Journal articles on the topic 'Hellenistic administration'

In the Roman Eastern provinces, the concept and rituals of a province-wide imperial cult were based on a pre-existing tradition of Hellenistic ruler’s divinization and worship. But its formal mise en place was conformed to the new territorial framework of Roman administration: a gubernatorial provincia/ἐπαρχεία appears subdivided into several administrative sub-provinces that were likewise called provinciae/ἐπαρχεῖαι. The cities of almost all known eparchies in terms of sub-provinces formed koina responsible for the provincial imperial cult and the political representation of the provincials headed by priestly officials, such as bithyniarchai or ‘(high-)priests of the eparchy/-ies’, whose titles refer explicitly to the represented sub-province. The correlation between these koina and Roman territorial administration from almost all Eastern provinces demands more political functions of the koinon-officials than only priestly ones, as shown by the frequently combined titulatures.

Abstract Greek and Hellenistic models were central to the formulation of the position and capabilities in law of the Roman Emperor during the Principate. The purpose of this article is to argue that the ideological response to Greek tyranny by Roman authors and the impact of the narrative tradition on tyrants both influenced what the Emperors could do and what was expected of them. Through the narrative tradition which existed on tyranny in the ancient world, Roman Emperors were presented with modes of behaviour on how the interplay and the relationship between the ruler and the ruled took place. Through the examples of the Columbia papyrus and the Goharian inscription, I will argue that the Roman situation was quite unique in the combination of approachability and the practical administration of justice. These examples show how the Emperor was not simply a benevolent monarch but also, if necessary, a strict magistrate.

AbstractsPublic slavery was an institution common to most Greek cities during the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Whether they worked on the city’s major construction sites, performed minor duties in its civic administration or filled the ranks of its police force (the famous Scythian archers of classical Athens), public slaves may be said to have constituted the first public servants known to Greek cities. Studying them from this perspective can shed new light on the long-running debate about the degree to which thepolisfunctioned as a state. Direct democracy, in the Classical Athenian sense, implied that all political prerogatives be held by the citizens themselves, and not by any kind of state apparatus. The decision to delegate administrative tasks to slaves can thus be understood as a “resistance” (as defined by the French anthropologist Pierre Clastres) on the part of the civic society to the development of this apparatus.

AbstractIn viewing the documents relative to the Ptolemaic jurisdiction we come across an official with a title transcribed into Demotic, but which apparently corresponds to the Greek designation εισαγωευς. This official is mentioned in conjunction with judicial proceedings. His functions were to introduce cases before the judges and to take actions in concert with them; and his bailiff was empowered to enforce judicial decisions. Since the eisagogeus represented the central administration, we may postulate that he was regarded as a royal functionary acting as a liaison man with the law courts. My concern is to point out an official in the pre-Ptolemaic administration who had to play the same role. In the judicial machine of Pharaonic times many a scribe played an active part, not only in writing down the records. In reality he used to act in legal proceedings from start to finish. In grave situations he had to communicate directly with the highest office in the State (that of the vizier); and even at the great council (qnbt) held by the vizier, the scribe officiated sometimes as prosecutor. We come to the conclusion that it is likely that the position of the Hellenistic eisagogeus was no more than the continuation of a much older Pharaonic institution.

Summary In relation to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, a great number of studies have analysed his different military campaigns, but very few have focused on the political and economic aspects of his reign. Based on a series of references taken from literary accounts, we seek to demonstrate how the internal organisation of the Kingdom of Epirus under Pyrrhus was similar to that of other contemporaneous Hellenistic kingdoms, replete with a Court consisting of a large number of the king’s friends and companions. Using certain archaeological evidence, especially funerary remains, we seek to reflect the existence of this Epirote élite in material terms. The literary tradition bears witness to an interest in agriculture and livestock farming during Pyrrhus’ period, although the accounts handed down to us provide little detail. Once again, archaeology enables us to provide corroborating evidence. In this respect, we focus on the existence of a series of fortified rural residences distributed in irregular manner throughout Epirote territory, which are interpreted as being those of the members of this aristocratic élite, who used these fortified enclosures as centres of exploitation for their lands and as symbols of their power and prestige. As comparative points of reference that enable us to understand these processes, we provide various examples from neighbouring Macedonia, a kingdom with which Epirus maintained close links, especially as of the mid-fourth century B.C., which appears to be the period in which many of these new developments also began to emerge in Epirus, reaching their culmination during the reign of Pyrrhus.

In the Byzantine period, urban life in Anatolia underwent a decay in which ancient cities shrank behind reduced circuits of walls or withdrew to the fortified hilltops whence they had descended in the Hellenistic age. Even the greatest city of the empire, Constantinople, saw a drastic diminution of population and resources, abandonment of its ancient public works and services, and consequent transformation from a classical to a medieval city. These changes began with the devastating invasions of Persians and Arabs in the seventh century. Sources reveal little about Anatolia between the early seventh and mid-ninth century, a true dark age, but the evidence of archaeology often makes it possible to visualize conditions at the time.The Byzantines, whose empire long survived these troubles, generally occupied existing sites in Asia Minor where their ruins are superimposed on those of the Romans or earlier cultures. In only a few instances, usually occasioned by the needs of defence or of a militarized administration, were new sites founded. Although the Dark Ages were not a propitious time for urban development, some new towns did come into existence or prominence. Few of them have been studied. Strobilos on the Carian coast, therefore, is of some potential interest as an example of a Byzantine town which first appears in the historical record in the eighth century, and whose remains have been preserved.

Представляемое здесь исследование посвящено элементам архитектурного декора (базы, колонны, капители, перемычки, детали алтарных преград, декоративные рельефы, др.), которые были найдены в памятниках теля Шило в первичном (in situ), вторичном, третичном использовании или вне архитектурного контекста. Малая часть из них кратко опубликована, но большая их часть никогда не публиковалась и не анализировалась. Основная часть исследования включает в себя каталогизирование объектов, их обмеры, стилистический анализ и атрибуцию с предположительными датировками (данные работы уже частично проведены автором, материал неоднократно изучался натурно). Но прежде необходимо уточнить топографические особенности римского города, остатки ранних строений, дорог, из которых могли происходить детали, расположение ранневизантийских церквей с ориентацией на уже существующий контекст, чему и посвящена данная статья. Таким образом, здесь характеризуется эллинистический, римский контекст города, с последовательно вписанным в него ранневизантийским и раннеисламским, что до сих пор делалось лишь кратко и неполно. The present research is devoted to reporting on the recovery of architectural fragments in the Roman and Byzantine periods (bases, pedestals, shafts, capitals, lintels, chancel screen elements, decorative reliefs, etc.). They were found at the monuments of Tel Shilo in situ, in secondary, in tertiary use or out of the architectural context. Only a small part of them was published as part of the general reports on the excavations at Tel Shilo, which were conducted by Swedish and American expeditions and in the framework of regular works of the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria (Dr. Aage Shmidt, Hans Kjær, Sven Holm-Nilsen, Marie-Louise Buhl, Flemming Gorm Andersen, Hananya Hizmi, Reut Livyatan ben Arie, Yodan Fleitman, et al.). Most of them (especially the fragments at the Basilica church, which I consider mainly Roman spolia) weren’t published or ever analyzed, except in some very general works and in general photographs. Besides, several architectural fragments were found during the last years of the excavations. The main section of the research includes a catalog of the objects, their measurements, stylistic analysis, attribution with preliminary dating. This work was accomplished in part and is still ongoing. The objects were examined at the site, photographed against the scale, and measured. But before proceeding to this main part of the research, it is necessary to outline and to present the main Roman and Early Byzantine architectural context at Tel Shilo. It is impossible to discover the original derivation, function, actual date and style of the details without characterization of the monuments, for which they may have been originally executed. Thus, the present article is devoted mainly to the architectural context of the town, which is divided into three main periods with sub-phases: Late Hellenistic and Roman decumani with several smaller in their scale cardines, their rebuilding during the Late Roman period (enlarging of the western colonnade of decumanus in front of cardo), tower on the outer edges of the settlement; Early Byzantine Northern churches, baptistery and Basilica church, which were, by my theory, inserted into the earlier system of roads with the use of their foundations, stylobate and members (though plenty of Roman spolia were reused, liturgical furniture was especially imported for the churches); and finally - Early Islamic mosques (Jami’ al Yetin, Jami’ Arbain, Jami’ es-Sittin), that were built on the place of the churches and inside the Roman tower with the use of all their elements (it seems that no special decorative elements were executed for mosques). It was done only in a brief and fragmentary manner before, without general systematization. The preliminary attempt to coordinate the known architectural details to their original architectural context is also presented here.

Abstract This paper examines the source and consequences of permanent liminality in the political-legal administration of the Byzantine Empire. The paper argues ambiguous and incomplete identities of individuals, groups, and society associated with certain authoritarian political arrangements and consequent arrested liminal period(s) contributed to the decline of the Empire. Further, and significantly, the unresolved situation of disaggregated identity, or spirited away demos, persisted in the Ottoman Era and continues to infect contemporary socio-political affairs in regions in the Balkans and other countries of the former Soviet Union which now seek to balance the interests of a nation-state with the diversity of Europe. The paper does not consider the Orthodox Spirit, but rather analyzes the role of pseudo-intellectuals and sophists who derail the democratic and philosophical Hellenist traditions with authoritarian policies and tools. The research compares and links the institutional attempts of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires to manage and manipulate differences and distinctions through mechanisms such as theatricalization and the millets. The argument concludes that these strategies created the basis for the perpetualization of the sick man of Europe to the extent they focused on juggling the distinctions and identities of the empires rather than pursuing the development of the democratic self. Thus, in liminality is revealed and contained undead and viral authoritarian spirits, sometimes manifested in populist or extremist ethnic leaders, whose technologies trick the demos and disrupt the democratic imagination.

The expanded, politically unified entity that resulted from the conquests of Alexander III facilitated the movement of people, products, and ideas in a way much easier and more effective than before. The governance of the vast and ethnically diversified Hellenistic kingdoms required the use of an accessible linguistic device, which we know as Hellenistic koine. This dialect of Greek, being a key component of cosmopolitan Hellenistic culture, played an important role towards the homogenisation of the vast Hellenistic world, becoming a lingua franca and allowing people of totally different cultural backgrounds to interact with each other formally and informally. Common cultural elements throughout the Hellenistic world, seem, on the surface, to extend beyond language to the area of material culture and, in particular, pottery. In fact, several scholars, including Werner Technau, Konstantina Gravani and Stella Drougou, have argued for a koine ceramic language characterised by the appearance of common pottery shapes, production methods, and decorative techniques throughout the Hellenistic world. In this paper, however, I argue that linguistic koine and ceramic koine are not parallel phenomena, as many researchers seem to accept, even though they arise from similar political and cultural developments. The former was at least originally imposed by the political administration of the Hellenistic kingdoms upon the people living in the Hellenistic world, while the latter reflects a bottom-up process. Hence, the issues I will be exploring below are the form of both the linguistic and ceramic ‘koinai,’ their origin, and their different formative processes.

The Rhodian military fleet and the textiles of the standard equipment of the navy of Hellenistic Rhodes. The island of Rhodes is one of the Greek islands with the longest naval tradition and the Rhodian navy of the Hellenistic period was the most powerful Greek navy after the Athenian one. This paper presents the results of a research project, entitled HISTIA, studying the production, maintenance, and administration of a neglected area of research, namely the sails, rope and any textile equipment needed for the military ships of Rhodes. By focusing on this previously unstudied field of naval studies, this project, not only aims at breaching a significant research gap, but also establishes a new field of textile archaeology that studies textiles intended for the ships, bringing together the fields of ancient history, naval history, and textile archaeology. Based on similar studies carried out for the Athenian navy, as well as research on the naval power of Rhodes, HISTIA project investigates evidence and research questions related to the types of ships used in Classical and Hellenistic Rhodes, the facilities of the Rhodian harbors, the maritime networks of Rhodes and the navy stations, and the ship’s equipment in textiles and rope; the basic type of ship being the trireme, a significant source of information for the establishment of the requirements in textiles and rope were the naval catalogues of Piraeus listing the triremes and their equipment. The project also studies the materials required for this production, the possibility of local cultivation, as well as the trade of raw materials and finished products; similarly, the production process, information about workshops, workforce, as well as different trades necessary to meet the constant requirements of the navy in textiles and rope. Moreover, as was also the case in Athens, in Rhodes too this material required constant and specific maintenance in storehouses with special conditions in order to be safely stored and be useful for a long period of time.

When Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered Judea, which consists of part of present-day Palestine, Israel and Jordan, in 332 BC, the Jews of the region came under Hellenistic domination. After the death of Alexander the Great, his generals began to fight each other on the huge empire he left behind, and eventually various Hellenistic kingdoms were established. Although Judea remained under the domination of the Ptolemaic State, one of the aforementioned Hellenistic states, in 301 BC, it became subject to another Hellenistic State, the Seleucids, in 200 BC as part of the ongoing struggles. The Jewish population, which had a relatively comfortable environment in terms of religion and administration as of the beginning of the Seleucid domination, would be subject to some religious and administrative sanctions in the following period. Due to the sanctions in question, a rebellion movement known as the Maccabee Rebellion in the literature started under the leadership of Mattathias of Modiin and his five sons. The family that led the movement is known as the Hasmonean Family or the Maccabees. The name Hasmonean is used because of the family's great ancestor whose existence can be identified in the sources. The name Maccabee is essentially the epithet of Judas Maccabee, son of Mattathias. Due to his successes, it has become used to commemorate both the rebellion and the family. The family known as the Hasmoneans or Maccabees first appeared in 167 BC. During this period, the Jews were under Seleucid rule and a rebellion started under the leadership of Matthathias against the religious impositions of Antiochus IV, the king of the period. After Matthathias' death, the movement was continued by his five remaining sons and later by his grandchildren. The movement, which was initially a local rebellion, led to the transformation of the family into a dynasty. Continuing its struggle as a dynasty, the Hasmonean Family first had a vassal structure and finally an independent political structure, with the gains they achieved against the Seleucids. Primary information about the family is generally obtained from the apocryphal Books of Maccabees and the works of the Jewish historian Josephus. On the family's activity period, which covers the period between 167 BC and 63 BC, various studies have been made on the importance and effects of the political history of the family and the movement, and the history of religions in terms of Judaism, especially in foreign literature. However, there are not many studies on the motivation of action adopted by the family while carrying out its activities and the bases on which they gain legitimacy. However, while the historical course of the family is being followed, it is noteworthy that the movement ideology, the reasons for the struggle and the legitimacy bases of the family have changed and updated continuously. In this study, rather than the political history of the Hasmonean Dynasty and the meaning it expresses to Judaism as a religion, it has been tried to examine the ideology of the family from its emergence on the stage of history until the collapse of the independent state they owned, its legitimacy bases and the reasons for the changes in the aforementioned elements. As a result of the examinations, it was determined that the changes occurred especially according to the gains of the family and the current political conjuncture. The changes that took place on the family's movement ideology occurred as a result of certain events. In this respect, it is possible to examine the motivation of the family in three parts as the ideology of the rebellion period, the ideology of the dynasty and the ideology of the state. While the movement was still in the period of rebellion, the ideology of the family was far from nationalism and was based on religion. The family gets its legitimacy from religious grounds in this period, just like its ideology. In the dynastic stage, which is the next period in which the goals of the Maccabean Revolt were successful, the ideology and legitimacy of the family underwent a major change. Since there is no longer a religious goal, the family has started to pursue political independence goals by acting with a national ideology. In the period of the state when political independence was established, there was no longer a goal of political independence, so the family was acted with the motive of protecting the dynasty and personal power.

When Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered Judea, which consists of part of present-day Palestine, Israel and Jordan, in 332 BC, the Jews of the region came under Hellenistic domination. After the death of Alexander the Great, his generals began to fight each other on the huge empire he left behind, and eventually various Hellenistic kingdoms were established. Although Judea remained under the domination of the Ptolemaic State, one of the aforementioned Hellenistic states, in 301 BC, it became subject to another Hellenistic State, the Seleucids, in 200 BC as part of the ongoing struggles. The Jewish population, which had a relatively comfortable environment in terms of religion and administration as of the beginning of the Seleucid domination, would be subject to some religious and administrative sanctions in the following period. Due to the sanctions in question, a rebellion movement known as the Maccabee Rebellion in the literature started under the leadership of Mattathias of Modiin and his five sons. The family that led the movement is known as the Hasmonean Family or the Maccabees. The name Hasmonean is used because of the family's great ancestor whose existence can be identified in the sources. The name Maccabee is essentially the epithet of Judas Maccabee, son of Mattathias. Due to his successes, it has become used to commemorate both the rebellion and the family. The family known as the Hasmoneans or Maccabees first appeared in 167 BC. During this period, the Jews were under Seleucid rule and a rebellion started under the leadership of Matthathias against the religious impositions of Antiochus IV, the king of the period. After Matthathias' death, the movement was continued by his five remaining sons and later by his grandchildren. The movement, which was initially a local rebellion, led to the transformation of the family into a dynasty. Continuing its struggle as a dynasty, the Hasmonean Family first had a vassal structure and finally an independent political structure, with the gains they achieved against the Seleucids. Primary information about the family is generally obtained from the apocryphal Books of Maccabees and the works of the Jewish historian Josephus. On the family's activity period, which covers the period between 167 BC and 63 BC, various studies have been made on the importance and effects of the political history of the family and the movement, and the history of religions in terms of Judaism, especially in foreign literature. However, there are not many studies on the motivation of action adopted by the family while carrying out its activities and the bases on which they gain legitimacy. However, while the historical course of the family is being followed, it is noteworthy that the movement ideology, the reasons for the struggle and the legitimacy bases of the family have changed and updated continuously. In this study, rather than the political history of the Hasmonean Dynasty and the meaning it expresses to Judaism as a religion, it has been tried to examine the ideology of the family from its emergence on the stage of history until the collapse of the independent state they owned, its legitimacy bases and the reasons for the changes in the aforementioned elements. As a result of the examinations, it was determined that the changes occurred especially according to the gains of the family and the current political conjuncture. The changes that took place on the family's movement ideology occurred as a result of certain events. In this respect, it is possible to examine the motivation of the family in three parts as the ideology of the rebellion period, the ideology of the dynasty and the ideology of the state. While the movement was still in the period of rebellion, the ideology of the family was far from nationalism and was based on religion. The family gets its legitimacy from religious grounds in this period, just like its ideology. In the dynastic stage, which is the next period in which the goals of the Maccabean Revolt were successful, the ideology and legitimacy of the family underwent a major change. Since there is no longer a religious goal, the family has started to pursue political independence goals by acting with a national ideology. In the period of the state when political independence was established, there was no longer a goal of political independence, so the family was acted with the motive of protecting the dynasty and personal power.

The Jewish literary production of Hellenistic and early imperial times includes a substantial number of short narratives displaying novelistic features. Most of these texts are in Greek, with novelistic trends also appearing in Hebrew and Aramaic works (Esther, Daniel). While this stylistic shift is undeniable, the present article questions the social and cultural implications that a number of scholars seek to read into it. Because of their shared stylistic innovations, these works are often treated as a homogeneous group, regardless of whether or not they were eventually included in the biblical canon (the Septuagint), and contrasted with the traditional narrative genres represented in the Hebrew biblical corpus. The transition to the novelistic is further taken to indicate a shift in the social context in which these works were produced, and correlatively, in their social function. Thus, in contrast with the earlier narrative literature written by temple scribes, these early novels supposedly emerged in the urban environment, where they catered to the tastes of a wider segment of the Jewish population. Furthermore, it is alleged that like their Greek counterparts, the Jewish novels had no institutionalized social use but were performed or read purely for entertainment, explaining the prominent thematization of eroticism, chastity, and marriage. In contrast with this approach, it is argued that when it comes to works that were eventually canonized, the issue of the social environment in which they were produced and that of their social function need to be decoupled from style and tone. To bolster this stance, the discussion draws extensively on a comparison with the social context in which the contemporary Demotic literature was produced, which is archaeologically documented, and on a comparison with Demotic texts themselves in both form and content. As a starting point, it is noted that the model associating novelization and urbanization crystallized at a time when indigenous temples—not least the one in Jerusalem—were held as bastions of conservatism, and it was speculated that that Hellenization in Judea was promoted by new, secular elites. Since then, this assumption has been proven wrong. Both in Egypt and Judea, the indigenous elites who manned the royal administrations were fielded from among the local temple personnel, meaning that the temple literati were familiar with their own traditions and Greek literature alike. On this basis, it is argued that the novelization of the works was first and foremost a matter of the reception of Greek literature by temple literati. Given that most if not all the narrative texts were aimed for oral performance, those were eager to borrow any literary devices that would make the stories livelier. In terms of their social function, however, these novelized works were no different from pre-Hellenistic narrative genres. Like their Demotic counterparts, biblical narratives provided a tool for exploring virtually all the aspects of knowledge that were of interest to their authors and audience, including the nature of the relationship between human beings and deity, history, law, prophecy, political, social, and religious matters. Their diverting tone assisted in the inculcation knowledge. In this way, the reappraisal of the biblical narratives as serious literature proposed in this article goes much further than simply stressing their connections with sapiential literature.