Kennedy (Roman archaeology and history, U. of Western Australia) examines a group of micro-regions in northwest Jordan from the sudden entry of Hellenic culture in the fourth century BC, through several centuries of Roman rule, and into the Umayyad civilization centered nearby at Damascus. Like much of the Middle East, he says, this region enjoyed a long period of growth and dramatic spread of settlement that was not matched until the middle 20th century. He discusses the land, the people, settlements, government, writing, and everyday life. Distributed in the US by International Publishers Marketing. Annotation 2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
