An important chapter in the history of the pre-Islamic Arabian Gulf
The Arabian Gulf in Antiquity vol. II picks up the study of the archaeology and history of the region from the end of the Iron Age and covers the period after the arrival of Alexander the Great.
From the Preface
The book was intended, from the outset, to be a comprehensive study of the archaeology and history of the region from prehistoric times to the Islamic conquest. As the work progressed it became clear that the book must be a fairly lengthy one if justice were to be done to the many sub-areas involved, their sites and finds, and the historical sources which pertained to them. However, a natural division in the manuscript seemed to emerge at the conclusion of the Iron Age and the arrival of Alexander the Great on the Western Asiatic scene. Thus, I began to think of the work in two parts, and when the final revisions were being made some colleagues suggested that publication in two volumes might be advisable. For despite the fact that my goal had always been to present the entire pre-Islamic past of the Arabian Gulf as a single entity, and indeed encourage readers to take a broad view of the region's history, it seemed undeniable that there were bound to be some readers whose interests would lie either in the early or in the late periods, and who might only wish to purchase one or the other volume. Thus, the decision was made to publish in two volumes.
