At Empire’s Edge: Exploring Rome’s Egyptian Frontier
Robert B. Jackson (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2002) 383 PP., $37.50
The desert “lurks on the edge of every Egyptian horizon,” writes author Robert Jackson, who takes us on a journey from the Siwa Oasis, near the Libyan border, to the Sudan. Along the way, we explore the crumbling ruins of Roman temples, forts, quarries and aqueducts. The graffiti, ostraca and inscriptions uncovered at these sites convey a vivid sense of what life must have been like for Romans living at the empire’s arid edge.
Epirus Vetus: The Archaeology of a Late Antique Province
Ancient ruins still dot Epirus Vetus, the Roman province located at the border between modern Greece and Albania. By the fifth century B.C., once the Romans had lost control of Epirus Vetus, the region experienced a severe decline—with rich families no longer opting to build their villas there and public buildings lapsing into a state of disrepair.
Roman Syria and the Near East
Kevin Butcher (Los Angeles: Getty, 2004) 472 PP., $55
Surveying the 700-year history of Roman Syria, the author introduces readers to some of the most spectacular ruins in the ancient world, including those of Palmyra and Baalbek. The volume traces the role of the imperial army, the development of dress codes and calendars, and the adoption of Christianity in a wide region that includes much of modern Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel.
The Greek Cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily
Luca Cerchiai, Lorena Jannelli and Fausto Longo (Los Angeles: Getty, 2004) 288 PP., $39.95
As the stunning artifacts and impressive architecture photographed within the pages of this book attest, the ancient Greek cities of Magna Graecia (southern Italy) and Sicily grew to surpass those of the Greek homeland in wealth and military power. The book surveys the history of Greek colonization from the eighth through the fourth century B.C., when the Romans began to emerge as a power in the region.
At Empire’s Edge: Exploring Rome’s Egyptian Frontier
You have already read your free article for this month. Please join the BAS Library or become an All Access member of BAS to gain full access to this article and so much more.
