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ANCIENT HISTORY NO.56 IN THIS ISSUE: SLAVES, LABOURERS, SOLDIERS, AND ARTISANS — WORK AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE ANCIENT WORLD AT THE LOOM Working women were an integral part of the economy in ancient Athens. CAT FIGHT Solving the mystery of the man killed by an African lion in Roman Britain. GET A JOB How everyone – from unskilled workers to artisans – found work in ancient Rome. ON THE BORDER The city of Hatra was a key fortress between the Roman and Parthian Empires. GET A JOB ON THE BORDER LABOUR IN ANTIQUITY THE DAILY W W W .A N C IE N TH IS TO R Y M A G A ZI N E. C O M 0 8 2 9 0 7 4 5 8 0 3 4 5 6 US $13.99 CAD $17.25 Ancient History 56Ancienent t HiHiHistststooro yy 56566 333 TA BL E OF C ON TE NT S MANAGING AN EMPIRE How did satraps contribute to the stabil- ity of the Achaemenid Empire? LABOUR IN ANTIQUITY Most people in the ancient world, from slaves to skilled artisans, worked for a living instead of owning vast estates or plundering enemy treasuries. From odd jobs to construction contracts, all manner of employment was available. Talking tools? Rome's enslaved labour Fighting for a living Hellenistic professional soldiers Finding work The labour market in ancient Rome SPECIAL FEATURES Managing an empire The satraps of Achaemenid Persia The city of Hatra An ancient geopolitical hotspot Lions in antiquity Symbols of strength, royalty, & chaos DEPARTMENTS Preliminaries What's new in ancient history Food on the table Grocery shopping in ancient Rome Book reviews A look at new ancient history titles 18 24 8 The lion and the gladiator The arena on the edge of empire The tale of Gilgamesh Woven wealth The ancient Greek textile economy "As long as they keep working" Labour in ancient Egypt Further reading More books on labour in antiquity 4 48 A SOLDIER'S LIFE Philip II's military reforms professionalized military service in Hellenistic Greece. 8 12 28 54 56 58 46 36 42 32 50 Editor-in-chief: Jasper Oorthuys Editor: Owain Williams Assistant editor: Lauren van Zoonen News editor: Lindsay Powell Design & Media: Christianne C. Beall Design © 2017 Karwansaray Publishers Contributors: Katherine Backler, Peter Edwell, Miriam J. Groen-Vallinga, Arienne King, Rhyne King, Philip Matyszak, Louise M. Pryke, Charlotte Van Regenmortel, Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele Illustrators: Akshay Misra, Jose Morán, Richard Thomson, William Webb Special thanks: Carole Raddato (followinghadrian.com), Gary Todd (worldhistorypics.weebly.com), and Jona Lendering (livius.org) for their photographs Print: Grafi Advies Editorial office PO Box 4082, 7200 BB Zutphen, The Netherlands Phone: +31-848-392256 (Europe) E-mail: editor@ancienthistorymagazine.com Customer service: service@karwansaraypublishers.com Website: www.ancienthistorymagazine.com Contributions in the form of articles, letters, reviews, and news are welcomed. Please send to the above address or use the form on www.ancienthistorymagazine.com Subscriptions Subscriptions can be purchased at www.kp-shop.com, via phone, or by email. For the address, see above. 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While history tends to remember kings, queens, and generals, the majority of people worked for a living, whether as labourers or artisans. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art ANCIENT HISTORY Ancient History 56444 EDITORIAL – WORKING HARD, OR HARDLY WORKING Owain Williams Editor, Ancient History O i Willi Lost Mayan ceremonial city discovered 2600-year-old Etruscan tomb found intact An undisturbed Etruscan tomb has been entered for the first time since the late seventh century BC. The discovery has been hailed as one of the most sig- nificant finds in recent decades for understanding the ancient pre-Roman civilization. Sealed behind a massive stone slab, the burial chamber in the San Giuliano Necropolis near Barbarano Romano in central Italy revealed meticulously arranged funerary fur- niture. The remains of four individuals lay on carved stone beds surrounded by more than 100 remarkably well-pre- served grave goods, including ceramic vases, iron weapons, bronze ornaments, and delicate silver hair spools. A single vase placed at the tomb’s threshold may have played a role in pre-sealing rites. Preliminary analysis of the objects found in the tomb suggests that the buried individuals might be two male-female pairs, but further conclusions await anthropo- logical, isotopic, and genetic study of the human remains. Most of the over 600 tombs in the necropolis 70 km north of Rome have been looted over the centuries. “This completely sealed burial chamber represents a rare find for Etruscan archaeology,” said Dr Davide Zori, archaeolo- gist and associate professor of history, Baylor University. The discovery was made by the SGARP team from Baylor University, in collaboration with Italy’s Ministero della Cultura and the local Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la provincia di Viterbo e per l’Etruria Meridionale. A view of archaeologists at work removing the stone sealing the en- trance to the Etruscan tomb in the San Giuliano Necropolis. Pyramids and monuments uncovered by archaeologists have revealed a nearly 3000-year-old, previously lost Mayan city in northern Guatemala. Named Los Abuelos (Spanish for ‘The Grandparents’), the site lies about 21 km from Uaxactún, a major archaeological complex in Guatemala’s Petén region, close to the Mexican border. According to Guate- mala’s culture ministry, the city dates to the Middle Preclassic period (ca. 800–500 BC). It is believed to be one of the oldest and most important ceremonial centres in all Mesoa- merica. The first cities of the Maya civiliza- tion developed around 750 BC. Archaeologists from Guatemala and Slovakia made the discovery in a little-ex- plored area of Uaxactún. The 16-sq-km site features remarkable architectural planning, including pyramids, sculpted monuments, and a canal system. Among the most striking finds are two human-like statues, dubbed an ‘ancestral couple’, which inspired the city’s name. The statues, dated to between 500 and 26 A f © So p rin ten d en za A rch eo lo gia B elle A rti e P aesaggio Among the finds in the Etruscan tomb was bronze weaponry, like this Etrus- can bronze spearhead,itself. They would run from an abusive slaveholder — in which Runaways and revolts case the law would support their cause, and runaways might seek sanctuary at a statue of the emperor. In the Roman Republic, the large- scale enslavement of people from the same place, speaking the same language, fuelled two Servile Wars on Sicily in the second century BC — Varro advises not having slaves of the same peoples living together (On Agriculture 1.17.5). People took collective action towards reclaiming lost freedom, the final and most well-known example of which is the revolt led by Spartacus in the first century BC. In the em- pire, conversely, the heterogeneous group of enslaved persons who were born into slavery or originated from vastly different places did not unite in a similar manner, nor could all of them remember what freedom was like. A silver jug, part of the hoard of Palmi, dated to ca. 100-70 BC. It is possible that the hoard was hidden during the slave revolt led by Spartacus, known as the Third Servile War. © Giovanni Dall'Orto / Wikimedia Commons A view of the ruins of the fortified camp at Mons Claudianus in Egypt, a Roman quarry where labourers mined granodiorite. The site consisted of a garrison, the quarry- ing site, and the quarters for civilians and workers. Surviving documents from the site attest to relatively decent pay and living conditions for the free labourers who worked alongside slaves. © AndroidTrotter / Wikimedia Commons slave revolt led by Spartacus, known as the Third Servile War. © Giovanni Dall'Orto / Wikimedia Commons © x Ancient History 5622 greater part of the workforce. Still others would be crushing the rocks, sieving, and subsequently smelting the ore for extracting precious metals. Many of those employed in such dire circumstances would have been en- slaved. Perhaps surprisingly, though, we find that the mines were not operated solely by enslaved labourers. Natural resources were also extracted by criminals convicted to the mines, and by free labour migrants. By con- trast, stone was mostly extracted from open- pit quarries. In the imperial quarries at Mons Claudianus in Egypt, ostraca detailing aspects of the administration there attest to relatively good working conditions and wages for the largely free workers active at the site. The villas of the elite do seem to have profited from the large-scale availability of slave labour. Our most detailed descriptions of the work enslaved persons performed in the rural context of the large villae come from three agricultural treatises: the writings of Cato (second century BC), Varro (first cen- tury BC), and that of Columella (first century AD). The picture they paint is of an absen- tee landholder and an estate where the rural household or familia rustica laboured under the daily supervision of an enslaved overseer and his wife, the vilicus and vilica. Irregular visits from the slaveholder meant that chanc- es to ingratiate oneself and improve manu- mission chances were slight. Their writings also demonstrate that slave labour was pro- foundly hierarchical, with the position of the vilicus being decidedly higher up the social scale than that of the field hands. All three ancient authors emphasize that time needed to be spent productively and warn against idleness, which surely must mean that enslaved labourers worked long hours. A certain amount of gang labour is implied, but there is no mention of chain- gangs of slaves. Conversely, care-intensive and responsible tasks were also executed by the same estate labourers. Enslaved children on the estate were expected to contribute through bird keeping, herding animals, and weeding, or other chores befitting their age. It is very well possible that even on villae- estates, freeborn workers regularly comple- mented the enslaved labour force, suffering equally dire circumstances as the enslaved workers – though self-determination admit- tedly made all the difference. The familia rustica and familia urbana (‘urban household’) of an elite slaveholder may have overlapped, and some enslaved persons were perhaps employed in both set- tings. Thousands of occupational inscriptions from the city of Rome have been discovered in underground columbaria — chamber tombs containing up to hundreds of named individual cremation burials, that have been related to imperial and upper-class house- holds. The job-titles indicated on the in- scriptions include skilled doctors and mid- gre wo su pre su sla tha en als mi tras pit Cla of t goo larg pro slav of t the A mosaic known as the Cupbearers of Dougga, dated to the third century AD, depicting two slaves pouring wine. Slaves could be found throughout the Roman world, working in the homes of the elite or on agricultural estates. © Dennis Jarvis / Flickr A Roman funerary stele for the freedman Marcus Asellius Clemens, his wife Statia Statulla, and their freedman Marcus Asel- lius Latinus, dated to the second century AD. Upon their manumission, slaves were granted citizenship, although they could not hold formal office. © Giovanni Dall'Orto. / Wikimedia Commons © x DID YOU KNOW? Roman practices concerning the organiza- tion of slaves, such as avoiding monoglot slave populations and employing slave overseers on farms, have earlier precedents in ancient Greece. Ancient History 56 23 wives, administrative workers like scribes or bankers, service jobs such as footservants, doorkeepers, litter-bearers, hairdressers, per- fumers, and caretakers of pearls. The aim of sporting a staff like this seems to have been ostentation rather than exhaustiveness, and additional (free) labourers must have been hired to fulfil the needs of the elite home. In smaller households, it is likely that a do- mestic servant took up all sorts of chores. Fu- nerary epigraphy indicates that artisans and craftsmen with a smaller business also relied on enslaved and freed labour to complement their skilled workforce. Where there was no biological heir, there were more enslaved persons we can hardly see in the evidence and remind us that, for some, slavery under the Roman Empire was decidedly inhumane. Despite the fact that some freedpeople did very well for them- selves or even prospered, manumission was never certain and even for them the stigma of slavery clung persistently. In sum, we would do well to remember that in Roman society, too, slavery was brutal and exploitative. AH Miriam J. Groen-Vallinga is assistant pro- fessor at Radboud University Nijmegen. Her research focuses on the position of marginalized groups such as enslaved persons, women, and children in Ro- man society and the Roman economy. on enslaved an their ciety, AH pro- gen. n of d - y. (Top) A view of the remains of a villa rus- tica from Gambach, Germany. Many slaves would have been housed on such villae and worked as agricultural labourers. © Cherubino / Wikimedia Commons (Bottom) The remains of the tomb of Marcus Vergilius Eurysace, a baker, and his wife Astitia, dated to the late first century BC. While it is not certain, it is believed that Marcus Vergilius Eurysace was a freedman. © Joris / Wikimedia Commons © x © x a freedman could continue the family name and business. A well- known example is that of Lucius Cornelius Atimetus and Lucius Cornelius Epaphra, his freedman, blacksmiths whose funerary altar is preserved in the Vatican Museums (CIL 6.16166). Atimetus set up the monu- ment for himself and for Epaphra, his well- deserving freedman. In a standard clause he includes his other freedmen, freedwomen, and descendants. Finally, a special place seems to have been reserved in all types of households for enslaved wetnurses and child caretakers, who are sometimes explicitly commemorated as part of the family in fu- nerary epigraphy. In both the urban and rural economy, en- slaved labourwas everywhere. Enslaved per- sons, however, did not outcompete free per- sons in the labour market in any way. Skilled and unskilled labour was performed by en- slaved, freed, and free persons alike. Slavery provided an important additional flexible shell to the workforce that could be strategi- cally used in times of fluctuating supply and demand. The deployment of enslaved people varied widely, however, and individual expe- riences must have differed accordingly. Inci- dental finds of bodies buried with shackles still on, or references to whipping, branding, and facial tattoos as punishment suggest that Ancient History 5624242424242424 Ea st er n M ed it er ra n ea n : ca . 34 0 – 20 0 B C TH EM E: A n ci en t la b ou r 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C 10 00 B C Ancient History 56 252525255 HELLENISTIC PROFESSIONAL SOLDIERS WARFARE AS A LIVELIHOOD THETHETHTT MEME By Charlotte Van Regenmortel The revolutionary reforms of Philip II of Macedonia turned military service into a professional career. But it was in the chaotic aftermath of Alexander the Great’s sudden death that professional soldiering came fully into its own. From the disciplined Macedonian ranks to the mercenary markets of the Successors and Hel- lenistic kings, this article explores how the rise of paid, contract-based military service changed the na- ture of warfare in the Hellenistic age, when fighting was no longer a civic duty but a way to earn a living. I n the summer of 323 BC, thousands of soldiers had gath- ered at Cape Taenarum, the rocky headland at the most southern point of the Peloponnese. Alexander the Great was dead; his empire was already beginning to unrav- el. These veterans, discharged or displaced, stood there ready, waiting for the next general to hire them. They had fol- lowed Alexander across Asia, but their loyalty was no longer to their polis, king, or cause — it was to the best paymaster. This moment captures a turning point in the history of warfare. In Classical Greece, military service had been the duty of citizen-soldiers, called up in defence of their home poleis. Mercenaries were known in the Classical pe- riod, especially during the Peloponnesian War and through- out the fourth century BC, but they are typically thought of as impoverished, with mercenary service being seen as a route out of poverty. However, mercenary service — and the pay that went with it — did not automatically mean a high standard of living. Mercenary pay in the fourth century BC, prior to Philip II's reforms and the professionalization of the Macedonian army, was relatively low. According to Xenophon, Cyrus the Younger, after his mercenaries discov- ered the true intention of their expedition, raised their pay to 7.5 obols per day (Anabasis 1.3.21). Yet this pay was excep- tional, effectively being an investment by Cyrus the Younger in the hopes of attaining the vast wealth of the Achaemenid Empire. Later in the fourth century BC, Demosthenes tells us that mercenaries were paid 2 obols per day (4.28), al- though this was the allowance for food, and they were paid further through booty. Citizen-soldiers, on the other hand, appear to have been paid 1 drachma per day, equivalent to 6 obols. But under Philip II of Macedon, a different model had emerged: a stand- ing, professional army, drawn from a broader pool and maintained by regular wages. His son, Alexander, expanded this system into a transcontinental war machine, that would form the basis of the ever-expanding armies of the Successors and Hellenistic kings. As warfare professionalized, fighting became a career and source of income. Pay and contracts replaced civic duty, and soldiers began to see themselves as labourers, not citi- zens fighting for their polis. Recruitment, pay, and protest came to define the lives of Hellenistic soldiers in an age of ambition and instability. The rise of the professional soldier It is tempting to equate soldiers who enlist for pay with mer- cenaries. However, ancient Greek had no specific word for ‘mercenary’; instead, the sources rely on terms such as epik- ouros (‘helper’ or ‘ally’), xenos (‘foreigner’), or misthophoros (‘wage earner’) to denote soldiers who were not part of the citizen contingents. While these words align with many as- pects of the modern definition of a ‘mercenary’, we should be cautious when translating. For example, soldiers serving in a clearly mercenary capacity are not always labelled as such in the ancient sources. Moreover, the modern term car- ries a range of negative connotations that may not always apply in the ancient context. For this reason, it is better to look at the nature of soldiers’ recruitment and terms of ser- vice to identify the capacity in which they served. The transformation of the Macedonian army into an in- novative force of professional soldiers was driven as much by political necessity as by military demands. When Philip II seized the throne of Macedonia in the mid-fourth century BC, he inherited a kingdom under threat, and, therefore, immedi- ately set to strengthening his army. As Macedonia was faced with a shortage of eligible manpower (many soldiers had died in battle alongside Philip’s predecessor), traditional models of citizen-soldiery based on conscription, like those in the Greek city-states, were unviable. To field a stronger army, Philip not only significantly reformed the army by introducing innovative weaponry, but also encouraged recruitment from beyond the Macedonian citizenry, allowing non-landowning locals and foreigners to enlist in all divisions of the army — a radical departure from earlier norms. This shift was not just practical; it was political. Philip needed a loyal, full-time fighting force that answered directly to the crown, not to tribal loyalties or civic duties. By pay- ing and training these soldiers year-round, he created a truly professional army — one that had specialist skills, could be mobilized quickly, and deployed flexibly. This was the army that accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaign against the Achaemenid Empire, fur- ther supported by allied troops provided by the Greek poleis. The demanding campaign across Asia required constant re- inforcement, and the army absorbed additional mercenaries and local recruits throughout the campaign. Crucially, once the Persian king had been defeated, Alexander dismissed the Greek allies, allowing them to return home or to re-enlist as hired forces – with many choosing the latter option, his army A recruiter enlisting new troops on behalf of a Hellenistic king. © Jose Morán© J© Joseoseoses oo ááá Ancient History 562626262626226 was increasingly composed of hired professionals who en- listed in exchange for pay, rather than political duty. After Alexander’s death, his former generals and other ambitious warlords — known as the ‘Successors’ — fought over and across his empire for decades. Initially, these new kings did not have enough individual authority to command all of Alexander’s military, nor were their territorial claims strong enough to raise forces through mass conscription. Therefore, strengthened by funds from the former Persian treasuries, they turned almost entirely to voluntary recruits and hired substantional numbers of soldiers to fill their ranks. As the Wars of the Successors quietened down and the emergence of the independent Hellenistic kingdoms introduced some territorial stability, kings could return to the model of conscription, with levies comprising settled soldiers or local populations. However, the model of the professional, hired soldier persisted, not least because these skilled troops were often preferred for staffing the increas- ingly large and lethal armies that defined the militaristic na- ture of the Hellenistic world. Manning the armies Recruitment and retention of troops became an ongoing pro- cess, carried out ina variety of ways. Some armies issued calls for soldiers to enlist. Others dispatched commanders armed with gold and silver to actively recruit from across the Mediterranean. Aspiring soldiers, meanwhile, could indepen- dently offer their services. As a result of this movement, key gathering points emerged: the aforementioned Cape Taenar- um may well have been one such known hub, where soldiers waiting to be hired met with potential employers. A good example of how recruitment worked in prac- tice comes from Diodorus’ account of a muster organized by Eumenes of Cardia — a Greek who had served under Philip II and held a top position in Alexander’s army. Once Eumenes gained access to a treasury and thus the funds required to support an army, he set a generous rate of pay and dispatched recruiters across the Levant. The response was swift and enthusiastic: soldiers flocked to enlist, in- cluding many from Greece, where word of the recruitment drive — and the high wages on offer — spread like wildfire (Diodorus, 18.61.4). Sometimes, entire cities were drawn into the recruitment process. Antigonus I Monophthalmus, founder of the Antigo- nid dynasty, once sent a general to the Peloponnese, coffers of gold in tow, to formally request permission from Sparta to recruit soldiers within its territory (Diodorus, 19.56.1). While this kind of arrangement may have functioned as a disguised alliance, it also served a more practical purpose: it gave cities like Sparta a way to keep their young men occupied — and possibly out of trouble at home — by channelling them into military service abroad. Naturally, competition among the Successors led to a volatile and highly competitive recruitment market. Rival com- manders often tried to outbid each other, offering higher wages or better conditions to lure troops away from their opponents. A striking example comes from a campaign involving Ptolemy I Soter, king of Egypt, who, when threatened by Antigonus, of- fered a cash premium to any soldier willing to desert the en- emy. The offer was generous, and it worked — many soldiers switched sides just before the battle (Diodorus, 20.75.1). Soldiers often had considerable agency in this competi- tive recruitment environment and were not shy about us- ing it to their advantage. A good example is Athenagoras, a Milesian commander serving under Ptolemy I. According to Diodorus, the Antigonid successor king Demetrius I Polio- rcetes tried to tempt him with a large sum of money to switch sides. Athenagoras appears to have played along, cleverly using the situation to pit both employers against each other. After revealing the plot to his superiors, he was handsomely rewarded: he received five talents — 30,000 drachmas, an enormous sum — as well as an honorific crown, so that his (admittedly purchased) loyalty could serve as an example to other hired troops (Diodorus, 20.94.3–5). Wages and incentives Citizen-soldiers in the Greek poleis were typically given a payment known as misthos. Scholars continue to debate whether this misthos should be seen as a true wage or sim- ply a ration allowance. Either way, when it was given (and it wasn’t always!), the amount was generally modest, covering little more than basic subsistence. Either way, in most cases, military service was a seasonal activity, meaning it did not offer a regular or sustainable income for citizens. A notable exception, however, was the Athenian navy. Operating year- round and often employing men who had few other means of support, it provided something much closer to steady, paid employment. Having a steady job with a regular salary is largely a mod- ern concept. In the ancient world, most people earned their income through the sale of produce or by offering specific services. Those who did receive cash wages were often paid per day; many were on piece rates, receiving payment upon completion of a specific unit or task. Agriculture, with its seasonal, peak demands, may well have been a source of employment for day labourers, but most of our evidence for this comes from the building industry, where public accounts of costings reveal the specific employment costings and re- lations; notably, both slaves and citizens worked alongside each other in these projects, often operating as teams. Within these sectors, employment was typically informal, irregular, and highly dependent on seasonal cycles or local demand. In Athens, citizens could also earn small payments for par- ticipating in civic duties – such as jury service or attendance at the assembly – making it possible for poorer individuals to engage in the democratic process. However, in this context, the regular and long-term pay provided by the royal armies represented a radical innovation in labour relations. 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HoHoHoHH weweweeveveveverr,r,r iiinn n thththhisisis ccconononontetetextxtxt,,, thththhe e e rererereegugugugulalalar rr r anananand d d dd lololololongngngng-t-tt-- ereree m m mm papapaay yy y prprprprovovovovididididedededded bbbby yy thththe e rororoyayayalll arararrmimim eseeses rererereeprprprp esesesesenenennteteteted d dd a a aaa rrradadaddicicicicalalala iiinnnnnnnovovoovatatatata ioioioionnn ininininn lllabababa ouououo r r r rererelalaatititionononns.s.s. Wage labour in the ancient world Wage labour in the ancient world Ancient History 56 27272727777 In contrast to the conscript citizens, soldiers who enlist- ed voluntarily had to be incentivized. Thus, in Macedonia, Philip II had begun to recruit hired forces to pack the ranks of his army, but we should note that wages were provided to all troops from the beginning. In addition to regular pay, Philip supplied weapons and armour based on rank to those who enlisted. Exceptionally skilled individuals could even receive land grants, meaning that military skill, rather than personal wealth or aristocratic lineage, became the criterion for joining elite divisions like the Companion Cavalry. Philip funded this ambitious recruitment strategy by exploiting the mines near Crenides, which yielded enough gold and silver to support his army of paid soldiers. This model continued under Alexander the Great, who kept his army under arms during his lengthy campaign by offering regular pay and additional bonuses. A sophisti- cated pay scale, tied to soldiers’ ranks, appears to have been in place, as evidenced by military titles like ‘Ten Sta- ter Men’ or ‘Double Pay Men’. With the vast wealth of the Achaemenid treasuries at his disposal, Alexander could afford to offer his troops sums previously unimaginable. The historian Arrian tells us that, upon the army’s return to Babylon in 325/4 BC, Alexander paid 10,000 depart- ing soldiers their back pay, along with a bonus of 1 talent (about 6,000 drachmas) each. He also settled 20,000 tal- ents’ worth of soldiers’ outstanding debts (Arrian, Anabasis 7.12.1; 7.5.3). These staggering sums required the minting of vast quantities of coinage, much of which can still be traced through the numismatic record today. The link between available cash and generous remu- neration remained crucial under the Successors, who clearly understood that their ability to pay directly influenced their success on the battlefield. Diodorus Siculus illustrates this well in his account of Ptolemy’s arrival in Egypt, noting that upon discovering 8000 talents in the treasury, he immedi- ately set about recruiting mercenaries (18.14.1). Similarly, when in charge of the east, Antigonus reportedly did not fear confrontation, knowing he could provide endless pay to his troops (Diodorus, 18.50.3). As we have seen, soldiers were acutely aware of the competition for their service, and the price of enlistment was increasingly inflated as a result. While there are few contemporary records detailing exact pay rates, some exam- ples suggest that serving in the royal armies offered much higher pay than that provided by citizen militias. This no doubt contributed to the contemporary stereotypes of boast- ful soldiers who had plenty of cash to spend and were often seen as living a lavish lifestyle. Wages were not the only benefits to be gained, and employers soon began to offer soldiers land in exchange for military service. The Ptolemies in Egypt were perhaps the most famous practitioners of this model, but it is at- tested across all the Hellenistic kingdoms. Land did not only form part-payment but also encouraged troops to re- turn ‘home’ at the end of a campaign. These settlements of active-duty soldiers and their families resulted in the crea- tion of a dependable, and sometimes multi-generational recruitment base by limiting the mobility of soldiers in an age where loyalty was often for sale. Disputes and the military contract Under Alexander the Great, soldiers increasingly began to as- sert their rights regarding the conditions of their service. Several notable instances — often labelled mutinies — involved troops refusing to march or continue fighting until their demands, typically concerning pay, rest, or repatriation, were addressed. At the Hyphasis River in 326 BC, Alexander’s army, exhausted by years of campaigning and daunted by the prospect of fac- ing powerful Indian kingdoms beyond the Ganges, refused to continue eastward. Later, at Opis in 324 BC, tensions erupted again when Alexander attempted to discharge Macedonian veterans and integrate more Persian troops into his forces. These early forms of collective action laid the groundwork for an even more transactional understanding of military service under the Successors and in the Hellenistic kingdoms. Under the Successors, negotiation between soldiers and their employers became a common practice. In addition to discussions about pay — and the ever-present threat of de- fection — records indicate that negotiations also covered the length of campaigns, whether to advance or retreat, and which routes to take. Eumenes of Cardia even maintained a dedicated tent for such discussions, where he met with both commanders and soldiers on equal footing. This practice was symbolically overseen by the ghost of Alexander, who, ac- cording to Plutarch, had instructed Eumenes to adopt this ap- proach in a dream (Plutarch, Eumenes 13.3–4). The epigraphic record provides further evidence for similar practices in the later Hellenistic kingdoms. An in- scribed agreement between the Attalid king Eumenes I and soldiers stationed at garrisons reveals that these troops had also ceased work until their demands were met. In addition to a promise to pay outstanding wages — presumably the immediate cause of the strike — the agreement specifies set prices for grain and wine, the length of the campaigning sea- son, provisions for paying those who had completed their service, tax breaks, arrangements for the care of orphans, and clear procedures for soldiers wishing to leave. Together, these clauses amounted to a transparent and sophisticated set of employment conditions for military personnel. The rise of professional soldiery in the Hellenistic world marked a profound transformation of the nature of military service and its broader relationship to the economy and soci- ety. No longer bound by civic duty or loyalty to a city-state, soldiers operated within a transactional system defined by contracts, wages, and negotiated rights. As armies grew in size and complexity, so too did the expectations and agency of those who filled their ranks. Whether through protest, ne- gotiation, or shifting allegiances, Hellenistic soldiers played an active role in shaping their own conditions – fighting not just for kings or causes, but for livelihoods forged on the bat- tlefield and secured through pay. AH Charlotte Van Regenmortel is a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Liverpool. Ancient History 56282828 THE LABOUR MARKET IN ANCIENT ROME FINDING WORK THEME A N C IE N T R O M E: c a. 1 50 B C – A D 2 00 By Owain Williams Discussions about labour in the Roman Empire tend to focus on the work of slaves. There were, of course, hundreds of thou- sands of slaves, if not more, at any one point in the Roman Em- pire. Yet freeborn people — both men and women — were also involved in labour,but their contributions are hard to discern. I t was once believed that, because of the extensive use of slave la- bour, there was no free labour market in ancient Rome. Instead, it was thought that wage labour was rare. The dismissal of the lower classes by ancient authors, who depicted them as “addicted to the circus and theatre” (Tacitus, Histories 1.4) and longing only for bread and games (Juvenal, 10.78–81), promot- ed the idea that average people were content to live off the grain dole and spend their time at the many games and shows on offer. However, the monthly grain dole was only five modii, enough for a single adult male. Depending on the work they were do- ing, Cato gave each of his slaves between three and five modii of grain a month (On Agriculture 56). The grain dole, therefore, was hardly enough to support a family and certainly not an incentive to not work for many. That Vespasian rejects a proposal for a labour-saving device because the peo- ple needed to eat (Suetonius, Vespasian 18) suggests that many Romans worked to buy food. Similarly, Tacitus tells us that, after the Tiber flooded during the reign of Otho, “The common people were reduced to famine by lack of employment and failure of supplies” (Histories 1.86), again demonstrating how af- fording food was an incentive to work. Getting a job in ancient Rome So, working for a wage, even with the grain dole, was necessary for the average Roman to survive. Many different professions are at- tested, from more typical jobs like being a porter (Petronius, Satyricon 117) to more unu- sual jobs like throwing dice for a man with no fingers (Horace, Satires 2.7.15–18), but we do not know how people found these jobs. Odd jobs may be directly advertised by the employer. Apuleius, for instance, de- scribes how a man stood on a stone in the forum and declared that he needed someone to watch a corpse for a night, for which they would be paid (Metamorphoses 2.21). Simi- larly, while there is no direct evidence for it, praecones (‘announcers’), who made an- nouncements in the forum, as described by A relief, dated to the mid-first century BC, depicting several labourers working around a crane under the instruction of a magistrate. Construction work was likely one of the biggest employment sectors in ancient Rome. An altar dedicated by a collegium fabrorum ('association of black- smiths'), dated to the second century AD. Professional associations created networks along which jobs could be advertised. © Giovanni Dall'Orto. / Wikimedia Commons TH EM E: A n ci en t la b ou r 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C ththhthe circcu onlyly edd t ooff g g ada inng,g fivve grgrai a a fa An a smit crea © Ancient History 56 29 © D an D iffen d ale / Flickr Dio Chrysostom (Orations 7.123), could also have advertised opportunities for employ- ment. It appears that people looking for work would gather in the forum, making a praeco’s role even more likely. Pliny the Elder, for ex- ample, tells of how cooks would gather at the macellum, where they would be hired by those who had no cooks on their household staff (Natural History 18.108), al- though Pliny the Elder is discussing matters before his time. However, Claudius had slaves and workers re- moved from the forum when he of- fered a supplication upon the Rostra (Suetonius, Claudius 22), suggesting they had gathered there. Profession- al associations, or collegia, could also provide useful networks to spread news about opportunities for work, albeit for skilled labour- ers. The largest of such collegia in Rome was the collegium fabrum tignariorum (association of builders and carpen- ters), which, by the third century AD, had over 1300 members. Of these members, nearly half had non-Latin cogno- mina, suggesting they came to Rome from across the empire. Among the many reasons people came to the city of Rome, and many other Roman cities, Seneca the Younger includes work (To Helvia 6). Women’s work Aristotle, writing in the fourth century BC, explained how poor women were forced to work (Politics 6.1323a), and the same was true of Rome, even though Roman attitudes maintained that it was not proper for women to work. A common way women could gen- erate additional income for their household, and one which remained within Roman mores, was weaving. Yet in accordance with Roman attitudes, it appears that domestic roles, such as wet nurses and mid- wives were the most com- mon form of occupation for women, with the role of ornatrix (‘hairdresser’), ac- counting for 20 per cent of all known working women from Rome and Ostia (see Matyszak, AH 55). Women could also help out with their father’s or husband’s occupation, as two inscriptions referring to goldworkers attest. Women could even manage their own businesses, such as taverns, where they also worked as bar staff. Similarly, Mecia Flora, a wool-comber, left three shops to her daughter and her son was a woolworker, suggesting she had a woolworking business. AH Owain Williams is the editor of Ancient His- tory magazine. am the tho te re an YY e even m ple, tells macellu ose who staff tho ma Cl mo fer (Su the al al s fo s. The was th assoc ers) ers w (a te om- tion role ), ac- t of all n from Rome and W (Top) The remains of the Rostra, a platform in front of the Curia in the Forum Romanum. It is possible that free labourers gathered here while waiting for offers of employment. © Sailko / Wikimedia Commons (Bottom right) A detail of the so-called dye-workers fresco from Pompeii depict- ing a laundry worker brushing a piece of textile. The textile industry was one area of work where women were common. © WolfgangRieger / Wikimedia Commons (Bottom left) A fresco from Tyre, dated to the second century AD, depicting a man carrying a load on his back. Labourers were commonly employed as porters, especially at busy ports. © Livius.org © x © x © x DID YOU KNOW? In the Roman Empire, labourers and arti- sans could go on strike. A letter from Egypt, dated to AD 116 or 117, tells of how labourers in wool-weaving workshops in Hermopolis took to the streets to demand better pay! THE CENTERFOLD Unskilled labourers and skilled artisans work to erect a temple under the gaze of a magistrate. Construction work was likely one of the largest employment sec- tors of the Roman economy, much like it was across many pre-industrial societies. © William Webb π Ancient History 56323232 Despite the iconic nude sculptures that survive in white marble, ancient Greeks wore clothes in a variety of colours and styles, and used textiles to furnish their homes, worship their gods, and power their warships. Who made them, by what methods and in what conditions, and how did this work shape the economy and culture of ancient Greece? THE ANCIENT GREEK TEXTILE ECONOMY WOVEN WEALTH AND WOMEN’S WORK THEME A N C IE N T G R EE C E: c a. 7 00 – 3 00 B C By Katherine Backler A Boeotian terracotta statuette of a woman, dated to ca. 450 BC, with the original pigmentation still present. Ancient Greek textiles were very colourful, and they were the product of women's work through- out ancient Greek history. © The Art Institute of Chicago T he very first wage-earner in Western lit- erature is a single working mother de- scribed by Homer. The poet of the Iliad sang of how the battle lines of the Greeks and Trojans were evenly strained, as a careful woman who earns by the work of her hands holds a pair of scales and draws up the weight and the wool equally on both sides, keep- ing them evenly balanced, to gain a pitiful wage for her children (12.433–5). The simile conveys the tension not just in the balance of the scales but in the woman’s economic precarity. Like the armies, she is engaged in a battle for her life and the lives of her children, whom she provides for with her wages.Women in ancient Greece made clothes for themselves and their families, but they could also make an income by produc- ing surplus textiles for sale. Women at work Before the mechanized loom or even the spinning wheel, textile production was ex- traordinarily time-consuming. Just to produce a simple woollen tunic, sheared wool first had to be picked clean of dirt, worms, and sheep- dung; washed; weighed out into portions according to the planned design; combed straight; pulled into ‘rovings’ (rolls of fibre); spun into threads using drop-spindles; then woven into fabric. A sixth-century BC Attic le- kythos by the Amasis Painter depicts several of these stages. At the loom, one woman passes A detail of the Parthenon frieze, a relief depicting the Athenian Panathenaic procession, showing two figures holding a folded garment between them — possibly the peplos — a dress presented to a cult statue of Athena. hoomemess,s, wwwworshhip t WhW oo mad whww aat con the econ A Boeotian t the original very colourf out ancient © The Art In as a c hands th century BC Attic le- is Painter depicts several of loom, one woman passes TH EM E: A n ci en t la b ou r 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C 10 00 B C Ancient History 56 33 © M ike P eel / W ikim ed ia C o m m o n s a shuttle through the warp threads while an- other beats up the weft to push the threads together. Beside them, a woman places por- tions of wool in a balance while another, like Homer’s woman, holds the scales. The women depicted work in pairs or threes: textile production required collabora- tion. Women talked and sang to distract from the tedium and aches of repetitive labour, which left its mark on their bodies: archaeolo- gists excavating at Iron Age Epirus and other early Greek sites consistently found shallow grooves on the front teeth of female but not male skeletons, caused by biting on wool dur- ing spinning. Young girls would have learnt the necessary skills by watching elder sisters, moth- ers, and aunts carrying out the more techni- cally and physically demanding stages, while they themselves be- gan with the simpler tasks and ‘graduated’ to harder ones, first in their childhood homes and later un- der the tutelage of mothers- and sisters-in-in law. The necessity for such extensive labour, done pre- dominantly by women, meant that hours and hours of women and girls’ time were de- voted to textile production. Production, consumption, and ‘whorification’ Though the mother’s work in the Iliad only brings in a “pitiful wage”, surplus textile pro- duction could be lucrative. Xenophon’s ac- count of the wisdom Socrates dispensed to his friends includes a story of advice he gave to a man named Aristarchus (Memorabilia 2.7). Enslaved women worked alongside free women and under their direction. In the Iliad, Heector tells his wife Andromache to “attend to [her] work, the loom and the distaff, and tell the slave-women to set about their work”, but he knows that if she is enslaved, there will be a role-reversal and she will “weave at the loom under another woman” (6.456, 490–3). In larg- er households, this meant that the household- er’s wife took on a managerial role. As a child, the fourteen-year- Aristarchus’ sisters, nieces, and female cousins, whose husbands, brothers, and sons had fled Athens to escape political violence, came to live with Aristarchus, putting such pressure on his household that he struggled to feed them. Socrates points out that these women were trained from childhood to produce clothes for themselves and their families, and, against Aristarchus’ aristocratic protesta- tions that wage-earning labour is be- neath them, he recommends that they be put to work producing textiles for sale. The details make clear that this was a high-value industry: Aristarchus must take out a loan to buy the wool that his relatives will convert into tex- tiles but expects to make the money back and enough to spare. In time, Aristarchus returns from his over- crowded home to the agora to report to So- crates that everyone now has food to eat and the women are happier. But the women have pointed out to him that he is the only one in the house who does no work but still eats the food that their work has enabled him to buy. So- crates, confronted with these interlocutors who ‘dialogue’ with him through their male relative, fudges a response: Aristarchus, as the women’s male protector, is doing the work of a guard dog “who allows the sheep to feed in peace”. In Socrates’ mind, the women whose skilled la- bour has restored the household to economic sustainability and prevented the family from starvation are still consumers, not producers. Some historians also struggle to take women’s textile work seriously. Fourth-century BC records which mention the occupations Managing other workers old bride in Xenophon’s Oeconomicus learned not just how to make a cloak herself but also how to distribute spinning tasks among the en- slaved women; in her new home, she is also expected to teach the enslaved girls to spin and weave (7.6, 41; 10.10). Similarly, one woman mentioned in an Athenian legal dispute man- ages a number of enslaved women who pro- cess the wool from the household’s flock of fifty sheep, specifically bred for their soft wool ([Demosthenes] 47.52–6). er housseholds, this meant that the hh er’s wifee took onn a managerial role. AA’ the fourrt d female brothers, to escape live with essure on ed to feed hat these ildhood mselves against otesta- ur is be- that they extiles for that this ristarchus the wool t into tex- he money rns from his over-rr a to report to So- s food to eat and the women have der the sist do The oldest known Greek-language pa- pyrus from Egypt, dated to ca. mid-July 310 BC, recording a marriage contract between Heraclides and Demetria. According to the contract, Demetria brought clothing and jewellery worth 1000 drachmas. © Berliner Papyrusdatenbank A reconstruction of an ancient Greek standing loom, based on an original dated to the third-second century BC. © Lauren van Zoonen © x © x Ancient History 5634 of immigrants (or, less likely, freedpeople) in Athens attest to large-scale participation in the textile economy. Alongside tavernkeepers, wet-nurses, flautists, lyre-players, and sellers of sesame seeds, frankincense, and honey, these lists record about 50 textile-workers. The schol- ar Kelly Wrenhaven argued that the word used to describe these women, ‘woolworker’, was a euphemism for ‘prostitute’. While prostitu- tion was prevalent in ancient Greece, the assumption that ‘wool-work’ means ‘sex’ work’ is unfounded. Unwillingness to rec- ognize women’s economic contributions, a tendency to categorize women as either ‘good wives’ (imagined as not working for in- come) or ‘prostitutes’, and the sexualization of women, have led to what historian Claire Tay- lor has called the ‘whorification’ of women’s labour: the assumption that female work was sexual. The same logic is behind the argument that the large, multi-room ‘Building Z’ excavat- ed in Athens’ pottery quarter, containing loom weights and spindle whorls, must have been a brothel where prostitutes kept busy by produc- ing textiles ‘on the side’ – despite a lack of con- clusive evidence. Weaving and warring Women’s textile production even contributed to arms manufacture. The triremes — the domi- nant weapon in fifth- and fourth-century con- flicts, used to destroy enemy ships by ramming them — despite being named for their three banks of oars, also used wind power, allow- ing them to reach speeds of over nine knots, although a trireme's mast was lowered in bat- tle. The linen sails which har- nessed this power would have been made by women. A song in the comedy Frogs, in which the comedian Aristophanes makes fun of the tragedian Euripides for writing about “ordinary, familiarthings” (v. 959), features a woman producing a skein of flax for sale (vv. 1346–51). Women would also have made fabric awnings which served as anti-missile covers. Linen sails were essential to the war ef- forts of Greek cities. During the Social Wars of 357–355 BC, when Athens’ East Aegean allies revolted, there was such a shortage of sailcloth that the Assembly passed a decree compelling incoming sea-captains to recover it from outgo- ing sea-captains ([Demosthenes] 47.20). Sails woven by women also powered trading ships, which travelled as far as Spain, Egypt, the Levant, and Ukraine, facilitating long-distance trade and cross-cultural encoun- ters which fed ancient Greece’s rich intellectual and economic life. Some of this trade was itself in textiles. In a fourth-century BC letter found in Myrmekion (near modern Kerch in Crimea, Ukraine), a trader tells his colleague, Send me a cloak for myself, and most im- portantly send me two Ion- ian cloaks for sale. Take the slave-boy Charius and the Black Sea slave un ting about 9) features of im Athe the t wet- sesam lists ar KeKK to d a e ti as w og a ‘go com wom lor h labo sexu that ed in was itself etter found h in Crimea, gue, elf, and most im- Ion- Take arius ave A scene from an Attic black-figure leky- thos, dated to ca. 550-530 BC, depicting the various stages of preparing and weaving wool. In ancient Athens, women across the social spectrum were involved in the production of textiles, whether as workers or as managers of workers. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art An Attic white-ground oinochoe, dated to ca. 490 BC, depicting a woman spinning wool. Before the invention of the spin- ning wheel, this was a very time-consum- ing process, and girls would have learned how to do it from a young age. © ArchaiOptix / Wikimedia Commons © x © x and two or three purple textiles and give them to Diodorus the helmsman [to transport]. That it was worth transport- ing only “two or three purple textiles” for sale, alongside two human beings, is suggestive of the textiles’ value. At the top end of the scale was silk, a luxury associated with the island of Cos. Aristotle describes how women produced silk fibres from moth cocoons, a technology he says was invented by a woman named Pamphile (Aristotle, History of Animals 5.19, 551b14–17). Women’s labour and tech- nical skill produced valuable commodities traded across the Mediterranean. Clothed in colour Textiles could be so valuable that they were sometimes given as gifts to gods. Fourth- century BC inventories from the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron, on the south-east Attic coast, record women’s dedications of textiles to the goddess. The records’ meticulous detail sheds light on the variety of colours, fabrics, techniques, fashions, and designs. That some items were recorded as being “worn out” and only a few were “new” show that these clothes had typically been worn by their mak- ers and their families before being dedicated to Artemis. Again, enslaved women and girls would have played an essential part in pro- ducing the garments, though their contribu- tions are not recorded. Thanks to the labour of women, people walked through the streets and markets and sanctuaries of a world we sometimes imagine as marble-white wearing “a saffron-yellow two-layer cloak”, “a sea- purple short tunic”, “a frog-coloured outfit”. The Brauron inventories also record sim- pler offerings, perhaps from poorer women: “Menecratea, wife of Diphilus, dedicated a coarse tunic, worn out”. Menecratea or Diphi- lus might have worn this sturdy tunic for years, enjoying its protection from wind and weather as they went about their life and work. At every level of society, women’s labour kept ancient Greece clothed, allowing economy and so- ciety to function. The financial accounts of the sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis, to which people from across the Greek world travelled to be initiated into the Eleusin- and an he h ian Mystery Cult, record a payment in 329/8 BC to a woman named Thettale (‘Thessalian’ — probably a freedwoman or immigrant born in Thessaly) for 28 weatherproof cloth caps for enslaved workers, providing them with a low level of protection as they constructed and repaired buildings at the sanctuary. This one transaction is emblematic of the way in which women’s textile production undergirded an- cient Greek architecture, religion, economy, society, and culture. AH Katherine Backler is an Ancient Historian at the University of Oxford. Her book Athena’s Sisters: Reclaiming the Women of Classical Athens is now available for pre-order. ford. s: f w te items w and onl clothes ers and to Artem would h ducing tions a of w and s (Top) A Roman terracotta relief, one of the so-called Campana reliefs, dated to the first century AD, depicting Athena- Minerva overseeing the construction of the Argo. Throughout ancient history, women were involved in the creation of the linen used for ships' sails. © Jastrow / Wikimedia Commons (Bottom) A view of the archaeological site at Brauron, a sanctuary to Artemis in Attica. Temple inventories, inscribed on stone, record how women would dedicated pieces of clothing here, both new and used. © Aerial-motion / Shutterstock © x Ancient History 56363636 Egypt is famous for its towering pyramids and hypostyle halls, lasting monuments to human engineering. Less well known are the stories of those who built them, from the masons cutting stones for monumental tombs, to the car- penters measuring planks for sleek riverboats. Many rul- ing dynasties rose and fell as Egypt fractured and reunified, was conquered, and went through periods of decline. Throughout all this, everyday labourers adapted to changing times and fought for adequate compensation. LABOUR IN ANCIENT EGYPT “AS LONG AS MY PEOPLE KEEP ON WORKING” THEME A N C IE N T EG YP T: c a. 3 00 0 – 33 0 B C By Arienne King F or much of Egypt’s history, most people were farmers and farmhands. Some farmers owned their own land, but many were ten- ant farmers who paid a significant amount of their harvest to their landlord. High taxes further reduced the earnings and economic mobility of tenant farmers. These conditions have been com- pared to serfdom by some historians. Egypt’s farmland was particularly pro- ductive in comparison to many contempo- rary societies. It is estimated that 200,000 farmers could produce enough grain to feed 3,000,000 people. The fertility of the Nile Valley meant that excess grain could be pro- duced to support labourers specializing in non-agricultural trades, like stone-cutting and building. Ancient labourers built a sys- tem of water basins and canals to capture the floodwaters and feed their crops. Workmen repaired these water channels every autumn in preparation for planting. Farmers scattered seed over the mud each winter, only ploughing the fields if the crop required it. Pack animals, like oxen and donkey, trod the seed into the ground. By late spring, it was ready for harvest. The straw and crop stubble left behind after the harvest was useful for feeding grazing animals like sheep. In this manner, a person could effec- tively cultivate about 7.5 aroura (52 sq m) of land by themselves. The most important crops were grains like wheat and barley. Other staple crops were flax for linen and oil, and legumes for protein. More intensive crops were grown in gardens. Water carriers hauled jugs of water to feed fruit trees and vegetables. These had A facsimile of a fresco from the tomb of Menna, dated to ca. 1400–1352 BC, depicting a harvest scene. Thanks to the Nile's fertility, agriculture was an important element of the Egyptian economy, with most labourers working on agricultural estates, and surplus produce paying for other, skilled The wooden, painted funerary maskof an Estate Manager named Wah, dated to ca. 1981–1975 BC. Most people in ancient Egypt would likely have been involved in agriculture, either as labourers or overseers. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art s a © x TH EM E: A n ci en t la b ou r 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C ining g dydyynananastie wawaaw s s ss coc TTThThro chcc a f o p A N C IE T d Ancient History 56 37 to be meticulously pruned and weed- ed by gardeners. Orchards and vineyards required especially arduous care, but their fruit was valuable enough to make the venture worthwhile. Managing Egyptian industry Major production centres were controlled by the pharaoh and the temples. The crown and clergy owned massive farms, mines, and work- shops throughout Egypt. The temples were not merely religious functionaries; they were responsible for many administrative functions at the local and regional level, including organizing the production and distri- bution of goods. The phar- aoh granted endowments of property to the temples and often relied on them to manage royal industries as well. For ex- ample, Papyrus Harris I, dated to ca. 1153 BC, records how Ramesses III made endow- ments to major temples, granting them a combined total of 100,000 workers and 1 million arouras of farmland. The endow- ments recorded in the papyrus amounted to fifteen per cent of the country’s agricultural area and five per cent of its population. The state’s economic activity was meticulously managed, documented, and archived by scribal bureaucrats, giv- ing Egyptologists extensive material to study. Much less is known about small- er, private industries with comparatively poor documentation. In many cases, private transactions were entirely verbal and left no written record at all. Craftsmen and artisans Sculptors, smiths, and other skilled artisans were in high demand. Craftsmen working in prestige industries like goldsmithing were em- ployed by both state and private workshops. Others served in the households of wealthy Egyptians. Many families traditionally prac- ticed a craft over generations, passing knowledge down from parent to child. Out- siders had difficulty entering those industries since they required many years of training. Some important industries were even controlled by guilds, who maintained a monopoly over their trade. This was especially true of crafts with closely guarded expertise, like embalmers. Every village had its own craftsmen, who produced basic goods without any workshop affiliation. Many worked from home, produc- ing pottery, weaving palm leaves into baskets, or twisting flax into yarn for linen. These were some of the oldest crafts in Egypt, and produced necessary goods like clothing, containers, and cooking vessels. Independent artisans sold their © Th e M etro p o litan M u seu m o f A rt usly d ous y i w g m pecially to manage ample, PapPP BC, record ments to combined million ar ments reco fifteen per area and fi The meticulo and arch ing Egyp study. M (Top) A facsimile of a fresco from the tomb of Ipuy, dated to ca. 1295-1213 BC, depicting a garden scene with a man pulling water from a canal. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Bottom left) A limestone relief, dated to the Old Kingdom (ca. 2700–2200 BC), de- picting donkeys. Such animals were used to stamp seeds into the earth on farms. © Livius.org (Bottom right) A fresco depicting men working in a vineyard from the tomb of Userhat, an official during the reign of Amenhotep II (ca. 1448-1422 BC) who held several administrative positions. © The Yorck Project (2002) © x © x © x generations, e down ild. Out- entering since x Ancient History 5638 Bricks and stones Brickmaking was an essential industry in ancient Egypt, as it was inexpensive and re- quired little skill. It was used for monumen- tal architecture like pyramids as late as the Middle Kingdom and never went out of style as a material for ordinary dwellings. Though uncomplicated, brickmaking was messy and difficult work. Brickmakers broke up hard mud with a hoe and mixed it with straw and water. They kneaded the mixture with their feet and then poured it into wooden molds to harden under the sun. Over time, soft stone like limestone and sandstone began to replace brick in monumen- tal buildings constructed by the crown and tem- ples. Hard stone, like granite, basalt, and dior- ite, was especially suitable for applications like obelisks, statues, and sarcophagi. Mines and quarries were built to supply the stone needed for these projects. The scale of these operations could be immense — an estimated 45,000 cu- bic metres of stone was removed from Aswan during the Old Kingdom. Valuable metals and minerals like gold, copper, lapis lazuli, and amethyst were also exploited. Mines and quarries were typically in remote locations like the eastern desert. Net- works of waystations on the road offered shel- ter and supplies to caravans travelling to these sites. A basic seasonal mining camp consisted of stone huts, processing and ore-washing fa- cilities, and defensive walls to protect against floods or attacks. In some cases, villages and towns were built around these sites. Workers at a copper and turquoise mining operation at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula, active in the Middle and New Kingdom, cut shrines into the nearby hills. Over time, they built a substantial temple to Hathor, a goddess associ- ated with turquoise, at the site. Labourers prepared the site of a planned quarry by removing rock, dirt, and sand. Blocks were drawn onto the surface of the stone with chisels or ochre, showing labourers where to carve out blocks. Quarry workers carved each block by hand, wielding hammers, stone picks, and metal chisels. As they carved, they cut nar- row trenches between each block, just wide enough for themselves to stand or kneel in as they worked. A quarry near the pyramid of the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khafre in Giza still bears the scars from wares at marketplaces located in town, near the riverbanks. Some crafts were dominated by a specific gender; the majority of textile workers were women, while metal smiths were generally men. Though Egypt had limited forest resources, Egyptian carpenters developed sophisticated techniques for working with what they had. Specialized tools for woodworking were devel- oped in the late Predynastic period, including pull-saws, axes, and chisels for shaping wood. Longer, higher quality timbers were imported from places like Cyprus and Lebanon for uses like boat building. Since many goods were transported via riverboat, boat construction be- came very sophisticated (see Williams, AH 54). row trenches betw enough for them as they worked. A the Four in Giz ations 000 cu- swan als w in So by k (Top) A facsimile of a fresco from the tomb of Khnumhotep, dated to ca. 1897-1878 BC, depicting a textile workshop. Most textile workers in ancient Egypt were women. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Bottom) A fascimile of a fresco from the Tomb of Rekhmire, dated to ca. 1479-1425 BC, depicting brickmakers at work. Mud- bricks, despite being replaced by stone in monumental architecture, continued to be used to construct houses throughout Egyptian history. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art © x © x Ancient History 56 39 where 3-sq-m blocks were removed to build the pyramid. The Egyptians built both open quarries and underground quar- ries depending on the location and type of stone. Working conditions at these sites were extreme due to heat, environmental hazards, and inadequate rations. Labourers had no pro- tection to prevent them from inhaling thick dust and rock particulates, which was particularly dangerous in underground quarries with poor air circulation. Mining-related hazards like cave-ins could result in crushing injuries, suf-focation, and death. At open quarries, the glare reflected off the sheer stone could be blinding. It was common for convicts sentenced to harsh labour to be sent to quarries and mines, where they were kept under watchful guard. Searching for slavery Egypt is popularly imagined as a slave state, but the sur- viving evidence describes a complex economy involving both free and forced labour. Unskilled workers were paid in barter, typically receiving rations of bread and beer. Their employers also housed them and provided them with other basic necessities. This arrangement made labourers dependent on their employer for basic survival, which severe- ly restricted their practical freedom. Craftsmen received better pay and more prestige, giving them more social power. Literal slavery and indentured servitude are attested in Egyptian documents dating back to the Old Kingdom, though there is no evidence for large-scale slavery like that found in ancient Rome. Most slaves belonged to private individuals, rather than the state, and are commonly recorded in Egyptian doc- uments as domestic labourers. Unlike some systems of slavery which fully dehumanized enslaved people, slaves in ancient Egypt often had certain rights. They could own property, negotiate the terms of their service, and testify in court. Some slaves also learned skills like reading and writing from their masters.ul guard. d ome slaves also learned skills like reading and writing from their masters. wher remov A relief, dated to ca. 1333-1323 BC, depicting Horemheb, a general under the pharaohs Tutankhamun and Ay before becoming pharaoh himself, with soldiers and captives. Prisoners taken during war were a source of slaves in ancient Egypt, but slavery was never as integral to the Egyptian economy as it was in the later Greek and Roman worlds. © Sailko / Wikimedia Commons A view of the ancient quarry in Aswan, where as much as 45,000 cubic metres of stone was quarried during the Old Kingdom period. © Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons © x Ancient History 5640 There were many ways for a person to become enslaved. One of the most well-documented methods of enslavement was the practice of taking prisoners of war. Captive men, women, and children were taken from enemy nations during wars of conquest. During the New Kingdom, Egypt’s borders expanded into Syria and Nubia, resulting in a growing sup- ply of slaves. In the New Kingdom and Late period, enslavement also became common as a punishment for debt. Serving the state There were other types of forced labour that are not considered slavery but were never- theless coercive. People could be forced to work for the state as a form of taxation, while others were sentenced to labour as punish- ment for a crime. The governmental labour system was organized in a hierarchical, mili- taristic fashion. Crown and temple lands were tended by cultivators, who performed compulsory agri- cultural labour for the state. Cultivators came from many varied backgrounds: some were prisoners of war, retired military veterans, or criminals, who had been forced into that oc- cupation. Many others were free peasants, who had no other means of subsistence. Cul- tivators were required to deliver set quotas of grain or other goods, regardless of the size of their harvest, and were severely punished for abandoning their work. The mortuary priest Hekanakht described this relationship in a let- Most craftsmen created items that made life easier, but some made goods to improve the afterlife as well. Small figurines called shabti dolls, or ushabtis, were common funerary of- ferings. They were supposed to serve the de- ceased in the afterlife and were placed in tombs to fulfill this purpose. They were imagined as contracted labourers who would toil for eterni- ty so that their deceased master could have an easier afterlife. Magical incantations were typi- cally inscribed into the dolls, compelling them to obey. The most common version of the spell commanded them to “detail yourself for me on every occasion of making arable the fields, of flooding the banks, or of conveying sand from east to west”. ter dated to the Eleventh Dynasty: “Only as long as my people keep on working shall you give them these rations. Take great care! Hoe every field, keep sieving, and hack with your noses in the work!” (P. Hekanakht No. 2, trans. Wente). Cultivators were generally provided with equipment, seed, and draft animals by their overseers. Some cultivators were able to attain significant wealth, autonomy, and local influence through agriculture. The Wilbour Papyrus, created in the 1140s BC, lists wealthy cultivators who tended vast tracts of farmland on behalf of the crown and the temples. These farmers were in charge of directing workers, warehouses, and grain transport. The most successful cultivators might even receive official status as part of the temples or nobility. Free Egyptians were regularly summoned to perform compulsory labour for the crown and temples as a form of tax. This practice is commonly called corvée labour by Egyptologists, and might involve farmwork, construc- tion, or other manual labour. Local officials were tasked with rounding up corvée labourers, and the state regularly issued ‘exemption decrees’ to declare who was ineligible for corvée labour. Wealthy Egyptians could avoid this duty by substitut- ing another labourer in their place. Corvee labour was widely used in the planting and harvest season. Only after their compulsory Labourers in the afterlife The earliest shabti dolls, made in the third millennium BC, were crude wax mum- mies. Over time, craftsmen began making more individualized shabtis from materials like faience. In the New Kingdom, many were depicted as living people carrying farm tools. Some sets of shabtis included workers and foremen carrying whips. A bill of sale from the Third Intermediate Period records a payment for 401 shabtis, including 365 workers and 36 foremen. The receipt in- structs the shabtis to work for the buyer in the afterlife since he paid the required silver for their services. Just like human labourers, the shabtis were expected to need compensation. to c fi c ays for aved. One ted methods ter d as shall were in charge of ouses, and grain essful cultivators l status as ity. regularly pulsory temples actice is labour ght uc- ur. d with rounding he state regularly ’ to declare who A shabti box and shabtis of members of the Sennedjem family, dated to ca. 1279-1213 BC. The shabtis were meant to work for the deceased in the afterlife. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art A painted limestone statue of Ti, a high- status official in the Fifth Dynasty (ca. 2400 BC) bearing the titles of 'Overseer of the Pyramids of Niuserre' and 'Overseer of the Sun-Temples of Sahure, Neferirkare and Niuserre'. © Djehouty / Wikimedia Commons © x Ancient History 56 41 work was complete could the workers return home to plant or harvest their own crops. Worker resistance At times, labourers resisted unfair demands by the state or private landowners. Unskilled labourers were known to flee their villages and go into hiding when the demanded quota of corvée labour and taxation became unbearable. Workers also fled or protested the state when the pharaoh was deemed to be illegitimate or otherwise failing to uphold their duty to the country. They also com- plained of inadequate payment and supplies. The last resort of labourers facing mis- treatment were strikes and protests. The first recorded worker’s strike in history occurred at Deir el-Medina (ca. 1170 BC) and was docu- mented by the scribe Amennakht in the Strike Papyrus. The royal workmen at the necropolis abandoned their work in protest of delayed payment, refusing to return until they received sufficient food and supplies for themselves. At times,these methods were effective at soliciting better conditions or payment. However, collective action did not guarantee a positive result. If a person failed to appear for compulsory duty, one of their relatives might be forced to fulfil their obligations in their stead. The Berlin Papyrus records a complaint from the temple doorman Ameny: “I was seized as a substitute for my son, the porter of the temple there, by my district officers who said that he is in deficit for the corvee force.” (P. Berlin 10023A, trans. Wente). Labour conditions changed dramati- cally over time as a result of social change, wars, and political unrest. After Egypt was conquered by the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek system of slavery was introduced to the country. New industries developed, and others shrank as Egypt became part of a Hellenistic empire in 332 BC and then the Roman Empire in 30 BC. Many old methods of resistance survived into later eras, as labourers continued to fight for fair treatment for themselves. AH Arienne King is a history writer specializing in the ancient Medi- terranean, specifically Greco-Ro- man Egypt. t t r - work was complete could the workers return home t harvest their own crops. An aerial view of the Ptolemaic-era temple of Hathor in the village of Deir el-Medina. Before the site was abandoned, the village housed craftsmen who worked in the Valley of the Kings. In ca. 1170 BC, on account of their payments of food being delayed, the people here refused to work. © Stig Alenas / Shutterstock A door-shaped stele, dated to ca. 1960- 1916 BC, honouring a deceased chief of police named Shemai, who is depicted seated at a banquet. © Cleveland Museum of Art © x © x Ancient History 56 SYMBOLS OF STRENGTH, ROYALTY, AND CHAOS LIONS IN ANTIQUITY EA ST ER N M ED IT ER R A N EA N : ca . 30 00 – 4 00 B C By Owain Williams Part of Ashurbanipal's lion hunt relief from the North Palace of Nineveh, dated to ca. 669-631 BC, depicting Ashurbanipal slaying a lion with a sword in a stance reminiscent of divine imagery. Long before they were taken into the arena to fight ve- natores and kill condemned criminals in the Roman Em- pire, lions appeared throughout ancient art. Symbolizing strength and power and more, depictions of lions in Meso- potamia had a great influence on lions in ancient Greek art. I t should come as no surprise that lions are a common feature of ancient art. After all, they are the 'kings of the wild'. Yet lions were not just known for their strength and power. The symbol- ism associated with lions reflects humans’ admiration and fear of these great beasts. Lions in the Near East From its earliest appearance in art, both literary and visual, in the Bronze Age, lions were, unsurprisingly, associated with kings. However, rather than representing the attributes most desired in a king, as they would later come to do, lions were placed in opposition to kings, who were expected to protect their people from them. In the third millennium BC, kings would also refer to themselves as shepherds — a mo- tif present in Christian traditions today. Du- muzid the Shepherd, a Mesopotamian god, appears in the early entries on the Sumerian King List, while Gilgamesh is referred to as “shepherd of his people” or “shepherd of the city” several times in Tablet I of the Standard Babylonian Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh (see Pryke, this issue). This conception of kings as shepherds who must protect their flocks — that is, the people — likely gave rise to the idea that kings were hunters of lions. While it does not necessarily depict kings in action, one of the oldest narrative sculptural reliefs from Mesopotamia, dated to ca. 3000–2900 BC, depicts a lion hunt — the first evidence of lion hunting in the region — demonstrating just how prevalent lion attacks likely were. In his hymns of self-praise, Shulgi, the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, who ruled ca. 2095–2045 BC, boasts of slaying lions in a manner that demonstrates the importance of such hunting to his merit as king: “The high point of my great deeds is the culling of lions before the lance as if they were garden weeds, the snapping he high po the culling of li they were garde © x SP EC IA L 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C A silver furniture fragment from the tomb of Queen Puabi in Ur, dated to ca. 2450 BC. Lions featured in some of the earliest Mesopotamian art, reflecting their importance in the local environment. © The University of Pennsylvania Museum Agge,e, llioionss wwwwere e, uunsurprisingly than repre king, as placed in to protec A silver furnit in Ur, dated t earliest Meso local environ © The Universit Ancient History 56 43 © C aro le R ad d ato / Flickr of fierce felines like reeds as if under the carding-comb, and the crushing of their throats under the axe as if they were dogs” (Hymn B, 338–341). Yet despite this emphasis on slaying lions, by the late third millennium BC, kings had come to also identify with lions, adopting their at- tributes for themselves. Shulgi, who boasts of culling lions, is also described as “the lion with the wide-open mouth” (Hymn C, 1–2) and “the lion with the raised paw” (Hymn C, 11), meta- phors associating the king with the lion’s pro- pensity for violence. These trends — depicting the king as shepherd, hunt- er, and lion — continued throughout the second millen- nium and into the first. In the early eighteenth century BC, Hammurabi is described as a shepherd in both the introduction and the epilogue of his law code; in the early eleventh century BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I boasts of slaying 120 lions on foot and 800 lions from his chariot in his prism, far more than any other As- syrian ruler; and Assyrian kings are regularly depicted as shepherds on reliefs. That said, it appears that kings increasingly became asso- ciated with lions. Royal seals, used from the mid-ninth cen- tury BC to verify the king’s property, depict lions. Much like Shulgi’s description of lions from over a millennium earlier, the lions in these seals are depicted standing on three legs, with their fourth leg raised, and their mouths open. Similarly, in so-called Assyrian hiero- glyphs, a type of writing system attested only in the library of Ashur, it seems that a symbol of a lion was intended to be read as ‘king’. While it may seem natural for us to associate a rul- ing monarch with a lion — the king of the wild — no Mesopotamian text, whether Sumerian or Akkadian, ever refers to the lion as such. Rather, this association of the king with a lion is more likely meant to associate the king with the strength and prowess of the lion, especially as lions were thought to have been granted melam, heavenly aura, by the god Enlil, and are described in the Epic of Gilgamesh as “perfect in strength” (VI.51). Despite this association of the king with the lion, depictions of kings killing lions also take on a greater significance, with the most well-known depiction of Assyrian lion hunt- ing coming from the same period. In addition to depicting just lions, Assyrian royal seals also depict the king slaying a rampant lion with a sword, reflecting a common depiction of As- syrian gods also killing lions, thereby associat- ing Assyrian kings with the divine realm and demonstrating their strength. While no surviv- ught d melam, heavenly aura, bed in the Epic c d e t th bo and his pr association of the king with a lion is meant to associate the king with the prowess of the lion, especially as © x (Top) A detail of the Ishtar Gate. Built in the mid-sixth century BC on the order of Nebuchadnezzar II, it depicts various creatures including lions, an animal asso- ciated with Ishtar, as well as other gods. © Richard Mortel / Flickr (Bottom) Part of the Apadana reliefs in Persepolis depicting Elamite ambassadorsdated to ca. 750-90 BC. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art When people think of the ancient world, they will likely think of the vast monuments that still stand today, like the Colosseum in Rome and the pyramids of Egypt, that are attributed to the great men that fill most of our surviving literary sources. However, these monuments were only possible thanks to the work of ordinary people. Ordinary people, both free and enslaved, worked to build the Colosseum, the pyramids, the Roman aqueducts that still crisscross the lands that composed the Roman Empire. They quarried and shaped the stones, hauled them to the building sites, and raised them. Yet, unfor- tunately, despite their important contributions, ordinary people are often overlooked in ancient history, barely discernible — besides a few no- table examples — in the surviving sources, both literary and archaeological. In this issue, we have endeavoured to shine a light on the lives of these ordinary peo- ple, focusing on their labour and what they did to get by. From ancient Egypt to Greece and Rome, we hope you find this glimpse into ancient everyday life fascinating. P R E L IM IN AR IE S B Y L IN D SA Y P O W EL L Ancient History 56 5 300 BC, are thought to be linked to ancient ancestor worship rituals, the ministry said. Nearby, a 33-m-high pyramid decorated with murals from the Preclassic period was also discovered, further underlining the site’s ceremonial significance. Officials noted that Los Abuelos, Uax- actún, and a third nearby site form a previ- ously unidentified ‘urban triangle’. These findings, they say, could reshape current understanding of the sociopolitical and reli- gious organization of pre-Hispanic Petén. Archaeologists of Proyecto Arqueológi- co Regional Uaxactún (PARU) have been ex- ploring two other related sites at Petnal and Cambrayal. A system of canals was discov- ered inside a palace at Cambrayal, approxi- mately 5 km from Los Abuelos. rent reli- n. ó i Dacian masonry tools reveal local innovation A set of ancient iron tools has been discov- ered by chance in Romania, which archaeol- ogists speculate likely belonged to a Dacian stonemason before the Roman conquest. Unearthed in 2022 near an old lime- stone quarry at Măgura Călanului, the fifteen-piece toolkit was found by a local resident and handed to the Corvin Castle Museum. Though initially dismissed as cor- roded iron, the objects were soon identified to be a complete stonemason’s kit. The tools have now been thoroughly studied. Weighing a combined 10.93 kg, the tools include chisels, pointers, splitting wedges, a specially shaped hammer, a porta- ble anvil, and a whetting set. Some resemble Greek or Roman designs, but the picks com- bined with a toothed cross-pein are unique, revealing local Dacian innovation. The toolkit was apparently hid- den deliberately. Aurora Pețan writes: “The apparent concealment of the toolkit may suggest a crisis period, possibly related to the Roman conquest in AD 102. As one of the most varied and complete stonemason kits discovered in European antiquity, this finding is exceptionally significant and is ex- pected to impact the study of ancient crafts- manship and architectural techniques.” The 30-ha quarry is marked by un- finished stone blocks, tool marks, and de- bris. The limestone extracted here helped build the monumental Dacian fortresses of Sarmizegetusa Regia, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The findings, by Aurora Pețan of West Uni- versity of Timișoara, are published as “A stone- mason’s toolkit from the pre-Roman limestone quarry at Măgura Călanului (Romania)” in Prae- historische Zeitschrift, 2025. w ble a Gr vealing l The tool A Roman stele of a stonemason, depicted carrying his double-pointed hammer. While Roman tradesmen were active in Dacia, especially during the reign of Domitian, the tools recently discovered in Dacia show that local innovation. © Vassil / Wikimedia Commons (Top) A recon- struction of what experts think Los Abuelos, the Mayan city re- cently discovered in Guatemala, may have looked like. The population of Mayan cities could number in the high tens of thousands, with some housing as many as 100,000 people. © PARU (Bottom) One of the anthropomorphic stat- ues that has given the city its name of Los Abuelos, Spanish for 'The Grandparents'. © Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports © x Ancient History 566 Jade and lacquerware found in Chinese tombs Some 75 ancient tombs and several kilns have been uncovered during excavation work ahead of a development project near Qianshan, Anhui Province in eastern China. Despite widespread looting over the cen- turies, over 300 artefacts were recovered from the tombs, including pottery, lacquered wood, jade, and copper utensils. The findings span four historical periods, with most tombs dating to the Warring States Period (ca. 475–221 BC) and the Han Dy- nasty (206 BC – AD 220). A few tombs from the later Six Dynasties (AD 220–589) and the Song Dynasty (AD 960–1279) were also identified. In most tombs, the burial objects and human bones had decayed, leaving only traces of the coffins, grooves in the wooden sleepers, and some funerary objects. Researchers found 37 tombs from the Warring States Period, built in rectangular shapes without passageways. Some con- tained well-preserved wooden coffins with grave goods such as copper pots, wooden figurines, jade items, and lacquerware. Oth- ers, lacking coffins, held simpler pottery items, including jars, plates, and boxes. 36 tombs, consisting of both vertical pit and brick chamber tombs, were dated to the Han Dynasty. The pit tombs contained de- cayed coffins and items such as pots, stoves, and bronze mirrors. The brick tombs featured multiple chambers, iron swords, bronze belt hooks, and even a small arched opening be- tween two chambers dubbed by archaeologists as a “crossing fairy bridge”. Roman baths became a Christian church A pagan bathing complex was repurposed into a church by early Christians, according to new findings by archaeologists working at a site in the southeast of Rome. Archaeologists uncovered the striking evidence of religious transformation at the so-called Baths of the Tritons. This was a Roman bathing complex within the Villa di Sette Bassi built in the second century AD, one of the largest villas in the Roman suburbs, the name of which possibly derives from the emperor L. Septimius Bassianus, better known as Caracalla (r. AD 198–217). A marble-lined basin, or vasca, was identified as a baptistery used for full-immersion baptism, an initiation ritual which was central to early Christians. Archaeologists note two distinct phases in its design: an initial deeper pool for total immersion (symbolizing spiritual rebirth) and a later modification that raised the floor, in- dicating a shift toward a less demanding rite. Its presence reveals that the baths were converted into an early Christian church. This evolution of the structure reflects broader changes in Christian liturgy during Late Antiquity. The baptistery’s scale and design suggest it was more than a small chapel. Its func- tion as a formal baptistery church is reinforced by numerous burials found nearby. Researchers believe the presence of a bishopric at the site is also possible. Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica says the discovery sheds light on how classical architecture was repurposed for Christian use, illustrating the complex yet grad- ual nature of religious transition. A view of the vasca, a marble basin, in the Roman baths of the Villa di Sette Bassi, which may have been used as a baptistery. © x One of the great villas of Roman Gaul explored Archaeologists working in France have uncov- ered one of the largest Roman villas ever found in the country. Covering an area of more than 4000 sq m, it features a central garden which alonebringing a lioness and her cubs as a gift to the Achaemenid king. In Zoroastrian beliefs, the lion had demonic associa- tions, yet it remained a symbol of king- ship, possibly reflecting an adoption of Mesopotamian motifs. © A.Davey / Wikimedia Commons © x © x Ancient History 5644 ing text explains the meaning behind the As- syrian lion hunt reliefs, it is likely that they have a similar purpose to such seals, only in monu- mental form. The most obvious reason behind depicting the lion hunt in a monumental form is the association with strength and military prowess. Indeed, it appears that one entrance room to Ashurbanipal’s North Palace in Nin- eveh was entirely devoted to such images, en- suring that any visitors to the palace were sure of the king’s military prowess — or so it was hoped. Yet Ashurbanipal’s lion hunt reliefs also depict the preparatory stages of a post-hunt ritual, with libations poured over the deceased lions. Moreover, some texts describe how lion hunts were carried out at the command of dei- ties like Ninurta and Nergal. Consequently, the reliefs may also have been meant to reinforce the divine support of the king, much like the seals depicting the king in a stance reminiscent of sculptures of gods. That the number of lions slain in Ashurbanipal’s lion hunt relief — eight- een in total — corresponds to the number of Nineveh’s gates suggests there may have been a symbolic element to the hunt, with the slaying of each lion representing the defeat of a threat to each gate, possibly in connection to the no- tion of Assyrian kings being shepherds. After all, lions were associated with chaos. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, a lion is compared to the Flood (XI.188–9). However, it is also possible that this relief simply represents an actual lion hunt de- scribed in a fragmentary text from Nineveh. The importance of lions to Mesopotamian kingship is reflected in the conscious adoption of the motif by Persian rulers, even as the notion of the king as shepherd disappeared. Despite the fact that, in Zoroastrian beliefs, the lion has demonic associations, depictions of lions are everywhere in Persepolis. As the centre of power in the Achaemenid Empire was focused on Mesopotamia, it is possible that the Persian rulers adopted elements of Mesopotamian mo- tifs of royal power and authority to cement their rule. Similarly, ancient Greek depictions of li- ons demonstrate Near Eastern influence. Lions in the Aegean Lions are present in Aegean art from the Bronze Age. Frescoes from Thera show them painted on the sides of ships, possibly referencing their speed, while lions are a common feature of Mi- noan art. From the sixteenth century BC, lions also appear in Mycenaean art, from decorated boxes to the heraldic lions crowning the Lion Gate of Mycenae. Yet Mycenaean depictions of lions deviate from their insular parallels in their focus on violence. Minoan art, for exam- ple, rarely shows lions in conflict with humans, while Mycenaean art is full of examples of hunts and conflicts between humans and lions. Remains of lions have been found through- DID YOU KNOW? In Mycenaean Greece, lions may have been hunted for food. Lion bones with carving marks were found in kitchen rubbish alongside the remains of domesticated animals in Late Bronze Age Tiryns. in sy a m d is p ro e su o h d ri li ple, rarely shows lions while Mycenaean art is f hunts and conflicts betwee Remains of lions have An Attic black-figure amphora, dated to ca. 520-510 BC, depicting Heracles slaying the Nemean Lion. Early depictions of this scene in Greek art resemble Mesopota- mian depictions of gods and kings slaying lions, in which the lion rears on two legs and the god or king seizes the lion's legs. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art The famous Lion Gate of Mycenae. The two lions flanking a pillar above the gate likely served a heraldic purpose, possibly reflect- ing the power of the kings of Mycenae. © Andy Montgomery / Flickr © x Ancient History 56 45 out mainland Greece, dat- ing to the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, with the latest remains dating to the sixth cen- tury BC. Later writers, such as Hero- dotus (7.125–6), also describe lions living in the more remote parts of mainland Greece. As such, the prevalence of hunting and conflict in Mycenaean art featuring lions may correspond to the conditions of Mycenaean Greece, with lions attacking both domestic animals and hu- mans. Of course, given the need for hunters and warriors to protect flocks, herds, and com- munities from lions, the Mycenaeans appear to have come to associate the desired traits of warriors and hunters with lions, as scenes of humans versus lions are paralleled with scenes of lions attacking prey animals. It seems straightforward to associate this prevalence of lion imagery in Mycenaean Greece with the appearance of lion-based similes in the Homeric epics. Such similes are applied approximately 30 times in the po- ems, and they appear to be divinely inspired. Sarpedon’s attack on the walls of the Argive camp, for example, is described as like a lion attacking a herd of animals (Iliad 12.293–6, 299–308). However, such similes ap- pear to be linguistically late. Moreover, they sometimes echo Near Eastern literary mo- tifs, as much does in the Homeric epics. Most obviously, Achilles is described as mourning the death of Patroclus like a lioness mourning her cubs (Iliad 18.318–323), echoing the de- scription of Gilgamesh’s mourning of Enkidu, also described as a lioness without her cubs (VIII.61–2). Moreover, Greek art from the eighth and seventh centuries BC, roughly contempo- rary to when it is believed the Homeric epics were first transcribed, parallels Near Eastern art, including Egyptian, Phoenician, and Assyrian, in what is known as an Orientalizing style. Li- ons appear to have been particularly inspired by Near Eastern art. Early depictions of Hera- cles’ slaying of the Nemean Lion, for instance, recall the motif of the god defeating a lion in Mesopotamian art. Throughout antiquity, lions have been associated with strength and physical prow- ess. However, whether by their dominance of the natural world or the dangers of fight- ing them off, lions came to be endowed with social, political, and religious sig- nificance. Yet by the time of the Roman Empire, especially during the Imperial period, lions became little more than beasts to be de- feated in the arena for the enter- tainment of the people. AH Owain Williams is the editor of Ancient History magazine. ons have bee physical prow- eir dominance angers of fight- endowed with us sig- the ring ame de- nter-rr r of e. ou ing Early rem 6, s ap- eover, Ow An A fragment of a statue depicting a lion attacking a bull, dated to ca. 525-500 BC, that once may have decorated the pedi- ment of a small building in Athens. The ensemble has parallels in Near Eastern art, and may have been adopted in order to associate members of the Athenian elite with eastern kingship. After the Per- sian Wars, such lion imagery disappeared from Athens, likely reflecting changing Athenian attitudes to the Near East. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art A detail from the northern frieze on the Treasury of the Siphnians in Delphi. Dated to ca. 525 BC, it depicts the battle between the gods and giants. Lions have been depicted fighting alongside the gods, with Themis riding in a lion-drawn chariot. In the Iliad, lion similes, although applied to heroes, were connected to divine inspiration. © Sharon Mollerus / Flickr © x © x Ancient History 56464646 THE ARENA ON THE EDGE OF EMPIRE THE LION AND THE GLADIATOR R O M A N B R IT A IN : ca . A D 2 25 – 2 75 By Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele A marble relief, dated to the first-second century AD, depicting two scenes of combat between a venator and a lion. The lower reliefdepicts a lion biting a fallen venator's hip. The skeleton from York is the first physical evidence of such games. © Carole Raddato / Flickr A mosaic from the House of Bacchus in Cuicul, a Roman city in Numidia, depicting a venatio (fight against animals) involving lions and a leopard. In 2025, a research team led by Professor Tim Thompson from Maynooth University was able to determine that a Roman skeleton showed bite marks from a lion for the first time ever. Even more fascinating is that this skeleton was discovered near York, at the northwestern edge of the Roman Empire. But why is this discovery so special? And what does it teach us? T he investigation began in 2004 based on a burial ground near York. By 2010, it had been established that Driffield Ter- rance was one of the best-documented burial sites for gladiators, based on 82 well-preserved skeletons of young men dating from the first to the fourth century. Based on tooth enamel, the team concluded that some of these men came from far beyond Britannia. Additionally, most of the skeletons showed signs of injuries (both fatal and healed). Even more remarkable is that three quar- ters of these skeletons show signs of ritual de- capitation. The exact reasons for this are un- clear. On the one hand, it could indicate the execution of criminals, which we know was not uncommon in the arena. On the other hand, this seems to be a specifically British custom about which we remain in the dark (on Celtic headhunting, see Armit, AH 48). The skeleton that recently drew all the at- tention belongs to a man (‘individual 6DT19’), aged between 26 and 35 years old. As a child, he was malnourished but recovered later in life. His vertebrae also show signs of overexertion. His bones are characterized by highly devel- oped muscles and injuries associated with fight- ing. However, using 3D scans, the team was able to reconstruct how he received significant bite marks on his pelvis during his final hour. Even more remarkable is that he was probably already dying, but had not yet breathed his final breath, when a predator struck and tried to drag him away. The research team made zoological comparisons of these sets of bite marks. They SP EC IA L 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C A m sce de the © whwhy y isis tthihihiis di w th th Ancient History 56 47 © C aro le R ad d ato / Flickr could only conclude that this was a large feline, most likely a lion. The pelvis is not a common place for lions to strike, so the man may have already been immobile, after which the lion tried to drag him away. The splendour of the arena Based on all of this, we could settle for the sober observation that a resident of the Roman Empire was bitten by a lion. There is no smoking gun to prove that this man died as a gladiator in the arena. Yet how else can we explain that a man ended up in the jaws of a large feline in Ro- man Britain, a notoriously unnatural habitat for lions? We have more than enough literary and artistic evidence that venationes (fights against animals) were extremely popular throughout the empire. In the Roman Maghreb, we have numerous mosaics and frescoes depicting both gladiators and condemned pris- oners confronted with raging animals. These works of art were commissioned by aristocrats who proudly mentioned how they had sponsored such games. Men trained specifically as bes- tiarii to perform in such games, as recorded in late-second-century pa- pyri from the fortress of Babylon near Memphis (Egypt). While gladi- atorial games, in which men fought each other, ceased to exist in the early fifth century, vena- tiones continued until the middle of the sixth century, both in Theoderic the Amal’s Gothic Italy (Cassiodorus, Variae 5.42) and in Justin- ian’s Eastern Roman Constantinople. We cannot emphasize enough the logis- tical feats involved to make this come true. Gladiatorial games only require armed men, regardless of origin. But for the most spectacu- lar venationes, Rome imported exotic species from both within and outside the empire’s borders to present (and often massacre) for the public (see Ball, AH 48). Already during the last generation of the Roman Republic, Cice- ro’s correspondence teaches us that the famous general Pompey sent elephants into the amphi- theatre, which aroused awe and even compassion among Roman specta- tors (Letters to Friends 7.1). Cicero, as governor of Cilicia, was also petitioned several times by a colleague asking him to send panthers to Rome (Plutarch, Cicero 36). His colleague’s not-so-secret hope was that by organizing games with such wild animals, he could secure his next election. British exceptionalism? Oddly, little attention has been paid to the spe- cific British context within the broader imperial picture. Britannia was one of the last additions to Rome’s empire, with the annexation com- mencing under Claudius (AD 47), only to be completed under Domitian (AD 87). Britannia was the absolute periphery of empire, which manifested itself in numerous ways. Sympto- matically, Britannia never produced a Roman b on Th by ho awe and even oman specta- .1). Cicero, a, was © x (Top) A detail from a Roman mosaic, dated to ca. AD 300-400, depicting a venatio scene, with several venatores or criminals lying wounded on the ground. Professional fighters, known as venatores, could fight animals in the arena, but criminals could also be sentenced to damnatio ad bestias. © Daderot / Wikimedia Commons (Bottom) The remains of the Multiangular Tower in York, dated to the third century AD, part of the Roman fortress around which the city grew. York, then known as Eboracum, was the second largest city in Roman Britain and home to wealthy regional elites. © Chabe01 / Wikimedia Commons © x © x Ancient History 5648 author of any renown (unless we attribute that dubious honour to the heretic Pelagius). Nor did any Briton ever become an emperor who gained legitimate support throughout the empire. More impor- tantly, from that same empire-wide panorama, Roman Britain only had a relatively low degree of urbanization, with most cities simply grow- ing out of legionary camps. Roman England and Wales punched above their weight given the number of am- phitheaters that have survived, thanks to its disproportionately large military establish- ment. The troops had to be kept happy in a rough and rainy backwater. Although no such amphitheatre has currently been discovered near York, where Driffield Terrace is located, it makes sense that it used to have one. York also sprang forth out of a legionary base in AD 71. Under the name Eboracum, it sprawled to become the second largest city in Roman England and regional capital of the north. It was a place Roman aristocrats called home. From time to time, the city even welcomed the most prestigious individuals from the em- pire. Septimius Severus died there in AD 211, and Constantine I was proclaimed emperor by his troops there in AD 306. It is only natu- ral that local elites sponsored games for the entertainment of the local population. Crisis entertainment Let’s keep in mind the specific time frame of ‘individual 6DT19’. The most recent bio-ar- chaeological isotope analysis shows that our protagonist shuffled off this mortal coil during the third century (probably even in the mid- dle or second half). This was not an obvious period for such games. By the mid-third cen- tury, the Roman Empire seemed hell-bent on fragmentation due to incessant civil wars, for- eign invasions, economic decline, and even a pandemic. In the 250s, for the first time ever, a Roman emperor was killed in battle against non-Roman opponents, and another was cap- tured and taken to Persia, never to return. From around AD 260 to AD 297, Roman Britain repeatedly fell to usurpers who opposed cen- tral authority of emperors already reigning.This period is, therefore, conveniently coined in scholarship ‘the crisis of the third century’. But here too, Roman Britain occupies a special place. The crisis disproportionately affected areas closest to the European and Levantine frontier zones (along the Danube, Rhine, and Euphrates), while a number of regions were largely spared, such as the Maghreb, the Ibe- rian Peninsula, and ... Britain. The island even experienced a relative period of prosperity that would last well into the fourth century. The fact that magnates from York decided to import a lion for their own games in the middle or late third century is, therefore, remarkable. After all, vena- tiones could simply make use of local fauna, such as bears, wolves, or wild boars. Viminacium, the site of a Ro- man legionary fort near Ko- ga th re ti u b V m author of any renown (unless we attribute that dubious honour to the heretic Pelagius). Nor did any Briton ever PP it a 7 (Top) A view of the foundations of the amphitheatre at Viminiacum with a reconstruction of the arena's seating in the background. © Ivan Radic / Flickr (Bottom) Caerleon, south Wales, where a Roman military base was built in AD 75. Britannia had a high concentration of amphitheatres compared to the rest of the Roman Empire, with Caerleon's being the most complete today. © Becks / Flickr © x © x Ancient History 56 49 stalac in Serbia, has yielded bear bones, for instance. Even in the Colosseum, lions were not nearly as common as we might think, given the logistical challenges of transporting such creatures. But even at a time when most of the Roman world experienced unprecedent- ed chaos, it was decided at York, on the edge of the empire, that ‘the show must go on’. So, what? This discovery is our first physical evidence from anywhere in Europe that Roman gladi- ators fought against exotic animals. Hence, it is valuable tangible evidence. Moreover, it broadens our empirical knowledge of how widespread such games were in the farthest corners of the empire. As mentioned earlier, we already have an impressive collection of literary and iconographic evidence on both gladiatorial combats and venationes. ‘Indi- vidual 6DT19’ can now be matched with the relief held in the British Museum depicting a gladiator being bitten by a lion in the thigh. But this skeleton should also give pause and make us reflect on one of the most violent contributions of ancient Rome: ecocide. In his public achievements, Augustus claimed that during his reign he had assembled 3500 African wild animals for 26 venationes (Res Gestae 22). When the Flavian Amphithe- atre in Rome was ceremoniously opened by Titus, he had 5000 animals presented in a sin- gle day (Suetonius, Titus 7). Trajan is even said to have hunted to death 11,000 animals dur- ing his own games a generation later (Cassius Dio, 68.15.1). Such figures seem staggering and implausible. Yet they must have some ba- sis in reality. Those same elephants, which the Roman public still felt pity for in Cicero’s day, did not survive Roman rule in the Maghreb as a species. The question remains as to how many other species were decimated throughout the Mediterranean to satisfy the Roman public’s bloodlust. AH Dr Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele is Visiting Professor and Ger- da Henkel Fellow at Ghent University. He is an expert on the political, social, and military history of the Late Roman Empire, on which he has published extensively. y ated an ’s ’ e - t t d e e stalac in bear bon in the Co not nearly as common given the logistic l h A section of the Great Hunt Mosaic from a Roman villa in Piazza Armerina, Sicily, dated to the early fourth century AD. It depicts the loading of exotic animals onto a ship, likely for transport to various games throughout the Roman Empire. © Holger Uwe Schmitt / Wikimedia Commons A terracotta relief, dated to ca. AD 45-70, depicting two venatores fighting two lions as spectators watch from a tower. Such scenes were a common motif in visual art. © Jamie Heath / Flickr © x © x Ancient History 56505050 THE WORLD’S FIRST TRAGIC EPIC THE TALE OF GILGAMESH M ES O P O TA M IA : ca . 21 00 – 1 70 0 B C By Louise M. Pryke A view of the Eanna district in the ancient city of Uruk, with the Eanna Ziggurat of Uruk in the background. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the epony- mous hero was the ruler of Uruk, and the Eanna temple there is mentioned in the text. Before the Muses inspired the Homeric epics, and long before Virgil had thought of the Aeneid, the world’s first tragic epic was being told and retold in ancient Mesopotamia. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the world’s first tragic epic. It tells the story of the heroic young king, Gilgamesh, and his journey seeking fame and immortality alongside his beloved companion, Enkidu. K nown as the ‘land between rivers’ for its placement between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Mesopotamia is home to many ‘world firsts’ alongside the epic. These include advances in agriculture, science, and maths, the invention of the potter’s wheel, and what is known as the world’s first ‘museum’, cu- rated by princess and priestess, Ennigaldi-Nanna, around 530 BC. The sources The first stories about Gilgamesh were written in the Sumerian lan- guage and are thought to be written down around 2100 BC, in the Ur III period. These stories only survive in later cop- ies from the Old Babylonian period, some 300 years lat- er. Indeed, when talking about Gilgamesh’s story, there are many different texts to consider, and it is worth noting that all the versions that have survived exist in a fragmented, incomplete state. As well as the Sumerian Gilgamesh stories, there are Akkadian, Hittite, and Hur- rian versions. Of these many versions, it is the Standard Babylonian Version that is best attested, and it is thought that we currently have around 80 per cent of this text. The languages of the stories about Gilgamesh are written in cuneiform – the world’s oldest known writing script. Cu- neiform is composed of many hundreds of wedge-shaped characters and was written on clay tablets. For thousands of years, c u - neiform was used to write the pri- mary languages of communication A copy of a cuneiform tablet, dated to the Old Babylonian period (ca. 2003-1595 BC), recording the beginning and the end of Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh, describing the hero's encounter with the de- mon Humbaba. There are several different versions of Gilgamesh's story, but the Standard Babylonian Version is the most complete. © Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP / Wikimedia Commons ke d, ten nds of years, c u - the pri- cation © x SP EC IA L 10 00 B C 15 00 B C 20 00 B C ThThe e firfirstst stotoorie guguguagaa innn th ie e A Ancient History 56 51 © to b eytravels / Flickr in the Near East, even stretching into parts of the Mediterranean. Cuneiform disappeared around the first century AD, only to be de- ciphered again in the 1850s in a remarkable feat of scholarly virtuosity, with the transla- tion of the Behistun Monument. The Sumerian stories of the Epic of Gil- gamesh contain some familiar episodes from the Standard Babylonian Version, including a battle between Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the forest guardian, Humbaba (Sumerian Huwawa). This myth, known as Gilgamesh and Huwawa, was included in a group of texts known as the Decad, dated to the Old Baby- lonian period. These texts have been generally thought to have been used for scrib- al training exer- cises. The Decad’s sequence of ten texts would have likely been copied or memorized by scribes as part of their education. Howev- er, the common view that the Decad was for educational purposes is not unchal- lenged, with an alternative suggestion being that they were grouped together for archival purposes. The story The Epic of Gilgamesh is traditionally toldover twelve tablets. In Tablet I, the story be- gins in the city of Uruk, located in modern- day southern Iraq. Gilgamesh the king is behaving like a tyrant, and the mother god- dess, Aruru, creates a hairy man from clay, named Enkidu, to keep him company. En- kidu, like Gilgamesh, has heroic strength, but grows up in the wilds with the animals. This means he has no capacity for speech and is uncivilized. Through Gilgamesh’s ini- tiative, Enkidu is civilized by a wise priest- ess named Shamhat, and he learns to speak and to drink beer and eat bread. Towards the end of Tablet I, Gilgamesh and Enkidu finally meet. Enkidu storms into Uruk to challenge the king, and the two heroes immediately start to wrestle. Eventually, however, they come to re- spect each other’s strength and become inseparable companions. Gilgamesh takes Enkidu on a quest to seek fame and glory, and they kill the monstrous guardian of the Forest of Cedars. This invokes the wrath of the gods, and Gilgamesh makes things worse by romantically rejecting the beautiful goddess of love and war, Ishtar. As a punishment, Enkidu dies. Gilgamesh is grief-stricken over Enkidu’s loss but also terrified of death. He decides to seek the legendary Flood survivor, Utanap- ishtim, hoping to find the key to eternal life. After a long journey and many adventures, he finds Utanapishtim, who is often com- pared to biblical Noah. The Flood survivor tells Gilgamesh that no one can follow his path to immortality, and so Gilgamesh even- tually returns home – presumably having de- veloped greater wisdom. A final tablet, Tab- let XII, tells the story of Enkidu descending to the Underworld and then returning to tell Gilgamesh what he has seen. me kes ry, and Forest of ds, and ntically nd war, the fo Huwaw sc er fo le b f w ) a Huwaw (Top) Ancient water wheels in the Euphrates at Hit that drew up water for irrigation of surrounding fields and palm groves. © Ansoavis / Wikimedia Commons (Bottom) A view of Mount Judi, known as Cudi Dagi in Turkish, which was con- sidered to be the landing place of Noah's Ark in early Christian and Islamic tradi- tions. Utanapishtim, a Flood survivor in the Epic of Gilgamesh, is often compared to the biblical Noah. © Timo Roller / Wikimedia Commons © x © x © x Ancient History 5652 Royal relatives There is some debate about whether the lead character in the Epic of Gilgamesh is based on a historical king. The epic does contain fantasti- cal elements, such as a forest of jewelled trees and hybrid scorpion people who guard the Path of the Sun. However, the stories of legendary heroes such as Gilgamesh may have developed from famous historical figures, and this inter- pretation is supported by Gilgamesh’s appear- ance on the Sumerian King List as the fifth ruler of Uruk, reigning around 2700 BC. Admittedly, the Sumerian King List also contains elements that seem unlikely to be entirely historical — such as the presence of sages and kings whose rule lasted for tens of thousands of years. In any case, the ancient tradition associ- ated with the Epic of Gilgamesh is that the story is based on a real person. Numerous histori- cal Mesopotamian kings, such as Shulgi of Ur, claimed to be Gilgamesh’s relatives, being born of the same divine mother. The close connec- tion of historical kings with the legendary hero added prestige to the historical monarchy and longevity to the Epic of Gilgamesh. The connection between historical and legendary royalty can be seen in the recovery of the Standard Babylonian Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, with copies of the story found in the ruins of the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal. The collection in the Royal Library of the seventh century Assyrian king contained over 30,000 clay tablets and was described by the Eng- lish writer H. G. Wells as “the most precious source of historical material in the world”. Editor/exorcist The Standard Babylonian Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, rediscovered in the library ruins, is thought to have been edited by an historical figure – a priest, scribe, and exorcist known as Sin-leqi-unnini, whose name means “Sin is the one who accepts a prayer” (Sin is a Mesopota- mian god of the Moon, also known as Nanna). Sin-leqi-unnini lived in Uruk around the twelfth century BC. Gilgamesh scholars have suggest- ed that it was this editor who added a Flood story to the Epic of Gilgamesh, by interpolating the epic with the Babylonian Flood story, Atra- hasis. While Sin-leqi-unnini’s name is firmly at- tached to the most famous version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the nature of his connection to the story remains unclear. It is possible that Sin- leqi-unnini himself was a legendary poet who created the Babylonian version of the story or a scholar who established a ‘final form’ of the narrative, acting more like an editor. The current tendency is to view Sin-leqi-unnini as a scholar from the second half of the second millennium who lived in Uruk and had a significant contribution to shaping the Standard Babylonian Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The purpose of the story The Epic of Gilgamesh narrative held a significant role in Mesopotamian culture and identity. With so many versions of Despite its widespread fame in the ancient world, the ancient and modern reception of the Epic of Gilgamesh is as fragmentary as the tablets upon which it was inscribed. There are only a handful of non-cuneiform references to Gilgamesh from antiquity. In- terestingly, in light of the presence of a great Flood narrative in the Epic, Gilgamesh ap- pears in a text from the Dead Sea Scrolls known as the Book of Giants. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by young Bedouin herders in the 1940s, at Qumran, located in the West Bank near the Dead Sea (see Len- dering, AH 43). In the Book of Giants, a text linked to the Enochic tradition, Gilgamesh is Gilgamesh through the ages explicitly named as one of the Giants killed by the biblical Flood. In the modern day too, Gilgamesh’s story has largely been overlooked — although no- table exceptions continue to emerge. As well as recently appearing as a hero in Marvel’s Eternals (2021), Gilgamesh featured in a ro- mance novel by Saddam Hussein. The novel drew from the Epic’s primary theme of a ruler who develops greater wisdom through his experiences. The modern engagement with this ancient epic continues to grow in eve- rything from metal music to graphic novels, reflecting the enduring relevance of the first known hero of world literature. colle cent clay lish sour DDesp wworl oof th ass th TThere reefere teerest Flood pears know Sccrol herde thhe W dering linked Gilg Ro Th ch a ca an o h fr p a o t t s he story or orm’ of the or. The unnini of the Uruk on to Version held a culture sions of A Neo-Assyrian bronze plate, known as the Hell Plate. Dated to ca. 911-604 BC, it was used to conjure the child-devouring demon Lamashtu, who was believed to ride in her boat on the river of the Underworld. The plaque is decorated with religious symbols and representations of gods and demons. Tablet XII of the Epic of Gilgamesh features a description of the Mesopotamian underworld. © Tangopaso / Wikimedia Commons © x An Assyrian relief from the façade of the throne room in the Palace of Sargon II at Khorsabad, dated to ca. 713-706 BC, depicting a hero, possibly Gilgamesh, wrestling a lion. Gilgamesh was consid- ered a real, historical figure in ancient Mesopotamia, from whom some rulers could claim descent. © Darafsh / Wikimedia Commons Ancient History 56 53 the text, and the story being told and retold for two millennia, the sto- ry likely held many purposes at different stages of its history. These purposes may have included providing entertainment, recording historical elements, and holding a mirror for historical kings to reflect on their royal pow- er and itslimitations. The Epic of Gilgamesh explores themes of love, death, and justice, and provides a timeless meditation on human mortality and what makes life meaningful. As well as functioning as an adventure story, the epic’s focus on origins, advice, and life’s big questions means it can also be considered as a type of ancient wisdom literature. In a less esoteric vein, the Epic of Gil- gamesh provides an origin story for the legend- ary figure of Gilgamesh, who was known as a god and Underworld judge in ancient Meso- potamia. In this role, Gilgamesh appears in magical texts and exorcistic rituals, working to mediate between the living and the dead. His name was invoked in rituals against sorcery and by those seeking protection from ghosts, witchcraft, demons, and sorcery. The connec- tion of Gilgamesh to religious duties can also be seen in texts which reference his role in fer- rying the dead safely in the Underworld, and in his presence in funerary rituals. In the Homeric epics, the audience gets a sense from the text about how Greek ep- ics like the Iliad and the Odyssey were per- formed. This is memorably seen in the court of Alcinous, where Odysseus weeps while listening to the bard, Demodocus, recount his story. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, there is no corresponding reference to oral storytell- ing in the legend — except where Gilgamesh tells his own story to characters that he meets on his journey. Instead, there is an emphasis on the written text itself as a treasure for the ages, with the tablets containing Gilgamesh’s story buried beneath the walls of Uruk — lit- erally forming part of the city’s foundation. Reception The Epic of Gilgamesh largely vanished from popular awareness alongside the dis- appearance of cuneiform written traditions. Traces of the story can be seen in other an- cient texts, such as the Tales of the Arabian Nights, the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Old Testament), and the Ro- man author Aelian’s On the Nature of Ani- mals. The most overt parallels between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible occur in the biblical Flood narrative of the Book of Genesis. Gilgamesh himself ap- pears alongside the forest guardian, Hum- baba, in the biblical apocryphal text, the Book of Giants, from the Book of Enoch. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the world’s first know epic. It is also a tragic love story combined with a meditation on the meaning of mortality. Preserved through millennia of copying, translation, and reinterpretation, the story’s cultural significance lies not only in its antiquity but in its profound understanding of the human condition. AH Louise M. Pryke is a Research As- sociate at the University of Syd- ney. She is the author of several books, including Ishtar (2017), Gil- gamesh (2019), and Wind (2023). - l as the O the and r ry l (Top) The ruins of Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum in Ur, founded ca. 530 BC by Princess Ennigaldi. © Dynamoland / Shutterstock (Bottom) A view of the reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. Gilgamesh rejects the romantic overtures of the goddess Ishtar, who punishes Gilgamesh by killing Enkidu. © Ali Kareem Yousif / Wikimedia Commons A terracotta relief depicting Gilgamesh and Enkidu slaying Humbaba in the Cedar Forest, dated to the eighteenth- seventeenth century BC. Gilgamesh and Humbaba both appear in the Book of Giants, from the Book of Enoch. © Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) / Wikimedia Commons © x © x Ancient History 56 A N C IE N T R O M E: c a. 1 00 B C – A D 3 00 A Roman ceramic caccabus ('cooking pot') atop a tripod. Romans had a variety of different ingredients available to them and many markets from which to buy them. © Tyler Bell / Flickr While we hear much of sumptuous Roman dinner parties, these were far from the norm, apart from with the very top echelon of Roman society. The average Roman dined with some ordi- nary fare on the plate. Yet whatever Romans had for dinner, it could be acquired at the many markets and shops of Rome. GROCERY SHOPPING IN ANCIENT ROME FOOD ON THE TABLE By Philip Matyszak I n densely populated urban areas, many Romans habitually ate their meals in snack-bar taverns called popinae, where ready- cooked meals were offered at low prices. Those planning to eat at home might call on thermopilia, establishments with stone coun- ters facing the street with large jars filled with hot stew, cooked lentils, olives, and other essentials which could be quickly assembled into a meal at home. However, in areas where there was less of a fire hazard from close-packed tenement buildings, Roman households did their own cooking. In a world without refrigeration, this meant regular trips to buy groceries. Everyday essentials Those looking for basic items would first head for that staple of civilization, the baker, and obtain a loaf of bread and perhaps some rolls. Roman loaves were not designed to be cut into slices but were gen- erally circular and baked with deep grooves in the top allowing the loaf to be broken into wedges. These were used to dip into stews or eaten with olives or baked vegetables. As for fresh vegetables, people would head for street markets, which were known as nundinae because they were held every nine days. Farmers living close to the city might load a cart and sell their produce at these markets. Farmers living further from the city often sold their produce to specialist whole- salers who purchased particular items — for instance beans, apples, or cabbages — and then sold them to nundinum stallholders. Such farmers also tended to produce items with a longer shelf-life. Dried beans, smoked hams, and a large variety of cheeses were all produced and sold in large quantities. While nundinae were enough for many smaller towns, large cities also had dedicated market halls called macellae. These indoor grocery malls offered a superior shopping experience — probably with prices to match — and were accordingly situated in the ar- eas of Rome where the denizens had deeper pockets. Poorer types had to make their way to the Forum Holitorium, which translates to Forum of the Vegetable Sellers. A fresco from the praedia of Julia Felix, dated to the mid-first century AD, depicting eggs, birds (possibly partridges or thrushes), and bronze dishes. Small birds were a delicacy in ancient Rome. LI VI NG L IK E AN A NC IE NT 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C AnAnA cicienenne t tt HiHiHistttttttttttttorooororooororoororrrrrororoorrrorooorrrorroooorrrrrorooorrrrooororrrroooooorrrroorrroooorrrrrooooorrrrroorrroooorrrroorrrroroorroorrorrorrro y 56545454 A Ro Rom them © Tyle closse pack didid d d d ththheie r r ooownwnww coooking. reregugug laalar r r trtt ipss tot buy g Everyd Those l staple o bread Ancient History 56 55 © C aro le R ad d ato / Flickr Roman markets also sold goods from beyond the empire. Cherries were suppos- edly introduced to Rome by Lucius Licin- ius Lucullus in the first century BC, while lemons became available in the Imperial period. Rice, which was considered a lux- ury food especially suited to those with delicate stomachs, was shipped from India. Wheat, although not a rare product from far away, was also imported to Rome in huge quantities. Italy did have substantial wheat fields in the Po Valley, but most of its grain came from Sicily, North Africa, and Egypt (see Williams, AH 52). The olives of- ten eaten with that bread were also import- ed, again in large quantities, from estates in North Africa. An- other North African import was figs, both dried and fresh. Cato the Elder famously demonstrated to the Roman senate the closeness of their rival Carthage by showing fresh figs which he claimed had been on the branch- es of North African trees less than a week before (Plutarch, Cato the Elder 27.1). Another common grocery product which made its way to Rome from overseaswas the fish sauce with which the Romans liked to smother their food. Many Roman recipes required liquamanen or gar- um, and while it was available in small vials for shoppers, the product originally arrived in amphorae from Spain. Special occasions Meat only made an appearance on the aver- age Roman table on special occasions. As Horace has a householder remark: “I never over-indulge on week- days. Vegetables are enough, or if a friend or neighbour is visiting, a leg of ham, a chicken, or a kid” (Satires 2.2). While farm ani- mals provided some of the meat Romans ate at dinner, their tastes were eclectic. A gourmet shopper might look for giant African snails, dor- mice, sea urchins, or the lampreys found in abundance where Roman sewers entered the Tiber. Even the exotic animals killed in the arena during the Roman games were thriftily recycled as steaks. An abundance of game could be found close to Rome, and pheas- ants and hares could be found in markets, as well a variety of wild birds – thrushes were especially popular. AH Philip Matyszak is a regular contributor to Ancient History magazine. per dor- closen by sho claime es of N a week Elder 2 produc Rome sauce w to smot recipes r um, and while it (Top) A fresco from the praedia of Julia Felix, a large complex in Pompeii, depicting the sale of foodstuffs near an arch. In small- er towns, street markets were regularly set up for people to buy and sell produce. © Phyrexian / Wikimedia Commons (Bottom) Part of the exterior of Trajan's Market in Rome, a permanent multilevel structure possibly built ca. AD 100-110. Additions were made to the building in the Medieval period. © Nicholas Hartmann / Wikimedia Commons © x © x © x Ancient History 56565656 Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire By Sarah E. Bond ISBN: 978-0300273144 Yale University Press (2025) - $35.00 yalebooks.yale.edu The origins of the term ‘strike’, refer- ring to workers halting work as a bar- gaining strategy, dates to 1768, when sailors ‘struck’ the sails of the vessels they worked on to demand higher pay. Yet such actions by workers have a far longer history than the term. The first recorded instance of such group action occurred in the twelfth cen- tury BC, in Egypt, during the reign of Ramesses II, when workers in Deir el- Medina staged a ‘sit in’ to protest late pay. While Strike’s title may imply that this book is about this long history, it is more about the history of collec- tive groups, often associations of pro- fessionals, in the Roman Empire – of which strikes are but only a part. Therefore, Bond explores over 1000 years of Roman history, from the founding of the Republic in 509 BC to the death of Justinian in AD 565, ex- amining the growth and development of both formal and informal collective groups, as well as noting their impact on Roman history. Bond also openly acknowledges how this book is also about modern labour movements. Consequently, as with the book’s title, Bond often makes use of anachronistic language, such as referring to ancient collectives as ‘labour unions’, as it “al- lows us to speak to the present and to capture both the continuities and functional differences of occupational groups that advocated for their mem- bers” (p. 9). That said, Bond is very careful throughout the book when using such language, often simply pointing out similarities between an- cient and modern collectives rather than explicitly referring to them both as labour unions. For instance, when discussing the Hellenistic technitai, groups of touring performers, Bond notes how they “may present the earli- est parallel to today’s trade unions” (p. 45). Similarly, Bond describes Julius Caesar’s legal measures concerning associations in Rome as “association busting” (p. 86). None of these terms, however, felt unwarranted, as Bond convincingly argues that labour union- like associations and strike actions are not a modern phenomenon but regu- larly occurred in the Roman world. Many of the events featured will be familiar to most readers. Chapter One, for example, is concerned with the Struggle of the Orders – a centuries- long attempt by the plebeians of Rome at garnering greater social protections and political power – and Chapter Three examines the role of associa- tions in the political struggles of the Late Republic, especially concerning Clodius Pulcher. Bond’s explanation of these events offers a novel perspec- tive, however, focusing on the agency of the collectives and the relationship between them and the state. Notably, in Chapter Two, Bond attributes the slave revolts that rocked the Late Re- public to a growing awareness of the power that collectives had, with many slaves involved in these revolts com- ing from the Greek East, where asso- ciations had flourished for some time. Slave familiae, Bond argues, “permit- ted a coordinated action against its oppressors” (p. 62), especially during the Third Servile War, with gladiatorial familiae possibly “providing a preexist- ing structure of leadership, friendship, and coordination” (p. 69). Bond’s discussion of the impor- tance of slave familiae to slave revolts would have benefitted from a greater discussion of their organization. The agricultural writings of Cato and Varro, both contemporaries of the Servile Wars, offer an insight into agricultural familiae, and much work has been done to understand the workings of gladiatorial familiae, such as the divi- sion of gladiators into different ranks, called pali after the posts they trained at. There were other parts of the book that felt underexplored. Bond’s dis- cussion of the Circus Factions, for example, focuses exclusively on Late Antiquity, with no mention of the withholding of chariots and horses in an attempt to obtain greater prizemon- ey during Nero’s reign (see Cassius Dio, 61.6 2–3; Suetonius, Nero 22). Mutinies in the Roman army are only briefly mentioned. A discussion of the mutiny along the Rhine in the begin- ning of Tiberius reign – according to Tacitus, their grievances included mis- treatment by centurions and low pay (Annals 1.31), both things associations protest with collective action else- where in the book – seems pertinent for a discussion on collectives and group action. These points, however, are not indicative of a weakness of Bond’s argument – they would simply have elevated Strike’s central premise. Ultimately, Strike offers a novel perspective to Roman history, shining a light on the lives of non-elite people and how, through belonging to asso- ciations, they could influence the Ro- man Empire using collective actions reminiscent of and even parallel to modern labour movements, and how the imperial system reacted to them. As Bond writes, social collectives have “influenced Rome’s growth in ways that we have not fully grasped in tradi- tional histories” (p. 20). AH – Owain Williams BO OK R EV IE W S Ancient History 56 57 The Remarkable Life, Death, and Afterlife of an Ordinary Roman By Jeremy Hartnett ISBN: 978-1009536097 Cambridge University Press (2024) - £23.99 www.cambridge.org A lot of work is being done to prop- erly understand what life was like for ordinary people in Rome, yet rarely do such studies focus on individuals. Instead, treatments of ordinary people tend to categorize them along lines of social and legal status or gender, for example, treating what we know about the experiences of people from these categories as applicable to all its members. Biographies, meanwhile, tend to keep the focus on the familiar names from Roman history, such as Ju- lius Caesar, Augustus, and Constantine the Great. This, of course, is hardly a surprise. There is simply not enough information on ordinary Romans to create such a biography. However, in The Remarkable Life, Death, and Af- terlife of an Ordinary Roman, Jeremy Hartnettoffers as close to a biography of an ordinary Romans as possible. To do so, Hartnett has studied the funerary monument of one Flavius Ag- ricola, a man who was buried along the Via Cornelia, near the Vatican Cir- cus, in ca. AD 160. Examining each element of the funerary monument, from the sculpture to the epitaph and even Flavius Agricola’s name, “sheds light on how captivating realms of Ro- man life – sex, religion, philosophy, dining, notions of the body, low-brow fluency in high culture, and more – were experienced by many excluded from Rome’s halls of power” (p. 2). Such an approach suggested to me that Hartnett will fall into the same trap as previous social histories, treat- ing the experiences of different social groups as monolithic. Indeed, Hartnett even writes that Flavius Agricola’s ex- perience “is certainly more represent- ative of the way more Romans lived” (p. 3) than the Julius Caesars and Con- stantines, whom Hartnett describes as “atypical” (p. 3). However, Hartnett quickly allayed my concerns, writing how “Flavius and his life are not meant to be stand-ins for all Romans and all stories” (p. 4). Indeed, he notes how the Roman experience cannot be cap- tured in a single narrative. While this is a relatively short book, Hartnett has included a great deal of information in its pages. In- deed, it is impressive just how much Hartnett can parse from Flavius Agri- cola’s funerary monument. Each facet of the monument is used as a starting block from which Hartnett launches into a wider discussion, bringing in other, comparative examples from Ro- man history to properly contextualize Flavius Agricola in the Roman world of the second century AD. Flavius Ag- ricola’s name, for instance, suggests he was the son or grandson of a freedman of the Flavian emperors, being too young to have been a Flavian freed- man himself. The sculpture of Flavius Agricola, depicting him reclining on a kline and holding a deep cup, also tells us about his wealth, as it likely cost 5000 sesterces, based on the median cost of 147 other examples (p. 27). How Flavius Agricola acquired this wealth remains a mystery, however, as does much about Flavius Agricola’s life – the funerary monument can only tell us so much. Moreover, as Fla- vius Agricola includes his wife, Flavia Primitiva, also likely descended from a freedman, in his epitaph, noting her involvement with the mystery cult of Isis, much of Hartnett’s discussion fo- cuses on what we can learn about her from her association with the Egyp- tian goddess, such as what may have drawn her to the cult and whether there was any conflict between her and Flavius Agricola based on their differing outlooks. Additionally, Hart- nett also studies the ‘object biography’ of the funerary monument itself, chart- ing its history from its discovery under St Peter’s Basilica in Rome in 1626 to its acquisition by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1972, and noting how the monument was interpreted throughout this period – its funerary epitaph had been destroyed after it had been first rediscovered because it espoused a life of pleasure, at odds with Christian doctrine. Though unu- sual, this latter section was equally fas- cinating, shedding light on the world of Early Modern antiquarians and the modern antiquities market, with all its crimes and controversies. As I have already noted, this was not a long book, but it is a very informative one. Readers should not expect a sweeping panorama of the general experience of Rome’s lower classes, as other social histories pro- vide, but a more intimate examination of one family’s experience. A variety of topics are covered, from Roman dining habits to philosophical schools and even literary culture, with some topics receiving far more attention than others. As this book was writ- ten with students in mind, Hartnett clearly expects readers to have a basic understanding of Roman society, and, consequently, his discussion does not go into minute detail about every pos- sible facet. However, readers familiar with Roman society should have no problem with this book and will be well rewarded by this insightful biog- raphy about ordinary Romans. AH – Owain Williams Ancient History 565858585 READINGS: ANCIENT JOBS Want to learn more about how people in antiquity earned a living or some- times just survived? Here are some books and articles you can check out. WORK, LABOUR, AND PROFESSIONS IN THE ROMAN WORLD By Koenraad Verboven and Christian Laes (eds.) Brill, 2017 ISBN: 978-9004331655 Other books and articles Containing several chapters written by experts in Roman eco- nomic history, this book offers readers a comprehensive over- view of labour and work in the Roman world, from methods of finding work to the self-identity of working Romans. In doing so, readers will learn about the mechanisms of ancient labour, ancient attitudes to work, and professional identities. WORK AND LABOUR IN THE CITIES OF ROMAN ITALY By Miriam J. Groen-Vallinga Liverpool University Press, 2022 ISBN: 978-1802077599 Using New Institutional Economics, Groen-Vallinga explores how a wide range of factors influenced work and labour in ancient Rome to illuminate the complexities of the Roman la- bour market. Focusing on Roman Italy allows Groen-Vallinga to explore workers beyond free, skilled, male workers, includ- ing unskilled labourers and even women and children. MAKING MONEY IN ANCIENT ATHENS By Michael Leese University of Michigan Press, 2021 ISBN: 978-0472132768 As the title suggests, this book focuses on the many ways peo- ple could make money in ancient Athens, examining how an- cient Athenians thought about making money and detailing the various ways that ancient Athenians could make money from the position of the oikos in the Athenian economy to the many miners, bankers, and moneylenders. VALUING LABOR IN GRECO-ROMAN ANTIQUITY By Miko Flohr and Kim Bowes (eds.) Brill, 2024 ISBN: 978-9004694835 This partially Open Access book offers readers a wide over- view of how ancient Greek and Roman people thought about labour and labourers, from the philosophy of Plato and Ar- istotle to various contexts of labour in antiquity, challenging the notion that ancient elites disparaged ancient workers and reconsidering their social and cultural value. Woven wealth and women's work (Katherine Backler) • Bundrick, S.D. “The Fabric of the City: Imaging Textile Production in Classical Athens.” Hesperia 77 (2008): 283–334. • Spantidaki, S. Textile Production in Classical Athens. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2016. • Taylor, C. “Women, Gender and the Ancient Econo- my: Towards a Feminist Economic History of the An- cient Greek world.” Journal of Hellenic Studies 144 (2024): 1–28. • Wrenhaven, K. “The Identity of the “Wool-Workers” in the Attic Manumissions.” Hesperia 78 (2009): 367–386. Talking tools? (Miriam J. Groen-Vallinga) • Joshel, S. R. Slavery in the Roman World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. • Roth, U. Thinking Tools: Agricultural Slavery be- tween Evidence and Models. London: University of London, 2007. • Scheidel, W. “Slavery.” In The Cambridge Compan- ion to the Roman Economy, edited by W. Scheidel, 89–113. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. "As long as my people keep on working" (Arienne King) • García, J.C.M. Dynamics of Production in the Ancient Near East. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2016. • Ezzamel, M. The Economy of Ancient Egypt: State, Ad- ministration, Institutions. Abingdon: Routledge, 2024. • Warburton, D.A. “Work and Compensation in An- cient Egypt.” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 93 (2007): 175–194. Warfare as a livelihood (Charlotte Van Regenmortel) • Chaniotis, A. War in the Hellenistic World: A Social and Cultural History. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. • Trundle, M. Greek Mercenaries: From the Late Archaic Period to Alexander. London: Routledge, 2004. • Van Regenmortel,C. Soldiers, Wages, and the Hel- lenistic Economies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024. Finding work (Owain Williams) • Brunt, P.A. “Free Labour and Public Works in Ancient Rome.” In The Journal of Roman Studies 70 (1980): 81–100. • Groen-Vallinga, M.J. “Desperate Housewives? The Adaptive Family Economy and Female Participation in the Roman Urban Labour Market.” In Women and the Roman City in the Latin West, edited by E. Hemelrijk and G. Woolf. Leiden: Brill, 2013: 295–312. • Temin, P. “The Labor Market of the Early Roman Empire.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 34 (2004): 513–538. FU RT HE R RE AD IN G BOOKS AND MAGAZINES FROM KARWANSARAY PUBLISHERS Intelligent, accessible historical writing with a focus on new scholarship. Richly illustrated and lovingly produced by a team of passionate historians. CHRISTIAN IV: REX SPLENDENS AND REX HUMILIS Edited by Steffen Heiberg, Juliette Roding, Margriet Lacy-Bruijn et al. ISBN: 978-94-90258-22-1 424-page hardback, full-color DACIA: THE ROMAN WARS VOL. 1, SARMIZEGETUSA By Radu Oltean ISBN: 978-973-0-14786-5 408-page softback, full-color 2020 SPECIAL EDITION: THE ART OF MEDIEVAL WARFARE By Peter Konieczy ISBN: 978-94-90258-21-4 100-page softback, full-color EDGE OF EMPIRE By Jona Lendering and Arjen Bosman ISBN: 978-94-90258-05-4 194-page harback, full-color Books can be purchased directly, or via select retailers around the world. To view a full catalog of our offerings, visit the KP webshop. ANCIENT WARFARE MAGAZINE A bi-monthly magazine military history of the ancient world. Contains photographs and original illustrations. 60 pages, full-colour. MEDIEVAL WORLD MAGAZINE A bi-monthly magazine that covers the general history of the Middle Ages, with articles on many aspects. Contains photographs and original illus- trations. 60 pages, full-colour. WARGAMES, SOLDIERS & STRATEGY MAGAZINE A bi-monthly magazine for - dos. Contains scenarios, tutori- als, play tests, and more. 84 pages, full-color. ANCIENT HISTORY MAGAZINE A bi-monthly magazine that looks broadly at the ancient world. A diverse range of topics are covered. Contains photographs and original illus- trations. 60 pages, full-colour. Magazine subscriptions, both digital and print, are avaiable from our webshop. We also offer an extensive catalog of back issues. TO ORDER, VISIT: WWW.KP-SHOP.COM OR CALL +31-848-392256 Ancient India living traditions Until 19 October Members/under 16s free Dancing Ganesha with bowl of sweets, India, about AD 750. Book now ‘Ethereal’ The Guardian ‘Spellbinding’ The Standardoccupies 900 sq m. The villa is located 3 km south of Auxerre, in France’s Bourgogne- Franche-Comté region. Investigations conduct- ed in 1966, prompted by commercial gravel ex- traction, had identified the foundations of a 700 sq m rectangular building with ten rooms. The new excavations have revealed that to be just a secondary wing of a much larger complex. ogico n la di © P arco A rch eo lo gico d ell’A p p ia A n tica A wooden coffin, dated to the Warring States Period (ca. 475-221 BC), recently excavated near Qianshan. Of the 75 tombs discovered at the site, 37 were from the Warring States Period. © Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology © x Ancient History 56 7 Unlike typical Roman estates, where the agricultural activity dominated, the Auxerre villa’s luxurious residential section was unu- sually expansive. Organized around a central garden measuring 450 m per side, the villa includes extensive porticoed galleries, under- floor hypocaust systems to heat rooms, private baths, ornamental fountains, and evidence of painted walls and mosaics. These features indi- cate the presence of an elite household, likely tied to the political or economic leadership of nearby Autessiodurum (Roman-era Auxerre). The site shows signs of at least two, pos- sibly three, phases of construction. Archae- ologists speculate that its development mir- rored the city’s rise from a modest settlement in the first century AD to a walled regional capital by the fourth century. Situated on the Yonne River, Autessio- durum flourished on account of its location where important roads met: from Sens and Lutetia (Paris), from Augustodunum (Autun), from Interannum (Entrains), and from Au- gustobona (Troyes). INRAP says the work of excavating and documenting the villa site is just beginning. Material finds, such as ce- ramics and organic remains, have yet to be fully analyzed. Egyptian donkeys sacrificed in Bronze Age Israel Archaeologists excavating an Early Bronze Age neighborhood at Tell es-Sâfi/Gath in Israel have uncovered the remains of four young donkeys, buried beneath house floors in what researchers describe as ritual foundation deposits. The ani- mals, dated to ca. 2900–2600 BC, were found fully intact and appear to have been carefully placed as part of domestic construction rituals. Isotopic analysis of their teeth reveals they were born and raised in Egypt before being brought to Tell es-Sâfi/Gath. In contrast, the remains of a separate donkey, sheep, and goat used for food show local origins. These animals were butch- ered and discarded, rather than ritually buried. Researchers have concluded that the imported donkeys held greater symbolic value. Significantly, all buried equids were young females from Egypt. One donkey in particular stood out. It was decapitated, trussed, and buried with its head placed on its abdomen, facing eastwards. Isotope data suggests it spent its final months penned and fed locally before sacrifice. While donkeys served practical roles in agriculture and trade, the deliberate burial of Egyptian animals underscores their prestige and sym- bolic significance. The findings are presented in “An isotopic perspec- tive on equid selection in cult at Tell es-Sâfi/Gath, Israel” published in PLOS One, July 2025. ent mir- tlement regional Autessio- location Sens and (A tun) A tempera painting on straw and clay, from the tomb of Iti, Commander of the Troops and Treasurer of the King, depicting a donkey driver leading a donkey towards the granaries, dated to 2118-1980 BC. Donkeys were first domesticated in East Africa, from where they spread into the Levant, garnering a religious significance. © Museo Egizio In Turin (IT) (Top) An aerial view of the excavations of the Roman villa at Sainte-Nitasse, likely a luxury residence of political or economic elite from Autessiodorum (modern Auxerre). © Christophe Fouquin, INRAP (Bottom) A Gallo-Roman column capital from Auxerre depicting Mercury carrying a caduceus and a purse. © Ji-Elle / Wikimedia Commons 8 TH E A C H A EM EN ID E M P IR E: c a. 5 50 – 3 30 B C Pharnabazus, satrap of Hellespon- tine Phrygia, meets the Spartan king Agesilaus in a meeting engi- neered via their mutual friendship with Apollophanes of Cyzicus. © Akshay Mishra witwitwitwith Ah Ah Ah Apolpolpolpolloploplopphanhanhanhanes eses es of of of CyzCyzCyzCyzicuicuicuicus.s.s. © A© A© A© Akshkshkshkshay ay ay ay MisMisMisMishrahrahrahra SP EC IA L 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C 10 00 B C 9 THE SATRAPS OF ACHAEMENID PERSIA MANAGING AN EMPIRE By Rhyne King The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 BC) far surpassed the reach of any predecessor. The Per- sian kings ruled from the coast of modern Turkey to the Eurasian steppe in Central Asia. But how exactly did the empire maintain control over its expansive realm? Royal representatives called ‘satraps’ man- aged the day-to-day operations of running the empire. F rom around 550 to 500 BC, the Persian kings Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius led their armies out of south- western Iran and forged the largest empire the world had yet seen. Yet managing an empire is different from conquering one, and the central government had to enact strategies by which they could maintain internal peace, collect taxes, and ensure prosperity. For this, the kings relied upon their satraps, the kings’ regional representatives. ‘Satrap’ derives from the Old Persian word xšaçapāvan, meaning ‘one who protects the kingdom’. Satraps were responsible for super- vising regional military, economic, administrative, and judicial affairs in the areas they were stationed. Almost all the satraps were part of the royal family, either by blood or marriage, or else had personal ties of friendship to the kings. Modern audiences tend to think of empires as defined by their territory and subdivided into discrete territorial divisions. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus thought of the Achae- menid Empire in a similar way: he wrote that it was divided into twenty provinces called ‘satrapies’. But it seems that the Persians did not think of their own empire in such terms. They never use the word ‘satrapy’ and rarely discuss their empire in terms of territory. Instead, they viewed the empire as com- prised of subject peoples, and it was the job of the satrap to keep these subject peoples under imperial control. Satraps could not manage their responsibilities by them- selves. They drew upon a network of family, friends, and subor- dinates to keep the empire afloat. The primary sources refer to the satrap, his property, and the people around him collectively as a ‘house’. It is best to understand these satrapal houses, rath- er than the satraps themselves, as the key components in man- aging the empire. When ordinary people interacted with the Achaemenid government, they typically sought out the near- est satrapal house. Satrapal houses, spread across the empire, marked the interface between the government and its subjects. We can learn about these satrapal houses from a variety of sources. Ancient Greek authors like Herodotus and Thucydides were contemporaries of the Achaemenid Empire, and they often report on satraps, especially in the empire’s Mediterra- nean regions. Additionally, we also have documents produced by satrapal houses across the empire. Although the imperial elite spoke Old Persian, they did most of their everyday writ- ing in Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. Aramaic letters survive from several satrapal houses, such as in Egypt and Bactria (northern Afghanistan). In Mesopotamia and Iran, clay tablets inscribed in the cuneiform languages of Akkadian and Elamite also give us insight into how satraps and their houses conducted themselves. Archaeological evidence, particularly coinage, can also be used to study the satraps.There is some evidence for change over time in the satra- pal system. The general trends are an expansion of the bureau- cracy, manifested in a greater number of satraps, and an in- creased number of non-Persians becoming satraps. The Greek sources and, indeed, the king himself refer to King Darius I as an administrative reformer. Although the reign of Darius was certainly a period of fiscal reform, it is harder to confirm changes to the satrapal system at this time. Changes are more apparent later in the fifth century BC. In the early Achaeme- nid period, a single satrap was given the jurisdiction over the combined populations of Babylonia and Syria. However, this jurisdiction was split into two during or after the reign of King Xerxes (r. 486–465 BC). A satrap in Caria (southwestern Ana- tolia) was a new position created in the early fourth century BC. From the late fifth century BC onwards, there is also more evidence for the incorporation of non-Persians as satraps. Managing the satrapal house Across the empire, satrapal houses varied in their operations, but we can detect a shared pattern of behavior. Satraps needed to give orders to their subordinates in different towns, write to other elites about regional affairs, and inform the royal court about local politics. For all these tasks, satraps used highly trained bureaucrats to produce their paperwork, and for writ- ing letters, Aramaic was the typical language of choice. The similarity of the Aramaic language found in letters in Egypt and Bactria suggests that there was a relatively standard curriculum that scribes studied. These scribes, it seems, often came from local communities. For example, Aršāma, the satrap in Egypt in the late 400s BC, used a series of Egyptians as his primary local managers during his lengthy career in the region. 10 Alongside these Aramaic letters, satraps had to man- age local operations: keeping track of storehouses for the military, making sure the roads were clear, or accounting for the collection of taxes. For tasks like these, satrapal houses could draw upon preexisting local traditions of writing. A man named Bēlšunu, for example, came from a Babylonian background and eventually rose to become the satrap in Syria by 410 BC. In Babylonia, his scribes conducted their business in Akkadian cuneiform, a language with 2000 years of written tradition in the region. Satraps used rewards and incentives to maintain their houses. Imperial subjects recognized that they could materially benefit by working within a satrapal house. The best attested type of incentive was a grant of agricultural land. The economy of the Achaemenid Empire, like that of many premodern states, was heavily oriented toward farming. Satraps often gave people who worked in their service grants of fertile land. These land grants could sustain a family, and if large enough, the recipi- ent could grow richer by selling surplus products. If the worker remained in the satrap’s good graces, these grants of land could be passed down from one generation to the next. Yet satraps did not hesitate to use violence to maintain their houses. The Achaemenid Empire was home to many un- free workers, and a system of violence was used to maintain control over them. One particularly shocking letter comes from the correspondence of Aršāma. In it, the satrap com- mands his local manager to take advantage of a period of civil unrest by going to nearby farms, forcibly removing the work- ers, taking them back to Aršāma’s estate, and marking them with his brand. Documents like this serve as a stark reminder that the empire was built on violent foundations. The duties of the satrapal house One of the satraps’ essential duties was to maintain the empire’s infrastructure. This is easiest to see in one of the empire’s most re- nowned creations: its sprawling road system. Herodotus describes the ‘Royal Road’, which stretched between Sardis and Susa, but we know from administrative documents that this was only one branch of a much more extensive road network. With these roads, the imperial government could send express messages, transport immense armies, and move workers to wherever they might be needed. Letters from the correspondence of Axvamazdā, satrap in Bactria in the fourth century BC, provide insight into the mainte- nance of this system. In one letter, Axvamazdā gives a command to clear out sand from caravanserais – apparently a sandstorm had blown through. In another, we hear of camels that travellers used to move goods on the road system. The road system connected the royal court to outlying re- gions, and the satrapal houses were essential in maintaining these connections. A well-documented example is the house of Bakabaduš, the satrap in Arachosia (southwestern Afghanistan), ca. 500 BC. Several administrative documents from Persepolis (southwestern Iran) refer to Bakabaduš facilitating the trans- portation of “tax” or “treasure” — such terms are deliberately broad and could likely encompass silver, gold, and even ob- jects of worked gems and stones — from Arachosia to the king’s court. Bakabaduš also moved workers from Arachosia to southwestern Iran: the largest known group making this trip comprised 720 men. Bakabaduš’s tenure as satrap coincided with a time of intensive construction projects in southwestern Iran, and the royal court sought to gather labourers from across the empire. Some of these workers travelled amazing distances. One group of Greeks, probably from the Greek-speaking cities of western Anatolia, had traveled from Anatolia to Arachosia and then were sent from Arachosia to Persepolis. It was satrapal houses like that of Bakabaduš that were responsible for ensur- ing these trips of unprecedented scale. Another significant responsibility was diplomacy. Sa- traps had to keep elites inside the empire happy, and they also looked to forge connections with elites beyond imperial control. Inside the empire, letters from the correspondences of both Aršāma and Axvamazdā show these satraps in frequent communication with the other elites of their regions. The sa- traps had to handle whatever problems may arise, for example, a swarm of locusts devasting the crops in Bactria. Keeping other elites content with Achaemenid rule was essential to maintain- ing internal peace, and satrapal houses recognized this. We are best informed on external relations through the Greek sources. It was common for satraps to maintain ties with Greek elites both in the Anatolian city-states and across the Ae- gean Sea. These relationships could be expressed in the Greek terminology of guest-friendship (xenía). It was through guest- friends that satraps could intervene in foreign affairs. Pharna- bazus, for example, utilized his guest-friendship with Apol- lophanes of Cyzicus to organize a meeting with Agesilaus II, in which he persuaded the Spartan king to withdraw from his territory. These interventions included another crucial duty: su- pervising war. Satrapal interventions in war are especially well documented during the Achaemenid intervention in the Pelo- ponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (431–404 BC). An alliance between Sparta and the Achaemenid Empire, mediated on the ground through the Anatolian satraps, eventually led to a Spartan victory. The satraps gave money to the Spartans for sol- diers, rowers, and ships. Notably, the satrap Cyrus, often called Cyrus the Younger to differentiate him from the homonymous king, brokered a relationship with the Spartan commander Ly- sander, and Cyrus funnelled money and resources to Lysander to aid the Spartan cause. Although the royal court provided some financial contributions, the satrapal houses were also expected to contribute their own resources to the war effort. 11 Examination of coinage allows us to understand these sa- trapal contributions more precisely. At the time of the Achae- menid Empire, coinage was stilla relatively recent invention, and it was only in the Mediterranean regions of the empire that coinage regularly circulated. Soldiers and sailors in these regions came to expect payments in coinage. From the time of the Peloponnesian War onwards, satraps began to mint coin- age bearing their name, likeness, or both. The initial recipients of this coinage, it seems, would have been soldiers or rowers. These emissions of coinage could be enormous. For example, Pharnabazus, satrap in Hellespontine Phrygia (northwestern Turkey), minted 20,000 kilograms worth of silver coinage for a campaign in the early fourth century BC. Self-interested imperialism Satraps were not just interested in maintaining the empire, but they also wished to maintain and even enlarge their own houses. Therefore, satraps conducted a form of self-interested imperialism in their areas of jurisdiction. With the king’s per- mission, satraps could transmit their position within their fam- ily, so enlarging their houses could benefit their descendants for generations to come. Well-off workers within the satrapal house could likewise improve their own standings by enlarg- ing the house of their lord. Satraps typically managed to con- duct themselves in such a way that benefited both themselves and the empire at large. But where imperial and personal goals conflicted, there could be trouble. A great example of the marriage between satrapal and im- perial interests can be seen by examining the career of the afore- mentioned Bēlšunu, who eventually rose to the position of satrap in Syria. Unlike most satraps, he is not from Persia proper, that is southwestern Iran; instead, he was from Babylonia. While he came from a well-connected Babylonian family, his origins lay outside the inner circle of the imperial ruling class. Nevertheless, he manoeuvred his career for the benefit of both himself and the king. King Darius II, who ruled from 423 to 404 BC, controlled extensive landholdings in Babylonia and looked for local elites to manage the local agricultural economy. Bēlšunu proved him- self a reliable ally and his management of royal lands enriched both himself and the king’s court. As a reward, Darius II promoted Bēlšunu to the position of satrap in Syria. This move obviously helped Bēlšunu establish his house as one of the empire’s most prominent, and in fact, Bēlšunu’s probable grandson (also named Bēlšunu) is attested as the satrap in Syria some 60 years later. This promotion also helped Darius II ensure imperial stability: after making Bēlšunu satrap, the king now had a personal ally in dis- tant Syria entirely dependent on his good graces for his position. The empire was built on these personal ties of loyalty. Investing in imperial infrastructure could benefit the personal riches of satraps. The letters from the house of Axvamazdā in Bactria provide an illustration. Bactria lay at the crossroads of Eurasian trade networks, an early incarna- tion of what is commonly known as the Silk Road. Goods produced in the Achaemenid Empire can be found in far- flung regions across the Eurasian steppe. The most famous of these is the Pazyryk carpet, a rug of presumably Achaemenid manufacture excavated from a burial in Russia near the bor- der with Mongolia and China. Facilitating the trade of objects like this required Axvamazdā’s house to stock storehouses for travellers, keep the roads free of banditry, and ease movement over difficult terrain. Doing so worked to the selfish interest of Axvamazdā’s house because it allowed the satrap and his workers an opportunity to collect customs taxes on the move- ment of goods. So long as Axvamazdā kept imperial opera- tions running and sent a portion of what he collected to the king’s court, he could keep extra revenue for himself. But sometimes conflicts could arise between satrapal interests and imperial goals. Tissaphernes, satrap in Lydia during the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath, helps us understand this phenomenon. Although the king furnished some supplies for the local war effort, the satraps were also expected to contribute their own resources to fund wars. Tis- saphernes, however, proved to be a miserly paymaster and sometimes put the interests of his own house above imperial interests. After one military defeat too many, King Artaxerxes II had Tissaphernes executed and replaced. But one satrap’s failure could be another’s opportunity. Tissaphernes’ long- time rival, Pharnabazus, satrap in the neighbouring region of Hellespontine Phrygia, showed himself to be a dependable ally, a reliable paymaster, and a stalwart general, and King Artaxerxes II rewarded Pharnabazus by marrying his daugh- ter to him. Pharnabazus thereby became part of the royal family, and his descendants served as satraps in the same region until at least the 340s BC. Ultimately it was the wedding of the personal interests of the satraps with the broader goals of the empire at large that enabled the Achaemenid Empire to endure at such scale for its 200-year duration. The technologies of the time prevented the close coordination of officials that is seen in modern bu- reaucratic states. Satraps and their houses needed to be given reasons to continue participating in the imperial project. En- suring that the best interests of the satrapal houses aligned with those of the larger empire reduced internal conflict. Thus, it should be no surprise that the empire collapsed from external, rather than internal, pressure with the invasion of Alexander the Great of Macedon. AH Rhyne King has a PhD from the University of Chicago and is cur- rently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Toron- to. His book, The House of the Satrap, was published in 2025. Ancient History 5612121 AN ANCIENT GEOPOLITICAL HOTSPOT THE CITY OF HATRA M ES O P O TA M IA : ca . 20 0 B C – A D 2 30 By Peter Edwell A view of the Temple of Shamash, one of the primary gods of Hatra, who is consistently referred to as protecting the city — as it was repeatedly besieged. The once-splendid city of Hatra lies in the dry steppe of upper Mesopotamia in Iraq, some 300 km northwest of Baghdad. En- closing an area of approximately 200 hectares, the city was en- circled by 6-km-long walls and at its centre was an enormous temple complex to the Sun god Shamash. In the second cen- tury AD, Hatra found itself in the middle of a major geopo- litical rivalry between the Roman and Parthian Empires. W hile there is no direct evidence, a set- tlement likely existed at Hatra in the Achaemenid or Seleucid periods. The city proper was probably founded in the second century BC and was part of the Parthian Empire or Commonwealth, and it flourished from the late first to the early third centuries AD. During this period, Roman imperial expansion east of the Euphra- tes River challenged long-established Parthian hegemony in northern Mesopotamia. Thus, at its height, Hatra was at the centre of a geopolitical struggle between two of the ancient world’s most powerful empires. The Parthians, whose origins lay on the south-eastern shores of the Caspian Sea, came to prominence in eastern Iran in the third cen- tury BC. Under the kingship of the Arsacid dynasty, they took control of large sections of the Seleucid Empire over the third and second centuries BC. By the time of the reign of Mith- ridates I (r. 165–132 BC), the Parthians were in clear control of an empire, which would come to rival the Roman Empire for centuries. The Romans invaded the Parthian Em- pire on three occasions in the second cen- tury AD. As the hegemony of the Parthians in Mesopotamia was challenged during this pe- riod, the significance of Hatra in the Parthian Commonwealth grew. The nature of govern- ment at the city also changed. Hatra and the local landscape It is important to understand the extent to which Hatra was connected to the territory surrounding the city. Cassius Dioempha- sized Hatra’s location in the middle of a de- sert lacking drinking water and vegetation: A limestone statue, dated to ca. AD 140-180, depicting Sanatruq I, one of the first kings of Hatra. The city was once ruled by lords, but they became kings thanks to their close relations with the rulers of the Parthian Empire. © Neuroforever / Wikimedia Commons etation: © x SP EC IA L 50 0 A D 1 A D clclososining g anann aaarererea cicirccleled d dd bybybyy 666-k tetempmpmpppleleee ccccom tuturyry AAAD,D,D, Hat lilitiiicacacacall riva ofo thhee frf om thththis pepe tetetes ss Rivee nonnonortrtrtheh rnn A limeston first kings thanks to © Neurofor Ancient History 56 13 © D yn am o lan d / Sh u ttersto ck “This city is neither large nor prosperous, and the surround- ing country is mostly desert and has neither water (save a small amount and that poor in quality) nor timber nor fodder” (68.38.1). In real- ity, the territory surrounding Hatra, which it also controlled, was more varied than Dio claimed. The existence of watering holes and oases together with numerous tracks and roads provided the capacity for human activity in areas that European-based writ- ers did not recognize. In a later Arabic account by Tabari (ca. AD 915), Hatra controlled a considerable section of upper Mesopotamia (also known as the Jazira), which would have included central and northern parts of the Tigris River. It also controlled its environs to the north at Jebel Sinjar and terri- tory all the way to the banks of the Khabur River to the west (Annals I.828). This considerable stretch of territory was vitally important in the context of the geopolitical developments between the Romans and Arsacid Parthians in the second century AD. The connectedness of Hatra to the dry steppe and desert regions it controlled is demonstrated by the remains of roads and tracks from the city and throughout the region. Using satellite images and an an- cient map known as the Tabula Peutingaria (Peutinger Table), at least six different routes departed from the city. Two routes headed east towards the Tigris at Ashur and modern Tikrit. Two headed south and even- tually joined roads to Ctesiphon, the most im- portant Arsacid Parthian capital. Another head- ed west, eventually joining routes that headed to the Euphrates and Khabur Rivers. A road to the northeast, which crossed the Wadi Tharthar, appears to have linked to a series of military structures in the sec- ond century AD, essential to Hatra’s control of the surrounding territory. The rulers of Hatra and Rome’s wars From the late first century AD to the middle of the second century AD, Hatra was ruled by a lord (mry’ in Aramaic). The lords of Hatra were loyal to the overall sovereignty of the Arsacid Parthian king. The Roman writer, Pliny the Elder, writing ca. AD 75, claimed that the Parthian Em- pire was comprised of eighteen kingdoms and even though Hatra was not a kingdom at this time, it was probably counted in that number (Natural History 6.112). Sometime between AD 151/2 and 177/8, the rulers of Hatra became kings (mlk’ in Aramaic), heralding a closer relationship with the Par- thian monarch. The context for the changes in the middle of the second century was the power strug- nor nd- nd all ity) AD, H (mry’ i’ Hatra so Riv con vita geop the R the s to t it c rem the Us cie (Top) A map of Mesopotamia (ca. AD 200) depicting the borders of the various vassal kingdoms between the Roman and Parthian Empires. As Hatra's importance to Parthia grew in this period, so to did its borders. © Richard Thomson (Bottom) Part of the Peutinger Table, a map of the roads of the Roman Empire, depicting Mesopotamia. Hatra can be seen to the right of Babylon. The map depicts several roads leading from Hatra, connecting it to the surrounding region, possibly reflecting its use as a trade hub. © Peter Edwell © x © x © x Ancient History 5614 gle between Rome and Parthia, especially the invasions of Trajan (AD 114–117) and the war between Vologases IV of Parthia and the emperor Lucius Verus (AD 161–166). When Trajan’s army of approximately 100,000 men invaded the Parthian Empire in AD 114, it initially met with spectacular success. Terri- tory and cities in northern Mesopotamia were captured with relative ease, as was the Parthi- an capital, Seleucia-Ctesiphon on the Tigris. In AD 115, Trajan made it as far as the Persian Gulf but revolts in the conquered territories soon broke out. Hatra played a significant part in these revolts and Trajan attempted to capture the city in AD 116. When the emperor failed to capture the city due to its stout resistance, the lords of Hatra were drawn even more into the orbit of the Parthian king, who was able to recapture all the gains made by Trajan soon after his death in AD 117. Either Elkud or his son Nashrihab was lord of Hatra at the time of the unsuccessful Roman siege, and it was via this line that the kings of Hatra would later emerge. Nashrihab’s son Nasru had two sons, Volgash and Sanatruq I, and sometime be- tween AD 151/2 and 177/8 they were granted the title king (mlk’) by the Parthian king. This promotion was likely connected to the significant changes underway in north- ern Mesopotamia during the 160s, when the war between Lucius Verus and Vologases IV saw the Romans make significant territorial gains. After this war, it was clear that the Ro- mans now held the upper hand in northern Mesopotamia. Thus, Hatra and its rulers be- came of greater significance to the Parthians and this likely explains the upgrade of the status of its rulers to kings. The geopolitical significance of Hatra was further demonstrated in the 190s in the context p ese revolts and Trajan attempted t capture the city in AD 116. When the emperor failed to capture th city due to its stout resistance, th lords of Hatra were draw even more into th orbit of the Parthia king, who wa able to recaptur all the gain er er ab was e of the , and it was i One of the plaques of the Parthian Monu- ment, a structure erected in Ephesus to commemorate Lucius Verus' victory in the Parthian campaign, depicting a battle be- tween Roman and Parthian soldiers. Hatra was of greater importance to the Parthian Empire after Lucius Verus' campaign. © Carole Raddato / Flickr A fresco from Dura Europos, dated to the first century AD, from the temple of Palmyrene gods, depicting two priests in conical white hats, behind whom stands Conon, the leader of the sacrifice. Hatra, despite mostly being aligned with Parthia rather than Rome, possibly had similar religious imagery. © Dosseman / Wikimedia Commons © x Ancient History 56 15 of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus’ in- vasions of Parthia. Severus came to power in AD 193, following a civil war with Pescennius Niger. A number of local Mesopotamian rulers supported Niger, including the king of Hatra, Barsemius, who sent a troop of highly skilled archers to fight with Niger against Severus. When Severus undertook major invasions of Parthia later in the 190s, he prosecuted two sieges of Hatra in reprisal for its support of Ni- ger. Just as Trajan discovered 80 years earlier, however, the impressive fortifications at Hatra and the defending garrison were formidable: “But he (Severus) lost a vast amount of money, all his engines, except those built by Priscus…and many soldiers besides. A good many were lost on foraging expeditions, as the barbarian cavalry…kept assailing them everywhere in swift and violent attacks. The archery, too, of the Atreni was effec- tive at very long range, since they hurled some of their missiles by means of engines, so that they actually struck many even of Severus' guards; for they discharged two missiles at one and the same shot and there were many hands and many bows hurling the missilesall at the same time. But they inflicted the greatest damage on their as- sailants when these approached the wall, and much more still after they had broken down a small portion of it; for they hurled down upon them, among things, the bitu- minous naphtha…and consumed the en- gines and all the soldiers on whom it fell” (Cassius Dio, 76.11). In reports of the sieges of Hatra by Trajan and Septimius Severus, the sun god Shamash also played an active role in defending the city. Despite his failure at Hatra, Severus made significant territorial gains across northern Mes- opotamia in the 190s. A newly formed prov- ince of Mesopotamia was established with its capital at Nisibis and legionary garrisons at Singara and Rhesaina. To the west of the new province, the Kingdom of Osrhoene, which had also been As the Roman Empire expanded further east after the establishment of the province of Syria in ca. 65 BC, it came into closer proximity to the burgeon- ing wealth of Arabia, India, Central Asia, and China. The acquisition of Egypt in 31 BC saw heightened sea-borne trade originating in India and East Africa (see Rathbone, AH 50), and when Rome acquired the Kingdom of Nabataea in Arabia in AD 106 the incense trade from southern Arabia became more proximate as well. The growing wealth of urban elites across the Roman Em- pire as it expanded saw skyrocketing demand for luxury items originating east of the empire. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of different products that formed part of this trade — from silk to pepper and incense — and they had their origins across Afro-Eurasia. The Romans not only imported a range of items but also exported products such as glass, wine, and metals. Thousands of Roman silver coins from the first and second centuries AD have been found in locations such as India. While it is plausible that Hatra was involved in the burgeoning trade that the entire region experienced from the first century AD onwards, as the city’s growing prosperity coincided with the intensification of trade in the region, very little direct evidence survives to confirm this. Perhaps the notable similarities of Hatra with Palmyra in Syria, where extensive evidence for that city’s involve- ment in the ‘luxury’ trade from Iran, Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, and India has been found, is a useful parallel. Like Palmyra, Hatra may have exploited its geographical position to act as a trading go-between for goods travelling overland between Mesopotamia and Iran and the Roman Near East. Tabari high- lighted the ability of the Hatrene king Daizan (ca. AD 230) to tax the area he controlled between the Tigris and Khabur Rivers (Annals I. 827). This tax would likely have included taxes (tariffs) on trade. An undated inscription found at a watering hole 20 km from Hatra commemorates the establishment of a caravan station. Hatra’s role in this trade was likely significant. A trading hub? A view of the remains of Nisa, a Parthian city located in modern Turkmenistan. The city was a major trading hub, connecting the Parthian Empire to the trade routes of Central Asia. under Parthian domination before the mid-sec- ond century AD, became a Roman province. Its king, Abgar VIII, remained as a Roman cli- ent-king in Osrhoene’s capital, Edessa, despite his support of Niger in the civil war. garrisons est m lighted hthe aba ility controlledd beetwee likely haave includ waaterinng ho carravan s DID YOU KNOW? The Parthian Empire was a commonwealth of eighteen individual kingdoms. Of these, Parthia was dominant, and its king took the title ‘King of Kings’, marking him as the head of the empire. © U sp n / W ikim ed ia C o m m o n s © x © x Ancient History 5616 Hatra and the Sasanian Persians The Sasanian Persian overthrow of the Ar- sacid Parthians in the 220s had significant ramifications for the empire the Parthians once controlled and especially for Hatra. The Sasanians took a more centralized ap- proach to the government of the empire and often installed family members as rulers of the kingdoms and principalities that comprised it, which may have spurred the Hatrenes’ defec- tion to the Roman Empire around this time. The Sasanians took an early and ag- gressive stance to Rome’s expansionary activities in Mesopotamia. In AD 230, they attacked Roman Mesopota- mia, and by the end of the decade they had captured large swathes of the province. At around the same time, the Sasanian Shahan- Rise of the Sasanians In the second century AD, the Parthian Em- pire faced challenges like it never had in its more than 300-year history. Three dev- astating Roman invasions left the empire reeling and the Arsacid dynasty that ruled it faced some serious internal problems. This was, in part, caused by the Roman inva- sions but also contributed to the limitations of the Parthians in dealing with them. In AD 205/6, Papak, who descended from a semi-mythical figure named Sasan, overthrew the King of Persis in southern Iran. He then rebelled against the Arsacid Parthian king Vo- logases V. Papak’s son, Ardashir, expanded this revolt into neighbouring kingdoms and suc- ceeded his father as King of Persis in AD 208. Ardashir’s succession marked the beginning of the Sasanian Persian dynasty, which would eventually overthrow the last Parthian King of Kings, Artabanus V in AD 224. The Sasanian overthrow of the Arsacid Parthian dynasty was assisted by a decade-long civil war, beginning in AD 213, between Artabanus V and his broth- er, Vologases VI, who had succeeded his father as King of Kings on his death in AD 208. As the first King of Kings of the Sasanian Persian Empire, Ardashir attempted consider- able territorial expansion. One of his main aims was the removal of the Romans from northern Mesopotamia and Armenia. He achieved par- tial success in this endeavour by the time of his death in AD 241/2. e’s in Mesopotamia. In Roman Mesopota- w t R In p a re it This sion of th An aerial view of the remains of Hatra's sacred centre, referred to as the Enclo- sure of Shamash on a Hatrene coin. In antiquity, Hatra's walls were formidable, keeping armies of both the Roman Empire and the Sasanians at bay. When the walls were finally breached in the third century AD, the city was soon abandoned. © Livius.org A Sasanian dish, dated to the late third century AD, decorated with images of a goddess riding a predator in the centre and warriors and animals. The dish incorporates Iranian, Roman, and Middle Eastern artistic motifs. © The State Hermitage Museum © x © x Ancient History 56 17 shah (King of Kings), Ardashir I, placed Hatra under siege. Cassius Dio claimed that Arda- shir wished to use Hatra as a forward base from which to attack the Romans (80.3). Ar- dashir also desired to punish the Hatrenes for attempting to expand their power while he was away fighting on the Central Asian fron- tier, as well as their defection to Rome. Like the three Roman sieges of the city in the sec- ond century, however, this one also failed. It is possible Roman troops were present during Ardashir’s siege as, by AD 235, Latin inscrip- tions at Hatra show that a Roman auxiliary unit (Cohors IX Maurorum) was based at the city, and it may have arrived earlier. In AD 240 the Sasanians put Hatra under siege again. This siege, for which archaeological evidence still exists, lasted two years and was prosecuted by Ardashir’s son and later successor Shapur I. Tabari at- tributed the capture of the city to a highly romanticized legend that Shapur seduced a Hatrene princess during the siege named Nadira. Shapur was able to gain entry to Hatra via this love interest and capture the city (Annals I.829–30). The story is not ac- cepted as historical but adds to the mys- tique of Hatra and its extensive ruins. Despite Dio’s claim that the Sasanians wished to use Hatra as a staging area for west- ward campaigns,the Sasanians did not retain Hatra after capturing it in AD 240 and the city was not reoccupied. A similar outcome is ob- servable at Dura Europos on the Euphrates af- ter it was captured by the Sasanians from the Romans in the mid-250s. When the emperor Julian’s army was in retreat from Persia in AD 363, they encountered Hatra, which was long deserted according to the eyewitness, Ammi- anus Marcellinus (25.8.5). Tabari quoted from a poem that was later written about the fall of Hatra: “And where is now the ruler of Hatra, who once built it and for whom the taxation of the Tigris and the Khabur was collected? He raised it up firmly with marble and covered it over with plaster, yet the birds have found nesting places in its pinnacles” (Annals I.830) Hatra was a city that captured the imagina- tion of ancient writers in both the Roman and Persian/Arabic traditions. Its legendary status was fed by the perceived isolation of its location in northern Mesopotamia and its formidable defences that repulsed the most powerful armies of the time on four occa- sions. The wealth of the city and its kings also formed part of this legend and the remains of the city to this day bear testimony to the extraordinary endeavours of its people. AH Peter Edwell is Associate Professor of Histo- ry and Archaeology, Macquarie University, Sydney. He has published extensively on the Roman eastern provinces in Late Antiquity and Rome’s relationship with the Sasanian Persian Empire. of Hatra: e ruler of it and of the r e th it over birds aces in .830) Hatra Arda- Hatra was a city th tion of ancient wr c traditions. Its legendary l tion of hat captured the imagina- riters in both the Roman (Top) A decorated archway from Hatra, carved with a row of dromedaries. Hatra's location between the Roman Empire and the Parthian and Sasanian Empires — much like Palmyra to the south — likely meant the city was a major trade hub, facilitating east-west movement of goods. © Livius.org (Bottom) A relief known as the Ardashir Relief, depicting armoured cavalrymen in combat, representing the Sasanian king Ardashir's victory over the Parthian king Artabanus V. Having defeated the Parthians, Ardashir put Hatra, which had turned to Rome, under siege. © Hadi Karimi / Wikimedia Commons © x © x Ancient History 56181818 ROME'S ENSLAVED LABOUR TALKING TOOLS? THEME TH E R O M A N E M P IR E: c a. 1 00 B C – A D 3 00 By Miriam J. Groen-Vallinga A funerary bust, dated to AD 100–115, of a young boy named Martial who was born a slave, dedicated by his master. Enslaved people were an integral part of ancient Roman society, and served in a variety of roles. © The J. Paul Getty Museum A fresco from the praedia of Julia Felix in Pompeii. Dated to the mid- to late-first century AD, it depicts the sale of a slave girl at the market. It is easy to overlook the fact that much, perhaps even most, of the art- and craftwork we appreciate today as the essence of Roman society was the result of the great effort and skill of enslaved labourers. Who were these individuals, and what was their contribution to the Roman economy? What ancient evidence is there to find out more about the work and la- bour of these marginalized, but far from marginal, persons? E nslaved persons throughout history have been identi- fied as property, deemed commodities in themselves — Varro famously refers to slaves as “talking tools” (On Rural Matters 1.17.1) — and considered socially dead, having no family or legal persona of their own. The Roman Empire was no exception. Rome, however, was also characterized by the remarkable extent to which freed per- sons were accepted into society. Freedmen’s proverbial wealth became a source of anxiety to the elite, their ostentatious self-aggrandizement the target of ridicule. This wealth must have originated from the skills gained and the work performed in enslavement, which has led some scholars to argue that slavery in Rome was not that bad, and that it could have served merely as a stepping stone to a better life. If this were the case for some, it was certainly not the norm. Slav- ery came in many forms and most enslaved persons never tasted freedom. Their experi- ences and quality of life depended largely on slaveholders’ practices, and on the work and labour that had to be performed. Slaveholding and slaveholders Just how many persons had to endure slav- ery under Roman rule? Unfortunately, the only numbers historical demographers have to go on are incidental and often unreliable attestations in literary sources. Even though the Romans kept a census on a regular basis, fragmentary documentation for this remains solely for the province of Egypt. As such, es- timates on the numbers and percentages of the population that were enslaved vary. Yet there is something close to consensus that, in absolute numbers, there were more en- slaved persons in the countryside than in the city; the percentage population that was en- a nt, TH EM E: A n ci en t la b ou r 50 0 A D 1 A D 50 0 B C A funerary b was born a sla part of ancient © The J. Paul G evev didencecec is thhere bobobobb urur oof f thththt ese e mma nsla fied — V (On dea TTheee RRRRomoo anan Em cchahaharactteeriz sonsns w wewealt ossten Thhis w 5 © P h yrexian / W ikim ed ia C o m m o n s slaved, however, was higher in cities than in the countryside, higher in Roman Italy than in the provinces, and it was without doubt highest of all in the capital — as many as 40 per cent of the population of the city of Rome. Overall, the free population was sig- nificantly larger than the enslaved popula- tion, although the free population consisted of both freeborn and freed persons, who had also experienced slavery. In other words, slavery had an enormous impact on the de- mographic make-up of the Roman Empire. Slaveholding was prevalent across Ro- man society. The practice is, as with so many things, particularly well-attested for the elite. The consul of AD 43, Lucius Pedanius Se- cundus, allegedly owned 400 slaves (Tacitus, Annals 14.42–45); Augustus’ Lex Fufia Caninia of 2 BC, limiting testamen- tary manumission, includes stipulations for households with 100–500 or more slaves. Although these numbers should be seen as the exception to the norm, they may illustrate the wider phenom- enon that elite households were expected to own a considerable number of enslaved persons. Even more mod- est non-elite households, however, would Slavery existed in antiquity long before the Roman Empire arose. The enslaved popula- tion of Rome increased in pace with the ex- pansion of Roman territory from the Second Punic War onwards. As a result of large-scale conquest in the third and second centuries BC, the main source of slaves were prison- ers of war. By the time of the Late Republic, however, slavery had stabilized into a system in which at least as many people were born into slavery as were introduced on the slave market through conflict and the independent slave trade. A steady influx of newcomers on the slave market remained in existence throughout the Imperial period. There are in- dications of continuous trade routes for hu- man trafficking with the Black Sea regions, for example, but slaves were procured from have owned one or two slaves at some point during the family life cycle, which underlines that there was also a more practical, econom- ic side to slavery. In literary evidence dating as early as Plautus’ comedies (second cen- tury BC) to at least the figure of Photis in Ap- uleius’ Metamorphoses (second century AD), these household servants are a recurrent stock character. Their presence in smaller homes is confirmed by epigraphic evidence, and the census documents from Roman Egypt also regularly list enslaved household members. Formerly enslaved personsvery often became slaveholders, and even enslaved persons could own slaves, who are known as vicarii or sub-slaves. Slaveholding was, therefore, the norm, not the exception. Slavery and the Roman economy The Roman Empire and its economy would have looked very different without slavery. This certainly holds true for the Roman labour market. It has been argued that slavery and the widespread availability of commodified la- bour it entails precludes or inhibits economic growth. In Roman society, labour power was the most significant production factor and that innovation, profit, and growth as a result were very often attained chiefly through investing in human capital. However, most of the available workers were free, and not enslaved. Evidence for the working population is very diverse. Literary evidence underlines The slave supply all parts of the empire and beyond. Anyone could become a slave. Persons were robbed of their freedom through con- flict, piracy, or brigandage. Pirates knew where to locate Roman traders, who would in turn transfer their human cargo to slave dealers (mangones). If we are to believe Sue- tonius, Julius Caesar himself was captured by pirates and only a handsome ransom of 50 talents kept him out of bondage (Caesar 4.1–2). Others were exposed as infants to be raised in slavery or sold at a later age by indigent parents. Enslaved persons were put up on the auction block in the very heart of the city. Seneca the Younger indicates that, in first-century-AD Rome, they were found on the Forum near the temple of Castor (On the Firmness of the Wise Person 2.13.4). d. pulation is underlines d. ave. Persons hrough con- rates knew who would rgo to slave believe Sue- was captured e ransom of dage (Caesar as infants to later age by ons were put very heart of cates that, in ere found on astor (On the 3.4). The c cun nt es m- ng n- p- D), ck is he so rs. me ns ii A stele with a relief depicting a slave driver armed with a club and holding a chain connected to the necks of two slaves. War was a major source of slaves in the Roman world, but as the borders of the empire stabilized, opportunities to seize captives lessened. Consequently, slaves born into slavery became more common. © Livius.org A part of a Roman thymiaterion ('incense burner') in the shape of a comic actor dressed as the character of the Leading Slave, dated to to the first half of the first century AD. Slaves were stock characters in Roman drama from as early as the second century BC. © The J. Paul Getty Museum © x © x Ancient History 5620 an elite perspective and is only helpful to investigate enslaved labour to some extent. For in- stance, if we are to believe Cicero, wage workers were all ‘enslaved’: “their very wages are the warrant of their slavery” (On Duties 1.150). This view can hardly have been that of the majority. Almost everything that survives from Roman antiquity – every aqueduct, every house, every brick, tool, loaf of bread, vegetable, or chicken – was in some way made, produced, processed, grown, or bred by man. These things, unfortunately, were not always signed by the persons who made them, although this happened perhaps more often than we would expect – the petri- fied bread from Pompeii and Herculaneum was stamped by the baker. Funerary epigraphy generally provides more details, as tombstones sometimes re- cord the occupation as well as the identity of the deceased or the dedicator. Thus, the freedman Quintus Lucretius Chrestus, a bail- iff (viator quaestor ab aerario), had a marble funerary plaque made for his patron Gemel- lus of the same occupation (CIL 6.1929, first century AD, Rome). Chrestus presumably worked together with his patron, who was, in- cidentally, also a freedman. It has often been noted that freedpersons are overrepresented in inscriptions. They are even more overrep- resented in so-called occupational inscrip- tions. In examples like this, in lieu of the fam- ily ties that enslaved persons did not legally have, it seems they opted to commemorate colleagues, the work that they identified with, or the job that had provided them with the funds to become independent. As it is quite likely that Chrestus learned the trade while he was enslaved, occupational inscriptions for freedpersons also tell us something about enslaved labour. Such inscriptions also exist for enslaved persons, however, and they are attested for men, women, and children. One, for example, tells us that nine-year old Vic- centia was a gold spin- ner (CIL 6.9213). a h l s C ‘ a ( c m s – e v s p m were not alw made them, a more often th fied bread fro was stamped p s, however, and they are men, and children. One, us c- in- Replica of a relief from an altar- ossuary, dated to the second century AD, depicting two knife-makers — Lucius Cornelius Atimetus and his freedman Epaphra — at work. Slaves could be bought and trained by tradesmen, before being freed and using their skills to generate personal wealth. © Livius.org Detail from the Great Hunt Mosaic in a Roman villa at Piazza Armerina, Sicily, dated to the early fourth century AD. It depicts a man beating a slave with a rod. Mistreatment of slaves was considered a valid reason for a slave to run away and take refuge at a statue of the emperor. © Gorup de Besanez © x © x Though freed and en- slaved persons predominate in the epigraphic evidence, most of the indi- vidual occupations are attested for freeborn, freed, and enslaved individuals alike, suggest- ing that in Roman society persons of differing legal status were working side by side in the same jobs. Having said that, the inscriptions all originate from an urban context. Since it is costly to put up even a modest inscrip- tion in stone, the occupational designations likely obscure menial labour and the type of working conditions where enslaved labour is generally expected to have out- numbered free labour, such as on the large villa-estates of the elites, and in (imperial) mines and quarries. Rural and urban slavery There were enormous differ- ences in the demographic make-up of the population between urban settlements and the more rural areas of the empire. Perhaps 60 per cent of the enslaved popula- Ancient History 56 21 tion lived in rural areas. Even between prov- inces, however, the percentage of enslaved persons could differ. The higher estimate for enslaved labourers in particular areas should be related to the presence of the large-scale agricultural estates that were so prevalent in Italy, or the gold mines in Spain and Dacia. The mines and quarries of the empire called for the collaboration of many people. Highly skilled construction engineers and site overseers were needed on a mining site. A great many more manual labourers were in- volved in the actual work of carving out mine shafts in the mountains. The resulting narrow shafts are sometimes thought to have neces- sitated child labour for winning the stone. Considering the unhealthy circumstances as well as the physical strength needed to ex- tract the rock, however, it is likely that adults rather than children would have made up the There were ways in which enslaved persons could take their lives into their own hands. This might mean working hard and cooperat- ing with the slaveholder’s wishes, in the hope of attaining better living circumstances or even their freedom. Alternatively, there were those who would actively or furtively coun- teract the interests of slaveholders by slack- ing, messing up their chores, or by hiding. Runaways, too, are well attested, through collars inscribed with a version of the text “Catch me because I flee” — in Late Antiqui- ty, branding and tattoos seem to have served the purpose of indicating a former runaway. Enslaved persons do not appear to have been running from slavery