The papers in this volume are based on presentations given at the third and fourth international conferences of the “Land of Fertility: The Southeast Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to the Muslim Conquest” series. The former, “The Migration of People, Goods and Ideas in Ancient Times”, was held at the Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, in June 2016. Its main aim was to look more closely at the migration of people, goods and ideas in ancient times and their influences on civilization—in terms of both material and spiritual culture—in the area of the so-called “Fertile Crescent”.
The fourth conference, entitled “Egyptian Perspective: Ancient civilisations in relation to The Two Lands”, was held in June 2017. This time, the main theme of the conference was the relation of ancient Egypt to its neighbouring civilisations. Had they lived in peace or conflict? Were relations based on partnership or supremacy?
The period covered in the present collection spans from the beginning of the Bronze Age, through the ancient era to the Muslim Conquest—covering almost 5000 years of the development of human civilisation.
