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Title: The Roman Near East: 31 Bc-Ad 337 by Fergus G. Millar ISBN: 0-674-77886-3 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $28.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The ROMAN NEAR EAST: Synopsis of a Treasure
Comment: Millar describes the subject of his book as a threefold analysis, covering geography, chronology and linguistics. One of the major themes of the book is the treatment of data that lends insight into the mutual relations of the Roman government, the settled population and the peoples of the steppe-skenitai (tent-dwellers), nomads, Arabs (Saraceni).
Roman military occupation did not correspond to any definite geographical boundaries due to the vast desert steppes that define the Limes Arabicus. Millar states that one of the primary factors fueling scholarly inquiry into this particular period from the mid-first century BC to the mid-fourth century AD is that, from the point of view of Roman imperial history, the step-by-step advancement of Roman direct control demonstrates that, in the Near East at least, Roman imperialism and expansionism was very much alive contrary to the opposing opinions of some.
It also deals with the period that saw the rise of the "epigraphic habit" (inscriptions and record keeping) as expressed in the Near East, for it reveals a lot about political and communal structures at this time. He deals with politics and ethnicity, i.e. what political formations were present in this precarious desert frontier and how did people identify themselves? Millar defines the "Near East," according to the subject matter of his book, as the region of the Roman Empire where Greek (not Latin) co-existed with the family of Semitic languages.
How far was the settled Roman frontier open to nomadic groups? How far did the inhabitants of a settled region share customs and culture (especially religious beliefs) with the Arab tribes of the marginal zone? These are the questions one is confronted with when studying the subject of the eastern frontier, and Millar treats it thoroughly and comprehensively.
This book is valuable to serious historical investigators in search of scholarly research pertaining to this precarious region. Other important books to consider are: Roman Arabia by G.W. Bowersock, Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews by Victor Tcherikover, and Limits of Empire: The Roman Army in the East by Benjamin Isaacs.
Rating: 2
Summary: For the full-time history student only
Comment: This book is a thorough analysis of the cultural, social, economic and military history of the Roman Near East from Actium to the victory of Constantine. This includes Cappadocia, Syria, Palestine (Judea), Arabia, and Mesopotamia. Egypt and Anatolia are not covered. The first part is a chronological history of the region. The second part is a survey of every region. The main point of the study is to analyze whether there was a sense of community among the Semitic, Aramaic-speaking peoples of the Near East, shared with Semitic peoples outside the Empire, or whether they felt purely Roman and/or Greek.
This is all very interesting stuff, and probably the state of the art of Roman history in the Near East. Unfortunately, the author is always questioning theories and making tentative assumptions, comparing half-erased archaelogical inscriptions with coins found in the middle of nowhere. This is a very rigorous scientific process (particularly since we know so little about this period), probably very useful for the professional scholar, but boring for the casual reader like me. This is not helped by the use of long chapters where different topics are discussed in succession without clear transitions. I was so bored I did not finish the book.
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Title: Roman Arabia by G. W. Bowersock ISBN: 0674777565 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $20.50 |
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Title: Ancient Iraq by Georges Roux ISBN: 014012523X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties (Hellenistic Culture and Society) by Shaye J. D. Cohen ISBN: 0520226933 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 17 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Jewish Study Bible: Tanakh Translation, Torah, Nevi'Im, Kethuvim by Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler, Michael Fishbane ISBN: 0195297512 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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