By Valery Nikonorov

Anabasis: Studia Classica et Orientalia, Vol.1 (2010)

Abstract: The paper deals with the art of warfare of the Huns, who invaded Southeast Europe in the last third of the 4th century A.D. and dominated there through the third quarter of the 5th century. It is described on the basis of all the available Greek and Latin written sources. Matters of the author’s consideration are arms and armour, horse equipment, armed forces, strategy and tactics, siegecraft and the structure of military organization. Some part of the paper contains critics of R. P. Lindner’s theory about the “dismounting” of the majority of Hun cavalry troops at least by the time of the great ruler Attila.

Introduction: In the early 370s, from behind the Volga river certain nomads, who werenamed Huns (Hun[n]i and Chuni in Latin, Ϥííïé in Greek) in the Late Classical tradition, had invaded the steppes of the Northern Pontic area. Their invasion delivered a mighty impulse to the great movement of tribes within thewestern part of Eurasia, which has been called ‘The Great Migration Period’. Shortly after, in the first half of the 5th century, the Huns, thanks to their superiority in warfare over local peoples (Sarmato-Alans, Eastern Germans and others), turned into the strongest military and political power in South-Eastern and Central Europe. The Hun domination lasted there until the fall of the empire created by the great king Attila, which occurred under his sons, c. 470 A.D. That, not so long, a space of time (just about one century) had nevertheless, a considerable influence upon the world of Late Antiquity. Indeed, Hun hordes led by Attila, who was nicknamed the ‘Scourge of God’ by his European contemporaries, did threaten more than once the existence itself of the Western civilization.

Click here to read this article from Academia.edu

By Ross Crawford

Published Online: Fickle Fascinations (2013)

Spartacus, the perennially misunderstood television series, has just completed its consistently spectacular run with a triumphant finale. Widely and wrongly maligned by many critics for what they regard as its obsession with sex and gore, dedicated fans were last week ‘rewarded’ with a heart-rending conclusion. Rest assured, tears were shed. More accurately, gross sobbing ensued.

But now that my shattered psyche has returned to a relatively stable, functional level, I have begun to reflect upon the series as a whole. Spartacus began somewhat inauspiciously with the pilot, ‘The Red Serpent’, which aped the visual style of Zack Synder’s 300, with little obvious originality or flair. However, within a handful of episodes, Spartacus found its own unique groove: many fans cite episodes four and five (‘The Thing in the Pit’ and ‘Shadow Games’) as definite turning points in quality. Ultimately, the pilot misrepresented the series, which raised the stakes and upended the status quo so frequently, one could barely pause for breath.

However, what is fascinating about the final series of Spartacus, particularly the final three episodes, ‘Separate Paths’, ‘The Dead and the Dying’ and ‘Victory’, is how much it engages with, and even embraces the flawed opening moments of the show.

Click here to read this article from Fickle Fascinations

They have already uncovered thirteen burials and items that date back to 300AD, including hairpins, rings, belt buckles and remains of shoes. In addition, the team has found a jet ring with a curious symbol etched onto it, apparently showing the letters IX overlain. Opinion as to its meaning is divided; it may just be an attractive design but it is also reminiscent of an early Christian symbol known as an IX (Iota-Chi) monogram taken from the initials of Jesus Christ in Greek.

The University of Leicester archaeologists have also identified the unusual practice of Christian burials alongside pagan burials.

Archaeological Project Officer John Thomas stated, “We have discovered new evidence about a known cemetery that existed outside the walled town of Roman Leicester during the 3rd-4th Centuries AD. The excavation, at the junction of Oxford Street and Newarke Street, lay approximately 130m outside the south gate of Roman Leicester, adjacent to one of the main routes into the town from the south (Oxford Street). Roman law forbade burial within the town limits so cemeteries developed outside the walls, close to well-used roads.

“Previous excavations on Newarke Street had discovered numerous burials to the immediate east and north of the present site, all of which appeared to have been buried according to Christian traditions – buried in a supine position, facing east with little or no grave goods.

“Unusually the 13 burials found during the recent excavations, of mixed age and sex, displayed a variety of burial traditions including east to west & north to south oriented graves, many with personal items such as finger rings, hairpins, buckles and hob-nailed shoes.

“One in particular appears to have been buried in a Christian tradition, facing east and wearing a polished jet finger ring on their left hand which has a possible early Christian Iota – Chi monogram etched onto it, taking the initial letters from the Greek for Jesus Christ. If so this would represent rare evidence for a personal statement of belief from this period.

“In contrast a nearby and probably near contemporary grave appeared to indicate very different beliefs. This grave had a north-south orientation, with the body laid on its side in a semi-foetal position, with the head removed and placed near the feet alongside two complete pottery jars that would have held offerings for the journey to the afterlife. This would seem to be a very pagan burial, so it is possible from the variety of burials found that the cemetery catered for a range of beliefs that would have been important to people living in Leicester at this time.”

The excavations also add information to the increasingly well documented medieval southern suburb of the town, revealing remains of 12th-13th century quarries, cess-pits and rubbish pits that would have been dug in the backyards of properties fronting onto Oxford Street.

Mr Thomas added, “All of these pits contained a wealth of information from pottery, bone and environmental remains to help build a picture of medieval life in this part of the town. A large 17th century defensive ditch running alongside Newarke Street was also discovered which was part of the town’s defences during the English Civil War.”

Source: University of Leicester

By Ian Reynolds

JCCC Honors Journal, Vol. 3:1 (2012)

Abstract: Petra was a city of wealth, prosperity, and enormous ingenuity that allowed the Nabataean people to settle and even thrive in one of the harshest environments on earth. The city became the center of trade between the Middle East and the Roman Empire, which brought both wealth and power to its people. It also provided the resources for the construction of staggering tombs, monuments, and cities that turned the desert into an oasis. In addition, the confluence of cultures created the unique Nabataean art style, which incorporated some of the greatest elements of architecture from all over the ancient world and has left an unmistakable mark on the harsh desert landscape.

Introduction: The ancient city of Petra was at the center of the great Nabataean trade empire, which was a hub for not only the exchange of goods, but ideas and culture as well. This confluence of culture would lead to the unique style of art and architecture seen in Petra. The Nabataeans were a prosperous and powerful civilization of traders that rose to power between the 4th century BC and the 2nd century AD.

At the height of their power the Nabataeans controlled vast expanses of desert located in present-day Jordan. This region “was highly strategic, was varied in terms of natural resources, had a few zones that were very fertile and cultivated, and most importantly was located in a position that controlled the caravan routes that crossed the Arabian Peninsula from the ports of both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea”.

The control of these caravan routes made the previously nomadic Nabataeans quite wealthy and powerful allowing larger, more permanent settlements to be built and a more complex government to be established. Caravans that travelled across the Nabataean empire, “were well known for selling incense, spices, oils, perfumes, and other luxury goods”. The wide variety of goods that the Nabataeans offered meant that many different empires had an interest in trading with them. This trade included not only goods but also ideas and art trends which would be reflected in the Nabataean art form.

Click here to read this article from Johnson County Community College

The ten rams (Latin rostra), each weighing around 125 kilogrammes and made of bronze, were mounted on the prow of the warships (ancient triremes or quinquiremes), and were used to ram the enemy ships.

They are a rare discovery as there are thought to be only four other ships’ rams in total from all of antiquity. These rams are the first to be found in an archaeological context, and bear inscriptions, mainly in Latin but also in Punic (spoken by the people of Carthage).

The rams are only one part of the material discovered on the sea-bed, which includes helmets and amphorae from both sides, and offers a remarkable example of the landscape of ancient naval battle-field debris. Much of the Punic culture was destroyed as a result of the Punic Wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 to 146 BCE.

The project is under the co-direction of Dr Sebastiano Tusa (Soprintendente del Mare, Regione Siciliana) and Dr Jeff Royal (RPM Nautical Foundation). The finds are the fruits of a major underwater survey project, which began in 2005 and has over the course of 7 seasons mapped over 270 square kilometres of sea-floor. The principal methods utilized in this ongoing project are multibeam echosounder mapping combined with verification of anomalies using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).

The archaeological findings were presented at a conference held earlier this month at the University of Oxford. Conference organizer Dr Jonathan R W Prag said, “The rams provide unparalleled evidence not just about ancient rams themselves and their use in warfare, but about ancient warship construction itself. Our understanding of ancient warships of this period remains extremely limited, due to the lack of any surviving wrecks, and it was this which prompted the major experiment of the reconstruction of the ancient Athenian trireme “Olympias”. While in the case of the Egadi Island rams the timbers of the ships have been lost to ship worm, it is still possible to extrapolate valuable information about the ship design from the rams, which were custom-built for the ships.’

“The discovery of the rams presents new evidence that challenges the existing theories about the ship-types in use at this period. Additionally, the inscriptions provide exciting contemporary evidence that Roman individuals and officials were involved in the construction of the ships, which contrasts with the current image of the Romans as “landlubbers”. Ancient narratives present the Romans as largely unfamiliar with naval warfare before the First Punic War, whereas the rams themselves, and their inscriptions, suggest that the Romans took to the sea with some style.”

Source: University of Oxford

By Richard Henry Carlson

Fair & Equitable (2005)

Abstract: Taxation has existed in various forms since civilization began. In days of old the source of wealth was land and its proceeds. Before the existence of a monetary system, taxes were paid by a percentage of crops raised. Through most of history, the tax assessor and the tax collector were the same person; therefore, “tax collector” is used interchangeably with “tax assessor” throughout the following paper. Some of the most common forms of taxation over the millennia were poll taxes, tariffs on goods, and property taxes on the value of land, buildings, and other personal property. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the major moments in the history of real and personal property taxation. Let’s take a short walk through time to understand what we have in common with our ancestor assessors, what we can learn from them, and how developed the current property tax system has come to be.

Introduction: The earliest known tax records, dating from approximately six thousand years B.C., are in the form of clay tablets found in the ancient city-state of Lagash in modern day Iraq, just northwest of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The king used a tax system called bala, which meant “rotation.” The assessors would focus on one area of the citystate, assessing and taxing one area each month, thereby breaking down the arduous task into more manageable components. (This is a lesson that we have used in present day Boston by not attempting to focus on all property in a revaluation year. Instead, we focus great attention on the valuation of retail and industrial property during one year, following up the next year with apartments or other sub-sets of property. This allows a thorough review of the various components of value and ultimately leads to better assessments.) In Lagash taxes were very low, but in a time of crisis or war the tax rate was ten percent of all goods, which were primarily composed of food.

Click here to read this article from the University of British Columbia

“An Iron Age Temple Dedicated to Lug?: The henge at Lismullin, County Meath”

The Celtic Studies Association of North America Annual – The University of Toronto, April 18-21, 2013

Summary 

Anne Connon (Ohio Dominican University)

Being lucky enough to live so close to my former Alma mater, I had the opportunity to cover two fascinating papers on the opening day of CSANA 2013. This paper was the first and dealt with Celtic Iron Age archaeology. It also touched on some of the controversy surrounding the the M3 motorway built near Tara Hill that sparked outrage and protests in the autumn of 2007. Attempts to prevent the build were ultimately unsuccessful and parts of the site are now covered by road.

The Enclosure

Connon showed a picture relative to the Hill of Tara. Physically, the enclosure is located within a hollow, and there is a prehistoric hill-fort overlooking the territory. Archaeologists discovered holes in a circumference in 2007 and noticed something was there; this grew into a salvage archaeology project. The temple grounds were 80m wide, and date to the fifth century B.C.. Connon showed a digital mock up of what they believed the site actually looked in the fifth century B.C. and a book on the dig called, “Harvesting the Stars” was published two weeks ago. The enclosure was felt to be a religious site of worship to the pagan God, Lug. Lug (or Lugh) was an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. He is known for his skill with a spear or sling, associated with Lughnasadh fairs that took place on August 1st and in the popular Ulster Cycle, he fathered Cúchulainn. In the early fifth century, there was a climate change (approximately  in 460) and the circularity of the enclosure was believed to be built to try and draw in the sun. Sadly, the site was only used for a few generations and the abandoned.

The Etymology of Lismullin

The name derives from Les Mo-ling, ‘the fort or place of Mo-Ling’ and the cult of St. Mo-ling who died in the seventh century. There are actually two etymologies suggested: a.) Scholar John O’Donovan suggested that Les Muilinn meant, “The fort or place of the mill” b.) Padraig Ó Riain suggested that the greater likelihood was that a church, not a mill gave name to the parish of Lismullin. There is also evidence in the Martyrology of Turin that was likely created for the nunnery at Lismullin. There is proof that Lismullin was church land and evidence of the cult of Mo-ling in County Meath. Connon looked at entries for Mo-ling and the Cult of Lug in the A Dictionary of Irish Saints. It is believed that Mo-ling was an avatar of Lug. Lug means “The Shining One” in Middle Irish, and is associated with the harvest. She also noted a few parallels between the Middle Irish “Life of Mo-Ling” and “Cath Maige Tuired”. Acallam points to links between Finn (avatar of Lug) and Mo-Ling. If the cult of Mo-Ling has absorbed the cult of Lug, then might the Lismullin enclosure be a part of cult of Lug? this might be the case as has been suggested in the nearby hill fort named Rath Lugh. Connon then asked the question: Is there anything about the enclosure that corresponds to a cult of Lug that we can notice?

Lug as a sun God?

The idea of this came from the description in Irish texts was because he was called “The Shining One” and associated with brightness but this was later discounted. He became associated with Lug as Mercury but this was again challenged in 1995 and swung back to the notion that he was a sun God. The avenue entering the enclosure is in alignment with the Pleiades “the Seven Sisters” constellation. Could Lug have an association with the stars? The Seven Sisters are also heralds of the harvest but this is speculative and not completely conclusive. Unfortunately, there is no continuity, i.e., there are no other sites dedicated to Lug to compare this site to. I really enjoyed this paper. It was fascinating and well presented. There were fantastic slides referencing the location and showing what the original site might have looked like. The history of the area and the background of Lug was very interesting. It was an excellent paper to start this conference.

Rome and Parthia: Power Politics and Diplomacy Across Cultural Frontiers

By R. James Ferguson

The Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies Research Paper No. 12 (2005)

Introduction: Modern international relations, though still focused in part on issues of power and power balance, has in recent years been forced to assess a wide range of religious, economic and cultural factors that cross boundaries and form deep linkages among social systems that are transnational in nature. This problem is prominent where national or imperial frontiers expand across areas still linked by trade, religious affiliation, and migration flows, and where the patterns of diplomacy and war themselves form transboundary linkages. Such frontiers were enduring problems that focused the attentions of major civilisations for centuries, e.g. China with its complex frontier-relations to the west and north-west (followed by a sense of vulnerably to European naval power from the south-east, at first via the South China Sea), Russia’s historical obsession with an expanding eastern frontier, and European concern about the power, influence and later instability of the Ottoman Empire. This problem was also found in the Graeco-Roman world, whose interaction with Persia formed one of the great ‘east-west’ dichotomies in European thought. If not exactly ‘transnational’, since modern nation-states had not yet been formed, such ‘trans-imperial’ patterns complicated the creation of stable borders, undermined power-balancing, and reduced the mutual acceptance of zones for cultural and religious interaction. Indeed, it seems likely that ‘notions of state, territory and boundary’ had developed to a substantial degree in Imperial Rome and Sasanid Persia, shaping complex regional interactions during both war and peace.

Persia and Parthia were two of the great ‘others’ that shaped the limits of the Graeco-Roman world, and were also imagined worlds where European values were explored, excluded, and projected. ‘Persia’ invokes a thousand images derived from school textbooks and old movies, most often the image of a huge, slave-based empire that sought to crush the freedom of Athens and the bravery of Sparta. A corrupt despotism that was overthrown by the heroic (if murderous) Alexander the Great. A medieval court replete with viziers and the pomp and ceremony of the east. A declining power engaged with Russia and England in the Great Game of imperial competition and espionage. More recently, a vital region for later European diplomatic, energy and security interests, including a role in the new ‘Great Game’ based on access to oil and gas, both in the Persian Gulf area and the Caspian Sea.

‘Parthia’ invokes much less: usually a null result from many public databases and one or two dated books in local library catalogues. With the exception of academic writing, mainly on the ‘Roman east’, the memory of this extended empire in the English speaking world is usually encapsulated in one vaguely remembered phrase: ‘the Parthian shot’, the surprise tactic that the fleeing horse-archer makes when he turns and shoots back over his shoulder against an over-confident pursuer. More generally it suggests a strategic retreat followed by a devastating counter-attack. We might replace these images with two themes: Parthian power and Persian elegance. Parthia emerged both as the inheritor of early Middle Eastern influences and as the limit of Roman power in the east. It was a strategic and cultural counterbalance whose significance has been underestimated in the Graeco-Roman-centric tendencies of European historiography.

Click here to read this article from The International Relations and International Cultures Portal

Forerunners of the Hattusili-Ramesses treaty

Dietrich Sürenhagen

BMSAES, 6 (2006), 59-67

Abstract

The Hattusili-Ramesses treaty from 1259 BC was preceded by only one earlier agreement. This becomes obvious from clauses in the actual treaty as well as from citations in Hittite texts of Suppiluliuma I and his son Mursili II. This was a parity treaty, which was possibly concluded during the reign of the Middle Hittite king Tuthalija I, three generations before Suppiluliuma I. Its original wording can partly be found in the Middle Hittite so-called ‘Kurustama treaty’. There is no evidence for the renewal or cancelling of this older agreement prior to the Hattusili-Ramesses treaty. Under these aspects the latter must be regarded nothing but the updated version of a still existing older treaty.

In 1259 BC, the 21st year of Ramesses II, a long period of hostility between Egypt and Hatti ended when the pharaoh concluded a treaty with the Hittite Great King Hattusili III. Hostilities had begun during the reign of the Hittite Great King Suppiluliuma I, some 80 years before, when this ruler con- quered parts of Northern and Middle Syria and on this occasion came into conflict with Egypt which was ruled then by the pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty. Ongoing hostilities between both major powers are also attested during the reign of Suppiluliuma’s successor, his son Mursili II. They reached their culmination in 1274 BC when Mursili’s son and successor Muwatalli II, supported by a great number of vassal troops, fought the famous battle at Qadesh against the young pharaoh Ramesses II. That this battle ended with only moderate success for the Hittite side is clearly visible from succeeding campaigns of Ramesses in Central Syria. The situation did not improve until Hattusili III, a brother of the late Muwatalli, deposed the successor to the throne, his nephew Mursili III, and made himself Great King of Hatti. In order to stabilize his illegitimate reign, Hattusili was more interested in good relations with foreign powers of equal rank than his predecessors were. Besides the treaty with Egypt, which is the only preserved one, we know from diplomatic letters about the existence of treaties with Babylonia, Assyria, and the Mycenaean kingdom of Ahhijawah. At least two of them—the treaties with Egypt and Babylonia—deal with the mutual protection of the office of the ruler and the succession to the throne.

Click here to read this article from BMSAES

The failed reforms of Akhenaten and Muwatalli

Itamar Singer

BMSAES, 6 (2006), 37-58

Abstract

In his fifth regnal year Akhenaten founded his new capital Akhetaten in Middle Egypt, thereby crown- ing his religious reform intended to promote the cult of Aten to the exclusion of the rest of the Egyptian pantheon. Half a century later Muwatalli founded his new capital at Tarhuntassa in the Lower Land, as the apex of a religious reform promoting the cult of the Storm-god of Lightning at the expense of other major deities of the Hittites. Both reforms collapsed shortly after the death of the ‘her- etic’ kings, but Tarhuntassa continued to exist as the seat of a competing Great King. The similarities and the differences between these major religious reforms of the Late Bronze Age will be examined in the light of the contemporary sources and some historical analogies.

The foundation of a new capital has always been one of the most radical and subversive steps in the history of a nation. From Akhetaten and Tarhuntassa to St. Petersburg and Brasilia, the foundation of a new capital derives from a fundamental ideological change in the mind of the reformist, reinforced by an unrelenting commitment to a complicated and risky endeavour. The Late Bronze Age witnessed an unprecedented wave of new foundations throughout the Near East — Dur-Kurigalzu in Babylon, Akhetaten and Piramesse in Egypt, Dur-Untash in Elam, Tarhun- tassa in Hatti, Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta in Assur. All these new foundations share common traits, yet, as I will try to argue, the most meaningful comparison is between Akhetaten and Tarhuntassa, despite the tremendous disparity between the amount of documentation on the two cities.

Click here to read this article from BMSAES