Week 03 Flashcards
empire as a political order
power was centralized
flexible concept
imperial government (power is in the hands of the ruler)
rulers fit themselves into religious context to enforce claims to rule
loyalty is key
4 types of political order
ruler (also includes family, loyalties etc)
Aministration (priests, princes, governors, expertise (school))
enforcers (army, tax collectors, local clergy)
subjects and their ranks
free and unfree citizens
(main source of income for the city)
how did the empire (city) grow?
farming (taxing and storing)
trade
war
colonies
what did the state do
raise money by taxing agriculture
special prjects (architecture)
wage wars and maintain armies
they would collect a surplus but in return provide prtection and contriubute to a vibrant place of innovation
imperial power (and use of )
projecting power: monuments, walls, maps
empires rise and fall and thus building lots establishes their role long after they are gone
limits on central authority
intermediaries
multiple cultures
enemies
how did empires control all of their cities and towns
they focused more on the trade corridor, rich farmlands, and the capitals rather than the small towns within their empire
relationship between cities and the empire
agricultural cities created empires
need for surplus, taxes and coercion
energy of crowds
crafts, markets, school/temples
synergy pushes outwards
why empires needed cities
adminstrative capacity
storage, leadership headquarters
extended authority
capital and provincial cities
replication, coordination, hierarchy
nodes in the network for trade and movement
monuments to power
public display of power and culture
Athens (800-200BCE)
large for its time
city walled all the way to the harbour
walls included lots of habitation land/farm land
social order of Athens
10-15% citizens
still had some imperial governence
ruled lots of small towns
all citizens need to go to capital atleast once a year
CITY AS A SOURCE OF UNIFICATION
wealth and power in ancient greece
inherited nobility
free citizens
dlaves
long distance trade crucial for survival
topography very rocky; not good for farming
debt and trade (people owed debts to gods)
greek religion in early cities
Zeus, ruler of Olympus
ruler of Greece
citizens worshipped the pantheon
with animal sacrifice
done so at Delphi and the temple of Apollo, very sacred place for animal sacrifice
true or false
empires needed cities and cities encouraged empires
Ancient Greece summary
trade, raids, and farming
wealth and power: inherited status, debts, commerce
religion: ,metaphor for imperial governments
volume of animal sacrifice in Greece
athens: 6500 ox and 15,000 goat/sheep per year
apollo: 1,700 a year
animals in Ancient Greece
meat, dairy, wool
display of power and prestige
horse racing, spartas common meals
political economy of animal husbandry
limited pasture lands
animals had to be imported along with many other things
animals mattered a lot
resource constraint on pasture land
the first sacred war of Delphi (595-585 BCE)
the pleistos river valley and the plain of Krisa
amphictyonic league vs city of Kirra
a new place for the “sacred lands”
krisa takes control of the sheep in teh valley
owns a monopoloy on the sacrifical animals
cities in ancient south asia: early forerunners
the indus valley (pakistan) geography and economy
early settlements 6000-3000 BCE
very abundent, great place to settle,
what barley, sheep, goats
absence of empire or imperial capitals
similiar to china and early mesopotamia
indus civilization
wave of large city building
2600-2500 BCE
horrapan era
dispersal of cities over wide area
DIFFERENT than middle east and mediterranean
mohenjo-daro
40,000 people
built on raised mounds
towers, walls, lower town
grid without central planning
zoning (specialization)
features of mohenjo-daro
agriculture, irrigation, trade, monumental architecture, authority, walls and fortification
what was different about mohenjo-daro?
missing central temple/palace
minimal evidence of dynasties/emperors
less evidence of violence and war
