
Contents
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Introduction: A History of Joining up Introduction: A History of Joining up
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From Inter-cultural Connectivity to Intra-cultural Connectivity From Inter-cultural Connectivity to Intra-cultural Connectivity
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Embedding Global Diversity Embedding Global Diversity
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The Structure of the Argument The Structure of the Argument
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Near Eastern Connectivity in the Longue Durée Near Eastern Connectivity in the Longue Durée
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A Necropolis in Ancient Emesa (Tell Abū Sābūn) A Necropolis in Ancient Emesa (Tell Abū Sābūn)
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An Architectural Complex in ‘Iraq al Amir An Architectural Complex in ‘Iraq al Amir
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Commagene: Nemrud Dağ and a Portrait Head from Samosata Commagene: Nemrud Dağ and a Portrait Head from Samosata
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Beyond Hybridity: “The Cohabitation of Forms” Beyond Hybridity: “The Cohabitation of Forms”
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Acknowledgments Acknowledgments
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Bibliography Bibliography
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3 Embedding Global Diversity in the Hellenistic and Roman Near East: Setting the Agenda
Get accessMiguel John Versluys is professor and chair of classical and mediterranean archaeology at Leiden University. His research explores the cultural dynamics of the Hellenistic-Roman world (roughly 200 BC–AD 200) from the point of view of Afro-Eurasia. He investigates these processes from local, regional, and global perspectives and by means of a variety of methodologies and techniques. His research has two distinct focus points: the interconnection of cultures and their various identities (globalization), and the interdependence of objects and people. He is the author of Visual Style and Constructing Identity in the Hellenistic World: Nemrud Dağ and Commagene under Antiochos I (2017) and the editor of Persianism in Antiquity (2017); “Common Dwelling Place of All the Gods”: Hellenistic Commagene in Its Local, Regional and Global Eurasian Context (2020) and Alexandria the cosmopolis: A Global Perspective (2022).
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Published:22 April 2025
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Abstract
This chapter situates Hellenistic and Roman Syria and the Near East as part of the global ancient Afro-Eurasian world and proposes a methodology for investigating this quintessentially cosmopolitan sphere. Shifting the perspective from inter-cultural connectivity to intra-cultural connectivity produces a fresh take on questions of cultural character and identity that dominate the discipline. Three case studies (the necropolis of Emesa/Tell Abū Sābūn; an architectural complex in ‘Iraq al Amir; sculptures and architectural decorations from Commagene at the Euphrates) from around 200 bc to ad 100, are discussed in detail, illustrating that globalization in the Hellenistic and Roman Near East was all about embedding global diversity as a creative process. Conceived as a programmatic discussion-piece to set the agenda for this volume, the chapter concludes that the study of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East should focus on the “cohabitation of forms” and the new (cultural) constellations it generated.
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