Before you leave...
Take 20% off your first order
20% off
Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order
Coins, Riches, and Lands: Paying for Military Manpower in Antiquity and Early Medieval Times (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781789259902)
Vendor:
Fernando L?pez S?nchez
Product type:
Books
- $80.00
$80.00- $80.00
- Unit price
- per
Subtotal:
$80.00
Description
xA study of how coins, riches and lands were gained and distributed among the soldiers, warriors, and mercenaries in the Antiquity and Early Medieval times.
Land was the ideal store of wealth in the ancient Mediterranean world. It brought social respectability, and its possession allowed participation in the politics of the cities governed by landowning elites. Crucial defense of the interests of a given polity through armed services often involved the distribution of lands to laborers still not integrated in these societies. Mediterranean urban dynamics also involved paid labor and were always in need of short-contract manpower, including skilled soldiers and warriors. For short-time military services, lands were not always available so soldiers and warriors were paid with coins and riches.
Because of their superior development, urban economies in the Mediterranean were able to attract migrant paid labor. When returning home, the migrant warriors carried coins and riches that would enable them to maximize the return that a homecoming entailed. Although difficult to prove whether these men were paid in advance or when discharged, it is an important issue as it shows the strength of one contractor over another and helps to better understand the construction of statehood in ancient and early medieval times.
This collection of papers sheds light on how coins, riches, and lands were gained and distributed among soldiers, warriors, and mercenaries. Contributions cover a wide chronological span from Late Pharaonic to early medieval times, linking a well-defined core area, the Mediterranean basin, with its peripheries: Central Europe and Scandinavia to the north and the margins of the Sahara Desert and the Fertile Crescent to the south and the east.
Author: Fernando L?pez S?nchez
ISBN-10: 1789259908
ISBN-13: 9781789259902
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
Language: English
Published: 01/31/2025
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Land was the ideal store of wealth in the ancient Mediterranean world. It brought social respectability, and its possession allowed participation in the politics of the cities governed by landowning elites. Crucial defense of the interests of a given polity through armed services often involved the distribution of lands to laborers still not integrated in these societies. Mediterranean urban dynamics also involved paid labor and were always in need of short-contract manpower, including skilled soldiers and warriors. For short-time military services, lands were not always available so soldiers and warriors were paid with coins and riches.
Because of their superior development, urban economies in the Mediterranean were able to attract migrant paid labor. When returning home, the migrant warriors carried coins and riches that would enable them to maximize the return that a homecoming entailed. Although difficult to prove whether these men were paid in advance or when discharged, it is an important issue as it shows the strength of one contractor over another and helps to better understand the construction of statehood in ancient and early medieval times.
This collection of papers sheds light on how coins, riches, and lands were gained and distributed among soldiers, warriors, and mercenaries. Contributions cover a wide chronological span from Late Pharaonic to early medieval times, linking a well-defined core area, the Mediterranean basin, with its peripheries: Central Europe and Scandinavia to the north and the margins of the Sahara Desert and the Fertile Crescent to the south and the east.
Author: Fernando L?pez S?nchez
ISBN-10: 1789259908
ISBN-13: 9781789259902
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
Language: English
Published: 01/31/2025
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Recently Viewed Products
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.