Ancient Economies of the Northern Aegean : Fifth to First Centuries BC

The south-eastern tip of continental Europe was a major focus of creative energy in the second half of the first millennium BC. As the bridgehead between Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean, the lands that corresponded to northern Greece, Bulgaria, and the European parts of Turkey became a focus of interest for a variety of external powers keen to benefit from this region's burgeoning wealth. While the ancient kingdoms of Macedon and Thrace were thought of as fringe areas of the Mediterranean, they became rich and successful, partly by exploiting the region's mineral wealth and timber and from the effective herding of livestock. In economic terms, these land-based states were strongly connected to the maritime powers of central and southern Greece and with areas far beyond the Aegean. Using the most up-to-date methods and theories about ancient economies, Archibald explores the cultural and economic dynamics of a region that continues to reveal unexpected dimensions of Classical antiquity. Cover 1 Ancient Economies of the Northern Aegean: Fifth to First Centuries BC 4 Copyright 5 Preface 6 Acknowledgements 10 Contents 12 List of figures, maps and tables 14 List of abbreviations 16 1: Introduction 24 THE GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AEGEAN ECONOMIES 24 A short history of exploration 24 Economy and environment 27 THE END OF A ROYAL ECONOMY 29 CONCEPTUALIZING ROYAL ECONOMIES 33 REGIONAL ECONOMIES OF THE NORTH AEGEAN 35 Exploring regional approaches 35 The east Balkan—north Aegean region 37 New research directions 38 CONTINENTAL TRADE 41 A LEARNED QUARTET: MICHAEL ROSTOVTZEFF, ANDREW SHERRATT, VELIZAR VELKOV, AND MANOLIS ANDRONIKOS 44 Rostovtzeff and the grand narrative 45 Andrew Sherratt’s continental merry-go-round 48 Velizar Velkov and settlement history in the Balkans 52 Vergina and the Macedonian Kings of Manolis Andronikos 55 2: Herdsmen with golden leaves—narratives and spaces 60 COMPOSING A NARRATIVE 60 The limits of political narratives 60 A historical balance sheet 63 Self defence 64 Thessaly: between north and south 65 The long shadow of the Greco-Persian Wars 69 Money and metals 72 Agents of change 75 SETTLEMENTS, CITIES AND SANCTUARIES 78 Understanding settlement forms—poleis and related concepts 78 Greek and non-Greek sites 86 Non-urban sites and the evolution of the ‘dispersed city’ 89 Amphipolis 91 Philippopolis 91 Maroneia 94 Sanctuaries 96 Aigeai 91 ‘ROYAL’ ECONOMIES—RAISING AND MAKING MONEY FOR A KING 97 3: Societies and economies 108 THE SOCIAL AND THE ECONOMIC 108 ECOLOGICAL VARIABILITY AND INTER-DEPENDENT NETWORKS ACROSS THE AEGEAN 115 EMERGING MARKETS 121 STATUS AND RANK 129 An upper class 134 Diplomacy and power relations 138 Subordinated people and peoples 141 A SUMMARY OF THE NARRATIVE 146 4: The longue durée in the north Aegean 152 THE NORTH AEGEAN LONGUE DURÉE IN A NUTSHELL 152 A COLLAGE OF LANDSCAPES 158 The Thermaic Gulf and Pella 158 Rural country estates 164 THORSTEIN VEBLEN AND THE ‘INSTINCT OF WORKMANSHIP’ 175 How objects make subjects 175 Carpets, textiles, and dress 184 North Aegean and Pontic grey wares 188 Mining for metals and minerals 194 Iron 199 Glass and pigments 202 Pastoral regimes in the northern Aegean 204 Horse power 206 Animal products 210 The culture of creativity in the north Aegean 213 5: Regionalism and regional economies 216 EXPLORING THE NORTHERN AEGEAN AS AN ECONOMIC ‘SUPER-REGION’ 216 The northern Aegean as an axis of exchange and as an interface 216 Cross-cultural exchange 229 Royal monopolies 231 The historiography of economies in the east Balkan landmass 234 DESCRIBING A REGION—THE ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF THE EAST BALKANS 240 THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF REGIONAL TRADE 245 Salt 245 Rivers, routes, and roads 246 Markets and currencies 250 Pella 251 Pistiros and Krastevich 254 Byzantion—a major hub of northern commerce 260 REGIONAL DIVISIONS 268 6: The lure of the northern Aegean 272 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS 272 ABDERA—A CAUTIONARY TALE? 278 THASOS AND ITS PERAIA 281 SAMOTHRACE 291 7: Dining cultures 294 MACEDONIAN AND THRACIAN ROYAL DINNERS 294 STORAGE AS A PROXY FOR FOOD CONSUMPTION? 299 NORTHERN AEGEAN DIET AND CUISINE 307 Cereals, legumes, and fruit 307 Where’s the beef? Meat consumption in the northern Aegean 310 CONCLUSIONS 318 8: Continuity and commemoration 320 MONUMENTS, THE SACRED, AND SACRED LAND IN THE NORTH AEGEAN 320 BURIALS AND NORTHERN SOCIETIES 336 REASSEMBLING NORTHERN AEGEAN ECONOMIES 340 Bibliography 344 Index of sources 390 General index 397 Ancient economies, outside the Persian, and later, Roman empires, were unlike the economies of modern nation states. Transactions were conducted bilaterally, just like a face to face contract, so exchanges led to the development of a dense network of agreements. This book explores the economic networks within a region framed by the Pindhos and Balkan mountain chains on the west and north, the Black Sea and the Bosporus to east and south, in the second half of the first millennium bc . The Greco-Persian wars, at the start of this period, triggered a process of political integration, as two dynastic powers, Macedon and Odrysian Thrace, expanded across this land mass, and whose progressive demise brought about by Roman military and political interventions culminated in economic integration with the Roman state, as represented in the implementation of the tax law of Asia, during the course of the first century bc . The chapters focus at least as much on preoccupations with workmanship, as they do on the lifestyles of leading fashionable circles, and the economic agents of the intervening centuries, such as merchants from Thasos, leather workers of civic centres of the interior, and metal smiths from various mountainous zones. Exchange is unthinkable without markets playing a key role, while animals must also be factored into the debate about travel and the intensity of traffic Using The Most Up-to-date Methods And Theories About Ancient Economies, Archibald Explores How The Cultural And Economic Dynamics Of The Ancient Kingdoms Of Macedon And Thrace Worked. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1.introduction -- 2.herdsmen With Golden Leaves---narratives And Spaces -- 3.societies And Economies -- 4.the Longue Durée In The North Aegean -- 5.regionalism And Regional Economies -- 6.the Lure Of The Northern Aegean -- 7.dining Cultures -- 8.continuity And Commemoration. Zosia Halina Archibald. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [321]-365) And Indexes.