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The Archaeology of Medieval Islamic Frontiers
The Archaeology of Medieval Islamic Frontiers demonstrates that different areas of the Islamic polity previously understood as “minor frontiers” were, in fact, of substantial importance to state formation. Contributors explore different conceptualizations of “border,” the importance of which previously went unrecognized, examining frontiers in regions including the Magreb, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Nubia, and the Caucasus through a combination of archaeological and documentary evidence. Chapters highlight the significance of these respective regions to the emergence of new sociopolitical, cultural, and economic practices within the Islamic world. These studies successfully overcome t...
Iconoclasm from Antiquity to Modernity
The phenomenon of iconoclasm, expressed through hostile actions towards images, has occurred in many different cultures throughout history. The destruction and mutilation of images is often motivated by a blend of political and religious ideas and beliefs, and the distinction between various kinds of ’iconoclasms’ is not absolute. In order to explore further the long and varied history of iconoclasm the contributors to this volume consider iconoclastic reactions to various types of objects, both in the very recent and distant past. The majority focus on historical periods but also on history as a backdrop for image troubles of our own day. Development over time is a central question in t...
The Eastern Frontier
Transoxania, Khurasan, and ?ukharistan – which comprise large parts of today's Central Asia – have long been an important frontier zone. In the late antique and early medieval periods, the region was both an eastern political boundary for Persian and Islamic empires and a cultural border separating communities of sedentary farmers from pastoral-nomads. Given its peripheral location, the history of the 'eastern frontier' in this period has often been shown through the lens of expanding empires. However, in this book, Robert Haug argues for a pre-modern Central Asia with a discrete identity, a region that is not just a transitory space or the far-flung corner of empires, but its own histor...
Sasanian Persia
Details Persias growing military and economic power in the late antique worldThe Sasanian Empire (3rd7th centuries) was one of the largest empires of antiquity, stretching from Mesopotamia to modern Pakistan and from Central Asia to the Arabian Peninsula. This mega-empire withstood powerful opponents in the steppe and expanded further in Late Antiquity, whilst the Roman world shrunk in size. Recent research has revealed the reasons for this success: notably population growth in some key territories, economic prosperity, and urban development, made possible through investment in agriculture and military infrastructure on a scale unparalleled in the late antique world. Our volume explores the ...
Archaeology and Ancient History
Challenging both traditional and fashionable theories, this collection of pieces from an international range of contributors explores the separation of the human past into history, archaeology and their related sub-disciplines. Each case study challenges the validity of this separation and asks how we can move to a more holistic approach in the study of the relationship between history and archaeology. While the focus is on the ancient world, particularly Greece and Rome, rhe lessons learnded in this book make it an essential addition to all studies of history and archaeology.
The Sutton Hoo Sceptre and the Roots of Celtic Kingship Theory
The Sutton Hoo whetstone sceptre is the most enigmatic and mysterious emblem of kingship of the Early Middle Ages. Produced c.600 AD and long held to be Anglo-Saxon, the author of the present work argued in 1983 that it was actually made by Celtic craftsmen who deployed Celtic iconographic themes in its carving. That thesis is now accepted by many scholars but continues to be a matter of debate. Here the thesis is re-examined with a wealth of evidence never before discussed. Enright establishes that the sceptre is undoubtedly a British artefact, one that reflects a long history of Celtic king ship theory. It is the end of a tradition that begins with the Iron Age Pfalzfeld pillar. Because the sceptre's design reflects that of the pillar, a comparison of their creator's ideas is possible. The results are important and surprising. It is safe to say that this book casts a wholly new light on a number of significant topics in the field and that its findings will be of considerable interest to scholars in a variety of areas.
Oxoniensia
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Linear Earthwork, Tribal Boundary and Ritual Beheading
Aves Ditch is one of the best-preserved and yet most enigmatic of the ancient monuments in Oxfordshire, and it has remained a landmark to the present day. Lined by a straight row of trees, it can be seen over a fair distance. It runs virtually dead straight over no less than 4.2 km from north of Kirtlington to the modern parish boundary between Upper Heyford and Middleton Stoney. For over three centuries scholars have wondered whether it is of pre-Roman, Roman or Anglo-Saxon origin, whether it was a road or a linear earthwork and, in the latter case, what function it may have served. Notwithstanding this centuries-old debate and it being easily accessible just 15 to 22 km north of Oxford, it is also one of the least known of the county's visible archaeological features and is seldom referred to in popular or scholarly work on the history or archaeology of the region. Previously unpublished excavations of the 1930s and further work in the 1990s have contributed much to solving this enigma, and the present book provides the final report on these excavations. With contributions by Paul Booth, Patrick Erwin, Peter Hacking, Birgitta Hoffmann, Stephanie Knight and Mark Robinson.
Ancient Society
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