A name and a place : settlement and land use patterns, identity expression and social strategies in Hellenistic and Roman Thessaly
Theories that presented decline and depopulation as defining characteristics of Greece at the transitions from the Hellenistic to the Roman period have been challenged by recent regional studies that investigated landscape, political, economic and social change. This thesis adds to this growing discourse by investigating the impact of, and responses to, increasing Roman hegemony in Thessaly from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE. This thesis focuses on quantitative and qualitative evidence for change in three inter-related aspects, (1) settlement and land use, (2) identity expression and (3) reciprocal benefactions. The results highlight the complex and regionally specific impact of Roman hegemony as well as the discrepant responses of local elite members of the population. Urbanization, a decrease in small settlement site numbers and a rise in the number of large rural estates, villae rusticae, and imperial estates, all indicating changes in land ownership patterns, are characteristic of the middle Hellenistic and early Roman periods in Thessaly. Epigraphic data demonstrate that honorary grants, particularly citizenship and land ownership rights, peaked in the 2nd century BCE followed by a gradual
Kaczmarek, Crysta
A name and a place : settlement and land use patterns, identity expression and social strategies in Hellenistic and Roman Thessaly. Theories that presented decline and depopulation as defining characteristics of Greece at the transitions from the Hellenistic to the Roman period have been challenged by recent regional studies that investigated landscape, political, economic and social change. This thesis adds to this growing discourse by investigating the impact of, and responses to, increasing Roman hegemony in Thessaly from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE. This thesis focuses on quantitative and qualitative evidence for change in three inter-related aspects, (1) settlement and land use, (2) identity expression and (3) reciprocal benefactions. The results highlight the complex and regionally specific impact of Roman hegemony as well as the discrepant responses of local elite members of the population. Urbanization, a decrease in small settlement site numbers and a rise in the number of large rural estates, villae rusticae, and imperial estates, all indicating changes in land ownership patterns, are characteristic of the middle Hellenistic and early Roman periods in Thessaly. Epigraphic data demonstrate that honorary grants, particularly citizenship and land ownership rights, peaked in the 2nd century BCE followed by a gradual
name place settlement_land use pattern identity expression social strategy hellenistic roman thessaly theories present decline depopulation define_characteristic greece transition hellenistic_roman period challenge recent regional study_investigate landscape political_economic social_change add_grow discourse investigate_impact response increase roman hegemony thessaly focus quantitative_qualitative evidence change inter_related aspect settlement_land use identity expression reciprocal benefaction highlight complex regionally specific impact_roman hegemony well discrepant response local_elite member population urbanization decrease small settlement_site number rise number large rural estate imperial estate indicate change land_ownership pattern characteristic middle hellenistic early_roman period thessaly epigraphic data grant particularly citizenship land_ownership right peak bce follow gradual