Globalization and cheaper travel have led to a rapid increase in cross-cultural encounters worldwide--which makes understanding problems of conflict, prejudice, interaction, and adaptation ever more important.

Fortunately, we have a powerful historical example to draw on: the closely knit, yet very different cultures that inhabited and interacted in the Near East. Contributors look at the interactions of nomads, traders, religious groups, armies, and more to help answer questions about cultural encounters through both theoretical and empirical lenses. They present cases drawn from a...