Eastern Arabia and the Persian Gulf in the Hellenistic and Late Antique Period

Abstract This review covers over half a millennium, ca. 300 bc to ad 250. Significant changes in settlement patterns, material culture, faith, and integration are seen across the region. All areas of eastern Arabia were engaged with the Hellenistic world through trade and cultural exchange, but this is most strongly shown in the islands of the northern and central Gulf (Failaka and Bahrain), which were politically incorporated into larger Hellenistic polities, namely, Seleucia and the Characene kingdom (Mesene). Greek language and Graeco-Roman religion and material culture were frequently expressed there, while Arabian languages, religion, and material culture dominated the inland regions and the Oman Peninsula. Following the mid-third century ad, a decline in settlement and economic activity appears to have set in.