Rome's Desert Frontier from the Air
About: This article is published in Classical World.The article was published on 1992-01-01. It has received 21 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Desert (philosophy).
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Book•
05 Jul 1995
TL;DR: David Braund, University of Exeter Brian Campbell Queen's University of Belfast Duncan Cloud, University Of Leicester Tim Cornell, University College, London Wolfgang Liebeschuetz, University OF Nottingham Stephen Oakley, Emmanuel College, Cambridge John Patterson, Magdalene College and Cambridge John Rich, Universityof Nottingham.
Abstract: David Braund, University of Exeter Brian Campbell Queen's University of Belfast Duncan Cloud, University of Leicester Tim Cornell, University College, London Wolfgang Liebeschuetz, University of Nottingham Stephen Oakley, Emmanuel College, Cambridge John Patterson, Magdalene College, Cambridge John Rich, University of Nottingham Harry Sidebottom, Christi College, Oxford Dick Whittaker, Churchill College, Cambridge Greg Woolf, Magdalen College, Oxford Adam Ziolkowski, University of Warsaw
114 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: The Sasanids’ sieges of Roman cities and the Great King’s kindliness presented in literary sources and the Khwadaynamag tradition are presented.
Abstract: .........................................................................................1 Acknowledgements.............................................................................2 Table of contents................................................................................3 Notes on transliteration and terminology....................................................5 Introduction.......................................................................................6 Chronological and geographical scope..........................................11 Civilians: terminology, description and composition.................................15 Existing scholarship on civilians in siege warfare...............................24 Sources and methods................................................................28 Structure of the thesis...............................................................38 Chapter 1. Historical and intellectual background..........................................40 Historical setting....................................................................40 Intellectual and social contexts of key texts......................................48 A chronological table on the sixth-century Persian wars, with a special emphasis on the Sasanids’ sieges of Roman cities..............................54 Chapter 2. Analysis of literary accounts .....................................................55 Words and phrases..................................................................55 Women, children and the urbs capta.............................................61 Motifs from Judeo-Christian Literature..........................................68 The Great King’s kindliness presented in literary sources and the Khwadaynamag tradition............................................................................77 Chapter 3. The experience of civilians in Roman cities...................................88 Loss of life...........................................................................88 Hand-to-hand combat and street battles....................................88 Massacres and executions...................................................92 Lack of subsistence.........................................................103 Sexual violence..................................................................113 Concubinage and sexual relations with the conquerors................113 Rape...........................................................................115 The suicide of two thousand virgins......................................120 Loss and destruction of property................................................123 Plundering....................................................................123
59 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the abilities of three satellite remote sensed image products (low spatial resolution LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM); medium resolution SPOT Panchromatic; high resolution KVR-1000) to detect archaeological features in the environs of the Iron Age hillfort at Figsbury Ring, Wiltshire.
Abstract: The abilities of three satellite remote sensed image products (low spatial resolution LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM); medium resolution SPOT Panchromatic; high resolution KVR-1000) to detect archaeological features in the environs of the Iron Age hillfort at Figsbury Ring, Wiltshire, have been evaluated. Given prior knowledge of their locations, relatively large features together and those possessing a strong linear nature could be detected on the LANDSAT TM multispectral and SPOT Panchromatic image products. Near-infrared TM imagery showed promise for the detection of smaller features as a result of differences in vegetation cover, but was constrained by its low spatial resolution. High resolution Russian KVR-1000 imagery was found to be capable of detecting both upstanding and ploughed-out archaeological features without the need for prior knowledge of ground truth.
It is concluded that satellite imagery, although not a substitute for conventional aerial photography, represents a complementary source of information when prospecting for archaeological features. In a regional context, low resolution multispectral imagery can be used for the prospection for areas of high archaeological potential through the use of image processing and modelling techniques and, together with medium resolution imagery can be used to prepare base maps of regions for which up to date mapping is not available. High-resolution imagery, together with conventional aerial photographs, can be used subsequently to detect and map archaeological features. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
54 citations
Cites background from "Rome's Desert Frontier from the Air..."
...Kennedy and Bewley, 1998), where cloud-free conditions pertain and where there are a higher percentage of stone built and still upstanding sites (Kennedy and Riley, 1990), the archaeological utility of this resource is potentially immense....
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...…surveys being undertaken in the Near East (e.g. Kennedy and Bewley, 1998), where cloud-free conditions pertain and where there are a higher percentage of stone built and still upstanding sites (Kennedy and Riley, 1990), the archaeological utility of this resource is potentially immense....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the Marshland of Cities: Deltaic Landscapes and the Evolution of Civilization is described. And the evolution of cities in the Marshlands of Cities is discussed.
Abstract: OF THE BOOK Marshland of Cities: Deltaic Landscapes and the Evolution of Civilization
37 citations
TL;DR: El-LejjunLegionary31° 13′ N, 35° ǫ 0.5° 0.3°EFigures as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Site NameTypeLocationIllustrations in Kennedy and Riley (1990)1El-LejjunLegionary31° 13′ N, 35° 48′ EFigures 76–78 fortress 2Khirbet el-FityanFort31° 14′ N, 35° 48′ EFigures 120–1213Qasr BshirFor...
30 citations
Cites background from "Rome's Desert Frontier from the Air..."
...To the immediate north and east of the fort, the walls and buildings of the town that subsequently grew up around the fort (Kennedy and Riley 1990) can be discerned as changes in texture, with possible upstanding buildings visible as dark ‘dots’....
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...Whilst lacking the definition of conventional aerial photography (cf. Kennedy and Riley 1990), the ability to detect remains from Rome’s desert frontier on the KH-4B imagery from mission 1115–2 demonstrates the potential of declassified CORONA imagery to support archaeological prospection in this…...
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...In the case of the eastern desert frontier, there are many fine remains to be found and aerial photography conducted in the first half of the twentieth century has contributed much to our understanding (Kennedy and Riley 1990)....
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...Measuring some 18 m622 m in plan view (Kennedy and Riley 1990), the tower is set inside an earlier, larger, enclosure covering some 60 m660 m. 3.4....
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References
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Dissertation•
26 Aug 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a Table of Table of contents of the paper "Acknowledgements and acknowledgements of the authors of this paper: https://www.goprocessor.org/
Abstract: ................................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. iii Table of
10 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the first meeting between the Roman and Parthian Empires in the first decade of the First Century BC and place that meeting within its wider geopolitical context and consider its consequences for Romano-Parthian relations over the following decade.
Abstract: This thesis focuses upon the first meeting between the Roman and Parthian Empires in the first decade of the First Century BC. It places that meeting within its wider geopolitical context and considers its consequences for Romano-Parthian relations over the following decade.
Near Eastern history of this period is confused, relying upon sparse textual evidence; as a consequence it is known as the Parthian Dark Age. This study addresses this shortfall in our evidence by reassessing the translations of Classical sources, employing Babylonian cuneiform texts, interpreting archaeological research and reinterpreting numismatic evidence.
This thesis argues that the early development of Romano-Parthian relations was a product of wider geopolitical forces to an extent that has not been considered by previous scholarship. It argues that Parthia‘s passivity towards Rome‘s increasingly aggressive incursions into the Near East was a consequence of profound political and social upheaval within the Parthian Empire, hinted at in our primary sources. It argues further that Parthia‘s preoccupation with this internal discord, which included attempts at secession by various constituent kingdoms, allowed first King Tigranes of Armenia and then Rome to cement a foothold in the Near East south of the Taurus Mountains, at the expense of the Seleucid dynasties and Parthia‘s interests.
This thesis employs a broader understanding of Near and Far Eastern sources than has been seen in previous studies and therefore addresses a gap in scholarship concerning the overall geopolitical picture of the Near East in the early First Century BC, and the roles Rome and Parthia played in shaping it. It closely examines the crucial preliminary period in Romano-Parthian relations in the vicinity of the Euphrates River―a landmark that formed their frontier for three hundred years. Current scholarship has tended to focus on the later phase of Romano-Parthian interaction, particularly after Rome‘s annexation of Syria, and the more extensively documented Imperial period. This thesis aims to redress this imbalance.
This study concludes that a broader examination of the relevant primary sources is required in order to illuminate the history of the Parthian Dark Age, and to make the Parthian Empire‘s interactions with Rome and its western neighbours more comprehensible. In addition it concludes that Parthia‘s crisis in the East explains its passivity towards Roman expansion into Asia Minor and the Near East in the first decades of the First Century BC.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the accuracy of a method described previously Fowler 2006 for estimating the acquisition times of CORONA photographs using freely available historical Two Line Element orbital ephemeris data together with a commercial off-the-shelf modelling package for satellite operations.
Abstract: In contrast to modern satellite images, information regarding the time of acquisition of declassified CORONA satellites is not readily available and requires access to hard-copy frame ephemeris data held by the US National Archives and Records Administration NARA. In this article, the accuracy of a method described previously Fowler 2006 for estimating the acquisition times of CORONA photographs using freely available historical Two Line Element orbital ephemeris data together with a commercial off-the-shelf modelling package for satellite operations has been investigated. The Root Mean Square Error RMSE between the modelled and documented acquisition times for a sample of 21 frames acquired by four CORONA KH-4B missions was determined to be of the order of 20.3 s and indicates that the approach can be used to estimate the acquisition times of CORONA satellite photographs to a relatively high degree of accuracy. From this, the solar azimuth and elevation for particular locations covered by the photographs can be readily determined. An example of the application of the technique is given for the case of two CORONA photographs of the landscape around the Roman siege-works at the fortress at Masada, Israel, and where knowledge of the solar lighting conditions at the time of acquisition enables the appearance of the archaeological features in their landscape setting to be appreciated. Being quick and low cost, this modelling approach has a broader utility for studies where knowledge of the acquisition times of CORONA satellite photographs is required.
10 citations
02 Apr 2013
TL;DR: In this article, a study about the Roman Near East and the relations and interactions with the Eastern neighbours and the local populations is presented, with the starting point for the comprehension of such dynamics must be the identification of the points of interactions as well as the differences, always bearing in mind the hybridisation that occurred.
Abstract: The present study has been conceived on the trails of those works about the Roman Near East and the relations and interactions with the Eastern neighbours and the local populations. In more recent times, the on-going excavations projects in the area and the new notions of interaction and integration related to the Roman presence have made relevant further steps in the understanding of the topic. Considering exclusively Roman or, at the contrary, exclusively Parthian (or Sasanian) a site means, nowadays, ignoring the dynamics that characterized the whole area in the period at issue. It is doubtless that the starting point for the comprehension of such dynamics must be the identification of the points of interactions as well as the differences, always bearing in mind the hybridisation that occurred.
The term hybridisation indeed, even if it is a modern word, perfectly fits with the mixture of races, religions and social institutions that shaped the Near East in the period from the Hellenistic period to the late 4th century CE. The theory is quite easily applicable in the major centres (Nisibis, Singara, Hatra), where the abundance of data is widely used to identify this kind of hybridisation such as the distinctive and unmistakable feature of a given culture as well, while it appears to be slightly tougher to track in the minor settlements. The lack of historical and archaeological evidence, indeed, affects our knowledge about the rural landscape and the countryside itself. Some of the minor sites mentioned in the literary sources are still not only unexcavated, but quite often unidentified too, while the fewer where excavation works have been conducted are the same sites almost practically unknown to the ancient sources (see the specifica case of Tell Barri). Notwithstanding this lack of evidence on both sides the countryside and the rural landscape still remains a keystone for the understanding of the Roman occupation in the area, as well as the organization and administration of the newly acquired territory after the severian annexation. The integration of the archaeological data with the known literary and epigraphic evidence could be the only way through which the presence of Rome beyond the Euphrates could be better understood. The region itself, indeed, represents one of the most archaeologically important areas of the world and thus the isolation of a given event in a specific chronological period forcedly needs more elements than elsewhere.
8 citations
01 Jan 2007
Abstract: The Roman fort at Da’janiya is the largest and best-preserved fortification on the Roman limes between the two legionary forts at Lejjun and Udruh. The fort at Da’janiya is something of an anomaly, since at just over 100 m by 100 m; it covers over four times the extent of the typical castellum in Jordan. There has been some test excavation within the fort itself, limited to establishing the dating of the construction; but until this project there has been no survey of the area surrounding the fort. This project was a small scale, very intensive archaeological survey around the fort. In the course of five weeks of fieldwork, 43 sites were visited and recorded, including watchtowers, roads, and agricultural sites contemporary with the fort, as well as Nabatean and lithic period sites. Other periods were represented as well, but precise dating awaits analysis of the pottery. These findings allow some limited field conclusions: the fort at Da’janiya is situated on a nearly perfectly flat plain, surrounded by extinct volcanic cones. The presence of watchtowers on these cones provides a wide area of observation and control for the fort. There are also two separate ancient roads, running north/south within the survey area. There is not an extensive settlement around the fort itself, and the fort does seem to be placed to guard the agricultural zone to the west.
8 citations