Creation of New States * Syria between Parthians, Romans, and Armenians 2. The End of Seleucid Syria and the First Roman Rule (69--31 B.C.E.) * The Beginnings of Roman Intervention * Pompey and Syria * Syria at the Time of the Roman Civil War 3. From Augustus to Trajan: Creating a Province * The Provincia and Its Governors * The Defenses of Imperial Syria in the First Century * The Client States in the First Century C.E. 4. The Crises in Judaea from Herod to Bar Kokhba * Herod the Great * Herod's Heirs * The Era of Prefects and Procurators * The Revolt of 66--70 and Its Consequences * From the Fall of the Temple to Bar Kokhba 5. From Trajan to the Severi: Conquests and Reorganizations * New Provinces, New Divisions * Defense of the Country and Roman Campaigns 6. Civic Life and Urban Development during the Early Empire * The Spread of the Polis and the Creation of Colonies * The Structure and Organization of Municipal Life * City Profiles 7. Rural Life in the Early Empire * Land Tenure and Land Use * Agricultural Practices and Production * Villages and Village Communities * Nomads 8. The Urban Economy in Roman Syria * Artisans * Money and Customs Duties * Roads and Ports * Local and Foreign Trade 9. Hellenization and Indigenous Cultures * Syrian Hellenism * Indigenous Cultures 10 Pagans, Jews, and Christians in Roman Syria in the Second and Third Centuries * Gods and Pagan Sanctuaries * Rabbinical Judaism * The Beginnings of Christianization 11. A Time of Trials * Edessa, Hatra, and Dura-Europos * Palmyra * Phylarchs and Nomad Chiefs * Conclusion * Abbreviations * Notes * Works Cited * Index