The Northern Black Sea in Antiquity: Networks, Connectivity, and Cultural Interactions

Description

The Northern Black Sea region, despite its distance from the centers of classical civilizations, played an integral role in the socioeconomic life of the ancient Greco-Roman world. The chapters in this book, written by experts on the region, explore topics such as the trade, religion, political culture, art and architecture, and the local non-Greek populations, from the foundation of the first Greek colonies on the North Pontic shores at the end of the seventh and sixth century BCE through the first centuries of the Roman imperial period. This volume closely examines relevant categories of archaeological material, including amphorae, architectural remains, funerary and dedicatory monuments, inscriptions, and burial complexes. Geographically, it encompasses the coastal territories of modern Russia and Ukraine. "The Northern Black Sea in Antiquity" embraces an inclusive and comparative approach while discussing new archaeological evidence, offering fresh insights into familiar questions, and presenting original interpretations of well-known artifacts. List of Color Plates ix List of Figures xi List of Maps xvii Notes on Contributors xviii Preface xxi List of Abbreviations xxiv INTRODUCTION: "PONTIC NETWORKS" / Valeriya Kozlovskaya 1 1. THE GREEKS AND THE BLACK SEA: THE EARLIEST IDEAS ABOUT THE REGION AND THE BEGINNING OF COLONIZATION / Askold Ivantchik 7 PART I. HARBORS 2. ANCIENT HARBORS OF THE NORTHWESTERN BLACK SEA COAST / Valeriya Kozlovskaya 29 3. THE GEOLOGICAL CONTEXT FOR COASTAL ADAPTATION ALONG THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA (700 BCE – 500 CE) / Ilya Buynevich 50 PART II. OVERSEAS TRADE (BASED ON AMPHORA STUDIES) 4. OVERSEAS TRADE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION FROM THE ARCHAIC TO THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD / Sergey Iu. Monakhov and Elena V. Kuznetsova 59 5. OVERSEAS TRADE IN THE BLACK SEA REGION AND THE FORMATION OF THE PONTIC MARKET FROM THE FIRST CENTURY BCE TO THE THIRD CENTURY CE / Sergey Iu. Vnukov 100 PART III. POLITICAL CULTURE 6. POLITICAL CULTURE IN THE CITIES OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA REGION IN THE "LONG HELLENISTIC AGE" (THE EPIGRAPHIC EVIDENCE) / Angelos Chaniotis 141 PART IV. ART AND ARCHITECTURE 7. THE LANGUAGE(S) OF IMAGES IN THE ARTS OF THE BOSPORAN KINGDOM / Maya Muratov 169 8. LOCAL ARCHITECTURAL STYLES IN THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA REGION (WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE IONIC ORDER) / Alla V. Buiskikh 192 PART V. THE SARMATIANS 9. THE SARMATIANS IN THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA REGION (ON THE BASIS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL) / Valentina I. Mordvintseva 233 Notes 284 References 318 Index 361