Naukratis and the Eastern Mediterranean: Past, Present and Future (original) (raw)
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Egypt and the Classical World: Cross-Cultural Encounters in Antiquity (edited by Sara Cole and Jeffrey Spier), 2022
Whilst numerous studies have focused on various aspects of the Late Bronze Age 'world system' (such as the exchange of objects, raw materials, animals and plants, specialist craftsmen and artists, and even diplomatic marriages), the role of the military in the exchange of technologies and ideas has remained remarkably understudied. By highlighting a number of artefacts that have been found throughout the eastern Mediterranean, this paper seeks to explore the role of the military and, especially, mercenaries as a conduit of knowledge and ideas in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
Memphis, Minos, and Mycenae: Bronze Age contact between Egypt and the Aegean
In Jeffrey Spier, Timothy Potts, and Sara E. Cole (eds.), Beyond the Nile. Egypt and the Classical World, Los Angeles (Getty Museum), pp. 9-17, 2018
Before 3000 BC, when there was no unified Egyptian state that controlled the entirety of the Nile Valley, the various communities along the shores of the Nile were already trading with each other and with people further afield. Close ties with communities in Canaan, and through these with regions further to the north, are evident from the numerous Sumerian- and Elamite- inspired elements in Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic ruler iconography. From Dynasty 6 (ca. 2345–2181 BC) onward, Egyptian texts speak of “Byblos ships,” an indication of the growing importance of maritime trade, especially with the coastal city of Byblos (in modern- day Leba-non). Through this and other Levantine trading centers, Egypt was connected to the world beyond, including the Aegean littoral. Increasing numbers of imported materials, objects, ideas, and even foreign people attest to Egypt's ever- widening horizon until, at the beginning of the second millennium BC, an international age began that witnessed unprecedented contact between the various regions of the ancient Mediterranean. This paper offers an overview of that age of intense connections, focusing especially on Egyptian interaction with the Aegean world during the Middle and Late Bronze Age.
Naukratis as a Contact Zone: Revealing the Lydian Connection
Abstract: The present paper offers a new theory with regard to the Greek presence at Naukratis during the late 7th and the first half of the 6th century BC, emphasising the hitherto unacknowledged role of Lydians as mediators between Egypt and Greeks. After establishing a reliable chronological framework for Naukratis’ foundation, it is suggested that the initial establishment of Greek commercial settlement at Naukratis should be seen as a by-product of the treaty that was contracted between Lydia and Miletus toward the end of the 7th century BC. Concerning the next significant phase of Naukratis’ history, which took place during the reign of Amasis and was accompanied by administrative reform and the construction of the Hellenion, it is suggested that only the Greek poleis that found themselves under the aegis of the Lydian empire, or who were on friendly terms with it, could officially operate on Egyptian soil during this period. Revealing the Lydian connection behind the commercial activities of Greeks in Naukratis, against the background of Lydian imperial aspirations, allows better understanding of contact zones in antiquity.
The present work analyzes historical archeology as an important link between the world of ancient Near Eastern civilizations and those of Classical antiquity: commercial exchange networks and diplomatic relations during the sixteenth century. C.-XIV a.C., specifically the period 1650 a. C-1450 a. Between the cities of Enkomi (Cyprus), Avaris (Egypt), Knossos (Crete), and Ugarit (Kingdom Hitita), these networks implied the development of a relative population mobility between the Aegean islands and the cities mentioned, from the Concepts of prestige, mobility, and language. At the moment of the present writing, in the academic field have developed important theoretical contributions that analyze the cities mentioned above, in particular, which trace the cultural, social and economic development of each, both in the Middle East and the Aegean, although mentioning their relations with the island of Cyprus sometime in the 1650 BC.-1450 BC., these studies do not develop in depth, the relations with Enkomi 1. The new theoretical contributions of the archaeologist Vassiliki Kassianidou and the archaeologist George Papassavas have been considered, giving a new look on the archaeological framework of the city of Enkomi. The theoretical contribution of the work focuses on analyzing the existing discursive fissure between the Eastern world and the classical world, since the networks of exchange allow to raise the existence of a historical and archaeological link, which means to propose a way to explain the integration of the world Eastern and the classical world in the area studied.
B. NESSEL ‒ D. NEUMANN – M. BARTELHEIM (Hrsg.), Bronzezeitlicher Transport. Akteure, Mittel und Wege. Jahressitzung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bronzezeit an der Universität Tübingen, 30.‒31. Oktober 2015. RessourcenKulturen, SFB 1070, Band 8, 375–410. Tübingen, 2018
In the Late Bronze Age, Troy and its likely harbour at Besik-Tepe on the north-eastern Aegean coast, were involved to varying degrees in interregional exchange networks in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, as demonstrated by the imported materials at Troy as well as exported Trojan pottery found in the Levant and on Cyprus. In most cases, raw materials cannot be detected as objects in the archaeological record, and therefore only non-recycled and non-perishable materials are taken into consideration here. Northern Aegean islands (Samothrace and Lemnos), central Greece, the Argolid, central and south-western Anatolia, Rhodes, and other areas all played important roles in the distribution of goods to Troy. The first detectable contacts started in the Middle Helladic (MH) II period and kept changing partners and character, but Troy definitely became an active agent within the interregional network at the beginning of the Late Helladic (LH) IIIA period (14th cent. BC). The last part of the paper addresses the communication routes and the organisation of Exchange in which the inhabitants of the Troad were involved. It is very likely that the local elites played a considerable role in the course of diplomatic communication and commercial actions (or both), but the participation of freelance traders cannot be completely ruled out. However, the lack of written sources concerning the north-eastern Aegean hampers more specific assessment.