Since the early 1970s, the Arabian Gulf has been one of the most promising new areas of research in ancient Near-Eastern archaeology. Until now, however, there has been no attempt to synthesize the archaeology and history of this region from the beginnings of human settlement to the rise of Islam.

The first volume of this comprehensive study covers the Pleistocene to the Achaemenian period. It includes almost all the published evidence for the prehistory and history of the Arabian Gulf.

The period from Alexander the Great to the coming of Islam, including full discussion of the history of Christianity in the area, comprises the second volume, in which Potts combines the literary evidence from Greek, Roman, Syriac, and Arabic sources with an overview of the relevant archaeological evidence.