Simon Price
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199602353
- eISBN:
- 9780191731570
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602353.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE, Archaeology: Classical
Back in 1990, the authors of this book explored the value of the Athenian Tribute Lists as a source of systematic information about 200 or more city-states in the Athenian empire. They were sceptical ...
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Back in 1990, the authors of this book explored the value of the Athenian Tribute Lists as a source of systematic information about 200 or more city-states in the Athenian empire. They were sceptical about the use of these data for demographic purposes, especially for states paying one talent or more in tribute. Instead, they argued that the Tribute Lists should be used as an index of the variations in local resources in the Aegean world. This chapter explores the value of another source of systematic information, namely archaeological field surveys, and argues that this source does offer a basis for estimating the populations of ancient Greek (and perhaps other) states.Less
Back in 1990, the authors of this book explored the value of the Athenian Tribute Lists as a source of systematic information about 200 or more city-states in the Athenian empire. They were sceptical about the use of these data for demographic purposes, especially for states paying one talent or more in tribute. Instead, they argued that the Tribute Lists should be used as an index of the variations in local resources in the Aegean world. This chapter explores the value of another source of systematic information, namely archaeological field surveys, and argues that this source does offer a basis for estimating the populations of ancient Greek (and perhaps other) states.
Roger Brock and Stephen Hodkinson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199258109
- eISBN:
- 9780191717697
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199258109.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
In 1993 the world celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the birth of democracy in ancient Athens, whose polis — or citizen state — is often viewed as the model ancient Greek state. In an age when ...
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In 1993 the world celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the birth of democracy in ancient Athens, whose polis — or citizen state — is often viewed as the model ancient Greek state. In an age when democracy has apparently triumphed following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, it tends to be forgetten that the democratic citizen state was only one of many forms of political community in Greek antiquity. This volume aims to redress the balance by showing that democratic Athens was not the model ancient Greek state, and focuses on a range of city states operating a variety of non-democratic political systems in the ancient Greek world. Eighteen essays by established and younger historians examine alternative political systems and ideologies: oligarchies, monarchies, and mixed constitutions, along with diverse forms of communal and regional associations such as ethnoi, amphiktyonies, and confederacies. The papers, which span the length and breadth of the Hellenic world from the Balkans and Anatolia to Magna Graecia and North Africa, highlight the immense political flexibility and diversity of ancient Greek civilization.Less
In 1993 the world celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the birth of democracy in ancient Athens, whose polis — or citizen state — is often viewed as the model ancient Greek state. In an age when democracy has apparently triumphed following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, it tends to be forgetten that the democratic citizen state was only one of many forms of political community in Greek antiquity. This volume aims to redress the balance by showing that democratic Athens was not the model ancient Greek state, and focuses on a range of city states operating a variety of non-democratic political systems in the ancient Greek world. Eighteen essays by established and younger historians examine alternative political systems and ideologies: oligarchies, monarchies, and mixed constitutions, along with diverse forms of communal and regional associations such as ethnoi, amphiktyonies, and confederacies. The papers, which span the length and breadth of the Hellenic world from the Balkans and Anatolia to Magna Graecia and North Africa, highlight the immense political flexibility and diversity of ancient Greek civilization.
Taco Terpstra
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691172088
- eISBN:
- 9780691189703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691172088.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the economic development of the ancient Mediterranean. From ca. 700 BCE onward, state formation began to have a positive influence on economic ...
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This introductory chapter provides an overview of the economic development of the ancient Mediterranean. From ca. 700 BCE onward, state formation began to have a positive influence on economic activities. A practical reason why that might have been the case readily comes to mind: states provided a transportation infrastructure, aiding traders in their mercantile endeavors. Indeed, rulers decided on the creation of Mediterranean harbors, including some of the largest and most famous ones. Apart from facilitating overseas shipping, the construction of harbors had a stimulating economic effect by integrating public and private monetary flows. Thus, the book studies the economic role of states, focusing on two central tenets. First, state formation and consolidation had an aggregate positive effect on the economy of the ancient Mediterranean, starting in the Late Iron Age and peaking sometime in the Roman imperial period. Second, one should not ascribe that effect to ancient states acting as third-party enforcers of private property rights.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the economic development of the ancient Mediterranean. From ca. 700 BCE onward, state formation began to have a positive influence on economic activities. A practical reason why that might have been the case readily comes to mind: states provided a transportation infrastructure, aiding traders in their mercantile endeavors. Indeed, rulers decided on the creation of Mediterranean harbors, including some of the largest and most famous ones. Apart from facilitating overseas shipping, the construction of harbors had a stimulating economic effect by integrating public and private monetary flows. Thus, the book studies the economic role of states, focusing on two central tenets. First, state formation and consolidation had an aggregate positive effect on the economy of the ancient Mediterranean, starting in the Late Iron Age and peaking sometime in the Roman imperial period. Second, one should not ascribe that effect to ancient states acting as third-party enforcers of private property rights.
David A. Blome
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501747526
- eISBN:
- 9781501747625
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501747526.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Military History
This concluding chapter identifies the similarities and differences in the defensive activities of the Phocians, Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Arcadians circa 490–362. The tactics of the four ethnos, ...
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This concluding chapter identifies the similarities and differences in the defensive activities of the Phocians, Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Arcadians circa 490–362. The tactics of the four ethnos, the potential threats to each ethnos, and the amount of foreign involvement in each defense provide sources of variation. Despite all of this variety, a common theme cuts across the four cases that reveals an underlying unity to the defense of Greek upland ethnē. Each of the four ethnos developed peculiar defensive strategies tailored to their respective geopolitical circumstances that guarded against potential invasions from the lowlands. Their methods and aims may have been different, but the calculation, coordination, and sophistication on display in the four cases show that these upland Greeks recognized the potential threats that surrounded them and had planned accordingly. The chapter then explains how the defensive strategies of the four ethnos differed from that of the polis-centric realm. It also explores the military roots of ancient federal states.Less
This concluding chapter identifies the similarities and differences in the defensive activities of the Phocians, Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Arcadians circa 490–362. The tactics of the four ethnos, the potential threats to each ethnos, and the amount of foreign involvement in each defense provide sources of variation. Despite all of this variety, a common theme cuts across the four cases that reveals an underlying unity to the defense of Greek upland ethnē. Each of the four ethnos developed peculiar defensive strategies tailored to their respective geopolitical circumstances that guarded against potential invasions from the lowlands. Their methods and aims may have been different, but the calculation, coordination, and sophistication on display in the four cases show that these upland Greeks recognized the potential threats that surrounded them and had planned accordingly. The chapter then explains how the defensive strategies of the four ethnos differed from that of the polis-centric realm. It also explores the military roots of ancient federal states.
Nam C. Kim
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199980888
- eISBN:
- 9780190268879
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199980888.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This book is concerned with the origins of an ancient state in northern Vietnam, an area long believed to be the cradle of Vietnamese ethnic identity and civilization. This area has been referenced ...
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This book is concerned with the origins of an ancient state in northern Vietnam, an area long believed to be the cradle of Vietnamese ethnic identity and civilization. This area has been referenced by Vietnamese and Chinese writers for over a millennium, many recording colorful tales and legends. One of the most enduring accounts is story of the Au Lac Kingdom and its purported capital, known as Co Loa. According to legend, the city was founded during the third century BC, and massive rampart walls were built to protect its rulers. Over the centuries, Co Loa has become emblematic of an important foundational era for Vietnamese civilization. Today, the ramparts still stand in silent testament to the power of past societies. Using the archaeological record to complement, support, and challenge traditional textual sources, this book considers trajectories of cultural change throughout the area’s prehistory: from an era of scattered farming villages to a time when powerful societies emerged, marked by unprecedented social inequalities and consolidated forms of political power. Presented are newly gathered data indicating the founding of Co Loa by an ancient state, centuries before the area would be annexed by the Chinese Han Empire. The causal factors for these momentous developments are also considered, placing Co Loa within a wider global theoretical consideration of ancient cities, states, and civilizations. Finally, the book explores the complex relationship between the politics of the present and the material remains of the ancient past.Less
This book is concerned with the origins of an ancient state in northern Vietnam, an area long believed to be the cradle of Vietnamese ethnic identity and civilization. This area has been referenced by Vietnamese and Chinese writers for over a millennium, many recording colorful tales and legends. One of the most enduring accounts is story of the Au Lac Kingdom and its purported capital, known as Co Loa. According to legend, the city was founded during the third century BC, and massive rampart walls were built to protect its rulers. Over the centuries, Co Loa has become emblematic of an important foundational era for Vietnamese civilization. Today, the ramparts still stand in silent testament to the power of past societies. Using the archaeological record to complement, support, and challenge traditional textual sources, this book considers trajectories of cultural change throughout the area’s prehistory: from an era of scattered farming villages to a time when powerful societies emerged, marked by unprecedented social inequalities and consolidated forms of political power. Presented are newly gathered data indicating the founding of Co Loa by an ancient state, centuries before the area would be annexed by the Chinese Han Empire. The causal factors for these momentous developments are also considered, placing Co Loa within a wider global theoretical consideration of ancient cities, states, and civilizations. Finally, the book explores the complex relationship between the politics of the present and the material remains of the ancient past.
David M. Carballo
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190251062
- eISBN:
- 9780190251086
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190251062.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Non-Classical
This book examines the ways in which urbanization and religion intersected in pre-Columbian central Mexico, with a primary focus on the later Formative period and the transition to the Classic ...
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This book examines the ways in which urbanization and religion intersected in pre-Columbian central Mexico, with a primary focus on the later Formative period and the transition to the Classic period. The major societal transformations of this interval occurred approximately 2,000 years ago and over a millennium before Mexico’s best known early civilization, the Aztecs. The book presents a synthesis of data from regional archaeological projects and key sites such as Teotihuacan and Cuicuilco, while relying on the author’s own excavations at the site of La Laguna as the central case study. A principal argument is that cities and states developed hand in hand with elements of a religious tradition of remarkable endurance and that these processes were fundamentally entangled. Prevalent religious beliefs and ritual practices created a cultural logic for urbanism, and as populations urbanized, they became socially integrated and differentiated following this logic. Nevertheless, religion was used differently over time and by groups and individuals across the spectra of urbanity and social status. The book calls for a materially informed history of religion, with the temporal depth that archaeology can provide, and an archaeology of cities that considers religion seriously as a generative force in societal change.Less
This book examines the ways in which urbanization and religion intersected in pre-Columbian central Mexico, with a primary focus on the later Formative period and the transition to the Classic period. The major societal transformations of this interval occurred approximately 2,000 years ago and over a millennium before Mexico’s best known early civilization, the Aztecs. The book presents a synthesis of data from regional archaeological projects and key sites such as Teotihuacan and Cuicuilco, while relying on the author’s own excavations at the site of La Laguna as the central case study. A principal argument is that cities and states developed hand in hand with elements of a religious tradition of remarkable endurance and that these processes were fundamentally entangled. Prevalent religious beliefs and ritual practices created a cultural logic for urbanism, and as populations urbanized, they became socially integrated and differentiated following this logic. Nevertheless, religion was used differently over time and by groups and individuals across the spectra of urbanity and social status. The book calls for a materially informed history of religion, with the temporal depth that archaeology can provide, and an archaeology of cities that considers religion seriously as a generative force in societal change.
