The first comprehensive study of the history of Asia Minor in antiquity to be written for nearly fifty years. Volume I starts with the region in the Hellenistic period and goes on to cover the impact of Roman rule.

'an important venture in handling and presenting all kinds of information.' 'This is a very important book.' 'Mitchell has been admirabley audacious in making clear his own views on a wide range of topics...and there will be no shortage of scholars to take issue with him.' 'Mitchell lays out,. with courage and generosity, his wide experience of the physical realities of Anatolia, presented in a format which should enable - and force - other historians to grasp their relevance.' Times Higher Education Supplement `In recent decades, Stephen Mitchell has emerged as one of the best of the younger generation of British interpreters of Turkey's past. Mitchell's work is far more interesting to read, yet equipped with documentation almost as thorough as Magie's. He provides a fresh and vivid review of the social, economic and religious history of Asia Minor.' Times Literary Supplement `magisterial survey of the history and archaeology of Turkey during the classical period ... This formidably detailed but utterly lucid study of Roman Anatolia at least means our generation has an immeasurably fuller perspective on the problem than was available to Edward Gibbon.' David Barchard, The Tablet `magisterial survey of the history and archaeology of Turkey during the classical period ... he writes with assurance about the physical setting of these forgotten communities ... This formidably detailed but utterly lucid study of Roman Anatolia at least means our generation has an immeasurably fuller perspective on the problem than was available to Edward Gibbon.' David Barchard, The Tablet `This is an important book ... there is far more in this densely written, thoughtful, and extremely stimulating book than can be mentioned in a review.' J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. 46, No. 1, April 1995 `excellent work...It is hard to do justice to the wide scope of this work and the immense learning which it displays and organizes into a coherent picture...throughout the work, M. pays careful attention to the physical environment, as evident in the clear maps and well-chosen illustrations...Reflection... is stimulated in innumerable ways by the wealth of information in this work.It embodies all the latest research, shows the influence of all the masters in the field, most notably Louis Robert, and allows a vast mass of virtually inaccesible information to be used and understood...All students of antiquity will learn much from these volumes, which will long stand as a monumental regional study.' Clive Foss, University of Massachusetts