"The origins of this volume go back to a time before the civil wars in the Middle East led to unprecedented destruction of the heritage from the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the Levantine lands. In the meantime, our field of research will probably have been changed for ever. It is to be hoped that a lasting peace will eventually be there to enjoy for the long-suffering population of the region. At the outset, I must thank Al Bertrand, then Editorial Director for Social Science and Humanities Books at Wiley-Blackwell, for commissioning this Companion. Had I known at the time the mammoth task which editing a project of this size involved, I would surely have turned down his invitation ... In the years since then, I have dealt with various members from the team at Wiley-Blackwell, and am grateful for the support of Kelley Baylis, Janani Govindankutty, Haze Humbert, Allison Kostka, Ajith Kumar, Jennifer Manias, Roshna Mohan, Elizabeth Saucier, Niranjana Vallavan, and Galen Young-Smith. In particular, I should like to acknowledge the guidance, patience and kindness of Todd Green, Andrew Minton and Skyler Van Valkenburgh, who together oversaw the final stage of the process"-- Provided by publisher.