Embedding global diversity in the Hellenistic and Roman Near East: setting the agenda

Abstract

This chapter situates Hellenistic and Roman Syria and the Near East as part of the global ancient Afro-Eurasian world and proposes a methodology for investigating this quintessentially cosmopolitan sphere. Shifting the perspective from inter-cultural connectivity to intra-cultural connectivity produces a fresh take on questions of cultural character and identity that dominate the discipline. Three case studies (the necropolis of Emesa/Tell Abū Sābūn; an architectural complex in ‘Iraq al Amir; sculptures and architectural decorations from Commagene at the Euphrates) from around 200 BC to AD 100, are discussed in detail, illustrating that globalization in the Hellenistic and Roman Near East was all about embedding global diversity as a creative process. Conceived as a programmatic discussion-piece to set the agenda for this volume, the chapter concludes that the study of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East should focus on the “cohabitation of forms” and the new (cultural) constellations it generated.