Rome And The Black Sea Region

In 89 BC, Roman legionaries intervened in the Black Sea region to curb the ambitions of Mithridates VI of Pontos. Over the next two centuries, the Roman presence on the Black Sea coast was slowly, but steadily increased. This volume deals with the Roman impact on the indigenous population in the Black Sea region and touches on the theme of romanisation of that area. Nine different contributors discuss several aspects of Roman identity and the cultural interaction - one article even compares the situation to the American presence in Iraq - though at the same time, it also looks at the resistance to the Roman Empire and the Roman problems of creating peace in the region after the colonisation. Romanisation and becoming Roman in a Greek world is a very popular field of discussion about which a lot has already been written. This book, however, encircles three important themes - the domination, the romanisation and the resistance. It covers two different sides of the Roman presence in the area and shows both the perspective of a Roman just arrived, Pliny the Younger, and a native seeing the Romans coming, the historian Memnon of Herakleia. Furthermore it describes how multi-identity cultures manage to live together because becoming Roman not necessarily means becoming less Greek (or less Gaulish, less Scythian, less Bosporan, etc.). The diversity of the different chapters in this book creates reflection on the cultural change in the traditionalist, yet cosmopolitan environment that was the Roman Black Sea Region.

Contributions to this volume, covering all shores of the Black Sea, draw on a mix of archaeological evidence, epigraphy and written sources to explore the activities and characteristics of those that inhabited or colonised the Black Sea area, as well as those that visited, acted in, or influenced the region, from the archaic to Roman periods.

As a theme, Meetings of Cultures in the Black Sea Region: Between Conflict and Coexistence arouses strong feelings. From the remotest Antiquity, the indigenous and nomadic non-Greek populations of the Pontic region were persistently viewed as one of the major Others, first of all by Mediterranean Greeks. And because the region geographically was located as a bridge between Europe and Asia it was, and still is, also part of a Europe/Asia discourse of dichotomy. As far back in time as Antiquity Western self-understanding and identity formation has been shaped not least through its colonial experiences. Until recently, such colonial experience has led to a very static picture in our analysis of colonial encounters. However, as a result of post-colonialism, post-modernism and now globalization our conception of colonization has undergone a rapid and far-reaching conceptual change. Gone are the days when the Black Sea region was seen as a sea of barbarian wilds enlightened by small flicks of Greek civilization along the coast. Settling the Black Sea region was a challenge for the Greeks. Compared with the Mediterranean, this happened relatively late, and the attempt of settling the land was not always equally successful. In fact, frequently the power balance was in favour of the indigenous population. Nevertheless, the cultivation of the land and the establishment of exchange systems must have been beneficial for all participants in the exchange network. In this volume, the acts of an international, interdisciplinary conference held at Sandbjerg Manor House, Denmark in January 2006 are published. 19 contributions by scholars from Denmark, France, Georgia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, and Ukraine give a profound discussion of various topics such as the physical arena of the colonial encounters as spaces of identity; the layout of land and protection of cities; the dynamics of the cultural exchange; the perception of how it was to be Greek in the Pontic realm, and finally the reciprocal strategies exerted by the Greeks and Scythians in Olbia as described in Herodotos' Fourth Book of his Histories. Through the many-sided contributions it is also revealed, how self and other is two sides of the same coin - yesterday, today and, tomorrow.

The lands surrounding the Black Sea share a colourful past. Though in recent decades they have experienced ethnic conflict, economic collapse, and interstate rivalry, their common heritage and common interests go deep. Now, as a region at the meeting point of the Balkans, Central Asia, and the Middle East, the Black Sea is more important than ever. In this lively and entertaining book, which is based on extensive research in multiple languages, Charles King investigates the myriad connections that have made the Black Sea more of a bridge than a boundary, linking religious communities, linguistic groups, empires, and later, nations and states.

The proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities (Constanţa, 2017) is dedicated to the 90th birthday of Prof. Sir John Boardman, President of the Congress since its inception. The central theme returns to that considered 20 years earlier: the importance of the Pontic Region for the Graeco-Roman World.

This volume challenges the orthodox view that fishing and fish played only a marginal role in the economy of the ancient world. In fact, there is archaeological evidence for ancient fish processing on a commercial scale not only in the Mediterranean itself, but also on the Atlantic coast and in the Black Sea region, especially the Crimea. Our literary sources testify to the widespread culinary and medicinal use of salted fish and fermented fish sauces in antiquity, and especially in the first centuries AD. In this book, the authors assess the present state of research on ancient fishing and discuss its implications for the history of the Black Sea region, especially the period of Greek colonization along its shores. While grain has traditionally been viewed as the main export commodity of the Pontic colonies, the existence of salting-vats on the coast of the Crimea indicate production of salt-fish or fish sauce on a large scale, presumably for export. However, many questions remain unanswered: for instance concerning ownership and organization of the processing facilities, or how the finished product was transported to distant markets. Tonnes Bekker-Nielsen teaches ancient history at the University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg.

The Northern Black Sea in Antiquity brings together the latest research on an important region of the ancient Mediterranean world.