The Middle East of 2,000 years ago was a center of global trade and cultural exchange. Two great empires dominated the political scene, struggling for regional control—Parthian Iran in the east and Rome in the west. Between these superpowers and on their peripheries, distinct cultures and peoples contributed to the mosaic of the ancient world. Titled The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East, an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City focuses on diverse political, social, and religious identities as expressed in art between about 100 B.C.E. and 250 C.E. […]
