The Oxford Handbook of the State in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean (Oxford Handbooks)

The Oxford Handbook Of The State In The Ancient Near East And Mediterranean Offers A Comprehensive Survey Of Ancient State Formation In Western Eurasia And North Africa. Eighteen Experts Introduce Readers To A Wide Variety Of Systems Spanning 4,000 Years, From The Earliest Known States In World History To The Roman Empire And Its Immediate Successors. They Seek To Understand The Inner Workings Of These States By Focusing On Key Issues: Political And Military Power, The Impact Of Ideologies, The Rise And Fall Of Individual Polities, And The Mechanisms Of Cooperation, Coercion, And Exploitation. This Shared Emphasis On Critical Institutions And Dynamics Invites Comparative And Cross-cultural Perspectives. A Detailed Introductory Review Of Contemporary Approaches To The Study Of The State Puts The Rich Historical Case Studies In Context. Transcending Conventional Boundaries Between Ancient Near Eastern And Mediterranean History And Between Ancient And Early Medieval History, This Volume Will Be Of Interest Not Only To Historians But Also Anthropologists, Archaeologists, Sociologists, And Political Scientists. Its Accessible Style And Up-to-date References Will Make It An Invaluable Resource For Both Students And Scholars. Studying The State / Walter Scheidel -- Egypt / Joseph G. Manning -- Ancient Near Eastern City-states / Steven J. Garfinkle -- Mesopotamian Empires / Gojko Barjamovic -- Anatolian States / Trevor Bryce -- Jewish States / Seth Schwartz -- Iranian Empires / Josef Wiesehöfer -- Bronze Age Greece / John Bennet -- Greek City-states / Mogens Herman Hansen -- Greek Multicity States / Ian Morris -- The Greek Koinon / Emily Mackil -- Hellenistic Empires / John Ma -- Carthage / Walter Ameling -- The Roman Empire I: The Republic / Henrik Mouritsen -- The Roman Empire Ii : The Monarchy / Peter Fibiger Bang -- The Byzantine Successor State / John Haldon -- The Germanic Successor States / Ian Wood -- The First Islamic Empire / Chase F. Robinson. Edited By Peter Fibiger Bang And Walter Scheidel. Series Statement On Book Jacket Flap. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This edition offers a comprehensive survey of ancient state formation in western Eurasia and North Africa. Eighteen experts introduce readers to a wide variety of systems spanning 4,000 years, from the earliest known states in world history to the Roman Empire and its immediate successors. They seek to understand the inner workings of these states by focusing on key issues: political and military power, the impact of ideologies, the rise and fall of individual polities, and the mechanisms of cooperation, coercion, and exploitation. This shared emphasis on critical institutions and dynamics invites comparative and cross-cultural perspectives. A detailed introductory review of contemporary approaches to the study of the state puts the rich historical case studies in context. Transcending conventional boundaries between ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean history and between ancient and early medieval history, this volume will be of interest not only to historians but also anthropologists, archaeologists, sociologists, and political scientists. Its accessible style and up-to-date references will make it an invaluable resource for both students and scholars. --adapted from back cover This Handbook offers a comprehensive survey of ancient state formation in western Eurasia and North Africa. Eighteen experts introduce readers to a wide variety of systems spanning 4,000 years, from the earliest known states in world history to the Roman Empire and its successors. The book seeks to understand the inner workings of these states by focusing on key issues: political and military power, mechanisms of cooperation, coercion, and exploitation, the impact of ideologies, and the rise and demise of individual polities. This shared emphasis on critical institutions and dynamics invites comparative and cross-cultural perspectives. A detailed introductory review of contemporary approaches to the study of the state puts the historical case studies in context. The book transcends conventional boundaries between ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean history, and between ancient and early medieval history. -- Publisher description ## Abstract This Handbook offers a comprehensive survey of ancient state formation in western Eurasia and North Africa. Eighteen experts introduce readers to a wide variety of systems spanning 4,000 years, from the earliest known states in world history to the Roman Empire and its successors. The book seeks to understand the inner workings of these states by focusing on key issues: political and military power, mechanisms of cooperation, coercion, and exploitation, the impact of ideologies, and the rise and demise of individual polities. This shared emphasis on critical institutions and dynamics invites comparative and cross-cultural perspectives. A detailed introductory review of contemporary approaches to the study of the state puts the historical case studies in context. The book transcends conventional boundaries between ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean history, and between ancient and early medieval history. Introduction Preface Studying the state / Walter Scheidel Egypt / Joseph G. Manning Fertile crescent city-states / Steven Garfinkle Mesopotamian empires / Gojko Barjamovic Anatolian states / Trevor Bryce Jewish states / Seth Schwartz Iranian empires / Josef Wiesehöfer Bronze age Greece / John Bennet Greek city-states / Mogens H. Hansen Greek multi-city states / Ian Morris The Greek koinon / Emily Mackil Hellenistic empires / John Ma Carthage / Walter Ameling The Roman Empire I: the republic / Henrik Mouritsen The Roman Empire ii: the monarchy / Peter F. Bang The Byzantine successor state / John Haldon The Germanic successor states / Ian Wood The first Islamic empire / Chase Robinson. oxfordhb-9780195188318-miscMatter-3 1 oxfordhb-9780195188318-miscMatter-5 3 oxfordhb-9780195188318-miscMatter-6 4 oxfordhb-9780195188318-miscMatter-7 5 bang2013 8 scheidel2013 11 manning2013 74 garfinkle2013 111 barjamovic2013 139 bryce2013 184 schwartz2013 204 10.1093@oxfordhb@9780195188318.013.0008 225 bennet2013 260 hansen2013 287 morris2013 310 mackil2013 338 ma2013 359 ameling2013 394 mouritsen2013 418 bang2013 (1) 448 haldon2013 517 wood2013 542 robinson2013 565 oxfordhb-9780195188318-indexList-1 586 Tracing the evolution of the state from its beginnings to the early Middle Ages, this comprehensive handbook focuses on key institutions and dynamics while providing accessible accounts of states and empires in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean.