The Holy Land - A Historical Geography from the Persian to the Arab Conquest - Review

"In this interesting account, that is slightly dated, the story of the Administration of the Holy Land is told from the period of the Persians to the Byzantines. However most of the work examines the Greek/Ptolemy/Seleucid rule and the subsequent Hasmonean and Roman rule. This is a book of Historical Geography so it focuses on the administration of the land, the cities and the population more than on the overall history. There are very interesting suggestions here about the Greek colonization of places like Beth Shean (Scythopolis) and the remnants of the Phoenicians. In addition there are interesting observations about the fluctuation of Jewish settlement and a rare glimpse into the pre-Islamic Arab tribes such as the Nabateans and Idumeans who populated the southern part of the country and are not frequently covered in histories of the Middle East. Overall . . . this is a good general read that has many illuminating chapters." - Seth J. Frantzman