Eivind Heldaas Seland

Alexandros Tsakos

Pål Steiner

From the Fjords to the Nile' brings together essays by students and colleagues of Richard Holton Pierce (b. 1935), presented on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Topics focus on Egypt, the Near East and the wider ancient world.

From the Fjords to the Nile: Essays in honour of Richard Holton Pierce on his 80th birthday

Jørgen Christian Meyer

Nils Anfinset

The contributions to this volume address the archaeology and history of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Bringing together papers presented at a conference in Athens in December 2012 as a part of the Syrian-Norwegian research project Palmyrena: City, Hinterland and Caravan Trade between Orient and Occident, it reflects international research and fieldwork that was going on until the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

Proceedings of the Conference Held in Athens, December 1-3, 2012

Palmyrena - City, Hinterland and Caravan Trade Between Orient and Occident

Globalhistorisk atlas

The contributions to this volume address the archaeology and history of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.

Proceedings of the Conference held in Athens, December 1-3, 2012

Palmyrena: City, Hinterland and Caravan Trade between Orient and Occident

In the Roman period, the world from the Atlantic Ocean to the East China Sea was tied together by ships and caravans carrying textiles, minerals, aromatics, and other valuable commodities across vast distances. In the span of three short centuries, the Syrian city of Palmyra rose from unremarkable origins to assume a key role in this exchange a position that eventually enabled her to, albeit unsuccessfully, take on the might of Rome herself. This first book-length survey of Palmyrene trade in almost four decades asks how this was possible for the people of a city that was neither on the shortest, nor on the easiest route between east and west. The study draws on the wealth of epigraphic, literary, and archaeological data handed down from the ancient city as well as the extensive scholarly tradition. This material is juxtaposed with information about the natural and geopolitical environment, ethnographic records, and network analysis, in order to explain the remarkable success of the cosmopolitan desert nomads of Palmyra.

Palmyra in the World Trade of the First Three Centuries Ce

Ships of the Desert and Ships of the Sea

Ancient history has traditionally focused on Greece and Rome. This book takes a global approach to the distant past, following the development of human societies across the globe from the last Ice Age, 11,700 years ago, to the rise of Islam in the seventh century CE. The only book of its kind, A Global History of the Ancient World provides succinct narratives of the first Asian, African and European civilizations and their importance for later history without foregoing the key topics of conventional textbooks. Thematic overviews give truly global perspectives on connections, disconnections and parallel developments shaping the ancient world. Written for students of history, classics and related disciplines, the book will appeal to anyone interested in widening their view of early history.

Asia, Europe and Africa before Islam

A Global History of the Ancient World

In the centuries around the turn of our era, long distance trade based on the monsoon winds connected all coasts of the western Indian Ocean. Ships from India, Arabia, Egypt, East Africa and Mesopotamia conveyed luxuries such as silk, spices and slaves, but also subsistence goods including grain and inexpensive textiles between coasts separated by thousands of kilometres of water. In the same period the first complex societies emerged in parts of Africa and Southern India. In other regions existing states reorganised or were replaced or marginalised by new polities. This study aims at exploring the significance of maritime commerce to societies on the Indian Ocean rim, by examining how rulers adjusted their policy in order to control and profit from trade. The point of departure is the anonymous Greek first century AD Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. This is a guide to navigation and trade on the Indian Ocean, covering the coasts of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, East Africa and India. The unknown author, who to a large extent relied on personal experience, included not only sailing directions, but also a wealth of information on local products, markets and political conditions. Chapter 1 introduces the subject and the setting. Chapter 2 discusses how to measure the impact of trade on complex societies. Chapter 3 deals with the content and reliability of the Periplus. Other chapters survey the situation along the coasts of Arabia, Africa and western / southern India in detail, and argue that rulers and states utilised a range of policies in order to profit from the monsoon trade.

Complex Societies and Maritime Trade on the Indian Ocean in the First Century AD

Ports and Political Power in the Periplus

What binds the individual papers in this volume together is the focus on the movement of commodities, people, cultural features and ideas, and the durable networks and links that these created and the local impact around the Indian Ocean.

Eivind Heldaas Seland

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