Table Of ContentANCIENT ECONOMIES OF THE
NORTHERN AEGEAN
Map1.TheeastBalkanandnorthAegeanarea
Ancient Economies of
the Northern Aegean
bc
Fifth to First Centuries
ZOSIA HALINA ARCHIBALD
1
3
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Preface
Mostvisitors tothenorthernAegeantodayapproachit(whetherphys-
ically or in virtualand abstract terms) from thesouth, that is, from the
AegeanSea.InthisbookIhaveattemptednotjusttolookatthispartof
southernEuropefromthefamiliar,southerlyperspective,buttoimagine
itfromotherangles.Thechaptersareorganizedtoreflectthesedifferent
approaches,whichdodeliverdifferentimpressions.Theyarecompatible
impressions, but nonetheless rather unfamiliar to most Classicists and
historians,thoseofclassicalantiquityasofmorerecenttimes.
I might begin with maps. The map that forms the frontispiece to
thebookisauniquecreation.Icould notfindamap thatprovidedthe
physical environment of my story, so it had to be created. Modern
national boundaries are powerful drivers of the available geographical
information, so most attempts to make use of what is available tend to
follow patterns created by convenient, readily accessible parameters.
These parameters are of little use when mapping the remote past,
which blissfully ignores modern boundaries. Older maps are another
matter.Nineteenth-centurymapsofsouthernEuropegiveafarbroader
perspective, but populate the landscape with unfamiliar names and
habits of mind. Travellingabout theregioncertainly helps toprovidea
bettersenseoflocalecologies;butmoderngeographyconcealsasmuch
asitreveals.ThegreatrivercoursesoftheeastBalkanareahavechanged
theirbedsandalteredtheimmediatelandscapeinwaysthatrequirebig
teamprojectstodisentangle.Whatweseeisnotwhatusedtobethere.
So this book is consciously arranged like a series of successive stage
sets,whichgraduallyrevealthefullperspectiveoftheremotepast.First,
thereisapreliminarysummary,inChapter1,intendedtoexplainwhat
thestoryisabout.Theplayersarenotjustcharactersandchorusesfrom
antiquity, since the story is told through the voices of contemporary
historians, geographers, and archaeologists. We need to hear their
accounts, but must also manage to discern the fact that they speak in
different registers. Modern political configurations of the region have
divided up its history into a mass of separate, sometimes quite contra-
dictory interpretations. The stories are not the same, nor are the inter-
pretations compatible. They cannot all be equally valid. Somehow,
choices have to be made and readers need to know what these choices
are.Theintroductorychaptertriestoseethepastthroughtheeyesofa
vi Preface
number of key modern personalities, whose research has created much
ofthemodernarchitectureofthesubjectsexploredhere.
OtherthemesintroducedinChapter1aregraduallydevelopedinlater
chapters. Political history is almost always a key component of big
narratives;butwhosepoliticsmaybeinquestion isnoteasytodiscern.
ThepoliticsofthepowerfulinsouthernEuropeduringthesecondhalfof
thefirstmillenniumbcisbothmorenoticeablethanitisincentraland
southernGreeceandlessso.Theactionsofpowerfulindividuals,rulers,
princes,andlandownersaremanifestedinallkindsofways,whichalso
leave visible traces—structures, monuments, public statements, in the
form of stone inscriptions and funerary architecture. For a variety of
reasons,modernaccessroutesintotheregion,eventoday,tendtoavoid
the inland trajectories that linked the continental heartlands of princes
and landowners to coasts and harbours, and thus to the more familiar
landmarks and place names of classical maritime itineraries. This may
explain why some of these monumental power statements have only
beendiscoveredcomparativelyrecently.Yetthestoriesaboutthepower-
holders of the region do survive and can be reinstated, if we find a
methodbywhichthiscanbedone.
If we make an effort of imagination to resurrect the landward power-
holdersofsouthernEurope,wecanbegintoseepatternsinthegeopolitical
landscape.TheGreco-Persianwarsemergeasasignificantdriverofsocial
and economic changes that refashioned existing hierarchies and thereby
introduced new fashions and customs. Understanding the social param-
etersoftheregionisthereforethefirsttasktobeexplored.Thiscannot,of
course, be done without also considering how these social entities have
been described and interpreted as modern scholars have sought to gloss
and project the disparate evidence about ancient societies in the region
into recognizable and coherent social forms. The communities that
emergefromhistoricalaccountsandarchaeologicalvestigesinChapter2
have thus to be made into identifiable economic agents in Chapter 3,
beforethefocusreturnsinChapters4,5,and6towardsthewaysinwhich
thelandscapehasbecomeacanvasforhumandiscoveryanduse.
Most scholarly works on classical antiquity stick to a limited chron-
ology, well supported by ancient literary or other written texts. I have
delvedmuchfurtherbackintothepast.Itisnolongeruncommontofind
ancient historians acknowledging the importance of long-term pro-
cesses. I want to emphasize this deep perspective. Subsistence patterns
insouthernEuropehaveverydeeprootsindeed,whichpartlyexplainthe
robustnessofthemixedagriculturaleconomiesthatbecomediscernible
inrural establishments ofthefifthtothird centuries bc.Thelong-term
Preface vii
strategiesalsohelptoframetheparticulareventsandrelationshipsthat
providesomeoftheincidentaldetailthatemergesfrommystory.
The deeply rooted ecologies of the south-east Balkan and north
Aegean area have to be understood in terms of particular communities
andtraditions. Perhapsthehardesttaskforanyhistorianwhowantsto
makethisregionbetterknownistocreatethekindsofassociationsthat
come so easily to more southerly and easterly locations, whose names
echodownthecenturiesthroughthepoetryofHomerandtherhetoricof
orators. The place names of this region are often strange modern ones,
andruralmysteriesatthat.ThebestkeptsecretoftheeastBalkansareits
ruralretreats.Modernityhasgloriedintheurbanlandscapeofantiquity,
whilstignoringits equallyimpressivecontributionstothemanagement
andconstructionoftherurallandscape.
Thescene-settingthateachchaptertriestocreateresultsinaseriesof
filters through which various historical identifiers–ethnic groups,
peoples, archaeological sites, artefacts, and commodities–are viewed in
turn.Thesefiltersincludedemography,geology,ecology,languages,and
epigraphy. Filters of this kind employ different methods and produce
different results, which must nevertheless be factored into the overall
narrative of the past. Beyond these filters rises the broader discourse
aboutthenatureofancient societies,theirorganizationandstructure.I
have tried to keep discussion of social matters firmly in touch with
economic ones and have chosen paradigms that seem to reflect the
close connection between the material and the social that is such a
strikingcomponentofanyencounterwiththeartefactsandmonuments
that these societies created. It makes a very different environment in
which to evaluate some of the familiar and established models for
conceptualising classical antiquity—including the paradigms invented
by Moses Finley; the overriding preoccupation with coastal locations
againstinlandones;the‘polis’oftheCopenhagenproject;‘regionalism’,
nationalboundaries.
Handbridge,Chester,May2013
Acknowledgements
Theideaforthisbookwasconceivedaboutfiveyearsago,butitwasmy
colleagueatLiverpool,GrahamOliver,whopersuadedme,in2010,that
thiswastherighttimetowriteit.Preparationofthetexthas coincided
withanumberofinternationalprojectsandpublicationsthatmakethisa
particularlyopportunetimetoconsidertheancienteconomiesoftheeast
Balkan/northernAegeanareaasasingleentity.
Myworkhasbeenimmenselyenhancedbythesupportandassistance
ofmanypeople.Figures6.1and6.2arereproducedwiththekindpermis-
sionofArthurMullerandHenriTréziny(Muller2010,212fig.142;221
fig.143,respectively).Map1(frontispiece)wasspeciallypreparedforthis
volumeincollaborationwithDrRichardChiverrell,DepartmentofGeog-
raphy, University of Liverpool. A number of previously published maps
andplanshavebeenredrawn,withmodifications,byDrEsmeHammerle.
These include Figure2.1 (map of Macedonia, various sources); Figures
4.1–4.2, which draw on information published in Ghilardi etal. 2008,
113fig.2andfigs.p.122;Figures4.3,4.4,and4.5,whichrepresent,with
necessary modifications, parts of the preliminary plans published
in Adam-Veleni, Poulaki, and Tzanavari 2003: Tria Platania (p. 58),
Komboloi (p. 65) and Vrasna (p. 95). Figure4.6 has been redrawn, with
modifications,fromChristovandLazov’sreportinAOR2010,192fig.3;
Figures5.5 and 5.6, redrawn, with modifications, from M. Madjarov’s
reports in AOR 2010, 189 fig.1; Figure4.7 reproduces data presented in
AOR2006,231,map2;Figure4.8reproducesdatapresentedinAOR2010,
241,map2.Figure5.3reproducesthedatafromTzvetkova2008,map11.
I am most grateful to Richard Chiverrell and Esme Hammerle for their
assistance;and to Katerina Tzanavari and Mitko Madjarovfortheirwill-
ingnesstoallowpreliminaryplansoftheirprojectstobeincludedhere.
IwouldalsoliketoexpressparticulargratitudetoLydiaDomaradzka,
Lisa Kallet, Jack Kroll, Gavrail Lazov, Evi Margaritis, and Gary Reger,
who have given me advanced access to new publications; and to the
many friends and colleagues who have either read drafts of different
chapters,discussedvariousaspectsofthecontents,orotherwisecontrib-
uted to my perceptions: Alexandru Avram, Alexandre Baralis, Chaido
Koukouli-Chrysanthanki,JohnDavies,VincentGabrielsen,BruceGibson,
AlexeyGotzev,DenverGraninger,EdwardHarris,ChryssoulaKaradima,
