Walter D. Ward received his Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, in 2008 with a concentration on Roman and late antique history. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. He is the author of Mirage of the Saracen: Christians and Nomads in the Sinai Peninsula in Late Antiquity (2014) and editor of two books, The Socio-economic History and Material Culture of the Roman and Byzantine Near East: Essays in Honor of S. Thomas Parker (2017) and Sources of World Societies (with D. Gainty, 2009 and 2011).

"The book, rich in illustrations and imparting good histories over a vast period, is a useful resource for non-specialists or students initiating research. Various aspects benefit specialists too."-Nathanael Andrade, sehepunkte

• List of figures; Preface and acknowledgements; 1: Introduction; 2: Urban Planning and Structures in the Near East; 3: The Tetrapolis (Antioch and Apamea); 4: The Decapolis: Gerasa and Scythopolis; 5: Judea and Palestine (Jerusalem and Caesarea); 6: The Desert Fringe: Petra and Palmyra; 7: Conclusion; Glossary; Index