Wadi Araba In Classical And Late Antiquity

Wadi Araba Is AUnique Landform Of Great Historical ImportanceAs APart Of The Great Rift Valley, Wadi Araba Extends Southward From The Dead Sea To The Gulf Of Aqaba And Covers Vast Stretches Of Mostly Arid LandUntil Recently Our Understanding Of The History and Prehistory Of Wadi Araba Has Been Negligible, Due Largely To The Fact That Few Have Explored The Valley In Any Systematic FashionIn Fact, Most Of The Valley Remained Unexplored Until The s, And The Few Investigations That Had Been Conducted Either Remained Unpublished Or Were Too Purposive In Nature And Narrow In Scope To Shed Light On Broader Historical DevelopmentsNevertheless, There Is AGrowing Body Of Data From Wadi ArabaArchaeological Fieldwork Conducted Over The Past Twenty Years, For Example, Has Significantly Increased The Number Of Known Sites In The ValleyAs AResult, Our Knowledge Of The History Of Wadi Araba Has Improved, Though It Remains Somewhat Fragmented Geographically And QualitativelyAlso, Despite This Improvement In Our Knowledge Of Known Sites In The Valley, There Have Been No Attempts To Synthesize Any Of The DataIf We Are To Gain Any Sort Of Broader Understanding Of The Historical Geography Of Wadi Araba, The Need For Such ASynthesis Is ClearThe Present Monograph, Accordingly, Is One Attempt To Provide AMore Comprehensive Overview Of The Antiquities Of Wadi Araba And AGeneral Outline Of The Rich History Of The ValleyChronologically, The Scope Of This Study Focuses On The Hellenistic Through To The Byzantine PeriodThe Purposes Of This Initial Chapter Are To Provide AGeneral Sketch Of The Geographical And Ecological Setting, To Summarize Previous Explorations And Research Conducted In Wadi Araba, Including Excavation And Survey Conducted By The Author, And To Discuss Briefly The Classical And Late Antique Sources Pertinent To AHistorical Geography Of Wadi ArabaFollowing This Introduction, Chapter Of This Study Provides ADetailed Summary Of The Larger Settlements In Wadi Araba, Mostly Focusing On The Cities, Villages, And Hamlets, As Well As The Various Forts And CaravanseraisChapter , In Turn, Summarizes The Evidence Of Other Sites Of Historical Significance In The Periphery Of The Larger SettlementsAComprehensive Discussion Of The Communication Networks In The Valley Is The Focus Of Chapter , With The Expressed Goal Of Understanding How The Various Sites Interrelate With One AnotherFinally, Chapter Provides ABroad His
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