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Why did ancient states collapse? : the dysfunctional state / Malcolm Levitt.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Levitt, Malcolm, author.
- Series:
- Access archaeology
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Failed states--History--To 1500.
- Failed states.
- Civilization, Ancient.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (54 pages)
- Place of Publication:
- Oxford, England : Archaeopress Publishing Limited, [2019]
- Summary:
- Rooted in agriculture, sedentism and population growth, ancient states were fragile and prone to collapse. There is an ongoing debate about the importance, nature and even existence of state-wide collapse. This book investigates why ancient states collapsed and examines to what extent inequality contributed to their downfall.
- Contents:
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Information
- Contents
- Abstract
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- I. Introduction: meaning, origins, fragility, cyclicality and collapse of ancient states,
- Meaning
- Increasing complexity
- Farming
- Population growth
- Chiefdoms and pathways to states
- Competition, coercion, consensus
- Fragility
- Cyclicality
- Meaning of collapse
- Evidence of collapse
- Explanations of collapse
- II. The dysfunctional state
- The state's core functions
- Conditions necessary for fulfilling the state's functions
- Collapse as dysfunction
- III. Egyptian Old Kingdom
- Collapse
- IV. Mycenaean Palace States
- Explanations of collapse: Earthquakes
- Climate change
- Decline in foreign trade
- Warfare techniques
- Sea Peoples
- Interstate Mycenaean warfare
- Internal strife
- Rural collapse
- Systems collapse
- Conclusions
- V. The Western Roman Empire
- What Collapsed?
- What caused collapse?
- Christianity
- Barbarians
- Failure of the Eastern Empire to help
- Economic factors
- Natural Disasters
- VI. Classic Mayan collapse
- Causes of collapse
- Climate Change, Drought
- Internal and external strife and violence
- VII. Inequality
- Inequality and state collapse
- Inequality and violence in ancient states.
- Evidence of popular resentment
- VIII. Summary and Conclusions
- Bibliography.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references.
- Description based on print version record.
- Other Format:
- Print version: Levitt, Malcolm. Why did ancient states collapse?
- ISBN:
- 1-78969-303-9
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