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The Roman military base at Dura-Europos, Syria : an archaeological visualization

Title
The Roman military base at Dura-Europos, Syria : an archaeological visualization / Simon James.
Author
James, Simon, 1957-
Publication
Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2019.

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TextUse in library JFF 19-1485Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
xxxiii, 347 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color); 29 cm
Summary
Dura-Europos, a Parthian-ruled Greco-Syrian city, was captured by Rome c.AD165. It then accommodated a Roman garrison until its destruction by Sasanian siege c.AD256. Excavations of the site between the World Wars made sensational discoveries, and with renewed exploration from 1986 to 2011, Dura remains the best-explored city of the Roman East. 0A critical revelation was a sprawling Roman military base occupying a quarter of the city's interior. This included swathes of civilian housing converted to soldiers' accommodation and several existing sanctuaries, as well as baths, an amphitheatre, headquarters, and more temples added by the garrison. Base and garrison were clearly fundamental factors in the history of Roman Dura, but what impact did they have on the civil population? Original excavators gloomily portrayed Durenes evicted from0their homes and holy places, and subjected to extortion and impoverishment by brutal soldiers, while recent commentators have envisaged military-civilian concordia, with shared prosperity and integration. Detailed examination of the evidence presents a new picture.0Through the use of GPS, satellite, geophysical and archival evidence, this volume shows that the Roman military base and resident community were even bigger than previously understood, with both military and civil communities appearing much more internally complex than has been allowed until now. The result is a fascinating social dynamic which we can partly reconstruct, giving us a nuanced picture of life in a city near the eastern frontier of the Roman world.
Subjects
Call Number
JFF 19-1485
ISBN
  • 0198743564
  • 9780198743569
OCLC
1044813224
Author
James, Simon, 1957- author.
Title
The Roman military base at Dura-Europos, Syria : an archaeological visualization / Simon James.
Publisher
Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2019.
Edition
First edition.
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Research Call Number
JFF 19-1485
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