In the period from about 200 B.C. to the early Roman imperial period, all regions of the Mediterranean underwent a profound process of political, economic, and cultural transformation. This book seeks to provide a balanced and multi-faceted account of this process. Drawing from diverse fields of material evidence, such as art, architecture, inscriptions, and objects of consumption, the individual chapters contrast the positive qualities and effects of cultural exchange with disruptive factors such as violence, dominance, and subjugation.