Between Empires is a study of an often overlooked aspect of the Near East at the close of antiquity. Greg Fisher provides a fresh contribution to an historical problem of considerable interest, that of the identity, role, and place of the Arabs in contact with the Roman and Sasanian empires before before the advent of Islam. Building on the recent work of a number of scholars he sets the Arab group commonly known as the Jafnids, together with two others, the Nasrids and the Hujrids, within the framework of current debates on the history and culture of Late Antiquity, as well as locating them within topics of wider historical interest such as state formation in the Near East. Fisher makes use of comparative source material from other periods as well as allied social science disciplines to offer more productive ways to approach the sparse and very challenging ancient historical sources. Between Empires explores how the Nasrids and Jafnids, in particular, became increasingly integrated into the culture, the political life, and the religious life of their imperial patrons. It stresses the consequences of such integration, measured in the increasing political and cultural visibility of Arab elites, and concludes that interface with the Roman Empire played a key role in helping to lay the foundation for later concepts of Arab identity, and the world of Late Antiquity is, as a result, of enduring interest in our understanding of what we now call the Middle East. Book jacket.