Roman Palmyra: Identity, Community, and State Formation

Professor of Classics and History Andrew Smith focuses on the vastly complex eastern frontier of the Roman Empire which has been the center of debate among scholars on the interactions of Romans and natives in the Near East. Smith presents a social and political history of Roman Palmyra, the oasis city situated deep in the Syrian Desert between Damascus and the Euphrates studying the creation, structure, and maintenance of Palmyrene identity.