The Middle East in Antiquity

Why were the ancient Greeks the first to possess all this in Europe? The map provides the answer: Greece is the closest country to the Middle East. Writing began there more than five thousand years ago. Greek culture, much more recent, was built upon Egyptian influences that reached Europe via Crete. The Mediterranean Sea served as a conduit for communication.

Assyria, Babylon, Iran, and other states grew into world empires in antiquity. Greeks lived along the coasts of Asia and Africa. Alexander the Great laid the foundations of Hellenistic culture with an empire that stretched from Greece to India. The Roman Empire encompassed large parts of North Africa and the Middle East.

All of this contributed to a rich cultural exchange. Gradually, the fruits of this exchange were gathered in the Eastern Roman Empire, where culture flourished during late antiquity. Islamic states acquired this heritage, from which it returned to Europe in an enhanced form during the Middle Ages. Without them, our knowledge of the ancient Greeks would be far less. This book, richly illustrated with photographs and maps, offers a comprehensive picture of the crossroads of cultures in what is known today as the Middle East.

Christer Hedin was a historian of religions and worked for many years at Swedish Radio. He taught at Stockholm College of Education and worked for many years as a radio journalist and head of the science department at Swedish Radio.