Who were the people living in Palestine and Arabia during the first centuries BCE and CE? What were their traditions, and how did the imposition of Roman hegemony alter the cultural landscape? This class will consider these questions through analysis of the material and visual record. We will explore the character of Nabataean Arabia, Hasmonean and Herodian Judaea, and the interaction that took place between neighboring groups. Focal studies will include urbanization and nomadism, negotiations and expressions of status and wealth, religious art and architecture, and the management of the imperial military and administration