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 Ancient Economies of the Northern Aegean: Fifth to First Centuries BC Copyright Preface Acknowledgements Contents List of figures, maps and tables List of abbreviations 1: Introduction THE GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AEGEAN ECONOMIES A short history of exploration Economy and environment THE END OF A ROYAL ECONOMY CONCEPTUALIZING ROYAL ECONOMIES REGIONAL ECONOMIES OF THE NORTH AEGEAN Exploring regional approaches The east Balkan—north Aegean region New research directions CONTINENTAL TRADE A LEARNED QUARTET: MICHAEL ROSTOVTZEFF, ANDREW SHERRATT, VELIZAR VELKOV, AND MANOLIS ANDRONIKOS Rostovtzeff and the grand narrative Andrew Sherratt’s continental merry-go-round Velizar Velkov and settlement history in the Balkans Vergina and the Macedonian Kings of Manolis Andronikos 2: Herdsmen with golden leaves—narratives and spaces COMPOSING A NARRATIVE The limits of political narratives A historical balance sheet Self defence Thessaly: between north and south The long shadow of the Greco-Persian Wars Money and metals Agents of change SETTLEMENTS, CITIES AND SANCTUARIES Understanding settlement forms—poleis and related concepts Greek and non-Greek sites Non-urban sites and the evolution of the ‘dispersed city’ Amphipolis Philippopolis Maroneia Sanctuaries Aigeai ‘ROYAL’ ECONOMIES—RAISING AND MAKING MONEY FOR A KING 3: Societies and economies THE SOCIAL AND THE ECONOMIC ECOLOGICAL VARIABILITY AND INTER-DEPENDENT NETWORKS ACROSS THE AEGEAN EMERGING MARKETS STATUS AND RANK An upper class Diplomacy and power relations Subordinated people and peoples A SUMMARY OF THE NARRATIVE 4: The longue durée in the north Aegean THE NORTH AEGEAN LONGUE DURÉE IN A NUTSHELL A COLLAGE OF LANDSCAPES The Thermaic Gulf and Pella Rural country estates THORSTEIN VEBLEN AND THE ‘INSTINCT OF WORKMANSHIP’ How objects make subjects Carpets, textiles, and dress North Aegean and Pontic grey wares Mining for metals and minerals Iron Glass and pigments Pastoral regimes in the northern Aegean Horse power Animal products The culture of creativity in the north Aegean 5: Regionalism and regional economies EXPLORING THE NORTHERN AEGEAN AS AN ECONOMIC ‘SUPER-REGION’ The northern Aegean as an axis of exchange and as an interface Cross-cultural exchange Royal monopolies The historiography of economies in the east Balkan landmass DESCRIBING A REGION—THE ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF THE EAST BALKANS THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF REGIONAL TRADE Salt Rivers, routes, and roads Markets and currencies Pella Pistiros and Krastevich Byzantion—a major hub of northern commerce REGIONAL DIVISIONS 6: The lure of the northern Aegean BOUNDARY CONDITIONS ABDERA—A CAUTIONARY TALE? THASOS AND ITS PERAIA SAMOTHRACE 7: Dining cultures MACEDONIAN AND THRACIAN ROYAL DINNERS STORAGE AS A PROXY FOR FOOD CONSUMPTION? NORTHERN AEGEAN DIET AND CUISINE Cereals, legumes, and fruit Where’s the beef? Meat consumption in the northern Aegean CONCLUSIONS 8: Continuity and commemoration MONUMENTS, THE SACRED, AND SACRED LAND IN THE NORTH AEGEAN BURIALS AND NORTHERN SOCIETIES REASSEMBLING NORTHERN AEGEAN ECONOMIES Bibliography Index of sources General index 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.