The Oxford Handbook of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East

Rubina Raja is Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at Aarhus University, Denmark, and Director of the Danish National Research Foundation's Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions. She also directs several collective research projects focusing on the archaeology, history, and cultural heritage of Palmyra, including the Palmyra Portrait Project. She is the author of Pearl of the Desert and the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Palmyra.

Rubina Raja and her contributors do indeed deliver a breath-taking overview of topics in sectors as diverse as geography, climate, economy, religion, politics, and culture... The Oxford Handbook of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East provides all the necessary materials for moving toward a more integrated history of the Near East under Hellenistic and Roman rule. The tremendous effort put into bringing this book into existence deserves immense credit.

• BACKGROUND CHAPTERS 1. The Hellenistic and Roman Near East: An IntroductionRubina Raja 2. The Hellenistic Near East: A Dynamic CanvasDavid Engels 3. Embedding Global Diversity in the Hellenistic and Roman Near East: Setting the AgendaMiguel John Versluys 4. The Hellenistic and Roman Near East: Geography and ClimateEivind Heldaas Seland VISUAL ARTS AND COINAGE FROM THE REGION5. Art in Hellenistic SyriaAchim Lichtenberger 6. Coinage in Hellenistic SyriaOliver D. Hoover 7. Roman Art in the Near EastOlympia Bobou and Rubina Raja 8. Coinage in Roman SyriaKristina Neumann 9. Parthian Art and CoinageOlympia Bobou 10. The Sasanian Empire and Its ArtAnne Hunnell Chen 11. The Visual Arts of Umayyad SyriaNadia Ali ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOURCES12. Hellenistic Rule and Roman Operations in Babylonia and AssyriaJohn MacGinnis 13. Pompey and the Near EastNathanael Andrade and Rubina Raja 14. The Impact of Rome in the Near East after the Battle of Actium and the Rise of Herod: Politics and Art IntertwinedOlympia Bobou and Rubina Raja 15. Roman Colonies in the Near EastJulien Aliquot 16. The Roman Army in Syria: Size, Mission, Deployment, and InteractionsMichael A. Speidel 17. Road and Transport Networks in Hellenistic and Roman SyriaAdam Pa%zout 18. The Jewish Wars, the Roman Emperors, and Their ImpactKimberley Czajkowski 19. Divus Traianus Parthicus and the Middle EastKarl Strobel 20. Hadrian in the EastMary T. Boatwright 21. The Severans: A Near Eastern Roman Empire?Julia Hoffmann-Salz 22. The Parthians: An Empire on the RisePeter Edwell 23. The Roman Near East in the Time of the Tetrarchy and Constantine I (AD 284-337)Volker Menze 24. Religious Life in the Near East: Plurality, Variation, and InnovationNathanael Andrade 25. The Christian Near East in Late AntiquityVolker Menze REGIONS AND PLACES26. Urbanization and Cities in the Hellenistic and Roman Near EastOlympia Bobou and Rubina Raja 27. Nomads in the Classical and Byzantine Near EastGideon Avni and Steven A Rosen 28. CommageneMatthew P. Canepa 29. Edessa (4th Century BC to the 8th Century AD)Hartmut Leppin 30. The Hellenistic Forts on the Euphrates in Syria and Jebel Khalid Graeme Clarke 31. Europos-Dura (ca. 300 BC-AD 256)Pierre Leriche 32. The Cities of PersiaHenry P. Colburn 33. Parthian Sites in Iran and Central Asia Leonardo Gregoratti 34. Parthian Hatra and the Artistic koinè in the Figurative Arts of the Syrian-Mesopotamian SteppeLucinda Dirven 35. PalmyraOlympia Bobou 36. Hellenistic and Roman Hauran: A Well-Connected Near Eastern Region with a Local Style Anna-Katharina Rieger 37. Damascus and the Region: Fourth Century BC-Eighth Century ADRoss Burns 38. Temples, Tombs, and Villages: The Limestone Massif in North SyriaMichael Blömer 39. Hierapolis and Doliche: Two Cities of Ancient North Syria and their CultsMichael Blömer 40. The Tetrapolis Region: Cities and Culture Catherine Saliou 41. Antioch on the Orontes: The Urban ImageAndrea U. De Giorgi 42. Apamea on the Orontes Janine Balty and Jean-Charles Balty 43. The DecapolisOlympia Bobou and Rubina Raja 44. Hellenistic and Roman PhoeniciaCorinne Bonnet 45. Hellenistic and Roman Baalbek and the BekaaSimone Eid Paturel 46. Mount HermonJulien Aliquot 47. Iudaea/PalaestinaAvner Ecker 48. Petra during the Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine PeriodsLaurent Tholbecq 49. Eastern Arabia and the Persian Gulf in the Hellenistic and Late Antique Period R. A. Carter 50. Arabia from the Hellenistic to the Late Roman/Byzantine PeriodStephan G. Schmid and Zbigniew T. Fiema