The Roman Near East

A grand book on a grand topic To do justice to such a topic, one needs not only a complete understanding of how the Roman Empire functioned, but also mastery of the extensive, complex, scattered, and difficult evidence for the local cultures Very few ancient historians possess such mastery This is a book that only Fergus Millar could have written. The breadth of expertise displayed, and the willingness to view the history of a major region of the Roman Empire from the perspective of the provinces rather than the imperial center, are hallmarks of Millars work, and are impossible to overpraise. There can be no question that The Roman Near East will be for a long time to come the standard work on the subject. -- Seth Schwartz * Times Literary Supplement * This learned, honest, and carefully constructed work studies the various regions of the [eastern] empire and their inhabitants. It asks who they actually wereand how far they had a local culture distinct from the Greco-Roman. The results are surprising The book is full of original interpretations [Readers] will be richly rewarded. -- Clive Foss * The Guardian * This work has been long awaited and will fill a very great need. It is an authoritative synoptic view of the entire Roman Near East, with reference to the most important recent discussions and discoveries. -- G. W. Bowersock, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton [An] extraordinary book Millars book provides above all the essential political, religious, and cultural framework for understanding how the three most enduring religious legacies of the ancient world for the modern worlddeveloped in a context that was neither Eastern nor Western. -- Guy MacLean Rogers * American Historical Review * This pioneering volume follows a steady stream of other important contributions by the noted Camden Professor of Ancient History at Oxford, but its unique character and subject may make it his most durable and popular work. It transcends a mere political history of the region by exploring in depth the cultural and linguistic diversity of the population that inhabited the Near EastThis is indisputably now the standard and essential guide for the Roman era in English for both scholars and students of the Near East. -- David E. Graf * Religious Studies Review * Destined to become a classic. -- Howard P. Krug * Seminary Studies *

Fergus G. B. Millar is Camden Professor of Ancient History at Oxford University.

Preface Abbreviations 1. Prologue: In Search of the Orient I. Empire 2. The Bridgehead and the Dependent Kingdoms, 31 BC-AD 74 2.1. From the Battle of Actium to the Death of Herod the Great 2.2. From the Death of Herod the Great to the End of Tiberius' Reign 2.3. From the Reign of Gaius to the Outbreak of the Jewish War 2.4. The Jewish War and Its Aftermath 3. Imperialism and Expansion, AD 74-195 3.1. Vespasian: A New Near Eastern Empire 3.2. Trajan : Expansion and Rearrangement in the Southern Near East 3.3. The Roman Presence, AD 114-161 3.4. Emperors and Pretenders in the Near East from Lucius Verus to Septimius Severus: The Conquest of Mesopotamia 4. Rome And Mesopotamia: From Parthia To Persia 4.1. The Severan Near East as a Military Structure 4.2. Emperors on Campaign, from Caracalla to Philip the Arab Shapur's Invasions and the Empire of Palmyra, AD 252-273 5. The Tetrarchy and Constantine 5.1. The Tetrarchy: Persian Wars and Fortified Lines 5.2. The Near East in the Tetrarchic Empire, AD 284-312 5.3. Licinius and Constantine, AD 313-337: Retrospect from a Christianised Empire II. Regions and Communities 6. Communal and Cultural Identities 7. The Tetrapolis and Northern Syria 7.1. The Geographical Context 7.2. Local Cult-Centres: Hierapolis and Doliche 7.3. Villages and Rural Temples 7.4. The Major Cities: Apamea 8. The Phoenician Coast and Its Hinterland 8.1. History and Geography 8.2. Phoenicia: The Southern Region 8.3. The Northern Coastline and Its Hinterland 8.4. The Major Cities: Byblos and Berytus 8.5. Sidon and Tyre 9. Eastern Syria Phoenice: Mountain, Oasis and Steppe 9.1. Geographical Connections 9.2. Emesa and Elagabal 9.3. Damascus and Its Region Palmyra 10. From Judaea to Syria Palaestina 10.1. History, Religion and Geography 10.2. Judaea before the First Revolt 10.3. From the First Jewish Revolt to the Second 10.4. Syria Palaestina 11. Arabia 11.1. Regions and Cultures 11.2. The Kingdom of Nabataea 11.3. The Decapolis in the First Century 11.4. The New Province of Arabia 11.5. The Nomadic Presence 12. The Euphrates and Mesopotamia 12.1. Geography, Culture and Language 12.2. Dura-Europos in the Parthian Period 12.3. The Middle Euphrates and the Coming of Rome 12.4. Roman Dura-Europos 12.5. Edessa as a Kingdom and Roman Colony until the Middle of the Third Century 12.6. Social and Religious Currents in the Fourth Century 13. Epilogue: East and West 13.1. East? 13.2. West? Appendix A. The Inscriptions of the Tetrarchic Land-Surveyors Appendix B. Documents from the Bar Kochba War Appendix C. Materials for the History of Roman Edessa and Osrhoene, AD 163-337 Maps I. The Near East: Areas Covered by Maps II-XII II. The Roman Near East: Main Sites and Geographical Features III. Northwestern Syria and Mount Amanus IV. The Phoenician Coast and Western Syria Phoenice V. The Central Syrian Steppe, Pabnyra and the Euphrates VI. Judaea/Syria Palaestina, Western Arabia VII. Southeastern Syria Phoenice, Northern Arabia VIII. Petra and South-Central Arabia IX. Arabia, with Sinai, the Red Sea and the Hedjaz X. Eastern Syria, the Euphrates and Western Mesopotamia XI. Central Mesopotamia and Mons Masius XII. The Eastern Syrian Steppe and the Middle Euphrates General Index Index of Literary Sources Index of Documents