These essays provide a background to the archaeology of the Jebel Bishri area of Syrian, set out in advance of the Finnish Archaeological Mapping and Survey Project. They each focus on a prominent archaeological issue ranging in date from the Neolithic to the Byzantine. Topics include the origins of specialist food production, nomadism, battlefield archaeology and conflict between Assyrians and Aramaeans, Palmyran architecture, the integration of Palmyra into the Roman economy, Palmyran trade, the end of Dura Europos, and the influence of Constantinople.