Ancient Antioch: From the Seleucid Era to the Islamic Conquest

Description

From late fourth century BC Seleucid enclave to capital of the Roman east, Antioch on the Orontes was one of the greatest cities of antiquity and served as a hinge between east and west. This book draws on a century of archaeological fieldwork to offer a new narrative of Antioch's origins and growth, as well as its resilience, civic pride, and economic opportunism. Situating the urban nucleus in the context of the rural landscape, this book integrates hitherto divorced cultural basins, including the Amuq Valley and the Massif Calcaire. It also brings into focus the archaeological data, thus proposing a concrete interpretative framework that, grounded in the monuments of Antioch, enables the reader to move beyond text-based reconstructions of the city's history. Finally, it considers the interaction between the environment and the people of the city who shaped this region and forged a distinct identity within the broader Greco-Roman world.

Andrea U. De Giorgi is an assistant professor in the Department of Classics at Florida State University. De Giorgi is an experienced field archaeologist who has worked on ancient urbanism in Syria, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and Turkey, and currently codirects the Cosa Excavations in Italy. He has received various accolades from the Thyssen Foundation, Loeb Foundation, Kress Foundation, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), Berliner Antike-Kolleg, and the Whiting Foundation, among others.

'It is a major accomplishment that Andrea U. De Giorgi has chosen a different approach. He has tried to put more weight on the archaeological evidence in order to avoid misconceptions based on the partial views of ancient authors. Furthermore, his narrative of Antiocheia does not focus on the city in a narrow sense, but also takes into account the immense territory it administered. In so doing, De Giorgi provides not only a very useful introduction to the city, its inhabitants and their identities, but also offers interesting perspectives on the interplay between urban and rural social groups ... He offers a fresh look at Antiocheia and addresses important questions related to urbanism and human-environment relations in ancient Syria in general. The book provides an integrated account of an important micro-region and its development, taking into account the physical landscape and the archaeological remains as well as the changing economic and political factors.' Michael Bloemer, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 'De Giorgi's book is a brilliant and innovative study; a perspective from the context of the city that should absolutely be read and taken into account when talking about Antioch.' Balbina Babler, Plekos