The conflict between the powerful Roman and Iranian empires arising from the extension of Roman power into today's Middle East is coming into increasingly sharp focus, thanks to the amount of evidence now available. This richly illustrated book examines this evidence to reveal how Rome established itself on the middle Euphrates, in Mesopotamia and Palmyra, and its efforts to consolidate power over these areas.

Reviewing evidence from Palmyra and Dura Europos - two of the most important archaeological sites in the Roman East - Peter M. Edwell builds a picture of the...