This volume advances our understanding of the religion, society and culture of Dura-Europos, the small town on the Euphrates known since the 1930s as the 'Pompeii of the Syrian desert'. Several features make the site potentially our best source for day-to-day life in a small town situated on the periphery of the Roman world: inscriptions and graffiti in ten ancient languages; sculptures and frescoes combining elements of Classical and Oriental art; the most important papyrological dossier of any military unit in the Roman world; documents relating to the local economy; over a dozen pagan sanctuaries; plus a famously painted synagogue and the earliest Christian house church, all set in a gridiron city plan and surrounded by well-preserved fortifications. Dura's unique findings facilitate the study of life in a provincial small town to a degree that archaeology and history do not usually allow.

This book advances our understanding of the religion, society and culture of Dura-Europos, known as the 'Pompeii of the Syrian desert'.

About the Author
Ted Kaizer is Senior Lecturer in Roman Culture and History in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Durham. He is the author of The Religious Life of Palmyra (2002) and has written many articles on various aspects of religion and history of the Classical Levant.


Book Information
ISBN 9781107560239
Author Ted Kaizer
Format Paperback
Page Count 332
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 534g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 170mm * 18mm