Sperber uses rabbinic texts, classical sources, and archaeological evidence to describe what a typical Palestinian city looked like, and how it operated, during the Roman period 100-400 AD. His portrait provides a background for understanding everyday life in the urban environment of the New Testament.

"The volume is massively researched and full of invaluable information. Highly recommended for basic research collections in ancient history."--Religious Studies Review "This is a detailed and highly useful study for scholars of the Roman Empire and Roman Palestine."--Choice "[T]he book can be read either as an entertaining introduction to life in the Greco-Roman city, or as a quarry for the rich material assembled in the text and abundant footnotes."--The Jewish Quarterly Review "The volume is massively researched and full of invaluable information. Highly recommended for basic research collections in ancient history."--Religious Studies Review "This is a detailed and highly useful study for scholars of the Roman Empire and Roman Palestine."--Choice "A welcome...addition to the growing literature on the city in Greco-Roman antiquity...The author brings the hypothetical city to life, with detailed descriptions of ancient urban institutions, structures and activities, supplemented by maps, photographs and groundplans... His judicious use of quotations from Talmudic and other ancient sources adds a liveliness and vividness to the narrative that is often missing in books on urban history." Canadian Journal of Urban Research "[T]he book can be read either as an entertaining introduction to life in the Greco-Roman city, or as a quarry for the rich material assembled in the text and abundant footnotes."--The Jewish Quarterly Review