Byzantium and the Bosporus : A Historical Study, from the Seventh Century BC until the Foundation of Constantinople / Thomas Russell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Russell, Thomas James, 1988- author.

Contributor:

Dionysius, of Byzantium.

Series:

Oxford classical monographs

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bosporus (Turkey)--History.

Bosporus (Turkey).

Istanbul (Turkey)--Social conditions.

Istanbul (Turkey).

Istanbul (Turkey)--Economic conditions.

Istanbul (Turkey)--Antiquities, Byzantine.

Bosporus (Turkey)--Antiquities, Byzantine.

Black Sea Coast (Turkey)--Antiquities, Byzantine.

Black Sea Coast (Turkey).

Byzantine antiquities.

Economic history.

Social conditions.

Black Sea--Bosporus.

Turkey--Black Sea Coast.

Turkey--Istanbul.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 290 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2017.

Summary:

"In AD 330 the Emperor Constantine consecrated the new capital of the eastern Roman Empire on the site of the ancient city of Byzantium. Its later history is well known, yet comparatively little is known about the city before it became Constantinople and then Istanbul. Although it was just a minor Greek polis located on the northern fringes of Hellenic culture, surrounded by hostile Thracian tribes and denigrated by one ancient wit as the 'armpit of Greece', Byzantium did nevertheless possess one unique advantage - control of the Bosporus strait. This highly strategic waterway links the Aegean to the Black Sea, thereby conferring on the city the ability to tax maritime traffic passing between the two. Byzantium and the Bosporus is a historical study of the city of Byzantium and its society, epigraphy, culture, and economy, which seeks to establish the significance of its geographical circumstances and in particular its relationship with the Bosporus strait. Examining the history of the region through this lens reveals how over almost a millennium it came to shape many aspects of the lives of its inhabitants, illuminating not only the nature of economic exploitation and the attitudes of ancient imperialism, but also local industries and resources and the genesis of communities' local identities"--Bookjacket.

Contents:

1 The Land of Inachus 19

1.1 The Bosporus and its Currents 25

1.2 Bosporan Identities 36

2 Taxation and Extortion: The Bosporus and the Delian League 53

2.1 Pirates, Tyrants, Kings 56

2.2 The Athenian Tribute Lists 69

2.3 The Athenian "Empire: Financial Benefactor or Racketeer? 80

3 Common Benefactors of All 91

3.1 Historical Background: The Rhodian-Byzantine War 93

3.2 Financial Stratagems and the Bosporus 98

3.3 Greater Byzantium 104

3.4 The Bosporus 'Controlled-Currency' System 113

4 The Bounty of the Bosporus 133

4.1 Local Variability and Seasonal Fishing 142

4.2 Fishing Techniques and Fish Processing 152

4.3 State Involvement in the Fishing and Salting Industries 160

5 'The First Greek City to which we have come' 165

5.1 [Arist.] Oec. 1346b 26-1347a 3: Citizenship and Participation 167

5.2 Cults and Calendar 175

5.3 Inhabitant Thracians 191

6 Explaining Byzantium 205

6.1 Ancient Foundation Narratives 210

6.2 Institutions 222

6.3 Solving the 'Riddle of the Blind' 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-273) and indexes.

Related Work:

Dionysius, of Byzantium. De Bospori navigatione.

ISBN:

9780198790525

019879052X

OCLC:

966883066

Publisher Number:

99971366199