Roman Syria and the Near East

by Kevin Butcher

Overview

The provinces that the Romans referred to as Syria covered a vast area occupied today by several modern states. These included some of the most spectacular ruins of the ancient world-Palmyra, Baalbek, and Apamea-and fabled cities such as Antioch, Damascus, Sidon, and Tyre. Roman Syria also comprised sites that are virtually unknown, such as the great fortress city of Zenobia on the Euphrates and the remarkably well-preserved villages of the limestone massif of northwestern Syria.

Roman Syria and the Near East offers a broad overview of this major cultural crossroads. Surveying a millennium of Roman and Byzantine rule in the Near East, from Roman annexation to the Arab conquest, the book outlines Syria's crucial role in Roman history. Topics discussed include the Roman army's use of Syria as a buffer against its powerful eastern neighbors and the elaborate road system that Rome developed to connect its far-reaching empire. The book also explores the impact of geography, trade, and religion on the shaping of Syria, as well as the influence of Syrian culture on the classical world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892367153
Publisher:	Getty Publications
Publication date:	02/19/2004
Series:	Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	474
Product dimensions:	6.75(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.50(d)

Table of Contents

	Map of the region	6
	Preface and Acknowledgements	7
	Foreword	9
	List of rulers	18
Part I	Grand Narratives
1	An Incidental Annexation	19
2	Rome, Syria, Parthians and Persians	32
Part II	Organizing Space and Time
3	Political Entities	79
4	Time and Motion	122
Part III	Production and Consumption
5	Exploiting the Available	135
6	Portable Antiquities	180
Part IV	The Construction of Communities
7	Public Values	223
8	Impure Genres	270
9	The Pious World	335
10	The Military	399
	Epilogue	421
	Colour Plates	427
	Select Bibliography and Text Notes	443
	Endnotes	464
	Index	465