Overview

This new edition of Rome in the East expands on the seminal work of the first edition, and examines the lasting impact of the near Eastern influence on Rome on our understanding of the development of European culture. Warwick Ball explores modern issues as well as ancient, and overturns conventional ideas about the spread of European culture to the East. This volume includes analysis of Roman archaeological and architectural remains in the East, as well as links to the Roman Empire as far afield as Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. The Near Eastern client kingdoms under Roman rule are examined in turn and each are shown to have affected Roman, and ultimately European, history in different but very fundamental ways. The highly visible presence of Rome in the East – mainly the architectural remains, some among the greatest monumental buildings in the Roman world – are examined from a Near Eastern perspective and demonstrated to be as much, if not more, a product of the Near East than of Rome. Warwick Ball presents the story of Rome in the light of Rome’s fascination with the Near East, generating new insights into the nature and character of Roman civilisation, and European identity from Rome to the present. Near Eastern influence can be seen to have transformed Roman Europe, with perhaps the most significant change being the spread of Christianity. This new edition is updated with the latest research and findings from a range of sources including field work in the region and new studies and views that have emerged since the first edition. Over 200 images, most of them taken by the author, demonstrate the grandeur of Rome in the East. This volume is an invaluable resource to students of the history of Rome and Europe, as well as those studying the Ancient Near East.

Full Product Details

Author:   Warwick Ball
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Edition:   2nd edition
Dimensions:   Width: 17.40cm , Height: 3.80cm , Length: 24.60cm
Weight:   1.496kg
ISBN:  

9780415720786

ISBN 10:   0415720788
Pages:   594
Publication Date:   28 June 2016
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Line Drawings Photographic Acknowledgements List of Photographs List of Tables Preface East or West? Constraints and considerations Sources, perspectives and evidence The limitations of epigraphy Terminology Geographical limits Objectives Genesis 1. Historical background To the Euphrates Rome and Iran Hannibal and Antiochus the Great Pompey the Great Crassus, Carrhae and the Parthians Beyond the Euphrates Trajan and the ghost of Alexander Septimius Severus and Mesopotamia The end of the beginning The Long Retreat Iran restored: Alexander and Artaxerxes Shapur I, Valerian and the disaster of Edessa Shapur II, Constantius and the disaster of Amida Julian and the loss of the Tigris Provinces Justinian the Peasant's son and Khusrau of the Immortal Soul Endgame: Heraclius, Khusrau Parviz and Muhammad 2. The Princely States - Near Eastern kingdoms under Roman protection Rome and the Arabs Emesa and the Sun-Kings The Kings of Emesa The religion of Emesa The Great Temple of Emesene Baal Judaea, Herod the Great and the Jewish Revolt The Rise of Herod The successors of Herod The Jewish Revolt Arabia and the Nabataeans Rise of the Nabataeans The Nabataean Achievement Nabataean Religion Palmyra and Queen Zenobia Origins of Palmyra Palmyrene Trade The Rise of Udaynath Zenobia The Revolt Aftermath of the Revolt Palmyrene Civilisation Edessa and the coming of Christendom Origins The kings Religion at Edessa Edessa and Christianity The Tanukhids and Queen Mawiyya 'King of the Arabs' Queen Mawiyya's Revolt Aftermath The Ghassanids and the coming of Islam 3. Rome East of the Frontiers Military Campaigns Mark Antony and Iran Aelius Gallus and Yemen Roman prisoners of war Crassus’ lost legions? Survivors of Edessa Roman trade Rome in India Rome in Central Asia and China ‘Romano-Buddhist’ Art 4. The Towns and Cities Antioch, the Imperial City Origins Eastern city or foreign implant? Antioch as an Imperial city The Macedonian heartland of the north Seleucia and Laodicaea Apamaea Aleppo Cyrrhus and Chalcis The Euphrates and Mesopotamia Halabiya Rasafa Dura Europos Mesopotamia The Phoenician Coast Aradus, Antaradus and Marathus Byblos Beirut Sidon and Tyre Caesarea Aradus, Tyre, others The Decapolis Damascus Qanawat and Si‘ Jerash Amman Other Decapolis cities ‘Roman’ Arabia: Bosra and Shahba Bosra Shahba Conclusion 5. The Countryside The Dead Cities The settlements and their setting The houses Public buildings Christian buildings Economy Date Explanation Other areas Elsewhere in north Syria The desert fringes Cilicia The Negev Jordan The Hauran Villages and their settings Public buildings Conclusions 6. Secular architecture: Imperial stamp or imperial veneer? The urban layout Planned towns Sacred and processional ways Colonnaded streets The four-way arch Other ornamental arches Dedicatory columns Nymphaea The kalybe Forums Oval and circular plazass Buildings of pleasure Baths Entertainment Military architecture Occupation Defence 7. Buildings of religion: the resurgence of the east Temples The temenos temple Temple propylaea Eastern temple origins Exterior altars Temple sanctuaries Circumambulatories High places Early Christian architecture The basilica The martyrium Funerary architecture Pyramids, temples and columns Tower tombs Underground tombs Tomb facades Fabric and style Building material The trabeate style The ‘baroque’ style The ‘Syrian Niche’ Conclusion 8. The transformation of an Empire The Arabs and the West India and the West Julia Domna and the Arabs who ruled Rome Septimius Severus and Julia Domna Caracalla and Geta Elagabalus and Baal Alexander and the end of a dynasty Aftermath Philip the Arab Lepcis Magna: Roman City in Africa and the orientalisation of Europe From Paganism to Christianity Religion in Pagan Rome From slave to master From Iran to Rome From Anatolia to Rome From the Semitic East to Rome From East to West The Oriental Revolution East and West Character and prejudice The view from the east Triumph of the East

Reviews

When this book first appeared it proved highly controversial. Now a timely updated second edition has taken into account much of the recent literature. Postcolonial approaches that foreground the viewpoint of the 'other' have reset the academic agenda and in many ways the first edition was a precursor of this approach. This second edition has continued the legacy of the first and is thought provoking, provocative and challenging. Such works are badly needed as a corrective to the prevailing orthodoxy of the western paradigm in Graeco-Roman studies. It is a very readable and valuable work and one which every student of both the Roman world and the ancient Near East needs to study. - Professor Paul Newson, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Author Information

Warwick Ball is a Near Eastern archaeologist who has excavated in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya and Ethiopia, and travelled extensively in most other countries in the region in his professional capacity. He has held posts with the British Institute of Afghan Studies in Kabul, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq. The first edition of Rome in the East was Choice Outstanding Academic Book in 2000 and was awarded the James Henry Breasted Prize in 2001. Author of many other books on the history and archaeology of the region, Mr Ball now lives in Scotland.

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