Cover Relief of priest in front of temple at Niha in the Bekaa Valley. © R. Raja.

Figure 3.1 Near Eastern section from the Peutinger Table. Freely downloadable at https://www.cambridge.org/us/talbert/index.html, Map B, TP2000seg9 (detail).

Figure 10.1 Distribution of the scripts of the oases and nomads in Arabia. © A. Al-Jallad.

Figure 12.1 Bottom part of gigantic marble statue of Aphrodite from Gerasa on the day of its discovery (13 May 2016). © T.M. Weber-Karyotakis.

Figure 12.2 Painted synagogue from Dura-Europos, reconstructed in the National Museum of Damascus. © L. Dirven.

Figure 12.3 Basalt lintel from Suweida in the Hauran, showing Hera (detail of the judgment of Paris), now in the Louvre (cat. AO11O77). © T. Kaizer.

Figure 12.4 Funerary relief from Palmyra, now in the Louvre (cat. AO4147). © T. Kaizer.

Figure 13.1 Colonnaded main street in Apamea. © R. Raja.

Figure 13.2 Capital from the Sanctuary of Artemis in Gerasa. © R. Raja.

Figure 13.3 The Sanctuary of Artemis in Gerasa seen from the west. © R. Raja.

Figure 13.4 Temple A in Niha, Beka’a Valley. © R. Raja.

Figure 14.1A Silver stater of Aradus, fourth century bce, issued in the decades before the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great. On the obverse, a laureate head of a bearded deity; on the reverse, a galley with stylized waves beneath; Phoenician letters mem aleph ayin above (the letter mem is off the flan).

Figure 14.1B Athenian tetradrachm or Syrian imitation of one, fourth century bce. The obverse has a head of Athena; the reverse depicts her attribute, an owl, with a sprig of olive. The test cut on the reverse suggests that such coins were probably appreciated more for their metallic worth than their symbolic monetary value.

Figure 14.1C Copper-alloy coin of Alexander the Great (336–323 bce), attributed to Byblos and issued between c. 330 and 320 bce. The obverse bears a head of a youthful Heracles, wearing the skin of the Nemean lion; the reverse has a bow in a bow case and a club, accompanied by the legend “of Alexander.”

Figure 14.1D Silver tetradrachm in the name of Alexander the Great, attributed to Byblos and issued between c. 330 and 320 BCE. Like the previous coin (14.1C) the obverse bears the head of Heracles; the reverse has a figure of Zeus seated on a throne, holding an eagle, and the legend “of Alexander.” The Greek monogram in front of Zeus has been understood as a monogram of a King Adramalek of Byblos (the first three letters of his name in Greek, ADR).

Figure 14.2A Silver tetradrachm of Aradus, continuing the types of Alexander the Great (see coin 14.1D), but bearing a palm-tree symbol (an emblem of Aradus) and a Greek monogram of the first two letters of the city’s name, AR. Below the figure of Zeus is a date in Phoenician, “year 30” of the city’s era of independence from the Seleucids (corresponding to 230/229 BCE). This Aradian Alexander coinage was discontinued c. 168/167 BCE in favor of smaller drachms imitating coins of Ephesus (see coin 14.2B).

Figure 14.2B Silver drachm of Aradus, imitating an issue of Ephesus, and dated 169/168 BCE. The obverse depicts a bee and the reverse a stag standing in front of a palm tree, both of which were standard Ephesian types, but in place of an Ephesian magistrate’s name the coin reads “of the Aradians.” These coins circulated in the Levant alongside genuine Ephesian drachms, which were apparently exported to Seleucid Syria from Asia Minor.

Figure 14.2C Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy II (285–246 BCE), minted at Sidon. Unlike their neighbors and rivals, the Seleucids, whose silver coinage usually bears the portrait of the current ruler, the Ptolemies stressed dynastic continuity through use of the portrait of the dynasty’s founder, Ptolemy I. His portrait appears here, on the coinage of his son and successor Ptolemy II. The reverse type of an eagle was used on almost all Ptolemaic silver coinage, and was employed later at Phoenician mints by the Seleucids after their conquest of these Ptolemaic possessions in the Levant (see coin 14.3B).

Figure 14.2D Silver tetradrachm of Antiochus IV (175–164 BCE), minted at Ptolemais, and using the Attic weight standard. The obverse carries the royal portrait, and the reverse has a standard Seleucid type: Apollo, seated on the Delphic omphalos, holding an arrow and testing

Figure 14.3A Copper-alloy coin of the Seleucid king Antiochus III (223–187 BCE), minted at Antioch. These small, low-value coins, with an obverse head of the god Apollo and a reverse type showing Apollo standing, holding an arrow and testing a bow against the ground, average about 12 mm in diameter and 2 g in weight. They were minted in huge quantities and

Figure 14.3B Silver tetradrachm with the portrait and titles of the Seleucid king Antiochus VII (138–129 BCE), minted at Tyre. This coin, with its characteristic reverse of an eagle standing on a ship’s ram, was issued on the standard employed by the Ptolemies, and used the same basic reverse type as the Ptolemaic coinage (see coin 14.2C).

Figure 14.3C Silver tetradrachm minted at Antioch following the Roman annexation, imitating a late Seleucid issue in the name of Philip Philadelphus (93–83 BCE). These coins continued to bear the portrait, name and titles of the Seleucid king; the only indication of the real authority is the small monogram in front of the seated figure of Zeus on the reverse, thought to read AY ΓΑΒ, an abbreviation in Greek of the name AU(lus) GAB(inius), the Roman governor of Syria, 57–54 BCE.

Figure 14.3D Silver tetradrachm of Augustus (27 BCE–14 CE), minted at Antioch. The obverse bears the portrait of the emperor; the reverse has an image of the Tyche of Antioch seated on a rock and holding a palm branch, with a personification of the river Orontes as a youth swimming at her feet (see coins 14.36 and 14.39 for later examples of the same figurative group).

Figure 14.4A Silver tetradrachm of Nero (54–68 CE), minted at Antioch. Under Nero the tetradrachms of Antioch began to utilize the reverse type of an eagle, which had hitherto been employed by Phoenician mints, especially Tyre (see coins 14.2C and 14.3B).

Figure 14.4B Silver denarius of Septimius Severus (193–211 CE), minted in the Near East, probably at Antioch. The obverse has a portrait of the emperor; the reverse a winged figure of Victory with a victor’s wreath and palm branch.

Figure 14.4C Silver “radiate” or antoninianus of Philip I (244–249 CE), minted at Antioch. The reverse shows a figure of Pax (Peace) with the legend PAX FVNDATA CVM PERSIS, “peace established with the Persians,” a reference to a treaty concluded between the Romans and the Sasanians after a Roman defeat in which the previous emperor, Gordian III (238–244 CE), was killed.

Figure 14.4D Silver tetradrachm of Philip I (244–249 CE), minted at Rome for circulation in Syria. Most of the coinage circulating in Syria was minted locally, but a few issues were produced at mints outside the region. That Rome was the mint for this coinage is apparent from the style, which is exactly like that of contemporary Roman imperial coins of Philip, and the abbreviation MON(eta) VRB(is), “mint of Rome,” beneath the eagle on the reverse.

Figure 14.4E Base silver tetradrachm of the Syrian usurper Uranius Antoninus (c. 253 CE), minted at Emesa. This ruler, known only through his coinage, may have been the last to produce a silver coinage of Greek type in the Near East. The reverse carries the image of an eagle with a wreath in its beak, following the tradition exhibited by coins 14.2C, 14.3B, 14.4A, and 14.4D.

Figure 14.5A Radiate of the eastern usurper Quietus (260 CE), produced at an uncertain mint in the east (Antioch?). The obverse bears a portrait of Quietus; the reverse depicts the goddess Roma.

Figure 14.5B Radiate of Maximianus (286–305 CE). The reverse shows the emperor receiving a figure of Victory from the god Jupiter, with the legend “to Jupiter the preserver of the emperor.” The mint for this coin is conventionally identified as the northern Phoenician city of Tripolis, based on the initials TR; but Tripolis was not a particularly prominent or important city, and TR might stand for Tyre instead.

Figure 14.5C Post-reform radiate of Constantius I, as Caesar (293–305 ce), minted at Antioch. The reverse type is identical to the preceding coin, but the accompanying inscription reads “with the agreement of the army.” At the bottom, the letters ANT identify the mint.

Figure 14.5D Copper-alloy coin of Nerva (96–98 CE), minted at Antioch, with the letters SC in a wreath. The coin does not refer to Antioch in any way, but all the evidence points to the bulk of the so-called SC coinage of the emperors being minted there.

Figure 14.5E Copper-alloy coin of Elagabalus (218–222 CE), minted at Antioch, with the letters SC in a wreath. Although there were later issues of SC coins, those of Elagabalus were the last to be struck in large quantities.

Figure 14.5F Copper-alloy coin minted in Judaea under Tiberius (14–37 CE). These issues bear a date according to the regnal years of Tiberius, year 16 (29/30 CE, not visible on this specimen), which places it during the time of the prefect Pontius Pilate. The obverse shows a ritual ladle (simpulum) and reads “of Tiberius Caesar, year 16”; and the reverse bears three ears of corn bound together, with the legend “Julia (Livia, the mother) of Caesar.” The coin does not bear any reference to Pilate, and, in deference to Jewish sensibilities to graven images, avoids imperial portraits in favor of inanimate objects; but some have seen in the depiction of a Roman ritual implement evidence of Pilate’s supposedly antagonistic stance toward Jews.

Figure 14.6A Silver tetradrachm minted at Aradus, dated year 172 of the city’s era (88/87 BCE). The obverse bears a head of a city-goddess; the reverse shows a winged figure of Nike holding an aphlaston (the decorative element of a ship’s stern). The inscription reads “of the Aradians”; the letters on the left-hand side combine Greek and Phoenician letters. The upper line is a number, 182, the year of minting; the function of the others is uncertain but they were probably control marks or initials of officials.

Figure 14.6B Silver tetradrachm minted at Tyre, dated year 99 of the city’s era (28/27 BCE). The obverse bears a head of the Tyrian god Melqart, assimilated to Heracles; and the reverse an eagle standing on a ship’s ram. The inscription in Greek reads “of Tyre, the sacred and inviolate, year 99.” Such coins circulated widely in the southern Levant in the first century BCE and later, until they were supplanted by Antiochene silver coins under the Roman emperor Nero (54–68 CE).

Figure 14.6C Copper-alloy coin of Antiochus IV (175–164 BCE), minted at Apamea. The obverse portrays Antiochus wearing the royal diadem; the reverse has a seated figure of Zeus with the legend “of the Apamaioi, who are on the Axios (river).” Axios was an alternative name for the river Orontes. Although the coin does not bear the king’s name and titles, it is likely that it was issued with royal consent.

Figure 14.6D Copper-alloy coin of Ptolemy, tetrarch of Chalcis (c. 84–40 BCE). The obverse bears a laureate head of Zeus; the reverse shows a flying eagle, with the legend “of Ptolemy the tetrarch.”

Figure 14.7A Copper-alloy coin of Sidon, issued in the second quarter of the second century BCE. The obverse depicts the city-goddess; the reverse shows a ship’s rudder, but it is the accompanying Phoenician inscription that makes this coin particularly interesting: “of Sidon, metropolis of Cambe (Carthage), of Hippo (a neighbor of Carthage), of Citium (in Cyprus), of Tyre.” On this coin, Sidon proclaimed its greater antiquity and therefore superiority as the founder of its southerly neighbor and rival Tyre. Naming Tyre last on the list may have been deliberate.

Figure 14.7B Silver drachm of the Nabatean king Rabbel II (70–106 CE), dated regnal year 3 (72/73 CE). The obverse has a laureate and diademed head of Rabbel, with an Aramaic legend “Rabbel, king of the Nabataeans, year 3” (the number is visible as three parallel strokes just above the shoulder); the reverse portrays his mother Shuqailat, with the Aramaic inscription “Shuqailat his mother, Queen of the Nabataeans.”

Figure 14.7C Copper-alloy coin of Trajan (98–117 CE) minted at Beroea. The obverse portrays Trajan; the reverse has the ethnic BEPOIAIWN (“of the Beroiaoi”) in a wreath. The meaning of the letter A at the bottom is uncertain but it is likely to be some kind of control mark connected with the organization of coin production in the city.

Figure 14.7D Copper-alloy coin of Macrinus (217–218 CE), minted at Laodicea. The obverse carries the imperial portrait; the reverse shows a figure of the satyr Marsyas, carrying a wine skin and with his hand raised, which was used as a coin type by many Roman coloniae in the Near East. The inscription on the reverse reads COL LAODICIAE METR IIII PROV, “of the colonia of Laodicea, metropolis of the four provinciae.” This is thought to refer to Laodicea’s status as a center for the four regions of the imperial cult in Syria. This role was probably given to Laodicea by Septimius Severus, for the city having supported him in his war against a rival, Pescennius Niger; Laodicea’s rival, Antioch, which had previously been the chief city of the Syrian imperial cult, had supported Niger and was demoted when Severus triumphed.

Figure 14.8A Copper-alloy coin of Macrinus (217–218 CE), minted at Damascus. The obverse bears a portrait of Macrinus; the reverse shows a temple on a platform, approached by a staircase, with an altar at the bottom. At the base of the platform is an arched grotto from which water flows; behind the temple is a tall vine. The image probably depicts the temple at Ain Fijeh, in the Antilebanon to the west of Damascus, which was the source of the Barada river that flows through the city. The surviving remains of the temple stand above a vaulted structure that still contains a spring.

Figure 14.8B Copper-alloy coin of Severus Alexander (222–235 CE), minted at Hierapolis. The obverse portrays the emperor; the reverse shows cult images of Hadad (seated on the left) and Atargatis (seated on the right), holding attributes and flanked by animals (bulls for Hadad, lions for Atargatis). Between them is a shrine with a triangular pediment, containing what looks like a military standard, which is presumably the semeion, a cult image referred to in Lucian, Syr. D. 33 (see also Chapter 37).

Figure 14.8C Copper-alloy coin of Antoninus Pius (138–161 CE), minted at Emesa. The obverse carries the imperial portrait; the reverse shows an eagle perched on the stone of Elagabal, carrying a wreath in its beak. The stone itself is decorated with a crescent and two stars, recalling Herodian’s description of the stone’s surfaces (5.3.5, Loeb version): “there are some markings that are pointed out, which the people would like to believe are a rough picture of the sun, because that is how they see them.”

Figure 14.8D Copper-alloy coin of Valerian I (253–260 CE), minted at Ptolemais. The obverse shows the emperor in military attire, carrying a shield and with a spear over his shoulder. The reverse has a tree, flanked by two altars, from which a snake is seen rising, and a caduceus on the right-hand side. The exact nature of the cult expressed by this image is uncertain, but the presence of a caduceus suggests a connection with Hermes. Ptolemais was given the status of a Roman colony under Claudius (41–54 CE), and consequently the legends on its coinage are in Latin.

Figure 14.9A Copper-alloy coin of the joint emperors Trebonianus Gallus and Volusian (251–253 CE), minted at Antioch. The obverse shows busts of the two emperors facing each other (Trebonianus Gallus on the left, and his son Volusian on the right). The reverse depicts the statue group of the Tyche of Antioch with the river Orontes at her feet, housed in a portable shrine with carry-bars at the bottom. Above the shrine, a ram (probably a Zodiacal symbol) is shown leaping right. Although Antioch was a Roman colony at the time, its coinage continued to carry Greek legends (even the title “colonia” appears in Greek on the reverse, abbreviated at the bottom right as KOΛΩΝ).

Figure 14.9B Copper-alloy coin of Gallienus (253–268 CE), minted at Heliopolis. The obverse carries a portrait of the emperor; the reverse shows an athlete holding a victor’s palm branch and placing a crown on his head. Heliopolis was a Roman colony, like Ptolemais, and hence the legends on the coin are in Latin. By the mid-third century it held Greek festivals; its coins refer to a sacred Capitoline ecumenical games, and this type was a standard coin type in the Greek east to denote the athletic element of such festivals.

Figure 14.9C Copper-alloy coin of the early fourth century, minted at Antioch. The obverse shows the Tyche of Antioch, seated on a rock, with the river Orontes personified as a young man swimming beneath her. The legend reads GENIO ANTIOCHENI (“to the genius of Antioch”). The reverse shows another famous Antiochene monument: the statue of Apollo at Daphne near Antioch; and the legend reads APOLLONI SANCTO (“to sacred Apollo”).

Figure 14.9D Copper-alloy coin of Justin I (518–527 CE), minted at Antioch, with a portrait of the emperor on the obverse. The reverse depicts the Tyche of Antioch seated within a two-columned shrine; the backwards letter E in front of her is a value mark (5 nummi).

Figure 14.10 Places and regions mentioned in chapter 14. Map of distribution of coinage based on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Middle_East_topographic_map-blank_3000bc_crop.svg. All adjustments © T. Kaizer.

Figure 15.1 Australian aerial photography on the Palestine Front in 1916–18. (A) The Australian War Photographer Frank Hurley. (B) Australian servicemen processing aerial photographs. (C) An Australian view of the remarkable location of Kerak in Jordan, the shadows pointing to the deep valleys on either side of the ridge. The Crusader castle (center) and town overly the Roman city of Characmoab.

Figure 15.2 A mosaic of Royal Air Force vertical photographs of 1926 of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa (Jarash). The entire circuit of city walls can be seen, the monumental west side of the city, the circus (south of city) and the Circassian settlement overlying the eastern side (APAAME_19261122_OGSC_RAF-AP1084C).

Figure 15.3 Google Earth imagery allowing a comparison of part of Hellenistic-Roman Apamea in Syria before and after recent massive looting.

Figure 15.4 Successive street grid extensions at Antioch based on interpretation of vertical aerial photographs (after Leblanc and Poccardi 1999: Figure 5).

Figure 15.5 The Roman town at Umm el-Jimal, Jordan. (A) The unplanned character is typical of such towns and contrasts with most cities (Courtesy: Bert de Vries). (B) The scale and character of this large Roman-Umayyad town is readily apparent. Also visible is the earlier Nabataean town – the gray area at top center (APAAME_20020929_DLK-0155).

Figure 15.6 Yajuz seen in 1998 (above) when it lay in relatively open countryside and with just one intrusive building. By 2014 (below) several large houses had been constructed, including this one cutting through structures visible in the section.

Figure 15.7 Umm er-Rasas, Jordan. The village of about 3 ha grew up organically and without plan around an earlier fort of c. 2.2 ha. In time the abandoned fort, too, was settled, including no less than four churches.

Figure 15.8 A Roman farm south of Madaba in Jordan. The panorama shows the relatively arid marginal landscape though the structure itself is well-built.

Figure 15.9 The late Roman legionary fortress at Lejjun, Jordan. The location at a major spring (A) on the fringe of the cultivable area was attractive. The dark structures (B) above the fortress are a late nineteenth-century Ottoman barracks, the plateau in the center (C) has a Bronze Age fortress and an Iron Age fort can be seen right of center (D).

Figure 15.10 Roads and tracks in Arabia. (A) The Via Nova Traiana on the plateau south of the Wadi el-Hasa including standing milestones in situ (APAAME_20141019_DLK-0203C). (B) Recently discovered stretch of road southwest of Amman (APAAME_20111010_MND-0021). (C) Vicinal roads east of Jarash (APAAME_19990614_DLK-0056).

Figure 15.11 Fossilized field boundaries. Although dating is always problematic, these examples are closely associated with Roman period settlement. (A) German aerial photograph of 1918 showing strip fields. (B) Location of similar field boundaries identified on aerial photographs of 1953 in the area of Masuh southwest of Amman.

Figure 15.12 Qanats. (A) An example southeast of the Roman and early Umayyad town of Udruh in southern Jordan (APAAME_20090930_RHB-0368). (B) Qanats mapped from aerial or satellite imagery in Syria, especially around the Roman town of Androna.

Figure 16.1 Mosaic from Antioch (House of the Drinking Contest) of drinking contest of Dionysus and Heracles. Princeton University neg. 5273.

Figure 16.2 Mosaic from Zeugma (Gaziantep Museum) of Pasiphae, Daedalus, and Icarus. Courtesy J.-P. Darmon.

Figure 16.3 Mosaic from Emesa (Maarret en-Noman Museum) of Heracles as a child strangling the serpents. Photo J.Ch. Balty.

Figure 16.4 Mosaic from Palmyra (in situ) of Odaenathus and his son victorious against the Persians. Courtesy of M. Gawlikowski.

Figure 16.5 Mosaic from Shahba-Philippopolis (Shahba Museum) of Sea Goddess Tethys. Photo J.Ch. Balty.

Figure 17.1 Map of northern Syria. Courtesy of A. Bousdroukis. >

Figure 17.2 The colonnade at Apamea. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 18.1 Plan of Gerasa, after A. Lichtenberger, R. Raja and D. Stott 2019. “Mapping Gerasa: A new and open data map of the site,” Antiquity 93, issue 367: E7. doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.9.

Figure 18.2 The nymphaeum of Pella on the reverse of a Pella bronze coin from the time of Elagabalus, after Triton XVI, 8 January 2013, lot 738.

Figure 19.1 Relief of Jupiter Dolichenus from Dülük Baba Tepesi (Doliche). © Forschungsstelle Asia Minor, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

Figure 19.2 Statues on top of Nemrud Dağı. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 20.1 Hippodrome at Tyre. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 20.2 Temple of Zeus at Baetocaece in the Jebel Ansariyeh. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 21.1 The courtyard of the great Roman sanctuary at Heliopolis-Baalbek. © J. Aliquot 2009.

Figure 22.1 Qumran – caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 22.2 Herod’s harbor at Caesarea Maritima. © D.A. MacLennan.

Figure 22.3 View over Roman siege works surrounding the rock of Masada on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, the last stronghold of the Jewish rebels in ad 73/4. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 23.1 The so-called Khazneh (“Treasury”) tomb at Petra. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 23.2 The Monumental Gate and the so-called Great Temple in the civic center of Petra. © D.F. Graf.

Figure 24.1 The central colonnade and the arch at Palmyra, viewed from the temple of Nebu. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 24.2 The temple of Bel at Palmyra. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 25.1 Plan of Dura-Europos, drawn by A.H. Detweiler, with labels added by J.A. Baird. Courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven.

Figure 25.2 View from the citadel of Dura-Europos over the Euphrates. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 25.3 Head of Zeus Megistos from Dura-Europos. Courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven.

Figure 27.1 The great iwans in the central temple complex at Hatra. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 28.1 Rock drawing with Safaitic inscription, “By ʾghsm son of Shmt is [the drawing of] the oxen pulling the plough.” Photograph courtesy of the Badia Epigraphic Survey in 2017, see APSI 1 in OCIANA.

Figure 30.1 Roman roads in Syria and Mesopotamia. © B. Isaac.

Figure 30.2 Roman roads in Judaea and Arabia. © B. Isaac.

Figure 31.1 Political map of the Roman Near East, 30 bc. © A.J.M. Kropp.

Figure 31.2 Petra, Qaṣr al-Bint and its temenos, view to the east from el-Ḥabīs. © A.J.M. Kropp.

Figure 31.3 Arsameia, hierothesion, relief slab at “Sockel III,” depicting dexiosis between Antiochos I (69–36 bc) and Artagnes Herakles Ares. H 270 cm. © M. Blömer.

Figure 31.4 Herod Agrippa I (ad 37–44). Bronze coin (24 mm, twice enlarged) minted in Caesarea Maritima in ad 42/3. Agrippa and his brother Herod of Chalcis cuirassed standing either side of togate central figure (Claudius) and crowning him/Two hands clasping each other, inscription in two concentric circles “Covenant between king Agrippa and Caesar Augustus and the Senate and the people of Rome, friendship and alliance.” The drawing is a reconstruction based on what can be gleaned from the seven known specimens. Drawing: © A.J.M. Kropp. Photo: Hendin 2010: no.1248, courtesy of D. Hendin.

Figure 32.1 Palmyrene relief of camels used by armed escorts, Palmyra Museum. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 36.1 Tower-tombs at Palmyra. Two of the earliest tower-tombs on hilltops are visible in the back (center and right side). © T. Kaizer.

Figure 36.2 Necropolis at Tyre. The backsides of the tombs with raised sarcophagi are visible in the front of this photo. They flanked the road that ran to the centrally placed arch. © T. Kaizer.

Figure 37.1 Eye-stele from Petra. Now in the National Museum of Amman. © D.F. Graf.

Figure 37.2 Madbah High Place, Petra. © E.B. Williams Reed.

I The Hellenistic and Roman Near East

II The Decapolis

III Commagene and Osrhoene

IV The Phoenician coast and its hinterland

V Judaea, the Palestinian coast, the Galilee, Idumaea, and Samaria

VI The Nabataean kingdom