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A STUDY OF MEDITERRANEAN HISTORY

Plaro thinkx thar thosc \\'110 wanr ;] wcll-govcrncd cirv ought ro shun lhe SCJ JS a
tcachcr of vicc (pOIw·odidaska.!os).
Srrabo , C;"O.rrmplll', 7.3.8

\\~lcrC'1t hc said firrnly: 'Whcn vour Excellcncv wnrcs J book , vou will nor sav:
"Herc thcrc is J bcauriful church and J grcar castlc." Thc gcnrry (JIl sec rhar ti)r
rhemsclvcs. Bur you shall sal': "111 rhis village rhcre Me no hcns." Thcn thcv will
know frorn lhe bcginning whar sorr of counrrv it is.'
Gcrtrudc l-lell (!<)07) 77l( {),J<Tt n ni! thc SOIl'II, <)3

PEREGRINE HORDEN
AND
NICHOLAS PURCELL

li] BLACI<WELL Publishers

'Phvsicallv, thc counrry ma)' bc dividcd inro four belrs', lhe Arab geogL.lpher
àl-IV!lIq~ld:L)si wrorc (lf Svria ~lllJ rhe Lcbanon.
TIl<" lir.sl bclr is rh.n on rhc borde r otthe Mcdir crrancun sca. Ir is rhc plain countrv,
lhe s~ndy rracrs following onc anorhcr and altcruaring with thc culrivatcd land
. Thc scrond bclt is thc mountain country, wcil-wooded and posscssing munv
springs, witl: trcqucnr villagcs and cultivarcd ficlds ... The third bclr is rhar (li" the
vallcys of thc Gh311r, whercin are lound many villagcs and streams, "Iso p.ilrn rrccs,
wcll-culrivatcd ticlds anel indigo planrations . . The fourth hclr is rhar bordcring
011 lhe dcscrt. Thc mounrains hcre are high and blcak and thc climate rcserubics
thar of rhe 11 as te . Bur ir has n1all)' villages, wirh springs of water anel toresr trecs.
(adaprcd trorn Miquel 1963, 85) .
Coasral plains of inrerrnirtenr fcrtilitv backed by woodcd mounrains and dcserr
platcaux , mixcd cultivation, sporadic scrtlc mcnt - ali qualiries of Mcditcrr.uican
landscapc as t;lI1liliar to rhc traveiler as to rhe gcographcr. Thc problcm is thar
cvcn such tasridious gcneralizations as ul-Muqadassis no more rhan hinr ar an
infinitclv complcx local rcaliry. Worse, thev givc a11 irnprcssion oi" uniíorrniry, of
fundamental rescmblancc bctwccn one rcgion and auot hcr , that is disust rouslv
misleading. Wc can ncvcr hope to (0111e to 311 undcrsranding 01 whar can use-
flllly hc said (lf i hc Mcditcrrancan-widc human or physical landscapc until \\"c
are rullv scusirive to lhe cuormous varictv und diversiry 0[" cnvironments within
lhe basin of thc sca , nor just to rhc constants that apparently undcrlie thc (h305.
for rc.rsons which wc began to examine in I'art Onc , thc distincuve tcxturc of
Meditcrrancan lands is nor to be soughr in thc listing of typical ingrcdicnrs of
lhe visible landscape , a srrategy in which obscrvation is ali too casilv overpowcred
hy tradirion. Ir is rathcr to bc found in rhc phcnomcnon of 'subdividcdncss' -
or , to paraphrase our epigraph frorn Lévi-Strauss, in thc continuurn ar discon-
tinuitics. How is rhat conrinuurn to be dcscribed anel expiaincd?
Ar rhe cnd of rhc prcvious chapter wc cxplorcd the scnses in which an eco-
logical approach rnighr be ar servicc to rhe hisrorian. To rhe ditlicultics therc
seen to arisc, wc musr add furrhcr problcrns thar emerge trem lhe cxarninntion
01" particular localirics. This cnablcs lIS to progrcss towards an excmplificarion
of what thc 'historical' in our 'historical ccology' might mcan , as wc outlinc rhc
naturc 01" Medircrranean inreraction and thc charactcr of rhc microccological
regions of which ihat inrcraction should bc predicatcd. A properly historical
54 Ill. FOUR DEfINITE PLACES

ccology \ViII ccrtainly nor be content with cithcr thc enumeration or thc classi
fication of local fcarurcs. At lhe lcast it \ViII also havc to look at the dynarnics
of their inrcrplay with hurnan and animal populations, Em that will only rum ir
'into a buman ecology - 01' a kind rhat rnay, we have suggcstcd, pay a hcavy pricc
for irs inclusion 01' hurnaniry in terrns 01' thc biological reducrionism and rhc nar
rowncss of tocus that are alike rcquircd of ir. History has to bc broughr imo rhc
ccological picture in lWO ways: [irst, most import antly, in lhe avoidancc otrcduc-
tionism rhrough lhe i Il \'(1 ca ti 011 of as full a polit ical, social 0[' cconomic contcxr
- spanning as lengthy a pcriod - as rhe localiry scerns to require; sccondly, in lhe
pursuit of that contcxt , through thc 'unbounding' of thc systCI11S on which ir is
to be brought to bcar , 50 that thc 'dcfinitcncss of placcs' is always qualificd I1\'
thcir "intcrdcpcndcncc'. Thc imagc ofthc fuzzy ser, mcntioncd in IrA ;1.1 appro-
priarc to lhe Mcdirerrancan as a whole , can now, as wc hopc to show in this
Part, be e xtendcd to thc microccologics of which thc rcgion is corupriscd. TI1(1'
will be sccn to have thcir íoci and their rnargins; bur thcsc are al\\'a1's changing,
can scldorn bc casilv rclatcd [O aspccrs of gcography. and are ar ali times ['CSI?()!lS
ivc to lhe prcsslJl'cs of a much largcr sctting.
Our cmphasis in this chaprcr is thus \'lTy diltcrcnt írom t hat (lI' lhe 'geo
graphical background ' thar inrroduccs so riun)' historic.il wor k». Ir cn.ibics L1S 10
.IreI' J lirrlc asidc 1;'0111what II'C havc broadly idcntificd as thc Rom.uuic t racli
rion 01' Mcditcrrancall dcscription , wit h irs scduct ivc but Illiskading imagcrv. fI
avoids an unprofirablc scicntisrn. Ir begins [O dose lhe gap- to which II'C ,shall
bricfly rcturn at thc cnd of thc chaptcr - bctwccn the spccializcd intcrcsrs o;'
lhe ccologist and more traditional polirical , social and eeonomie conccms in the
studI' of the past And it lcads naturallv imo thc subscqucnt discussion 01' thc
dcgree to which lhe ccological approach can be cxrcndcd, tirst to largcr serrlc
ments (Chaptcr IV), thcn to rhc rcgion as a wholc (Chapter V),
In whar follows, thcn , wc approach Mcdircrrancan hisrory bv wav '01' ir5
microfoundarions - its shorrcsr distanccs. Wc look ar four localitics in I hc Medi,
tcrrancan world - to sho-v how cornplcx is lhe intcrplay o!' ccological belOrs
that gil'cs each its apparcnr idcruiry or dcfinition; and to suggest rhar the prin
cipal elcmcnts in a microcc.ologvs ch.iracrcr derive as rnuch from its changlllg
configur.inon wiihi» rhc wcb 01' intcracrions around ir, across ,jggregarcs ot
'short disranccs'. as Irnru any long-Iasring phvsic.il pcculia-it ics. Key

lIiilIII Wetlonds
1. THE BIQA Streom-coursos
semanal ond perenniol

As mclaucholy political cvcnrs 01' our 0\1'11 time havc crnphasizcd , onc 01' rhc
principal ingrcdicnts ot' the ropography 01' thc Lcvant is the grear vallcv bctwccn Map 2 'lhe Biqa and its scrting
thc Lebanon and Anti- Lcbanon mountains in which rhc Oronres riscs, inland Thc 1ll.1pis simplificd from thc magnificent geonlorpho!Og,icJI cortograrhy of de Vaumas
from rhc south Phocnician coast (Mal' 2), It is known as the Biqa (or Beba), an (ltJS4), The crfccts of the srceply dcclining r.unfall from \\'CS! 10 cast and from SOLHh tu north
irnmernorial narne applicd also to other abrupt vallcys and dcrived from a Serniric are apparcnt, ln addition therc is ver}' markcd variabilirv from ycar to ycar. 111 187R Bcirur

rcccivcd 1,234 111m; in 1933 only 43R (de Vauruas 1954, 224),
root signifying a split. Aptlv; because rhis grcat vallcv some 100 kilornctres long
and about 25 kilornetrcs widc, is a grcar dowu -taulrcd rrough, part of a tccronic
systcm stretching from the Taurus mountains of Anatolia to thc lakcs 01' East
Africa by way of thc cvcn more pronounccd rift vallcys of rhc [ordan , lhe Reei
Sca, and 01' Kcnya anel Tauzania. On cithcr side the vallcv is bounded bv lhe
stccp clifE of rhc mountains, which risc frorn thc vallcy floor at 2,OOO-3,O()()
 1Il. FOUR DEFlNlTE PLACES 1. THE BIQA 57
56
f(:C[ abovc sca levei [O SUl1ll11i[ lcvcls ot' more rhun 12,000 teet in rhe high necessirate mCI11_ Ovcrall only one third of rhe vallcy is cultivarcd; and within
lcbanon. For manv rcusons, this apparently sirnply boundcd g,eogr:lphical rcgiou each of the many zoncs imo which a gcographcr ar an ccologisr divides ir, thc
has a bcwildcring divcrsiry of ropcgraphv and environmcnr; ir reprcscnrs a dcgn:e land undcr cultivarion varies frorn lcss than a fifth to barcly more than a half of
of fragnlCtltation that makcs it an excellcnt exarnple with which to opcn our the surface arca. The rneans 01' livelihood can take rhc form of highland tcrracc
sequencc. Anel, as a furrher advantage , it lias been the objccr of detailed and ugricuiture, lowland cereal dry farming, ar (more rarely) sWJmp drainage or spring
provoc arive acadcrnic study (Marfoc 1979). irrigarion. Land is productive and profiruble only sporadically; and it is rhesc
Thc complcx ccology of this vallcy is dominated above ali by U1C diftercnt isolared patches that are gencrally dcvoted to crops like cereais and legumes.
influcnccs ar the adj.iccnt mounrains, which producc varying degrces 01' rain- lrrigation rcrnains 50 cxpcnsive and incfficicnt thar only lucrative cash erops
shadow and of shcltcr Irorn prevailing winds, and which each crcatc, by their make it worthwhile. The place with which it lias been longest associatcd is
particular aspect , cxtrernely local clirnatic conditions. Altitude, exposure and Baalbek, the ancicur Heliopolis, where prosperiry has nlways dcpcnded on a
precipitarion combine [O forrn a spcctrurn 01' minoenvironments, ranging frorn zonc of intensivo irrigated culrivarion. Ir is írorn ccntrcs likc this rhat irrigation
lhe supposcdly clussic 'Mcdircrrancan" conditions of me sourh to rhe scmi-arid can De cxrcnded, and to which ir CJn rerract, dcpending 011 the circurnsrances
plains of rhc north. Hvdrology furthcr complicares lhe picturc. Thc abundant governing rhc choicc 01" agriculrural str.ucgics and rhe dcgrcc of inrcnsification
rainElIl of rhc Lcbanon mountains fccds numerous springs, but thc bcdrock is (or abatcrncnr ) rhat are appropriate trorn one pcriod to anorhcr (VI.i; VII.4). In
rhe limcsronc which g,il'cs rise in .10 1l131l)' parrs of thc Medircrrancan tu thc lhe Biqa are prornincnt ccntrcs of horticulturc or ar boriculturc , such as EI Qa' at
sccnerv known as karst (VIl 1.2). Thc disrribution of ground\\'Jta aud springs the source of thc Oroures - its ancicnr narnc, Parudcisos, being an cloquent
in t lus lyl'C of i.uidscapc is hig,hly crratic , anel rherc are both warerlcss aros Jl1d cxprcssion uf irs fcrriliry. And such cnvironrne nts Icnd thcmsclvcs to the highly
O;1SCSor marshv borroms. Thc strcams draining trom thc 1110Ullt:ÚI1Shave torrncd visiblc prnduction 01" specializcd cash crops, JI110llg rhcrn thc narcotics for which
rcrrnccs and tans of usuallv íer tile alluvium, alrhough in rhc scmi-nrid north rhcir the rcgion has been nororious in vcry rcc cur times. Bur pockcrs of abundance
vallcys are more like wadis. Anv lisr ot cnvironrncnts must, howcvcr , also includc should nor bc .illowcd to determine our estimare 01' the wholc arca's porcntial.
lhe vullcvs pJL111cl to lhe Biqa in lhe high mountains, lhe surnrnir .plarcaux , The pockcrs are roo isolated; their cconornic cflects do nor radiatc lar enough.
anel rhc rocky clitls and slopcs of lhe íuulr searps 011 both sides of the vallcv. Baalbck, ir is worrh noring, has functioned as a symbolic focus for thc arca borh
Altogcl:her, climatc and gcology have produccd a dcnsc partem of cxrrcrnclv rhrough thc religious imporrance of its templos, and also bccuusc ir has bccn a
local e nvironmcnts. And rhcsc orfcr hurnaniry lhe widesr selection of ccological (entre of cnvironrncnral irnprovemcnt (t\\,(1 funcrions that we shall see associarcd
niches. in Part Four bclow). Ir does not follow that Baalbck has been decisivo in shaping
A survcv of thar kind inevitably givcs :111ovcr-flartcriug picrurc of the natural the ovcrall social ,1I1d cconomic pacterns of the valle)"s hisrory. Despire having a i

endo\\'ll1cnts of the region. Modern geugraphers lIsing JVCfage raintJll figures, major 'central placc', rhe Biqa does nor behave as the rcrricor)', the ccologieal '
like thei r :\l\eieIlt or mcdieval predcccssors (sueh :15 Al- M u'l:1ddasi) lo(\king 'H hilltcrbnd, of a cily -- disperscd or fragmenrc.:d rhough \\T shall find [hat sort of
lwrcllnial springs '1I1d II'cll·riJk:d lields, hal'c hJd IlU hcsitati<lll ill hbdling the himcrland to hc (1\'.8). 'Une ci\'ilisatioll agricok a hien pu s'v dévélopper, celk
13ilp as tenile. But krr.ilit)' is no!. dn absoltltc oC scientific IllcaSurcmcllt; ir is ail ci n ',.Ir jamais arril'ée ,\ donner I1ais.l<lnCC 1 une perite région politiquc COIllI1le il
illlpressionistic, clllrurallv ladcn, rcrm (V1I.l). t.,loreol'tr, gencralivriom 'lhllut existe Lll1l dans k pl"Oche-Oricnt. F:!it tvpiquc: JllCllIH': I'ilk importam n'y existe'
regional i"enililY ignore j1:\rricubr conditioils -- in rhis Clse, no! only cOl1dirjoils (DlIssalld 1927,315).
in the al"<::1, where rainfJl1 is consisteml\' \\"cll bel()\\' :l\'eragt, but also those Contra r)' to \\'hat glowing accou!lts or' J Meditnranean region's krtilir)' 1m}'
creared \\"ithin rhe :m:as of ahove·;tvnage precipilatioll by il11l1lcnse allm[;l) and rhlls leal! lIS to expect, agricltlture is ver\' ot"tt:n ha/.ardOlls alld )'iclds are lo\\".
scasonJ.1 v'lriability in lhe \\"cather. Winter tJoods ai1d SUIl1il1er droughrs 'Ire rhe Thc twclllieth-celltllry alrernatives to ag;riclllturc have bcell the usual 011<':5:anil11J1
pcrenniaJ hazards of a Mcditcrranc3n landsc'lpe; a village too Lir)' for habiratiol1 husbandry, migration to the lo.rgest sc.:tt!cmcI1ts, cmigration. UnLÍI (ompar~1til'el\'
()nc ycar C'1I1hc ,limoS! 11"lshcd aW;l1' the ncxr. .'\nd rhe Biep has extra prnhlems: ["(.:cem"- rhe !it-st altern'lti\'c has bCCll lhc predol11inanr rccoursc. So, to the alr'-~ad~'
ullusually j100r rains in the spring, \Vith cOllsequentl\' kl\\ discharge of \Varn long list of types of livclihood, IVe ha\"C ru add rranshull1:tnec al1d nomadislll.
SOLlfces; strong prc\'ailing winds thar erock the soil in areas unshcltered by the Tltcsc are il1 clfect a lo\\'-risk ["rm of capiral investmenr - Llr kss susceptibk to
Jl1ountains; a high carhonare horizon; malarial Sll'al11p5 in the south. Thc s\\'3mps al1l1ual variarion than is dry t:1rtlling; mobile enough [() escape disastwus changcs
an: rhc ren1:lins 01" a lake artificiall)' drained berwecn 1320 alld 1339, J lakc in rhe I0C11 ecology; mobilc enough, also, to bcilitate tax evasion. That is why
whosc eapriciolls rise and fali had led to the loco.lizo.tion in rhe \icinitv ()f tales of lhe largcst cOl1centrations of sheep 3nd goats hal't: becn fOllnd in ",hat are, in
the Fload and or Noah and his sons (Dussalld 1927,402). agricultural terms, rhe poorcst, the 1l10st risk-Iaden eIwironment5: an inrensivelv
This vallcy is not rhen an arca thar on rcadil\' be irrigatcd. El'en u1e advent of cultil'<ltcd arca can still also slIstain ;I small herdo
l110dern reehnology - dams, borc-hales, pllmps, ,lll the meJns (lf .,()il improve- The Biqa has to be summed up not as one microccology but ratha :\s a
I11CI1I:- !tas apparenrly aHccted no more thal1 a ljll:Jr!er ()I" rhe total L1l1d 11l1dcr collectioll of microccologies. The best accouIlt ()f thcse is a rnodern 3rch3<.:010-
culüvation. Systel11s of the typc uSlIally labelled 'dry brming;' h:\\'e always beell gical !icld sur\'ey (Martoe 1978). Bur thar roo, ho\Veva I1uanced its de5cript.ion,
the norm - in so tãr :lS the valle)' C3n bc said to display a l1orll1. for the cata- ho\\'cvcr alivc its author tO local vari:uion, is ncccssarily mislcadillg as evidence
logue 01" t:conomic strategies is natur31ly as di\'ersc :lS thar of the cOl1ditiollS rlUI ti.lr the distant pasr. This is probably not beeause the character of the cnl'iranmcnr
 58 lU. FOUR DEFINITE rLAC:E~ 2. :;OUTH ETRURIA 59
~~~----------------- ,------------"'~
lias changcd 50 dramarically in historical Limes. Wc rcrurn to rhc subjcct in incohcrcncc 01' iis hurnan gcography, which secms [O havc bccn charactcristic 01'

Chaptcr VTII bclow; bur it is a fair provisiorial assurnption that ncither clirnarc the arca in ali pcriods, encourages us to look ar other parts of thc Mcdirerran-
nor any aspcct of me gcography has altcred so markedly that thc l'angc and can , asking wherher a cornparablc degree of ccologicaJ fragrncnration is disccrn-
numbcr of thc microecologies would have bccn vcry diffcrcnt in Antiquiry or rhe iblc clscwhcre.
Middle Ages from what is observablc toda)'. Whar has changcd, howcvcr , and
chariged repcatedly - 50 that ir could not be accounted for by refercnce to any
single environrnenral carastrophc or secular cvolution - is rhe subrlc intcrrclation 2, SOUTH ETRURIA
01' diffcrcnt mcans of survival.
Thcse have not, of coursc, always bccn internally dctcrrnincd; rhe direcrion The major part 01' rhc modcrn Iralian provincc of Lazio, rhe rcgion of Romc,
and nature of thc dcrnands made llpon the region from outside have also changcd covcring Sourh Etruria and ancicnt Latiurn, offers another rcrnpting local case
frcqucntly, The Biqa is 'Ie plus beau couloir de circularion entre le Nord ct lc srudy in Mcdircrranean ccology (Maps 3 and 4). Indccd , as a constituem of
'Sud du Levanr' (Dussaud 1927,315); and me umbilical routc across Mount west-cenrral Iraly (lhe orhcr part being Carnpania , to rhe sourh ) it fcaturcs in
Lcbanon to rhc POrt of Bcirut has bccn 01' lasting imporrance (IX.7). But whcn , rnany rcgionalIy based analyscs. I'art of rhc appcal of lhe arca to the historian is
for cxarnplc, Bcirut and Baalbck wcre part of a single Rornan ciry rcrritory, undoubrcdly that it lias rcccivcd a good dcal of scholarly artcntion; and this again
farrncd - ar lcast initially - by vereran soldicrs (Millar 1990), rhe cnvironrncur includcs a particularly thorough and revealing archacological survey, dcsigned
had diftcrcnt dernands madc nn it frorn any rhar havc ariscn sincc (\'11.6). to clucidatc lhe rransirion trorn a classical landscapc 01' dispcrscd dwclling» to a
Indccd , rhis exarnple illustrarcs thc importam truth thar rhe ways in which medieval one of nuclcatcd, dcfensive , hilltop sctrlcrnent - csscnriallv lhe proccss
microrcgions intcracr and clustcr in the Mcditcrrancan are as importam as thcir known ao incastellamcnto (Potrer 1979).
distinctivc interna! tcaturcs. Rural cornrnunitics havc frcqucnrlv maintained a Thc ropography of Latium has bccn describcd as a rccapirulation in minia-
broad conrinuurn 01' cconomic ncrivirics, shitting frorn dispcrscd nomadisrn ou ture of thc char.icrcristics 01' lhe cntire península (Toubert 1973, 137). Thc
rhe northern stcppc-, and thc picdrnont tO highly conccm rarcd rranshurnancc rcgion ccrt.iinlv dispLws :l rcrnarkablc cornplcxiry anel divcrsiry of geologv, soil
around thc ZOi\CS of inicnsc cultivation , altcring lhe balallce berwcen pastoral and rclief Broadiy it compriscs rwo largc volcanir complexos rhnr separare lhe
and arablc as and whcre necessary (cf. Sccrion 6). 'lhe dcsccndanrs 01' rhosc rnarsh and shinglc (lI' rhc coasr frorn rhc lirncstonc ranges of the Apcnnincs anel
who, :J century ago, wcrc among thc ícw cash-crop Iarmcrs in lhe cntire rcgion thcir outlicrs. Thc more southcrly volcanic group, the Alban Hills, forms a
may now be prcdominantly nornadic - or rhc reverso. JIl lhe central Biqa rribcs conspicuous focal poinr for rnuch of thc region (V.1). Thc raiufall is abundanr,
of bcdouin who wcrc oucc exemplar)' camcl nornads havc used rhcir wealrh to particularlv on rJ1C highcr ground; and thc volcanir ruffs are disscctcd by hun-
purchasc land - cvcn though thcir avcragc incornc musr, in rhc pasr, havc bccn drcds 01' gullies carrying pcrcnnial srrearns, many 01' which drain imo rhe Tibcr ,
a good dcal higher than that 01' many farrncrs. a major river flowing in a widc t100d plain berwccn the rwo clustcrs 01' volcanic
Ali this is a cIear reflcction of an unsrable , rrcacherous ecology. Thc fiucst crarcrs. The surnmers :l1'C dry and very hor , lhe wintcrs quite cold. Thc r.iin ,
who survive are rhosc kccping thcir cconornic options opcn and rcvicwing thcir bcrwcen 700 and 1200 mm PCI' annum over lhe greatcr part of the rcgioll,
porrtolios freqllently. And that is rnost probably how it lus al\l'â)'s been in b.lIs Illostly in allttImn ~i\d carl)' spring. Some of the allllvial ;)nd \'oloni( soils
historical times: irnmcnse variation in spacc, from one microccology to anothcr; are agriclIlturally productive, and the ,uca has been intensivcly farmed sincc lhe
cqually il11IllenSe chronological variation, as individual microenvironments alter Bronze Age \Vith a \\'idc: range of strategies suggcsred by the di\'Crsit\, of terrain:
subrl" (or nO[ so subrly) or the hUIllan commllnities aS.lociJted wirh each adjllst vines, olivcs or fruir rrces wherc the soils are bC.lr, cereaIs e\'crywhcre, animais in
their division 01' eftórt. Here, as in Greece, 'cach yCJr rhe l'armcr ma)' be iÚlning lhe \\'atcrlogged meado\Vs or the becch, oak and chesrnut \\'oods ()f rhe stcep
tor a differem production target, Irom a dinercllt arca 01' land, with a differcm slopcs, transhllmancc in slImmer r.o the high Apenninc pasturcs - ali these
labour force and \Virh the cushion 01' a greater or lesser amOllllt 01' producc in existing si de by side oftl:n wirhin rhc minlltest regioI\S.
store' (Halstead 1987, 85). A case like thar of the Biqa certainly hclps lIS ro This local variety, reduplicatcd across the wholc zonc, makes it attracrivc t()
lIndcrsland how it has come about tl1at Mcditcrranean agricultur:d geography consider the region as a unir. Thc cnvironment is not, ho\Vcver, so onliging.
has nccn dominated sincc Anriquiry by certain cconomic Iabels '(salrus, high The heal'y qualiticaLions made above abour rhe fertilitv af the Biqa are appropri·
pasture; silva., woodland pasrure; arbustum, producti\'c orchard terrain; helos, are hcrc roo. The volcanic soils arc far from llnifórmly tertilc. Many are very thin
marsh pasture or water-meadow, and so on). Yet tl\e Biqa shows emphatically and lIIHctcnuve of warer; orhers - :ll1d r.his is also true 01' t)le aJluvial soils - tcnd
dut, for all this labeUing, whar matrers is nor the static formula bm the enrire to be 100 sticky and \Vaterlogged for the light ploughs which have bem CllstoI11-
spectrum of available strategies; and not fixcd points on the spCCrnlll1 nllt move- ary. Thesc ditticulties are compoundcd by hydrology. Thc raintàll is abundant
menr along ir. Flexibiliry is ali. bur \'aries considerably frOI11 year to year in qllantiry and distribution. It is
One case study is obviollsly not enough to esrablish our general view of lhe narurall)' highest on the mountains where ir is lcasr used, and in any casc talls
Medirerranean environment; and the Biqa might after ali be dismissed as ~1 Illost ot1en at the end of the agricultural )'ear in torrents thar cal\ be el\ormously
marginal area (though cf. VT.3), at the point 01' u-ansition be\wee.n rhe coasrland destrllclive. 50 the soils which might, with irrigation, be tCrrilc, and the \Vater
of rhe Medit~rranean sea and the semi-arid regions to rhe Easr. Bur rhe essential irsclf, are both available. But irrigation is exrrcmely ditticulr. ()IJ the ridges lhe
 2. SOUTH ETRURIA nl
soils are roo thin and dry; the slopcs are roo stecp; and thc valiey botrorns are
roo wer. ln addition, the force of the run-oficauses soiJ erosion and rnaintains the
stecp sides of the gullics, which separare 011<: localiry frorn another to a surpris-
ing exrenr (cf. VllI.2).
Thc ropographical rnicroecologics thus crcated ma)' not bc as varicd as rhose
of thc Biqa , but they are each none rhe less disrinct. As in the Biqa, moreovcr ,
pastoral can otrcn bc more attractive rhan arable farming. Pigs feed in the woods
lln thc srecp slopcs: catrlc and shcep can bc grazcd DO thc wetlands in rhc winrcr
and rhc high pasrurcs.in rhe surnrner. Full advantagc is rhus takcn of rhe range
of cnvirourncnrs rnadc availablc by differenccs in altitude: the mountain pas-
turcs, inacccssible in winter , come imo rhcir own when thc lowlands are ar thcir
dricsr nnd rnosr prone [() rever.
In Anriquirv, ccrrain parts of thcsc rerrains wcrc indecd proverbial for t hcir
ugricuhurul intransigencc. Thc ROITlJns, invoking thc cnviroumcural dctcrrnin-
iSI11 C0111111011 in ancierir culrurcs, attributcd the hardihood of rheir carlv gcnnJls
and soldicrs to rhe difficuliies of tracts like rhe Ager Pupinius, in rhe plain cast
of Romc. And ar rheir most extremo. rhesc local disadvanragcs o!" arable cultiva-
tion cven lcd, berwcen lhe sevcntcenth and nincrcenth ccnruries, ro the virtual
dcscrrion of rhe relarively flat and dry arca to the south and east of Rorne , rhc
Campagna (a social, polirieal and geographical dcvelopmenr 01" thc highesr intcr-
. esr, to which I\T shall return in Volume 2).
Archucological work has helpcd to claritv anorher aspcct af lhe instabilirv of
thc landscape: in historica] times lhe rivers havc changed rhcir n arurc and thcir
coursc along rhc vallcys with surprising trcqucncy. Most of rhern 1101\' Iloxv in
srccp-sidcd channcls thar are deeply cut imo a broad , levei flood plain. Flood-
ing, alwavs ;1 porcnrial danger wirh Mcditcrrancan rivcrs swollen unprcdicrably
bv wintcr rain , is thcrctorc rare in rhc arca today. Whcn in sparc the rivers tcnd
[(J dig ;\ vet dcepcr (h'lI1nel into rhcir undcrlying dcposit, lsut condirions havc
nor al\\'J)"s bccn likc rhis. Evidcncc IrClm cxcavation. has shown borh rhe murked
ropographical ch.uigcs rcsulring trorn nvcrs ' shifting rheir channcls, .uid also lhe
altcrarions in rhe parrcrn of crosion .md dcposition rhat have atlccrccl I'I'Cf\' strc.uu

~ \'<1l1cI' Jl1d nvcr ílood pl.iin in this deeply dissccrcd aren. Thc pOlem')' crosiveor
d;\lll.lgC and of lhe consranr deposirion 0(" 11111d through cndlcssiv repc.ucd
2 ílooding is mos! irnprcssive.
Such cnvirouniental murabiliry is also to be cxpccrcd - and is incrcasinglv
~ being dcrnonstrat cd .- in orhcr purts of rhc Mcdirerrancan. Ir is a torceful rc-
~. mindrr rhar thc vallcv íloors and alluvial cousral plains which Me todav 5U ofrcn
c,
lhe ccntrc of Mcdirerrancan population were virtually unusablc unri] rhe carly
c
modcrn period - indeed in most cases unril rhc rwenrieth ccnrurv - 3 thcme
~ tu bc considcred in much grearcr derail in Chaprer VIII. Thc gcographer 5rrabo
had alreadv noticcd in thc time (li" Augustus thar Rornc was lhe only (ir)' 011 rhe
'/)

] Tiber (Geography, 5.3.7). And ROl11e's floods wcrc notorious unril the 1890s.
'"' 111 thc case of Sourh Etruria , rhen, whar appearcd to be 3 rclarivcly cohercnr

.n~ and comprehcnsible rcgion, with which rhe historian or archacologisr

fi.I1I)' op<!r:lte, provcs disconccrtinglv subjcct to environrnenral
could use-
murabiliry. This
"€ mutabiliry is, moreover, supcrimposcd on the type of rnicrorcgional differenc«
ê
v;
thar wc havc already lound brcaking up the conceptual unity 01' thc Biqa. West-
central ltnlv, toe>, has developcd highlv Ilexiblc and opportunisric responses to
'"c,
rhc possibiliries of thc l.mdscapc. Polvculrure - mixed tàrming - is rhc tirst
~"
 2. SOUTH ETRURlA 63
ingrcdicnr of this responsc, ;} prcdictablc rcflccrion of thc variery of terrain. TI1(:
sccond ingrcdienr is , as we have scen , pasroralism, which because 01' thar varierv
and irs topographical disrriburion , is closely intcrwovcn with thc differing forrns
of culrivation.
Bclow rhc walls of the hill-scttlcrncnr of Picnza, in thc more norrhcrly sccror
8. of Etruria, rernains 01' a Neolithic settlerncnr have suggcsrcd :1 precocious origin
~
...Q
for pasroralisrn in the region, and cvcn for thc developed form of long-disrancc
6 cuvironrncntal exploirarion, transhurnancc (G_ W. W. Barkcr 1975, 146). Grains
1 of crnrncr , whear anel barlcy werc rccovered from a series 01' occuparion sires.
""Q
c o
>-
Thc proporrions of Iivestock bones found were: 62 per cem shccp anel goats,
o Ü
g -g 16 pcr cem (arrie, l2 per ccnr pig, 8.5 per ccnt dog, and 1.5 pcr cent dccr. Thc
m
8. C• § minimurn nurnbcr of animaIs rhat could havc crcarcd rhese rcmains, and thcir
E 1 j
8 ~ -o probable age ar dcarh, hcars a str()ng rescmblance to rhc normal rcquircrnenrs
o
E
.s ª
t
t!'
1 ~
2
~
c 01' more rccenr pcriods: mixcd farming: a te\\' cattle for rracrion: a tew shcep
gr':lzing round about rhe setrlc mcnt and killcd whcn far: cereal cultivarion ; shccp

Ir"{j·~I. -~
anel gO:l!S for milk nnd woo] -- \\'irh thc crnphasis on shccp. Not onlv thar ; rhe
sircs n1\15r, ill rhe Ncolirhic as now , havc bccn situarcd 1\',11 above rhc winrcr
I':
"..J , ,~
.'J!()\\,lim;, and rhcy could not thcrcforc havc bccn pcrmancntly inhahitcd. Inrcr-
mediare bcrwccn upland and lowland pusr urcs, t.hev lic prcrrv 1l111ch on what
would, in rhe ver)' diflcrcnt condirions (lI' rhe larcr ivliddlc Ages, again bccornc
an csr.iblishcd rranshurnancc roure.
Thc conclusion rhat rhc Iong-rcrrn hisrorv of pasroralism in Picnza can silllpl)'
bc 'rcad ofi' frorn rhc ropography anel J fcw archacological finds is nOI1(: rhe
J lcss 10 be rcsisrcd. Therc has bcen J persistem scholarlv tcudcncy to l:Jy too
x, ~o ~o rnuch emphasis on a pastoral, pre-agriculrural phasc in thc larcr prehisrorv 01' rhc
E
8 Mcditerranean - a rendcncy that perhaps bcars rhc coiltilluing starnp of very
~ :::' ancicnr notions of hurnan prcgrcss (scc Scction ó bclow). Prcssure of population
c .2c is somctirnes invokcd as rhc dcrcrrnining tactor hcrc, as if rhe cnvironrncnral
..:o J
gl ..• .;;; <;

.2. -.o'
o
Z
.q
S
E 1 ~ s
""
-s
o
c

.~.
locarion of animal husbandrv
popularions could supposcdly
wcrc idcnrical to rhat 01' culrivation,
not alford thc luxurv of animais and rhcrefore
Growing

~D
~ ~1 j J rurncd ti) agriculrllrc. In this cornplex environmcnr, t hough, lhe rang<: of niches
,"I for hurnans .md thcir planrs and animais is 100 broad for rhar argurncnt to bc
d' rcadilv pcrsuasive. As we saw in rhc prcvious chaprcr , rhc rc.ilirv of rhc p.1st

jJ ~', mil dclics srricrlv ccological rnodclling. Whcu prcscntcd with data likc rhosc fr0111
Picnza, thcrcfore , wc should not invoke some familar general imagc - cirhcr 01'
.l heroic world of pastoral carnivorcs or of an 'ur-transhurnancc ' :lnricipating thc
Ncapoliran Dogana bv rnillcnnia.
111 irs simplcst forrn transhurnance involvcs thc seasonal rnovcrncnt of animais
frorn lowland to adjaccnt upland and back; but in many places thc disranccs
~ travelled are far grcarer, and the routcs raken by thc hcrdcrs and thcir a nimals
§ somctirncs beco me major thoroughfares rhar nu)' rcrnnin in use for ccnrurics,
-;:; Thc similariry of pastoralism in Italy within living rncrnorv (O thc practiccs thar
.~
::- can perhaps be glirnpscd in prchistory, and thar are rCLHi\·c.:I)' wcll known in
õ.
~
;1,
ancicnt times, can narurally sLlggeSt that rhis long-distancc [orrn 01' transhum-
01' thc Biqa should
~z
~< ~~
ancc has bccn a constanr of Iralian life. Bur our dcscription
prornpt cxtrerne caution. The rnanagcrncnr of rclations ovcr cvcn the distancc
""c<
""w ~g ~ "
.-l
bcrwecn low water-rncadow and snowlinc pasturc is a cornplex social and polir-
UJl:)
;=;;, ··-·'j'<:::f:'·-llrlr'~;;.:.::i~
::::>w .. '"o. ical rnatrcr, and ovcr long disrances ir is srill more so, ln landscapcs such as
Sl~ : 1::1 k:,~ J' t?J' :z" t!Jose 01' SOlIIh Erruria, pastorn./ism is an obviollS ingredielH ill lhe range of local
 64 l ll. FOUR DEFINITE PLACES
------ 3, THE CREEN MOUNTAIN, CYRENAICA 65
:. possibihties. Transhumauce, in so cornplcx an ccology, is a ver)' ditlcrcnt nurter, are perceived. The tcrrirorv of Tivoli, say, on lhe border berwccn thc limestonc
. rcquiring particular social and econornic - and polirical - conditions (VI.7). mourrtain , and rhc ROlTI3n piain, or rhar ofthc Erruscan ciry of Vcii, can only bc
Undersranding how rhc microccologics work enables us to dístinguish thc rwo, fully undcrstood in rerrns 01' rheir rclarionships with influcnces from altogether
aud to bc charv 01' rash assertions of thc continuiry or straightforwardncss 01' ourside thcir own ccologics, as well as on the basis of rhe local variablcs rhat
agrarian response. No strarcgy (;11\ sirnply be prcdicatcd of thc landscapc. wc lcarned to crnphasizc in considering lhe Biqa (IV.S). ()f these outsidc influ-
Eacb rnicroccology has its physical characteristics, which mal' be discernible in cnccs, rhe dorninanr one has been thc privileged acccss to thc sca and its con-
a number of differcnr periods by mcans 01' archaeologica! or documenrary cvid- tinuum of cornmunications. Both the Erruscan (entres and the Iittle settlcrncnrs
l'IKC. Em thcir significance can changc radically berwecn onc pcriod and the ncxt 01' Latiurn usually each had a scala, a bcach or landtàll-point, pcrhaps a rnarshy
rhrough altcrarions in the nerworks rhat bind rhc rnicroccology to its neigh- inlet bchind a spit of shingle, where contact wirh the world 01' Mcditcrrancan
bours. A pasture in South Etruria mal' exist for millcnnia. Irs contribution to its rcdisrribution might bc maintained. ln the long run, rhcsc wcrc overshadowed b)'
, locality will, howcvcr , vary cnorrnously as the animais on ir changc Irorn bcing rhe espccially privilcged roure providcd by thc Tiber and reflccred in thc status
rhosc 01' a local proprieror to rhose 01' a large-scale invesror trorn the cirv of 01'Rornc, rhe Tiber porr (lX,7). Bur if Romc 's ncrwork of influences perrnearcs
Rornc whosc Ilocks are scatrered across southern Italy; or to those of a Rornan thc arcas around ir, transforming and shaping thcrn in various ways frorn age to
vcrerun soldicr with intcrcsts in J neurbv ciry; ar to those 01' rhe dependanrs 01' ;)ge, that is not to say rhat rhese arcas C3n simply be considercd as an isolarcd,
J papal estare. Thc gr3ss and lhe goars cornprisc 01111'J srnall parr of thc ovcrall rcaciily dcfinablc ciry rcrrirory. Nor , in lhe abscncc of cvidcncc for interdepend-
picturc cnce , should \\'e bc quick ro postulare a primitivo aurarky (TV.7), To crnphasize
Pastoralism conccivcd ou thc grand scalc and munagcd .icross lhe lcngrh and rhar poinr srill turrhcr, und to sho«: rhat rhc pull 01' Rornc is only an cxtrcrnc
brcadrh 01' J pluralirv ofmicroregions is ;) porenriallv unitying torce in a rcgion version of a more cornmon Mcditcrr.uu-an phcnolllcllon, we rurn to rwo orhcr
as fragmcnted as South Etruria. Ycr it eould nor havc hclped to shape rhe par- case studicx. In rhesc, isolarion - 01':1 kind - is rnuch more apparcnt. Onc involves
rcrns 01' allcgiancc and COIltJU across rhat region in rhc abscnce 01' a strong a virtual island, rhc orhcr a real onc.
ccnrra] .uuhoriry. ln thc urch.iic pcriod , rhere is a clear diílcre ncc in settlcment
gcogr.iphy betwccn rhe arcas to rhe north and the sourh of rhc Tibcr, despire
rhe sirnilarirics of the landscapc. As in the Biqa, scttlcmcnr historv tlIr11S out to 3, TlIE GREEN MOUNTAIN, CYRENATCA
bc a poor rctlccror of microtopcgraphy. Ultimarely, it was thc rise 01' Rome , 'I
rathcr than any prcdominantly cconornic feature sue h as pastoralisrn, thar carne In Wandt:ril~fJs in North Africa (L856) [ames Hamilton conrrastcd 'the rnonu-
to wcld rhis arca into sornething approaching a uniry. That unity funcrions 011 mental industrv offallen civilization with the slorhful hut ofvictorious barbarism'.
rhc idcological as much as 011 the ecological levei. ln rhe late ninctccntb century Prior to rhc discovcry 01' pcrrolcurn, bedouin Cvrcnaica was a land ()f tenrs:
rhc simplisric cornparison of past glories with present dccay did rnuch to conccal rhcse are rhe slothfu] huts. As in South Etruria, the fallen ci\'ilization is that
the illberenr variery 3I1d illsrabiliry of the bndscape: ir \\',IS politically npcdil'nt 01' classieal Amiquity. :\nciclH rClllains are a rrolllincnt kature of parts or the
to belie\'c that hurnan acrivities bore the sole burden 01' cxpla1l3tion ((li' POSt- Cyrenaican landsclpe (,1vlap 5). 5YStell13tic archaeological researeh has revealed
cbssiCJI dcreliction. Again, lhe political and cultural f':!ôliril's of ROl11c h:l\'c rhe colllplexity o( production anei the demity of settlement tiom the scvelllh
Ihcll1sd\'l:s h<':l:n respuIl5ibk for rhe seholarlv w()rk thal makes lhe: rq!;ioll kcl ccntur\' H.C. orl\\'ards: scvn31 importam cities, Illan)' brgc villages, seatten:d
5() 1l111ch morc intelligibk than l1lanv Olhas. Above ali, the fame anel suecos ()f brlllsteJds .- alllounting to ;) respollse to the potemial of the Crcell Mountain 's
the inhabitants ()f ROl1ll' rhe (ir)', \\'hether as cOllqUl'fOrS 01' lhe \\'orld in the I,nl' cll\'ironl11enr which \Vas cl'rtainly Illarkedlv ditrerelll froll1 :1.llvthing thar suc-
Republic or as spiriwal ~l1idcs in the Middlc Ages, h3\'e had enormolls C(ln· cccded it arter lhe sixth cCIltur)' i\. D.
seql1cnces for cxpectatiollS about lhe (ity's neighbourhood. This particular sort 01' prosperity \\'as, ho\\'c\'l'r, fi·agile. An indigenous plant,
Ir is lO those expcLtatiol1$, and tO some extent to their ecoll()l1lic cnllseqllcnccs local to lhe regi()ll. \Vas I(lr cx;lI11ple devclopcd in Antiquity as J highly speci;)l.
- rhe leisure architcctun: 01' the elile for instance, its bl1ying in 01' large quanrilie.\ ized c<lsh-crop - silphion. From the sixth eClltury R.C. this ulllbellifCrolls planl
(lI' raw marerials troll1 tú 'llil'ld (1:\.4), and the l'l1hanccd attracrion 01' the cit)' \\'as o. rcno\Vncd and valuablc COJl1ll1odity. S(;)rcc:, distinctive and costly, it had
fuI' mobile populatiollS (IX.S) - thar west-(el1lral ltalv owes Illuch 01' irs 3pparclll numerous culinJI)' and medicaluses. Its identirv rcmJins, ho\\'cver, an enigma to
coherence. Thc managl'l11cl1t of \\'ater in the arca shows a further response to rnodern botanists. The numan impact on the landscape 01" Cyrenaiea has com-
ROll1c's gravitational pul!. Although precipitarion is 50 much greater in aggregate, hined \\'ith tlle heJ\)' dell1~lIld for silphiull to render lhe plant extinct, though
hcre as in tl1l: Biqa, warer control represcnts the way in which humanity can ir is not ctear preeiscly whcn the do.mage \Vas donc. The SIOI)' is instructi\·e.
most re3.clily rnodify lhe crwironment so as to intensify productiün, The hydraulic Silphiun is in some \\'al's a typical MediterranC3n commodity, AccidentaJ spceial-
works of the Etrllscan and, stilllllore, the Roman period - for drainage, storage, ity or a singk set 01' environrnents, it alters a highly Clrrracti\'e opportunity to
transportarion and irrigatioll - are cloqucm testimon)' to the po\\'cr of lhe produecrs \\'irh wide horizons \\'ho C:ln auapt to the ad\'Jnt3gcs of particular
(entre to subsume a variel)' of local effurts inro a wide-ranging sl'sr<::m (VII.2). localities. The agriculturalisls af Grec:k C)'renaicJ also specialized in cllmin:
ln 50mh EtI'uria we em, therdore, glill1pse the interplay of external 3nd local anOlhcr culinary/mcdie:ll cOllll1lodiry whieh, although not botanically so singu-
lüctors borh 011 the fUllcriolling of Illicroecologies and (lll the \\'3)' in \\'hich rhc\' Lir as silphiun, dcrivcd its value onl:' ti-alll its pOlelltiJI for rc:distributiOIl, More
 3. THE CREEN MOUNTAIN, CVRENAICA 67
convcnrionally, ancient Cyrcnaica also produccd a notable surplus ar cereais,
whosc value depended in part on the prccociry of t hc harvcst bv cornparison
f--'1-- """ o
.,"" with rhose of rhe Acgcan.
l~ Choices about primary producrion in this area, then, turn out to havc bccn
~~J
1(.ô<,ô
the result of a combinarion of vcry spccific local circurnstanccs 011 onc hand, and
8 g thc changing nctwork of relationships which the arca enjoyed with rhc wider
-sc
-º
4:
"ª Mediterranean
a spectrurn
world on rhe orher. Environrncnral opportunisrn,
of responses to environmcnral variabiliry through
morcovcr , cntails
space and time.
(;

.~
(;
RIE Against this background,
much grcarer cmphascs
maior transitions
on animal husbandry no longa
berwcen widcsprcad agriculrurc and
appcar so carasrrophic.
"o
.L Cyrcnaica is a striking region, and une which appears to bc isolated. Ccrtainlv
V

o 'ai ir is separared from its African neighbours by descri: 700 kilornetres of it before
~ ~ rhc Nilc delta is reachcd to lhe east , thc coastal srrip being only slighrlv more
~ .~ ~ hospirablc rhan the interior; and alrnost as great a distancc to thc rclarivelv fertilc
z ~ -'-

0~~~ tcrritorv 01' Tripolirania to thc wcsr Otherwise thc hintcrland is some half a
LU Õ Q)

cc i!J -6
>-- r» o
U li 3: million square kilorncrrcs 01' Sahara, The homogcnciry 01' the descri margin can
Il __~_ ~ i:-· 1 rnakc Cyrenaica arpear a unirarv fronticr zonc. But rhe appcarancc mislcads.

t Li I\----
f-

~ II ~--- ------ ln tcrrns of clirnatc and vcgctation, it is as if a fragmcnr of some Mcdircrrancai,

<=;1, -- ----
Z
W
U
'l~
:'1 archipelugo had bccn uneasi.v wedgcd against rhc African continent - Mcditerrun
::í~1--1 ,1--- - ---
can not just in irs charactcristic rainfall and tcmpcrarure , but in being a tanglcd
,I! : '.:1 1
\ ---

and minutclv subdivided cornplcx ot intcrdcpendcnr cnvironrncnrs: plarcaux

,··· .... 11\ ~
l·.::::.-'- ar difrcrcnr altitudes, intcrmonranc basins, dccp wadis. Ultimarei)' ir owcs this
C:íi:':::'J.i! :~- intense rnicrofragmentation to its locarion , which, in rhc tcr minologv of piare
)p:~l·:.::! t:
. -'!'l I~\.-.----------.
-j , , .
1
1
1

t.
tectonics, is a subduction zone (Bousquet and I'cchoux 1983). The seu irsclf of
coursc provides a rcady nctwork of comrnunicarions: along rhc coast to cast and
1

.. z,····, 1; 11: ._ ... - z ,

'i:!{\'::' li' 1\ 9. :
rl D/~" \ 'I
\
1----- ID
wcst, by way of chains 01' watering-places and srnall harbours on a provcrbiallv
] (>
dangerous shorc (V.3), and across thc rclarivcly narrow scas (almosr a strair )
to Grcccc and the Aegcan - thc island 01" Crere being less rhan 300 kilorncrrcs
aWJy. Indccd, in lhe Rornan pcriod, Cyrcnaica formcd part of a provincc wirh
Crere and was govcrncd (i'OI1l Gortys, jUS[ inland from the ports of that island's
sourhcrn shorc. Cyrcnaica irsclf, for ali rhat, is in anorher scnse insular in thar
its coasral zonc is uncxpcctcdlv inhospitablc: lhe more productivc cnvironrncnts
.irc rhosc turrhcr south and turthcr inland, whcrc thc rainfal] is highcr.
[. (.:.: 5.[1 ,]i\- ~ o c For Cyrcnaica (Map 6), with a[1 irs cornplcxirv, is csscntiallv a mouutain rising

\'lliJ~~-=.·fUh~;1
11

5n Irorn thc srcppe-likc tcrrain 01' the descrrs to the platcau 01' thc Icbcl Akhdar
.2 (sornctimcs known as al-ghaba, the forest, since its vegeration includes parchcs
c
li v of evcrgreen forcsr and rnaquis ). Thc platcau is about 400 kilomerres long, ISO
~ "~
.c
kilorncrrcs frorn north to south; and ir consists of a scries of rerraccs somctimcs
'.':""'.::.:.: .. ' 11 :11 ! r'\-----~-- ~.
'"
"':)
c;
'"
reaching a hcighr of more than 800 rncrres abovc sca level, Thcrc
srrip 01' coastal plain, barely a kilornctrc
is a riarrow
wide , from which the first interrncdiarc
5n terrace (to the wcst ) is accessible ro animal transport only through a very srnall

IOOilfl'm~ ID o
'8 Õ number of prccipirous ravines. This tcrrace is a succession 01' wooded ridges and
tp' </>0 -a
v
c. broad wadis, Thc rnain terracc, thc tablcland , is whcrc the c1assical ruins, and rhc

::~llllltJI
~lJ. U.
i i1 I~~~-~--
.-L..l.
I mU' i :
: I llJill·
<, <,
-.,
"
'J
.;:;
c;
~
deserred farrns of carly rwenticrh-centurv
to a narrow third terrace ovcrlooking
thcn slop'cs sourhwards gradually
Iralian colonisrs,

down to thc stcppe through

are to bc sccn; ir rises
lhe arca of forme r serrlerncnt, Thc plateau
a belr 01' juniper
q

~
-~ ~

~ u' (['ees, a zone ofrich vegetation [O which the sllphion ma)' at fir.lt have been nari\'e.
l/l Therc are no permancmly flo\\'ing ri\'crs in [his karsric Iandscape. Thc only
C.
\\,;llerCOllrses are scasonal wadis, some 01' them (notably in lhe ,:oll1plcx oi" lhe
~
 3. Tm; GREEN MOUNTAIN, CYRENAICA
--------------------- 69
Wadi cl- Kuf) vc:ry dccply incised and íavouring nortb -sourh over easr-wcsr
·."o j -g communicariuns. In the l11argins of lhe deserr srcppe, dew is a vital additional
..s o
,.'"
~. ! o
sourcc of rnoisture. On thc terraccs ar thc Icbel Akhdar itsclf, rhe rclatively high
!~\" - <. .~

"
I.!.J
V)
~ l:-:;··.:(, ~ ~ g- ~
11 ~i~~
rainfall (up to 600 111m per clI1l1LJI11) íecds I1LJf11Crous springs.
how lirnitcd is rhe arca which benefirs frOI11 thar rainfall. Ir is also rnarkcdly
Yet Map 7sho\\'s

/.: ;).
e

]~ ). 8'.3'hg8.
~o~.~e-g
seasonal, in ;1Il exrrcrnc vcrsion 01' the Mediterrnnean patrern; and inrcrannual
~-r5~·.~ e variation is very high (local wisdorn prcdicrs OI1C droughr year in four ). Espc-

" 1"fr·"~.I· : /' '~-5§~ ~,ê cially in rhe less clcvatcd arcas wherc annual avcrage prccipitatiou

j
is lowcr, rhe
I.!.J 8" cs . ...." .. , V'12.V}~tl5§
J ;1.'\\ I'·',I. -'__ fragmenrcd ropography cntails thar surplus and near-drougbt can be found only
p~1 [:~I
V)

:<: (lI' . ::':1' short distances apart. As usual in Mcditerrancan lands, me patrcrn of rhe winds
'~)!,\ '\
r:: li!'
i.:.'",
"
C<:
~':'J::!:~-i1:/
Á'J:1;;i "K~ '
::j tjJ d is borh dísrincrive anel crucial to cach :'ear's production.
laden with Saharan sand (qihh, rhe anciem netos: Roques
Winds Irom rhe sourh,
1987, 70-2) have
i: i i! i i 1"'\\
::.::
I.!.J (\'~~~~0 ~ cnrichcd rhe mineral contem 01' tl\;\ny local soils (d. Map 5) - anorhcr rcason

- \}.·....··:·,.I..·.·..
0-"
h for microcm'ironrnentalvariability. Yct t hc sandxrorms ofspring and aLltUIl1J1 can
.!,:;'., .: ,'.
/i'iJ,,, ~~
1\ 8
-o bc disastrous ir rhe spring ruins havc ccascd carly.
·\·'[t/ ' .' ~ , .x2
Q
lJ..i
If·-nt· j"
li'/'.:.
·"t "
111 modcrn rimes, bcduuin rribes havc competcd for rhosc north-south

LJ ri.
(r,' ~,:II~~' 'srrips ' 01' lhe rt:giol1 rhat \\'ill each corurnand the Iull range of rcsourccs to bc
..,..
-=".
'.:::.::
/i:'1'~'~--",{", I,.. : ~"n
Ik" _:~-~ 'Jl// 1,·.·, u '.'1 •.
1\' .. ;
-round , in cast-wesr ZUI1CS, bct\\'cell high plateau and scrui-dcscrr. Mosr tarnilies
I ','., -- ", " havc rnixed agriculture and pastoralisrn (carrle , gO<llS, shecp, cumels). Whcat is
"~H-~.-- -l!l'iJ .I .:
~I', r~> ~ • c grown for bmil)' consumprion. Barley aud straw are teci tu catrle: rhc rnajorirv
r í -, - ,~l,) f ;fl' ", o
!ô--=~'\:.• 7/;/ J • " "2 of landowncrs have in rcccnr times 110t sold rheir harvcsr 01\ rhe rnarker. Bur
- ?\í~( . Q)

rn
Q)
rhc rclarion bcrwccn .u ab!c and pastoral is more cornplcx rhan that, bccause
>

\\jgi,tt j ~
~
<i' E
z ~
rhc ccologies

of warcr:
01' tavoured spccies are \'ery ditferent,

lhe nornadism characrerisric of other

and suitable
specics is likclv 10 be scarrcrcd. Carrlc necd barley, str aw anel plcntiful supplics
parts
land II)r cach

of Africa such as lhe

LJ.J
Õ
O<
>- Sudan is irnpossiblc in Cyrenaica. Goars are lcss particular in their dcrnands.
u i but thc juniper forcsr serves rhcm besr. Shccp ar coursc necd good pasturc, and
! ~
>-
z
they rnusr spcnd t hr wintcr 011 the sreppc and the surnmcr on rhe plareau
w
U
Carncls w.inr shrub to cal bur can casily travei for ovcr a wcck wirhour taking
watcr.
50 how, given rhis divcrsiry, are animal husbandry and cultivation corubined>
Firsr , agriculrure has bccn cmph.u ically a subsidiary activirv for rhe Cyrcnaican
bedouin , irs 1110St importam tasks C;\I1 be quite comfortablv fitted into evcn a
:.=
.,::; se mi-nomadic pasruralist's schcdule . The move sourhward frorn plareau to steppe
~
0-.:.:. c
o :l ~ c; doto not rakc place unril Dcccrnher , attcr ploughing. The sheep may have bccn
'fll
g {) '-'
.....: ~ -g Oú
~ e o. _ o '-'.> movcd 01\ ahead with J porrion 01' rhe workforce; bur the majority 01' people
e
~.. ~
<l: u
=>
~tJ f~
~8~ J ~
c
"~
§
rernain in the fJl11ily tcnts until rhe crop lias bcen SOWII. Sccondiv,
ficlds on both sreppe and plarcau are conccntrcred
. so rhar even if catrle and goar hcrdcrs did not have to harvcsr rheir ficlds during
rhc cereal
near major water supplies,

u
<i'
"5D
1::
, summer they would narurally arrivc ar thc SJl11e parts oe
the rcgion in order to
z
LJ.J
a<
•

o Q[][J[l ""ê
:;J

g
water rheir carrle. Finally, agricultural land can be used as pasture when appro.
priate. CatrJe, goats, sheep al\d camel, \ViII all happily graze field stubble, cspe-
cÍally to the nonh \Vhere ,thc alrernati\'e flora are (for them) unapperizillg.
"
,.) Acc<.:ss to so \Vicie a rangc 01' enl'ironmc.:nrs has rhe advantages of rcsiliencc to
.~
the conditions 01' <1 bad yedr and the: jlossibiliry ot' mixed herding. The sCJsonal
"1:
;.;.. Illovernent 01' the Jllimals, 111Orcover, dovc:cails unllsually lIeatlv \Vith the raising
U
01' 311 arablc (rol'. For the herd's presellcc in the ZOI\C where \\'intcr ll1uisrure
<O
C.
mhal\cés crop vield coincides \Virh lhe dI)' SUl1lll1er. The hcrd tl1m tert.ilizes the
fields \Virh lllanure whilc.: these are unplanrcd.
~"
 ], THE GREEN MOUNTAIN, CYRENAICA 71

"r
é: 5VJ11~';l"

-1'~~~~~'<e
~~ F. c ~'1i
n..

il ( ':
iJJ~ J: - /
'-fI- r ,\

~5g
v
õ
i!
"c
t

..'2
Thc later twcntierh-ccnrury

parrcrns of scrtlemenr
fundamental cornplexities
life of rhc bedouin ma)' hint ar rhe likcly rncans 01'
sUI"\'Í\';11in thc pasr: thc cornbinarion of srratcgics rhc ucccssarv adaprarion 01'
and migration
have apparcntly
to a jumblcd mosaic 01' ecologies - thcse
not altcrcd grcarly sincc Antiquiry,
despi te the varying portion of land undcr rhe plough, In particular, ir must bc
~; ;-t
, '. ~~'!:';:11
"~'" -, ~' I/
a. '~
~ • c
~ emphasized that agriculture and pastoralism are (here as elsewhcrc ) dosei)' intcr-
[;tijj1i'
rlj _dJU
WJ ':.. ::;'
L.!.l
z; " ';'. .. '"
VJ
\1;\1 ~1 lockcd. The apparcnrly independent pastoralisrs are parr 01' thc socicty of rhc

% ~ LX 't"e, . t:..:,~~
:.]"~":::::::::;'
~ ~
cultivators. This is nor to sal' that the rwo aurornarically co-operare. In thc carlicr .
fourrh century A,D. for insrance, Roman Cyrcnaica was period.ically ovcrrun by
~ ""~r,õ~;,r,:'~ ~
·í~f.h{:,®1~
""E"
L.!.l ~1 I ~ 1 nornads or scmi-nornads from sourhern Nurnidia and Tripolitania. But such

Jft _·~t:i::','::\:.>§ antagonisrn is not incompatiblc with various forrns 01' inrerdepcndencc , some 01'
% êj 2 !;
~ n:.~,l::~I}':\':J}(>~
;t~\\,.:"-", '" thcrn quite subtle. On onc occasion rhe raidcrs are rcporrcd to huvc dcploycd
5,000 camcls to carry away thcir boory. Turning frorn horscs to camcls nu)'
Cl::
Cl:: c> ~~--\.yL:~:.::.
-c
;;:w:.
j
<Á"-8
0<'1-.-."
<J:
~ liavc cnhanccd thc scriousness of their incursions. But t hc changc should aba
L.!.l
""
e ~r ,_, "-""
~~Y;O~~""'''-~~'''s' ~ he inrcrprcrcd ,1S a rcflccrion of rhc incrcasiug rnargin.ilirv of lhe t,lIld, bcyond
~-.,...- <~ "''' ~f5y' ii!
~ (',<-,.,.- '" ~gJ
R
h .> li .- '( ,:. lhe range of shccp and goats, to which the nornads h.id to rcsorr as thc íronticrs

-.
•...• • '~ / ~- ,.t,- _ "_,,, ~ 01' agriculturc wcrc advanccd by Rornan powcr (Licbeschuerz 1990, 229).
\ \ '<) \,/1/\,,*,,
~ :;.'f;-I
__,
\,,\\}1 '\(". <i
'"
Cl E j •

L.!.l
"',, \11 s
=; '/~,'.J /t;\ ,'I_~ ~./ "; I- ·2 ~'"
'! Z
Tlic propagation 01' new forms of production oftcn i nvolvcs contlict bctwccn
~ 1'\ 1.'((CO"""'l,<:"u 'w o :> lhe innovarors and orhcr grollps. Thc groups may in addiriou bc dittcrcurinred
~ N
; ::
;&)
l
••• ~
,1 '~-'-:3
-/"'t~
;;~? .<,
c u
along crhnic lines -- as in Cvrcriaica, at thc time ()( lhe consolidarion 01' thc
Crcck prcscnce, and again in late Ant iquitv Thc intcrdcpcudcncc bcrwccn r.hc

Il~í,l~d
...
" 'c-':;,_ ("·.5hr c
IW() ccological

also , 11,1\'ccontinucd
srratcgics rcmains nonc rhe lcss s.ilicnt.
Nor onlv the rnain fcarures of rhe cnvironmcnt
to rnakc thcir mark on rribcsrncn 01' rhc pcninsuia.
.
, bur lhe Rornan rcsponse to ir
Modcrn
~ (z,:-
",'
I 't o .j[\
) \\1
I
ccmctcrics srill rcgister thc gcography 01' classical agriculrurc. For 'burial' has
usuallv bcen on rhc surfacc, wirh rhc body covcred 111' a srone cairn; and ruincd
<V\~)
W,,,,,

\~-- l::, ,
~\~~;(,
'':'~"''

~-~;i. '"
3\~".~
I ..,

":~-D
~

10 \.'\
'1..•..

o~"
õ
.
Ji
farrn sitcs are rhe besr sourcc 01' loose, easily workcd sroncs wirh which the cairn
can bc construcrcd. Old collapscd cistcrns, sirnilariv, can bc cxploircd (or rhcir
§ \~~o -c ~
Q.
rich soil and rnadc inro pear and olive gardens ('1'1.10); whilc some of rhe
o~ ~ .J:l
classical srrucrures (rcnovatcd aI'ter rhc oil boorn of thc 1960s) havc again
provcd capablc of proper use, Evcn ir unused, cisrcrns havc rcmaincd a vaiuablc
guidc to navigation in what is othcrwisc likcly to De a fcarurclcss landscape. Thc
ancicnr Grcck and Rornan roads are still habirually uscd for sc.isonal 1ll00'CnlCIHs
'~

<:
of people and animais. Barbarisrn and civilizarion are lcss rernote rhun rhc anti-
quarian , and Rornantic, conrrast 01' tenr and ruincd tcrnplc suggcsIS.
I i::
lndccd, that cornparison (with which we began this scction ) both rcllccrs a
'.J proccdural error and announces an irnporrant rhcrnc. 11', despiu: e.ulicr cavears,
:2c E wc iakc Cyrcnaica as a singlc area - 01' thc order 01' 2,000 squarc kilorncrrcs 01'
ê
"2 producrivc lal1d and a Inuch larger exrenr of marginal rerrain- it is (;115)'to .Ia)'
o:>
~
-c ()f ir thar, for instance, it \\'as prosperous undcr the Batti:Jd kings 01' rhe archaic
c
c
o E E E E E E
.5 '"" and classicaJ pcriods in Grcccc, or during the latc Rcpuolic and caril' Empire, and
a
~ ê~~~g~L!l
'-
Cl}
8_NNM"qV)
_ ., • , ª "e
that subscljuently
allriblltcs to 'Cyrenaica'
ir wem imo decline. Yet the 'prosperirv'
in Amiquiry is an impressionistic
II'hich rh'H I'erdicr
gClleralizatioll that
«i5 ~8~8~88 L,f"J.-_NNM'<1 ~
.~
bcars onl)' very inadcquately 011 rhe region as a wholc - rhe rcgioll as il is fàmilar

~]~rr-Ilnl'
~ ':::,Hh -:-: TJ
in brge-scalc maps,
" '"'
c:
1:! Consider first the outlinc 01' the stm)'. Thc socicty rhat c:mergcd dUI'illg lhe
LXjuLJL.d~j ~
li
! L; -6
o
U
I'
c..
firsr two cel1tllries of Greek 'colonialism',
pacrcm al1d thc imroduction
\Vith the crcaliün 01' <1 nc\\' setrlcmcnr
of Ile\\' productil'e aims Jnd Illethüds, cOlllnlanded
by lhe end 01' the tóurrh century R.C. a surpllls equivalem to rhe yicld 01' several
~'"
72
m. FOUR DEFINITE 1'\u.CES

rhousand sqllare kilomerrcs 01' whcar ficlds (Map 8). Thc key to this rapid sue-
ccss appcars to h ave bccn rhc early harvcst time, a monrh carlier rhan that 01'
mosr 01' Greece aud wcll betorc that of thc Black Sea, which became anorher
rccüursc for Greck citics in rimes 01' cereal shortage (J3run 1993, 525-6). Ovcr
the folíowiug ccnrurics, the cconomy of the productive micron:gions of Cyrenaica
conrinued to yield surpluscs for rcdistribution, though individuallv they waxcd
und wancd in prospcrity. An asidc in a legal rexr of lhe Rornan imperial period
(1)iBc,.t, 19.2.61) rhus aitcsrs rhc r ornrncrcial cxport 01' whcar and oil. Thc inuges
of prospcritv srill featlIrc in lhe writings 01' Bishop Syllcsius of Cvrcuc in the
culy fifrh ccntury A.D., bur rhc dcnsirv 01' Cvrcnaica's tics wirh thc rcst of rhe
world was grcatlv ksscll<.:d (Roques 1987, 409-31). Svncsius could otlcr as a
plallsibk cxcuse for non -pavmcnt of tri burc thc lack of ships sailing trom Cvrcnc
to Rome AnJ thc bishop reporrs finding linle more rhan 3 day's journey Irorn
rhc Iv1cdirerr:llle3.11, country folk who h3.J never glirnpscd the seu and could 110t
bclicvc thar it \\'3S o,bk to support lifc: rhcy llcd ar the sight 01' tried fish , rhink-

.''."!2.....
ing thcm scrpcnts i Lcttcrs, cd. Hercher 1871, nos. 147-8). Towards rhc eud 01'
thc miliennilll11, h owc vcr , rhc geographn lbn Hawqal Iound Barca and its ter-
rilc pluin prospt:ring Irom su hstant ial (OI11I11Cr(Cwith orhcr arcas, bur cspeeially
W")'
,:r~I~1 t" Qfi
Fgypr (tr.ins. Kr.uncrs and Wicr 1964, 1.62-3). Anel his resurnonv is corrobor-
atcd nOI onlv by orhcr Arubic sources , but bv archacologv, which rn'cals a
turrhcr and previouslv llJ1SUspCCled commcrcc
t cn rh (C n tury onward
wit h Sicily Irom perhaps thc late
(Kcnnct 1994). Nor wcrc thc significam outside links only
:
O;rJr
v~

-
>. ~-"y'~'
<...~..
.-
8 r~'
.'\.
"-",
-',.'
~,.
- -
=
i~.~.,~fo··""'rcl!!"
.
1 .TI é

.
rhc seabornc or coasr\\'ise oncs ; due art cnt.ion ruust be paid to rhc Saharan koinc
\)
. !;," .L '" '''''''''''~

_. 17r.::': .
and to lhe distriburion 01' goods - slaves, dares, cloth and rhe likc - ;lCWSS rhc
c,,,~,,,S!oz'
wastc , along lhe routcs to the oasis of Augila or bcyond (Stucchi 1989; cf. Brctt
1969). Quite rapid flucmations in ecollomic fortune, dcpcnding on eot1llcctions ()
()f varving kinds in a numbcr 01' diflercut dircctions, are rhus a normal fc.uurc of o CYCI 'c"~ DI: S \" fi
0\ .\,,","' \' .... 0.--.-
K':':..-\~.
whru appcarcd ut lirsr sig;ht tO bc a rcgion quitc separ;llcd trol11 lhe rcst (li" lhe '<,1. -) os,,,,, !.)'"'''' \.~) P,,;)ról

l\'kdit<:IT:lncln worh! and .ihou: \\'hich generali,.alions uf un:\111higuous scope (."f?'._'J ,\\l'IOi \~~('J
6 L)~·1·
f Slpl''llH''
'" I:'.i,,,',;,,,, Hh""" \. I"""
(::./)
<""r J~--.. <:I"".'
f~-j· ,}
f'.\ u'bo,ri. \, ...,
0
~I;;;·;
' ..
'.
(:-'
could satelv be vcru ur cd. 1\[ the e.llds ol i hc rransccrs of- t:colng,icll opp0rllll\ities \ '"·~~U" I' . "'1"""'0
,,,,,,,",,,1,,,,8 .' ···_,I?h,-J''''',
','>;-<.' ... Dei'
."".
'_J~"-...).\\yc,'nm "
l~;../ O ve F-::-
are lhe multiplc routcs t hat kad imo the descrt and the ports which opeu onio
I ~- ~."'''''''.(',,,; . 'A ~. -'
H ~ /"~
' '. )

"
\~ .-"J-~
lhe \\'orld nf thc seu. Borh so!'!S ot 'g,:lle\\';ly' (I X.7) can bc fl·.ollized more or less
1'z.._??.f
\.
[~:l~·(.~~. ,
(/,'0. C, ) ""li'
\'igorlHlsh', ;1!1d lhe 1()rtul1cs (lI' rhc port s 01' Cvrcne , at Apollonin , or t hc inland -0. r' ' I. v'
~l~~;:~I/'.~o
.~.
hasill ur Barca, ut Ptokl11:lis, havc Huctuarcd wilh rhosc of rhe chlslcrs 01' mier o ~\\ .1
o 'J;' (.. ..

Jr;
o. ~

~~, (1.... '-\:". '"

~\)
11':1<1 ~~

reg;ions iuland.
\i
Jí'i) ,C ~,",o"J ." ;":

Thc causes 01' chaugc

slraig;htfór\\'ard a mnuncr.
in sue h an cconorny should not bc conccivcd iu ruo
ln part, pcrhaps, bccausc of Ibn Khalduu's me mor-
\.~omm:IlD

\~RETE. •
~., "'o~)'<\, ~\.. . v '"
,,\oano fJ -
able irnugc rv il1 thc Muqllddimah (trans. Rosc nthal 1967, l.?OS, 2.289), rhc
rransirion from prospcriry to dedinc has oftcn becn pn:scntcd in c:ltastrnphie tcrrns
.. \ '-\H)"Pl:lf;l~
.C:J I.··· =.,,',.

··
.•
é "c-~ .'
~ ./":'\,
(-;,
J"c-.
and anributed to thc progress 01' lhe pastoralist. Adval1ce 01' transhlln1Jl1ts o
sirnply
in rhc wakc 01' lhe first Arab COI1QllcstS has bcen hcld rc::sponsiblt for the \ "\.,.("" .,'
' ..

oC~:0; .... ri' ~~"\:,,:.

• \. '" '. -A-N
. ATO lHA' .'
Map 8 Cyrene deploys its cercal surpluses, 330-26 !l.c. " / . r.··, '
'Thosc to whom the city g"vc ",hear, when the whcat-shonage occurrcd in Greecc' is the
heading 01' an inscriprion probablv onginally from the sanetu"r,. of Cyrcne's parton dcity !:,~'d""\' ~:~
~~ .D~v~·
0/;'»_' "
Apollo. Thc \Vide horizons "r
lhe eiry's gc.ncrosity are remarbbk, anel probably rdltel lhe NORTH
r()lIllll~, _RHODE,S)' '---:/t
!1ornul disrribmion ~alternS 01' the Cvrel1Jean eacal surplus. E\'en if this gift had no strings ~ '-0,_,
3ttJchcd, rhose \\'ho dClccll1ined the dcstin;ltions 01' the fruirs of Cyrenaean producrion, and
w:tt::=l One dlvi5ion of the b
\\'ho ('()ulJ disposc uf suc!l in.t1ueJ1rial LH'ours nn (his SL:.lk, slood to g;.lin cnormutlsly in ar = 1000 m ed,mnoi
. 01~""corn I;.
)
, 1m
(:r'i' '. : ' .
diplolll;\ric and political I'rcstigc (SEG, 'i.2). ;.',

'~ 1,',
 4. MELOS 75
rn. FOVR DEFINrrE PLACES -----------
74 vulcaniciry rhat stretch frorn the Greek mainland alrnost to lhe Turkish coastlinc.
collapse of rhe North Africm export of olive oil (Fremi 1955). Thc invasion of Volcanic rock rhereforc coverx around Iour-fifths of rhe island. Ar SOI11<':caril'
thc nomadic Hilali has bccn supposed to havc brought to a sharp cnd a period of ,r3!Se aftcr lhe end of the last glaciation, rhis rock would havc becn ovcrlain by
renewed prosperity in the mid-cleventh centllry. Relations bc1'.veen irnmigranrs Iairly dccp soil. Bur the hill slopes have since bccn croded alrnost cverywherc.
and narivcs ean now, however, as we havc already suggcsred, bc envisaged in lcss Scdimcnr has gradually accurnulared both on low-Iying inland arcas and ar
dramatic terrns. Ir is not simply a mattcr of shifting the emphasis awav from lhe various coastal sitcs. At best , ali thar has rcrnained on high ground is a ver)' thin
vio\ence of invasion and on to broad ecological matrers, such as thc dcsiccacion soil cover or a laycr of loose rock. Most often, rhough, thc volcanic rock is
potentially causcd by increascd grazing. For doing rhar srill fails to C3ptllrc lhe completely cxposcd. Mcanwhilc in me valleys the scdimenr is now dissccrcd bv
way in which lhe nornads variously graspcd the opportunities pro\'ided bv rhcir strcarns.
newlv oecupied lands. In order to gain 'protection rnoney' rhcy might enhancc the This pattern of erosion and dcposition obviously has much in eommon with
prospeets for agricultllfe in a particular arca, not destroy it. Some grollps might rhe geornorphology 01' the valleys in sourhern Etruria. Thc chronology is, how-
be employed as guardians of crops against other immigrant rribcs. Whcrc thc ever , wholly diffcrent. Erosion sccrns to havc bcgun, not in late ROIl1Jn imperial
markets for animal productS werc in decline - markets sllstained by agricultural· times, as wc would expect frorn the Iralian cvidcncc, bur at thc end of rhc Bronze
ists _. ir was hardly in rhc rranshumant's interest tO cnlargc his herdo Pastorolisrs, Age. And this process was more or IcS5 continuous from thcn on. It ccascd
in orher words, do not inevitably torce land out of prodUCUOIl. Thcv are more a around A.D. SOO - just whcn it was bcginning. in some ot hcr pluccs, Unril thc
symptolll t1un a cause of economic chang;c. Thc vicissitudes of agriculture: in carly Middlc Ages, rhc lowcsr-Iying arcas rnust havc bccn Llrgely uninhabirab!c.
Cl'renaica have owcd as much to rhc sr.rcngth of central go\'ernrnellt as ro thc But a chnnge in fluvial regime Irorn alluviation to incision opencd thc vallcvs
activitics 01' omcls .ind gO:HS (Cahen 197:1). ano pluins to srcadv culrivarion. Whv rhis changc occurrcd is obscuro. Ir might
Thc \'ocabular)' of prosperirl' or dcsobtioll as applicd ro wh o]c gcognrhiol couccivubly bc visualizcd as having hegun whcn Bronze Age farrncrs dcforcsrcd
regions should be sccn os parr of rhc rhetoric ar
political aurhoriry aud central lhe uplands and cultivatcd rathcr too inrcnsivcly thc soil that they cxposcd, and
managemcnt. (Ir was for instance favourcd by rhe Iralian colonists 01' rhc rascist thus looscncd - alrhough wc shall late!', in Chapter VII!, scc thar cxplanations
period.) I ts proper application is only to spceific cenrrcs of production (Frorn of rhis kind havc to bc rreatcd with cnormous cauciono I'criods 01' hcavy rainfall
which , as in the Biqa, expansion is possiblc) anel ro thc enremes 01' a spectrul11 and scvcrc flood did not help matrers. Nurnerous hillsidc tcrraccs, artificially
of economic possibiliues. To understand how movemcnt along that spectrurn is 'darnming ' the rnoverncnt of soil down to the vallcys, rcrnain as witncsscs to thc
possible , the focus 01' analysis rnust bc sharpened, and thc interrelationship of struggle of carly populations to arrcst that progrcss towards apparcnt disasrer
small-scalc phcnomena more clcarly held in view. Ir is thc frequency of change Only after A. D. 500 could the ccology have stabilizcd; and cven in stabiliry it
from year to ycar , in both production and distribution, rhat makcs Mcdirerran- was not altogether cas)' tO manage.
ean histar)' disrincrive. That history I11USt therefore be founded on the stlldy of Nowadays 40 per cem of the island's slIrface is bare rock, and almosr 80 pcr
the local, thc small-scale - the specific ('definire') wadi, co\'<: or dtlsrer ofsprings cent of the total is unllsed. Tilc lêrtile sail is largell' on rhe easrcrn half of the
and wells. But in rhe pursuir of that srudl' ir must never be torgotten that sllch island bUl it is very lIne\'cnly distributed rhere. Widely scanered tields Jnd
tiny unirs are not crispll' boundcd ccllular entirics wirh their own desrinits. They terraces are the typical modern farm holding - some indicarion 01' rhe scarcit)'
are not definire in the sense rhat rhey have fixed bOllndaries. Rarher, rheir dehni- of usablc land, and of the ditl1eulty thar has pcrennially rJced tanncrs since
tion is always changing os their rclations with wider wholes murate. ln t.he case crnsion on the hills began. In 1975 eighry-ninc t:1fmers \Vcre askcd ho\\' long
or South Etruria, Romc prol'idcd the most obvious e:.:ample of 3 lInifving force it took them to walk to their mosr distam pior. The ans\\'ers f3.nged bcrwccn
:\t. work wirhin a region. Like rhe Biqa, C)'renaica h3S had irs Romes: not jl!Sr fi\'e minutes and si:.: hours; the avcrage was r\\to hours. Yet disrance is nm rhe
one (entre, thar is, but several; shifting eeological foci thar ha\'e b)' no means !armer'.> onl)' problem. Even \\'here there is good soil lhe uIl<.krlying I'o\canic
neeessarily been cities, that ma)' by no\\' h~1\'c Ieft few visible traces 01' their rocks are pOrollS. Nor is the suppl;; 01' warer ideal in an)' use (maximum \\'inrer
signihcance, and that havc not inevirably been consrr~lÍned bv geographical rainfàll a\'cragcs 450 mm anJ there is an interannual variation (lI' almost 50 per
boundaries of sea or deserto cent; cf Tablc 1). 'rhe winter soil is therdore dry by Mediterranean standards.
What is moreo true of isolated pockers of landscape, and 01' quasi·insular Prospcns tór animal hllsbandry, jllst as much as lor agriculture, are dimin·
ver
regions on rhe larger seale, sllch as Cl'renaica, is even more rrue 01' genllinc ished b)' alI this. The onll' animais rhat can be kept in large nllmbers are goats;
islands, set in the all-influencing sra. rranshumance is rare. This is in part because the distance that farmas have to
travei tO the ílclds compels them to keep only a tcw animais so rhat the)' can be
easil)' tcnded close to the farmstead ar the beginning and cnd 01' the working
4. MELOS day. Ir is also because of the scarcity 01" pasture and the risks inl'olved in any
major shift aIVav from mixed farming (wheat and barle)', vine Jnd olives, leg-
The small island of Iv1elos, in the Aegean, lics in a c1l1srer with thrce other umes ~lnd gourds, sheep and goats). At tlrst sight, therc!ore, wc h31'C here a
l'etsmaller ones on the sOllth-western edge of the Cyclades. Ir is about sil11plc isolatcd clllsrer of niches, exploited wirh tenacity and ingcnuity since rime
20 kilometres long and has J surfacc area ofsome 150 square kiloJl1ctres. Unlikc immemorial. Meios might be typical of the precarious naturc of iv1cditerraIlcan
most of the other Cycladcs, it sits O!1 one (lf the 1'.1'0 bands of still actil'e
76 !lI. FOUR DEFINITE\l:.MCES
5. 'LA TRAI\IE DU MONDE' 77
life ; ir might serve as an cxample 01' lhe most ordinary and obscurc backwarcr,
inland districr thar proves less coherenr and definite than irs physical geogrnphy
whcrc rrudirional rhythrns J.nJ ofreu-repcated patrerns are casilv disccrnihle.
initially suggested; J. seemingly natural region rhat derives its varying eeological
Thc ditiiculry is rhar the hisrory of Medircrrancan islands, marginal cnvirori-
responscs from places far beyond it; an isolatcd rerrirm)' which also rcacts to thc
mcuts rhough in some scnses thcy may contain, conlounds cxpecrations 01'
ncrworks thar ir bdongs ro, overcorning still grearer barriers 01' distanee anel
insigniticClnce that an analysis of the environrnenr 011 irs OWI1 miglu raisc. The
aridiry; and a real island, physically cur off and in thar sense totally distincr, yet
ndrnirublc rcsenrch project 011 'the archaeology 01' exploirarion on Meios (Rcnfrcw nor in the least isolatcd.
anel Wagstaíf 1982) placcd considcrablc emphasis on the 'intra-sysrernic rcla-
tions" of rhc island , in particular those involved in the prehistoric dcploymenr
ove r J widc arca 01' a scarcc local rcsourcc , volcanic obsidian. The 3SSUIl1pÚ0l1 5. 'LA TRAME OU MONDE'
underlying rhe project was, none the iess, thar Melos rcprescnrcd a tuudamerually
sclf-sutficicnr unir, isolatcd enough frorn thc complcxities of mainland svsrems
'Whcn I want to understand Italian hisrorv;' ArnaJdo Momiglíano wrote, 'Lcarch
f(lr rhe archacologist to disccrn the processes of hurnan organiz ation witb relat-
a train and go to Ravennn There, berweer, the rornb of Thcodoric and thar 01'
ivc case. Thar assumprion is rcvcaled in thc dcploymcnr by Rentre«: anJ Wagsratl'
Danre , in the rcassuring neighbourhood 01' thc besr manllscript of Aristophanes
ot' rhc /vklian dialogue of Thucydidcs (History, 5.84-116), which mighr havc
und in rhe lcss reassuring onc 01' the bcsr portrait 01' rhe Empn.:ss Theodora, 1
bccu thougln r.ingcruial to the rcaliucs 01' life on Meios. Thcv irnplicitlv .icccpr
can begin to reeI what Italian hisrory has rcaily bem' (1969a, 181).
rhc idea rh.u thc Mclians werc naturally nuronornous and rhar Athcnian aggres-
Regions like our lour 'definire places' are rhc ltJvennas 01' Medircrranean his-
sir m cousriruted a suhvcrsion 01' thar aurouorny. Yct rhe Mcli.uix' stJICl11Cnt 01'
ror)'. For Momigliano, .unong rhc dennirivc fearures of I taly's pasr thar R.wenna
this case i Hisrory, 5.112), \\'hich serves as an epigraph tu thc 1982 \'OIUlIlC, was
cl\capsul3tes are rhe prescnce of a forcign invader, lhe memory of pagan anel
inte ndcc] bv ilS author, Thucydidcs, not to bc self-evident bur to torm pan ot' a
imperial Antiquity, and thc enduring force of the Catholir tradition, A sciective
dr barc in which rhc Athcnians ' posirion - rhar there is a ccrrain ncccssirv to rhc
ccwirollll\enral survey does riot rcvcn] cultural trair, 01' thar order. But our definite
accrcrion (lf inllucncc hy lhe pO\\'tr UUt rules rhe sca - is designcd ulrimarclv to
places h:l\'c indccd introduccJ a nurnber of equally arrcsring thcmcs, and our
.ichievc a tarif\'ing plausibilirv.
cxarrunarion ofrhesc in more derail should begin to revcal whar kinds O('cOlltinu-
Thc tindings 01' rhe rescarch projcct itself suggest thar thc vulncrabiliry of
ir}', similariry, or generllir)' rnusr prcoccupv Mediterranean historians And nor
Meles in rhc late fifih century B.C. has becn more rvpical 01' its long-terrn his-
jusr those inrcrestcd in gcographical or environmenral history. I'ropcrly under
rory rhan has an)' quier aurarky. 111particular rhe rclatively high populations -
stood and inrerpreted, \lfe suggest, rhese mattcrs which seern so far rernovcd frOlll
high in tcrrns of a11)' likclv 'carrying capaciry' of lhe cnvironrucut - spcnk (lI'
U1C associations of Theodoric and Dante may in tàct prove to be contiguous to
;] rathcr ditlcrenr srarc of affairs, in which Melos is an outpost 01' the demo-
the historian 's 'traditional' spheres of inrercsr - church, sociciv, cultural litt:,
gruphic aud cconomic dynamics 01' J wider world. Frorn the classical pcriod ,
polirics - aud indced somctimes esscurial (Q rheir propor lInderstanding.
whcu t hcv bclieved thcrnsclvcs oftshoots of thc rnainland pcoples, to lhe caril'
Wt: sh:tll Jeve10p that idea ar the CllJ of this chaptcr and in Pans Three and
ll10dern aa \\'hCll Lhc population sizc tluctuated with extrcme rapiditv (th;lt ()f
FOUL MomigliallO's remark, Wt may at ulÍs stage add parenthericallv, is irself of
lllid-ciglnccnth-c<':llwrv l\lclos blling frum c.5,000 to c.I ,000 in JUSI a 1l:\V\'ears),
considerablc hisroriographic:tl inreresr. \Vhethcr a vivid jàçon de parlcr or species
the tÓrtulles (lI' the is\;Jmkrs l'cspollded to the \Vider mal'irime cCllltinuum. Meli3n
of gcnuine Rornanricisl11, his assertion th,u the particular colloc3tiollS of his-
asscnions (lI' politiC11 sclf-dctermin3tion do not rc.:pn:sl'nt the 110r111. It is rather
tori(;\II)' eloljllCl\t !\lOl1Ull1Cnts have al1 espccial significallce lor the historian ()f
rhc (onflictillg pulls of the various olha regiolls \\'l1ose l11eeling-poim is rhe
Iralv puts him in a posiriOll - odd fi)r a Piedrnonrcsc - rarher likc lhat 01' an
Aegean lhat havc given shape tO lhe island's history.br ti-OI11h<:ing ulluSUJllv
outsider looking in at the Meditcrranean. Ir aJigns him (cmphasizing as hc does
quitt and remole, an arca sllch as Meios, 01' O!1C01' its cümponent microecologies,
rhe proce.\'S of travei anel the choice 01' vehicle) \Viril the mobile, touristic tradi tion
is aClu.\lli' more suhjcü ro the shiti:s and shocks (lI' change [h;\11 rnClnv mainland
in IVhidl the panicularity of p!Jet:s is so importam. As Momigliano IVas nu
areJ..\. More Ck3rly, C\'Cll, than the disrricrs 01' \\'cst-ccntr31 lul\', \\'ith rheir C3SV
doubt \Vell J\Vare, his rCl\lJrk also associates him \Viril a norable sratCl\lcnt by J
inrnCOlllH:CÚO!1S allel their pril'ilcged access to br-flung lletw(xks through the
lllllCh carlier coslllopolite, Sl Jeromc. !n tllt: prdàc<: to his rirst trans!arion of
SllCCCSSof their polirical cc!1tn: 01' grlvilv, Meios o\\'es irs distillCtivc chara([Ll'
1 Chronicles, he advised mar inrellecrllaJ undersranJing \Vollld come onJy through
not to the. 3ccidenls ()f its o\Vn geology or climare so mllch as to its relarioll-
physical travcl - tr3vel to Athens 101' Greek history, to rhe !nnian Islands lor the
ships, changing over limc, with the fluid pattcrns ()f coml11unicariol1 in the midst
wJnderil1gs ofAeneas, to the Holy Land for the Scriprures (PL, 29, col. 401/\).
of which it is situatcd.
As we sugg<:sred in Chaprcr lI, lllln}' aspects of modern Mediterranean histori-
ography h3ve been grounued in the experience 01' the SCholar-explorer-pilgrim.
IslanJs are pbccs 01' strikingly enhanccd exposure to inrcraction, :lnd are central
Om 0\\'11 particular 'rour' 01' four locaJities \VJS intended to promote a nllmber
to historv 01' the r\kditcrranean (V.2, Vr.11, IX.2-3). Bur \\'hat is required 01'
01' rclated ideas. Thc most illlpurrant by far is rhat the 'lZ;tvcnnas' 01' Mediter-
the r'vkdilerranean histori:lI1 is the ability to recognize, in pbces that art: not
ranean history are nOn!wl. Histor:' uf this rcgion, as we propose it, conCcrns
literal islands, lhe insular qllaliry 01' being 'il1 th\: s\\~m' (lI' cO!1\l11unications. Ir
localitics \Vl!idl have expericnced tht: equivalem in social and econOlnic n:lations
is this recognition lhat \\'c 11<1\'eno\\' sOllght to prol11ote i!1 fóur e.xal1lpks: :\11
01' rhe cHjuisile parricularities 01' culrllre and polities rh:tt are to be Savoured at
 llI. FOUR DEFINITE PLACES 5. 'LA TRAME OU MONDE' 7Y
78
Ravcnna. l ralian history, likc Anatolian hisrory or lhe p3st 01' thc lvbghrch, has minuto artcnt ion to the varying consrrainrs lIpon production. Arcas whcrc agri.
indccd 'really bccn ' microlocal. Thc mosr pcrccptivc svnrhcsis of MedirerrancJn culturc is ar ali possiblc are oftcn lirnircd in rhcir cxt cnt and highl)' fragrncnrcd
gcography expresses the fact mcrnorably. Thc Mcditcrrancan world is 'a mosaic, in rhcir disposition.
Thc consrrainrs are rnany .- pedological, ropcgraphica], clirn.uic, boranical ..
in which lhe. rnean size of each homogencous uniry is of rhc ordcr of reli kilo- and lhe)' are not easy to ovcrcornc. Human responscs, ovcr hist ory, havc bccn
rnctrcs. Nowhcrc elsc is rhc weave of rhe world's surfacc [Ia trame du monde] 50 cxrraordinarity subtlc anel various, alrhough lcss co.nprehcnsivclv etficacious rhan
fine - not cvcn 011 rhc islands of [apan, whcre , ir lhe clcrncuts of ropographical
a Romantic optimisrn rnighr prcdict. Produccrs - and agriculturc sensti strict o is
unity are comparnblc, rheir conrent is infinircly kS5 various. (Biror 1964, ,;)
onlv Of1C clcrncnt in rhe portfolio of Meditcrranean producrion - havc respondcd
Gcographical survcys always have to wrestle wirh complcxiry. Frag!1lclltarioll to thc fTagl11cnred environment with rhcir own 'rnicrosrratcgics'. It is thc kal-
is cornrnon enough i11 landscapes evcrywhcrc. 13lH ir is rhc dC81-U to which ir is cidoscopic landscape of producuon which ultimatclv consrn ures thc WC3\'e 01'
subdividcd , as Birot pointcd ou L, rhat distinguishcs Lhe Mcditcrrancan world. t hc world, and alrhough ir is shapcd by thc cnvironmcntal consuainrs, ir is more
Indccd , rhis poinr mal' be taken a sragc furrhcr: rhc zones and localitics rhat pointillistc cvcn rhan rhc physical world itself in thc specificirv Jlld prccisioll ar
jostle in rhe Mcditcrrancan can bc diffcrcnriarcd in rhc inrcnsirv of rhcir Irag irs subdivisions - by ficld, spring, lane, pasrurc, garden-groun.i, pond or copsc.
mcntation (Mcdciros 1988). Thc naturc ofthc diversitv itsclf is divcrsc. In any One of t he rnost striking botanical rnicrorcgions of Iraly is a hollow (l( a mcrc
givcn 10c:1Ie, relatively more uniform tracts of platcau or plain may mcsh with I Só hv I S!l rncrrcs, in which in thc ninctccnrh cClHlIry a flora of 420 spccies,
rhc ulmost absurd variabiliry of rhe hrokcn ropography in which cvery SlOI'L or l11an!' quite alicn to lhe Tyrrhcnian coas r, was rccordcd This is 110 accidcnr of
tcrracc of a vallcv-side , cach hollow, dum; and pool of a coastal lowland , 11);1)' naturc, howcvcr , hur rhc cavcruous ruins of rhe COIOSSéLlIll in Rornc .- a 111311-
have its own idenriry. madc cnvironrncnr, albcit accidcnrally 50. Whcrc Iand5CJ!lC moditica rion has bem
Ulrimatcly, thcrc are gcophysical rcasons for lhe gcological varicrx of thc delibcratc , lhe cffccrs are cqually srriking. Ir will bc sulficicnt to cite rhc naIlll'1c
Mediterranean basin and ror the violencc (lI' its rclicf In thc layout of rhc of rhc control of watcr , which wc saw illusrrarcd in thrcc of um four 'definire
contincnts.. this sca and its irnrncmorial forebcar lhe inland sca Tcrhys have had placcs'. 111 thc Mcdirerrancan clirnare , rhc singlc IllOS[ vit.il rc sourcc for lhe
a placc which is hard to parallcl for irnporrancc and longeviry. Movcmcurs of produccr, ;lS \\'<.:11as rhc rnost capricious, is warcr. And ""HeI' has bccn managed
thc plates across rhe surface of the globe havc , ovcr ge.ological time, rcsultcd in in a bcwiidcring varierv of wa)'s which in thcrnsclvcs otlcr critcria Ior J minurc
rnany subduction zoncs, which havc becn replaced with chains of fold moun- subdivision of rhe landscape in ali the pcriods in which wc are iutcrcstcd (Vl 1,2),
tains. But thcrc are some grounds for thc claim thar nowhcrc clsc in thc worlds Thc mosr ímportanr W3? 01' rcsponding ro rhc constraints nf the f\'!edirerran-
palacogcography has rhcrc been 50 cornplex or cnduring an cxamplc of rhe pro- can cnvironmenr is nor to attcmpt to overcornc thcrn, bur (O adjust 10 rhcir full
ccss as in rhe Mcditerranean basin and its prccursors (VII!.2). 'The climarcs that inrricacy, suiring thc means of producrion ro rhc subtlcsr cornplcxiries of rhe
are knówn around rhe globc as 'Mcdircrraneau' are also rcrnarkable t()r thcir ecology. B,· making use of cach niche, howcver 5m311, in lllinlltcl\' slIbdi\'ided
\'ariability ycar by year and scason by seaSOll. Hcncc the LXrrell1elv local (har· polvclIlrural systems, lhe environmcnr can be llsed to its grearesr prodllCli\'c
acter ot' the eHecrs _. on soil5, hydrology, rclieC - th.ll reslIlt troll1 lhe interpbv (lI' capacity Hnr rhe subdi\'ision is only parr o!" rhe srOf\·. Thc tllird I)oinr "'hich \\'t:
tectonic Illovements sllch as tàulring, earthquakc or orogCI1\', Wilh lhe 'ph)'sicn- might ll1:lke aliCl' our SlllTCy of four repre~cntari\'e Mcdirural1ean 'Ire:1S is lhc
cJimat.ic fórces (lf dcnlldarion', Alrhough tht:rc are orher cornhinaliol1s (lI' young parado x th:lt lhe kalcidoscopic mosaic of lhe McdircrraJ1can is disti11guishcd 111'
fold-ll1oul1tains with climarcs of this trrC, ir can !lc argucd that the dfecl (lI" lhe lhe 'strllcrLtres' which ()\'crCOJ11C lhe Iragmentar.ioll, and ahO\'C ali b,' l11:lriril11e
physic;d variely of landscape on the already capriciolls wcather is lIniqucly pm· ()J111111lrlit'.lti(lns, Bllt rh,H is :1 rhcl1lc ro wIJich \\'C shall retllrl1 (t:spcci;lIl\' Chap'
nounced across the Mcditerranean (Houstan 1964). Anel rhar Illust, to an extem, tcrs V, IX).
be the result of the strangcly fraglllented IlUp of rhe sea itself - as microregional, We 'lre !l0!, rhl'rd()re, simply oHering a re\'ision ot' i\ledircrrant:an regi0J1.11
in many arcas, as lhe adjoining bnd. SOl1lcthing of a n:ductio ad ,l'Í7.illnlrtl/1 gcograph)' in which the unirs of study are smallcr than has bCCI1 llSU;11. \Virh the
of microtopography is consequenr.ly to be tóund arnong the Mcdirdranc'lll MeditcrrJl1can microecologics ofthis I'an's subtirlc - rhe clell1cnrs of our tnlllJt'
archipdagos (VI. 11 ). du mOI'rdf - it marrers that they are bkidoscopic; ir does nor Illatrcr \\'hat rhcir
There is litrle rcason for the earth scientist to go bcvond discussing fi'actlltcd act\lal sizc J11ighr be. The fragmcllt:1rion is more importam than lhe scak. 50
landscapes in convenient macroregional clusrcrs s-uch as rhe Iberian ar Italian wc 511311nor arrempt to propollnd a rypical size tór our microrcgiol1s, like lhe
peninsulas, or thelllarically according to onc or more of the principal physical 10 kilomelres of Biror's rarher \'agllc prcscriprion quot<::d abcl\'c. \Ve shall, \Virh.
\'ariables - mountain terrains, brsüc topography, littoral climates, and the like. out hesiration, use the rcrm impartially 01' adjaccllt fields and (lI' lhe rcrrirarics o(
In investigating Ia tm,me du monde, however, lhe hisrorian needs to press l-uI'- ncighbollling politieal col11ll1unities, of individual islands, alld of ll1illUSCU!c pockets
ther than rhe physical geographer. The second kss(Jl1 thar our fOllr cxamplcs 01' inrcnsi\'e cultivatioJ1. The undcrlying conccpt, fapid variarioll in rhe n:actioll
have helped us comprehend is tllar the hisrorian mllsr examine lhe r.extme 01' rht: 01' thc pr()dllcer to the surrollnding \\'orld il1 ali its cOlllplniry (\'ariario!l which
landscape in terms of lhe attcmpt to satistY hllman 11eeds from rhe resourccs call lake I'I:1(c o\'er rime as well as ovcr distancc), is f1uid 3ml inCOnSl:lnl. 50 ir is
01' rhe environmel1t. Study of ta trame will, like the lik 01' tht: nver\\'hclming lInrcasnnable ro expect thar sole \\ill !lor be all addirional variablc, ;llong;sitlc ali
majority 01' Mediterranean pcople in rhe past, bc 'close to the soil'. Ir \\'ill illl'ol\'e the olhers,
 lll, Foun DEfiNHE PLACES 6. MOUNTAINS AND ,,,__,
PASTUo~c 81
80 ~------------~~
Our ddinition of the microccology, rhcrefore , is a localiry (a 'definire place ") expanding popularion on scarce , overwhclrningly agrariari, resourccs being re-
with a distinctive identity dcrivcd frorn rhc ser of available productive opportun- [icvcd in lhe lasr resort onlv by permanent crnigration. Mounrain microecologics,
ities and the particular interplay of hurnan responses to thcrn found in a givcn likc alrnosr all microccologies, are parts of grcater ccological ncrworks (as Braudcl
period. Ir is not lhe solid geology or thc characteristics of lhe climaric zone, conccdcd , bur with rcgard only to transalpine rrade routcs and to a te\\' orher,
thc rclicf or rhc drainage , that of rhernsclves define microecologics. Ir is rarher somewhar picturesquc, cxarnples: 1972a, 45-6, 206). This inrerdepcndence is,
thc inreraction of opportunities: for animal husbandry , foraging, hunting, inrens- rnorcovcr , cspecially pronounced where the fragmcnrauon is rnosr intcnse. Moun-
ivc agriculturc , forcst managcrncnt, horticulture , fishing, or whatevcr - aud, tains CJn seem hostile and marginal arcas; yer thcy are acrually closely integrared
as the final but by no mcans thc lcasr ingrcdjcllt, for eng:lgemcnt iu larga imo lhe patrcrns of producuon and comrnunicatiou rhar abur thcrn. Thar explains
ncrworks of rcdisrribution. why rnountain zones uncxpcctedly - and even paradoxically - becornc regions
Therc are rwo major advantagcs to this ecological conccption of rhe tessclla- wirh wide internal cohcrcnce and dose contact and intcrchange across what
tion of spaces into which thc Mediterrancan world divides. Oue is irs tlexibility appeJr, to the oursidcr, to be forrnidablc physical obsracles.
over time: it makes change casicr to understand. The othcr is its sparial indetcr- The cornplexiry anel unpredicrubiliry of, for exarnpie , Alpine ccologics has
rninacy: it avoids prcscnting geographical boundarics as pcrmancnt or uncross- bccn most forccfully hrought our by thosc anrhropologists who can combine
ablc. This applies as much to bounJaries arrriburcd to the region as a wholc as cthnographv wirh de mographic history. Som c villagcs, such JS Tõrbcl in the
to t hosc prcsumcd to lie within ir. Ir shoutd no longcr be a mana of cnvis:1gi!1g cnnron of Valais, sccrn to have bccn virruallv sclf-sufhcicnr , cconomicallv stablc
thc Mcditerranean in tcrrns of, for insrancc , Map 1, through thc disrriburion 01' (ar a very modesr levei) and autonomous, írom the rime rhar rhe hiswricaí rccord
the olivc or a ccrtain climaric regime (Jdinitions that excludc [OU rnuch tcrritory begins (in rhc t.hirrcenrh ccnrury) UJHil lhe aftcrrnarh of World War II (Ncrting
to bc useful or convincing). The Meditcrraneun of the microccologisr is ar O!1CC 1981). Thc isolation emerges trorn rhe srarisrics: 'onlv threc I11cn appcar to have
more sotrly edged and less crudelv idcnrificd. scttlcd in Torbel, rnarricd and had children thcrc sincc 1700' (1<)81,9). Yet
orhcr Alpinc cornmunirics conform far less [() thc Braudcllian srcrcotype. On
lhe basis 01' both local cthuograpny in Alagna (in the Picdrnonrcsc Alps) and a
widc cornrnand 01' lhe sccondary sourccs for the whole arca, Viazzo (l989) has
6. MOUNTAINS ANO PASTURES
cmphusizcd that Alpinc environmental divcrsiry - evcn within a sing!e slope - is
To test the practicabiliry of rhis microregionJ.l approach, which purs pcoplc beforc rco grcar for anv broad gcneralizations abour mounrain cconornics ro have rnuch
physical gcugraphy, wc mav turn to the high rnountain zones, 'dis3dvantagcd purchase on rcaliry, He has suggcsred that the impovcrishrnenr habitually atrri-
absolurely in rnost rcspccts ' (Lewthwaite 1981, 60). Mountains have the reputa- buted [O Alpiu« villagcs may be a property more of the land than of the peoplc
tion of being blcak, windy and cold , subjccr 10 high precipitation and intcnse and rhcir econol11y. And hc has shown thar Tôrbcl is Iar frorn rypical in irs
wearhcring and crosion , dissccrcd and impenctrable , a barricr to commllnica- isolarion. Not only thc long history of trunsalpine cornmcrce , but also that of
tion. Among orher forrns of marginality, topographic fraglllCIH:ltion ill tllC.:sc seasonal - as disrinct írorn perll1Jl1ent - cmigrarion, shows thar Alpine cornrnun-
pl3ces is ofren rllOught to be so extrcl11e as to protubil the day-w-day contacts itics ha\'c developcd \'cry cxreJ1sive tics \Virh their sLlrrounding plains. Since the
which make producriOJl worth\\'hik (\'.1). rniddlc of the nincreenth cc::ntury, if not car1ier, the Illajor part of Alagna's grain
HlI!ll~lll opportunisl1l and ingenuity ha\'t:, ho\\'e\'er, ver)' Ireqllently succeeded supply \\'as ti)r example purchased fram outsidc the Jrca. A largc 'porrioll of its
in integrating these ellvironments into rhe proJunive system. Such integration, cattlc herd :lIso had tO be stabled il1 the lowlands throughout lhe \Vinter (rhe
while perl1:lps yiciding only a sm:dl contributioll to the nlltritional ~ggregate, proceduf<: kno\\'n as inverse transhumance). ()vcr a still longer pcriod perhaps
has often lud imporu.nt historical conseqllcnces, <Ind helps to shol\' \Vith some srrctching right back ro lhe Bmllze Age, moreover, the rnining of precious metais
darity th~ characteristics of environmental opportunisl11 in the sysrem as a whole. in the Alps has at kast periodically bem both 3 Still1ulllS to il1ll11igration and J
Nowhere, in fact, is it easier to scc thar evcn the niclws \Vith the greatest physicll somee ()i' J1urket-ol'ientated prodLlCtion (1:\.2).
indiviJuality - an isolated upland pasturc, a wdl-watercd bollo\\' sheltered by Alongside this perhaps unexpected Alpinc panorama could li\: ser \'ignettes
precipitüus clifls _. must be understood by lhe hisrorian not simply in terms of of other Illountain societies: that I()r instance created by r:o\\'den (1988) ill his
their geomorphological or climatic idcntity, but as placcs in which tl1t: ecological stm1Y o( the pr;J((ic;Jt rolc playcd 11)' MOllnts Parnes, Pentelicus :lnd Hymcttus in
rcsponscs 01' hllman populations inrC!'sect in a distinctive \VJy. The 'personaliry rhe c«)nomy 01' late alltiquc:: Athens; or thar conjured IIp by Wickhalll (1988b)
of tllC ptace' lies nor in tl1e batd fàcts: 'herc is :l ch<.:stl1ut wood, there a spring, 01' the complex ties engendered by giCrs to churches, by potitical affiliat.iolls, and
anJ t!lere a tr3ck kawng to the sLlmmer ll1eadows.' It derives from the prcsencc thl'Ough lando\\'llership, betwccn rwo Apcllnine vallevs and the cities o( LUCCl
in this m.icroccology of peoptc eng3ged in using the spriL1g in agricultun:, Icad- and Arczzo duril1g the e3rlier Middk Ages. Wickham indeed otfers :l most tcll-
ing sheep or goats to and from mc upland, or exploiting tlJe fórest as forage for ii1g observarion -- that the marginaliry of rnounrain environrncl1ts ca!l l1lakc them
more, (lot lcss, scnsitive to larger comrnercial pressures, to such an extenr tlut the\'
thcir pigs.
It derives also from inrerdepcnJence. Mountain societics can no longer bc are 'capablc of altering rhcir very geography to fit t.llem' (359). We shollld l1or,
characterized, as they were by Braudd (1972a, 33), primarily in 5tark Malthusian howevcr, expect thar, in the absellcc of such pressures, mountains displa)' an)'
tcrms: 01' cultural ;lI1d cconomic poverry and isolation, \Vith the pressure of inherc::nt tendency wwards econornic iSOlatiOll.
 6. MOUNTAINS AND PASTURES 83
IlI. FOUR DEFlN[TE PLACES
82
Ycr in a chronology rcscrnbling rhar of rhe medieval Apcnnincs, long-distancc
Mountain societles rnay bc as closely rclatcd with Olhas nearby as thcv are rranshumance does not seern to bc arrcsred uurii rhc rum of lhe first nullennium
with lhe plains. Thc homogencirv of communicarions in mountainous regions, A.D. (Ar: inscribed altar discovcrcd in the sand of a lake ar Craubündcn and
rhe dense nct of capillarics that (as it were ) rics rhe individual mounrains rogcrhcr,
dcdicatcd to a group of diviuitics callcd sirnply Pastores (AE 1966, 272-5, with
makes of some of rhese arcas a curious analoguc of thc SCJ. Poinrs wherc rhc
Frei-Srolba 1988) rnay suggest a rnuch carlier dcveloprnenr of pasroralism -
mountains debouch into thc coastlands can parallel rhe significancc 01' g,rcat
gathering ports. The upland cconorny of rhe Taurus mountain chains in thc
around A.D. 200 - but hardly indicares me scale on which it was bcing prac-
riscd.) And thc particular cornbination of pastoralism arid inrcnsivc agriculturc
southern Anatolian península has often displaycd rhis sort of coherence. An k.nown simply as Alpwirtschaft; characterisric of the high vallcys in rnodcrn times,
arrcsting example of a gareway bcrwccn rhat arca and thc world of thc coastlands
becorncs apparent only in the larcr Middlc Ages.
and sea in the third century B.C. has come to light in docurncnts concerning rhe
Transhumant pastoralism is perhaps more oftcn associatcd with mounrains
. foundation of a ciry, Arsinoc, by the Ptolemaic rulcrs of Egypt. This ciry would than with any other kind of landscape. The association is bascd on thc juxta-
not only provide trem with anorher toehold on thc coast of Anatolia. Ir would
position of rnarkedly differcnr producrivc opportunitics - fcrrile vallcy floors and
also insritutionalize the relationship herwecn the ncw pOr! and rhc societics 01"
srccp forcsts or high pastures - and nor Oll the other more spccific attributcs of
the mountain hintcrland, parricularly the communiry of Nagidos and its dcpcnd- mounrains. Yct , as wc havc secn , thc cocxisrcncc within a singlc microccology
ants (Opelt and Kirsten 1989). of widely different forms of cnvironrncntal cxploitarion is rypical of rnany rypes
Thc difficulries 01" cammllIlication5 in rhe mountains conccrn amues mos! of
of landscnpc: weriands, srony plains, cases or sandy hearhs ali offer comparablv
ali, and to a lesse r cxtent peoplc involvcd in the bulk rcdisrriburion of materiais.
long spccrra of productivc choice (cf. VI.7). Anel pastoralism in particular, ir bv
Those difficulrics have, howcvcr , ofrcn bcen exaggcrarcd in the literal)' rccord to
that \VI! mcan thc response to ecological locations wherc the hiomass em bc
magnify thc cndurancc of thosc transcending thcrn. Frorn lhe thirtccnrh ccnrury
mude availablc to human nccds onlv b)' \\';lY of animal dicr, is a srratcgy COlll11l01l
ar least , large quantitics of grain and salr wcrc lar instancc passing on mule·back
to rnany microenvironrncnts. Ir cannot bc dcrcrrninistically linked wirh a rc-
from thc Rornagna to Florcncc across rhe Apcnnincs. And by rhc sccoud half ()f
srrictcd nurnbcr ofphysically \'CIY distincrivc cnvironrncntal nichcs, such as moun·
thc fourteenth ccnrurv thcrc was a largc·scalc rransir tradc in Spanish \\"001 Irorn
rain pasturcs.
the Tyrrhenian to thc Adriatic in lhe sarnc apparenrl)' lInpromising arca ( l.arucr
Thc contcxr of mounrnin cnvironrnents providos, nonc thc lcss, a suirablc
1990). Thc lcss well doc1I1l1cnred cvcryday rcdisrriburion of peoplc , animais,
opporrunity ar which ro sumrnarize obscrvarions about pastoralisrn rhut wcrc
materiais and foodstuffs, rhough on an individually small scalc , can bc still largcr
includcd ar various srages in rhe rrcarrncnr of four cxcmplary placcs. Ir. is also an
in aggregate. It is this above ali chat binds mounrain zoncs rogcrher , [usr as ir
opportuniry to srrcss again the divcrsiry, cxrrcmc murabiliry, and pervasivc inrer-
does islands and sca coasts. dcpcndcncc of Mediterranean microccologies.
Whcn we use thc labcl 'rnountain ' in a Mediterranean context, therdórc, \\T
Modcrn hisroriography and archacologv havc made it ovcrwhclrninglv clcar
are idcntifying a visually or geomorphological!y distinctive landforrn. Bur \\"C
rhat thc irnagc of thc pasroralist as a primitive and alien figure mllst bc decisively
must be chal)' of making assumptions aoom rhe ccological (lr dCi1lographic
r<:jectcd . .A.. ver)' ancienr set of preconceptions will orherwise continue to cxcrcise
strucrures to be associated with ir: these onnot he (3ken for granred. Gencraliz·
a tbmagillg influCllce 011 our thinking. Although rhey wen! originally e1abor-
ing abolI[ mountain eco no mies should therefore be undcrtaken in terms, not 01"
ated \Virh rcferencc to fully Ilollladic peoples, these preconceptions havc prol'c.:d
the intransigcnt actualities or geomorphology, but of a pattern of producri\'c
easily exttnsiblc to pastoralists 01" ali kinds. Indeed, they can slIstain prejl\di<:es
strategies. Most upland areas \vill, as we havc seen, exhibit a high degrec af miero·
against rhosc 'on the move' quite generally, disguising a good deal 01' ",hat \\'e
environmental complexity. As Lllcien Febvre long ago asserted, there is no sort
shall (in IX.5-6) find to have becn a perennial inst3biliry (lI" i\kditcrranean
of moumain unit)', no single hllman-geographic.al mountain type (1925,200).
populations.
A powerful ser of srereorypes dates from me time af the carl)' Greek nhno·
grapher-historians (to look no furthcr than the classical tradition). First, rhe
PaslHres agriclllturalist and the pastoralist each represem pure and llnmixcd ethnic rypcs,
\Vith whole peoples neatly c1a$sifiable as either one or the other. Secondly, these
One or the numerolls ways in wh.ich llpland ecologies may have been empharic·
unmixed rypes are polar opposites, wirh the agriculturalist as superior in \'irt\lc
ally patterned is throllgh animal husbandry. Wickham for instance, tO remain
of being civilized and the pastoralist as barbalian, although pcrhaps possessed of
with medieval Italian evidence, is able to show that horses and cows \Vere being
a certaill noble puriry (cf. Jeremiah 35) or even more than that (as \Vith Abcl).
\vintered 150 kilometres down the coast from one of his valleys perhaps from
Thirdly, hardJy surprisingly, pastoralism is more 3ncient than agriculrure and in
the eighth century, \vith quite extensive transhllmance of sheep becoming appar·
some sensc.: primeva!. Even Ibn Khaldull, much the ll10st subtle and penetraring
em in the rwelfth century (1988b, 24-5). Viazzo (1989,122-6) can sketch J
of pre· Enlightenment social analysts, rook nomadic sociery as thc starting poinr
long-term history of animal husbandry in lhe Alps that begins at lhe dose of
for his hislory, as rhe 'ferrile soil' from which sprang cvery subsequenr forlll of
the Neolithic period, as the remains or domesocated animaIs come tO outnllm·
socierv. ror him, Ilomads were virtuous. They had rhe power to gencratc and,
ber those or wild ones in the archaeological record, and as the mo\'emenr of
whcn neccssar')', regenerate agricultural sociery. Rut there was no possibility 01"
f10cks and herds across ll10dest distances presumably took on ,1 seasonal partern.
84 lll. FOUR DEFINITE PLACES 6, MOUNTAINS AND PASTURES 85
thcir bcing intcgratcd imo it. Thcv still emerge from the Mu qaddimoh ( 1.2) as rnanv narnes of which the Grcek trachan a may be the most familiar, makcs
distinct in socicry and econorny - and as primitive. This cnduring rvpology was available rhe staples of rhe arable world to the transhurnant shepherd when hc
rcviscd in rhc cighteeuth ccntury. The hunter-gathercr displaced thc pasroralisr has to lcavc the world of agriculture behind (Bryer 1985), Sornerhing similar
as lhe practirioner of the carlicst form 01' economy. Ycr pasroralism hud sril] nor mal' lic bchind thc origins of pasta. Thcrc is always a symbiosis berwe en animal
'caught up ' wirh agriculture: ir rcmaincd a hurnblc forcrunner. Thc image of thc husbandry and Olha forms of cnvironrncnral management.
pastoralist as lawlcss and uncouth is pcrpctuatcd in rhc complaints ()f Mcdircr- Sixth: suppose we divide rhe continuurn of Mediterranean pastoral pracnces
runcan far.ncrs about thc dcpredation wroughr by flocks and herds roughly imo tour parrs. Thcsc correspond to (a) small-scale husbandry wherc
Againsr thcsc nicclv discrcte and hicrarchical images, whosc re nacious hisrorv thc few animais in quesrion rcrnain on lhe farrn ali year round, (b) 'vertical'
has bccn traccd bv l\, D. Shaw (l982-3), can now be set , in the torrn of cight transbumancc , by which hcrds of 01111' moderare sizc move seasonally to nearby
points, a modcrn vision of the comparabie sophisrication and esscmial intcr- upland pasrures, (c) rhe far grander 'horizontal' rranshurnance associatcd wirh
connectcdness of pastoralisrn and agriculture in the Mcditcrrancan. Thar is, past- thc Spanish Mcsta or thc Ncapolitan Dogana, involving at lhe extrcrne the
orulism and agriculture musr , first of all, bc envisaged as IJr more likclv to havc seasonal movcrnenr 01' millions 0[- shccp over severa! hundrcd miles, and finally
functioued in svmbiosis than in isolation. Thc purcly pastoral socicrics 01" ancicnt (d)' the lcss predictable movcmcnts of fullv nornadic groups, mostly on 1:11e
Grcek rhoughr are cxtrcmclv rarc. Moreover rhev are not to be fóund wirhin the Mcdircrranean's casrcrn fringcs. Of thcse four, ar least since the bcginning 01'
I'vledÍterrallun region: une lJ;1S to look to thc inhabitants of Viking C;reenlJnd, historical times rhe distinctivcly Medircrrancan forrn of pastoralism lias been thc
01' t hc mudem lnuit 01' Masai, to íind groups whose dict and orhcr cvcrvduv second: vertical rranshurnance betwccn upiand and adjacenr plain.
nccds havc bcc n dcrived overwhelminglv trorn thcir animais, Second; pastor.ilism Thar conclusion differs slightlv lrorn the one implied in rnuch modcrn dis-
is ir anvrhing a more cornplcx forrn 01' cconomy rhan agriculturc , nor an undcr- cussion. Most attention has usuallv bccn givcn to (c) - not $O much its more
dcvclopcd substit utc fur ir in arcas too poor for cultivation. Sincc ir C\I1 rarely specracular manifestations in the Mcsra and Dogana as the generalirv 01' large
cxist in isol.u ion , ir rnust involvc quite sophisticarcd conncctions wit l: its sur sede rranshurnance. This rype has sccrncd to reflect lhe porential of the Mcditcr-
rounding \\'orlds ()I" producrion and cxchangc. Some of rhose connecrions mav rancan environrnenr more dosei)' than do other forrns of pastoralisrn, and thus
involvc t hc pasroralisr
in violcncc alld prcdation; ycr ir should bc r crncmbcrcd to offcr (according to tasrc ) eithcr an attractivc picrure of a 'natural' and long-
that aCCllSH10l1S UI1 that scorc may bc less a reflection of actual provocation than lasring econornic pracrice , or thc opportuniry for an attack 011 environmcnral
ot thc agriclllturalisl's view of thc pastoralists place in the social hierarchv dcterrninisrn Intcrest has also bccn focused on its 'high-profile' Rornan precursors
(Kostcr and Kostcr 1976, 283), Third, following on frorn rhat , rherc is norhing in the Italy 01" rhc late Rcpublic and early Ernpire. One landowncr, an ex-slave
in 31l)' scns« of lhe word primitivc abour pastoralisrn. It is subscqucnt to agricul- callcd Caccilius Isidorus, is rcportcd to have had 257,000 sheep and goats (Brunt
turc 011 anv cvolurionarv timc-scale: the agriclllturalisr was thc firs: to dorncstic- 1975), Therc is rclarivelv abundam evidencc for rhe rnaintenancc of drove roads
ate anirnals. and rhc cxtcnsion ()f a Illcrativc ovicaprine pastoralism deep into the recesscs of
To thl'se l'el"utJLÍons of the classicJl stcrcotype of the back\\'ard alicn Cln be the Apennillcs,
addcd othcr l'0illlS tl1:lt may bring Ollt more c!tarl\' the charaetcristic t(>rI]]S of It hJS bccome customary to distinguish a 'lvleditcrranean' rr~nshumancc of
lvleditcrranc3n pastoralislll, Fourth thcn, the close intcgration of pastoral1s111 and more or less this kind ti-om the vertical 'Alpinc' variet)', in which animals move
agricllltllrc sl\CJuld be elwisaged across a ver\' wide range ofh.lnctHlIls l'as!uralists to high ground during the sUlllmer to ti'ce the lo\\'-Iying ficlds fór the produc-
lllUsr eÍthet· n:lv on agriclllruralists t-()[ a sllbstanti31 portioll o( their necessitics tion oC lhe wintcr- tóddcr th;\[ \\'il! be cOl1sumed ill rhe stablc, Wc prdú to
(lI' cngagt: ln some agriculture thcmselvcs (Cl l'ossibility e\'cl1 túr full)' n0ll13dic emphasize the I'Jricty ofAlpinc as ",di as of more obviously intra-lvkdirerranean
pcoplcs). i\griculrmalisrs look to IiI'CsLOck - pigs, oxcn and carrle as II'cll as pastoral stratcgics, 110t drawing too sharp a disLÍnction berween them, \Ne prefer
ovicaprids - te)l' I11Jnure, rraction and threshing as much as túr wool, cheesc or also, of course, to direct attentiol1 to the 'short distances', the highly local forms
mecll. FiftiJ, as the feJUr dd1nire p!aces have hcr\\'ecn rhem :\lreadv implied, rhis of livelihuod which hoth unite micmecologies and bind t11cm to their neigh-
symbiosis ShOldd be recognized as extremely responsivc to changing ccollomic bours, ln contrast, then, to a body of müdem scholarship that tends to be prc-
opportllnities Thc sensc of cultural differencc and the birterncss that cultil'ator occppicd \Virh the largcst pastoral networks and to glance occasionally 'down'
and herda have so ottcn aroused in ()ne anorher, Jnd rhar lIndcrpill the elJs- lhe scalc, we \\'ould place the centre of interest at the humbler end 01' the cun-
si cal stcreot)'p~, shollld nor bc al10wcd to coneeal the case wirll which e\'cn rhe tinuum, Ir rcrnains debatable just how tàr highly localized animal husbandry
extreme spccialists on either 'side' have partaken of the 'opposing' t\)[m of live- was part of the Mediterrancan small f3.rmcr's basic means of support in Antiquity
lihood: 'the herda whose Hocks damage crops is a neighbour and rival, a tempor- (BE V1.7), Bur the practice has a clcar cnough histot), fr0111 rhe early Middle Ages
ar)' aposta te ti'um the settled misery; the irare larmcr is a rcncgadc who lJS! ycar on\\'ard, although it \\'ould require a vastli' extensive survey of the docllmentary
saw no harm in allowing his hcrds on to orher men '5 fields' (J, Davis 1977, 21), and archaeological record to )'ield any worthwhilc generalizarions abour regional
To sum up rhis degree of interdependence \\'c mighr consider rhe cmblemaric and chronological partems (cf. Chaprer VI), Problcms of evidence notwith-
sigllificance 01" porridge, It has long bcen a featllre of MediterrJne'\1l pastoralisrs standillg, it is this history, especially rhe circulllstances in which it has included'
to process cereal products imo a hard, durable tórm which wil! kecp, anel \\'hich some fórm of transhumance, rather, than the history 01' lhe Mesra and Dogana,
can be rendered ulibk bv soa.king or \)oiling, This preparation, kno\\'n lIndcr thar should pro\,idc rhe sraning point for analysis,
86 lI!. FOUR DEFINITE PLACES 7. THEODORIC AND DANTE 87
Scvcnth, no forrn 01' husbandry can sirnplistically bc rclatcd to rhc prcssurcs of of cvcn quite rinv systerns of animal husbandry, we should allow rhc largcsr sys-
thc cnvironrncnt. Each has to be conccivcd within a far richcr contcxr , as 'ovcr- tcrns thcir sal'. The archival detail upon which a siudy of rhe Ncapoliran Doaan a
dcrcrrnincd ' as a Frcudian neurotic symprorn. No pastoral srratcgy, wc havc said , dclle pecore may for instance depend (Marino 1988), the varicry of polirical and
can bc simply predicatcd of thc landscape, Therefore no such strarcgy can bc ecouornic topics upon which ir must dwell, the way in which rhc pastoral regime
seen as 'natural'. The rnountain summcr pasttlre, for example , which is at the heart of rJ1C carly modern kingdam of Naples may bc found to provido :l possiblc
01' transhurnance is itself by no mcans always part 01' the 'given' cnvironrncnt. Ir solurion to rhc quesrion of southcrn backwardness that has 50 vcxed hisrorians
rnay have to bc creatcd by deforesration. Nor can transhurnancc be intcrprercd of rnodcrn Itaiv - ali this can bc rnken to signal not just the rarnificarions of rhc
as a srraightforward function 01' any othcr environmenral feature. Prcdictions Dogana bur rhc ccnrralirv of pastoralism in some forrn to Mcdircrrancan historv
about where rranshurnance will have been 1110sr suircd to thc cnvironrneur , for quite gcnerallv, aud lhe sophistication of irs workings across Lhe cntirc spccrrurn
cxample in thc comparison of Sardinia and Corsica (Lcwrhwaitc 1981), are ncarly of pastoral practices. In rhat sense , thc spccrrurn is not as broad as migln havc
always confounded by rhe historical or archacological cvidcncc. (Alrhough Sar- bccn irnagincd , thc two cxtrcrnes not so far removcd:
dinia sccrns much the less wcll fitted for pastoralism, largc-scale shecp grazing
and moverncnr havc bccn considcrably more prevalent therc than in Corsica.) írom irs foundations in thc mid fitrcenrh century, rhc sysrcrn of rranshurnnncc in
Clirnauc dctcrminism is a particularly vulncrablc rypc of analysis in rhis contexto southcrn 1r:!ly II':lS a largc-scale cush-cropping cnterprisc dependem UP<)(1privare
The rarionale of thc rransfer of animais to lhe uplands during rhe hor, dry, \\"t',dlh (capiralisr grazicrs, capiralisr mcrchanrs, capiralisr agriculturalisrs ) and public
patron.igc (royal managcrncnr, roval dcmcsnc , and roval jusricc). 111 com rnllillf.( rbe
Mcditerranean summer may ccrtainly lie in lhe nccd to escape lhe aridirv of thc
movcrncnt 01' xhccp from summcr to wintcr pasrurc, rhe srarc placcd ilSclr in r hr
plains. But 3.S Wickharn (1983-5, 442) has pointcd out , 'alrnost ali rranshumant
ccntcr ofa rimclcss rradirion rhar amalgamarcd lhe rculiries of capiralisr .igricultur«
sysrcms englobe small groups of non-transhumant stock-rniscrs, witl: srock cap-
wir h lhe r.monalc of Arcadian pasroralism. (Marino 191111,7)
ahlc of sraying in rhc sarnc placc ali ycar .'
Simple dercrrninisrn I11USl bc rcplaccd bv a far mure cornplcx cxplanatory
sctriug. The gcner~lizalion thar 'rncdircrrancau pasrorulists are consrruiucd as
rnuch bv go\'emmenr as by grass' (T. Davis 1977, 21) should bl'. cxrcndcd to
7_ THEODORIC AND OANTE

political conditions in rhc broadest scnse. Thcsc havc alrcady cmcrgcd as cru
cially importam in thc ecological historics of Sourh Etruria and Cyrcnaica (Larondc Thc conception <"Ir Mcditcrrancan history inirially dcrivcd frorn a selccrion of
1996b)'. The forruncs of pastoralists have been to SOI11e:degree connectcd with 'definire placcs ' .uid claboratcd undcr the sign of Ia trame du monde hJS IH)\\'
levels of securiry and governmcntal abiliry [O regulare - and , abovc ali, rax - in bccn applicd lO rnountaiu cconomics and to the broadcr phcuomcnon of past-
most othcr parts of thc region as well. The proxirniry of rnarkcrs is auorhcr par! oralisrn. Ir was describcd at lhe oursct as an approach to thc Medirerranean past
of thc sccnc that dcscrvcs [ust as much crnphasis as any cnvironmcutal feature: by \VaI' of irs rnicrofoundarions. It was not intcndcd to cncornpnss dirccrlv lhe
pastoralists flourish where they can exchangc, nor [ust whcrc thcy can find gra/.- likes of Thcodoric and Dantc , bcrwccn whosc tombs Momigliano cnuld bcgin
ing. Finally, ar the hurnblcr cnd of thc conrinuuJ1l the p~ttt'rn 01' human settk- to fecl ",har Iralial1 histall' h:ld reallv heen, 1\n approaeh thar is brmdl>' ecol,,·
IIlt:nt may havc a po\Verful cHect. Nuclcated senlemenr a,.mciared wirh cxtensil"C giCII, OUl rhat does not aspire to produce an JII-emoraclflg 1l10del on rhe b:lsis
brming can make it I'cry hard I'()[ individual farrncrs to look aher more than :l of illadcqu:1te d,ll.a, is 11m going to cxplain lhe colbl'sc of the !ZOI11;lIlElllpirc,
kw animais locally, partly bccause the)' GlI1not dC\"Clte <:nough rimc tO [hem and 01' rhe policies ()f Philil' II of SI':1in, suJeI\' in ecologiCJI lCflllS. Nor, as \1',lS
parti\' bec:luse barc fallowing; drasrically reduces thc JV:lilabilil)' 01' I()dder. 'brmer, srressed il1 Ch'lptcr 11, \\"ill il pay lip-ser\'ice to w!tal \\'ould blllk brgc in alH'
nuy rhus resort tO comll1unal herding, shJring rhe lahour or joilltly clllploying OlheI' lonn of history mercly b)' ka\'ing a vacam spacc in rhe modcl I()I" 'menlal
speci~lists, in arder to removc their animais to S\lllll1ler pasture. Convcrse.!y, di,- f:,(tors' -- \\'hcn \\hat this pllrasc lIsuallr mcans is lhe clllirery or hUI1l,ln (u!t llre
perscd senlemelH \Virh inrensive farllling of immediarelv adjareIH 1::lI1dcn'lblcs NOllc rhc Icss, rhe \\'idcr polirical conreXl h'lS had l{) bc illVClkcd on ,1 Ilum·
larmcrs to mainrain lheir 'lIlimals IH.:arbv. heI' ()f (l..:casions: the illlpcl-i:l1 po\\'crs <)f ArhellS Jlld Ral1le; rIl'ljor, ii" IT'lllsielll,
The relati\'c significance of these bctors \ViII af (Ollrse V<lly Wilh rhe \\'ealth :lnd Cilics SII(h as :1Il(iCIH Cyrcllc; rhe political struclures rhat lllltlelvillncd rhe (10
locJrion ()f the pasroralisr. And ir would be tiir tO suggcsl lh:H, 011 lhe whole, l1l11ch more lh:tn the a(ccpted degn:e) exempbn· Nc:tpolitan Dog:lIla. Vv'c hegill
the rise tO prominel1ce of l:trge-scalc pastoral S)'SlCIllS in particular periods, such [() ,ee lhe possible extent of rhe COlll1ectiollS hetwcen the nalT<ltive historian "
as the central Middle Ages il1 bath the Alps and lhe Tuscan Apennines, rdlccts conccrn wirh the risc and 1:111of' (ornplex socieries and, ar the microccological
a more thorollgh 'overdererminarion' lhan do the smalJcr·scalc opcrarions or a levei, a ch.1I1ge il1 rJlC babnce of prOdllCtive $rrategies, hc['.veen arahk culri\'at ion
group of poor farmers. Y ct the featurcs ()f rhe l:tttcr's husbandry are far from or arbol'iculrun: clnd pasroralisl1l. Let lIS rcrufI1 for a ll10menr to rhe Lehancsl'
easy to explain: we dare not assume that the political and eeollomic conditiolls valle\' describcd ar rlle beginning of rhe chaptcr. !-lere tl1e social anu political
sllsraining [he f10eks or an aristocrar are inhcrenrly more complcx than rhe com- hiswr)' of rhe arca is complicated: space \\'ollld ha\'e to be found, in ~ narrati\'t:
binarion of tenurial obligarion, field sysrclll, settlel1lenr partem, marker geo- of suc(essivc Hellenistic, Roman and lslamic hegemonics, for a partern of' local
graphy, and soil chemisrry tllat mighr ill1pinge on the dt:cision-taking of thc 10\V1)'. poliries as complex and unsrable :ts rhat 50 cruelly c\'ident :H lhe end ()( the
Our e~Jhth and Iast püint is [herdore thar, ir \vc wish to gauge lhe sophisticatioll rwenrieth centurv. Thc various partitions 01' Syria - be['.\,ccn Egvprians anel
88 lII, FOUR DEFINlTE PLACES

Hittitcs in the Bronze Age; berween Seleucids and Ptolernies in Hellenistic

times; bcrween Fatirnids anel Harndanids in the earlier Middle Ages; bcrween
Scljuks, Wcstcrn Crusaders, and Ayyubids - may ali be scen as me outcornc
of polirieal cornperition, across me ccnturies, for broadly unchanging hurnan
rcsourccs: /{)r the allegiance 01' srnall , highly e1astic local familial and polirical
groups who managcd rhc diverse microecologies, pastoral or agriculrural, upon
which any larger power ultimately dcpended.
Thc Biqa was thus a política! no-rnan 's-Iand, characterizcd by a diffuse assortmcnr
of poliric.il leaders aud allegiances, ethnic idcnrities, econornic rclations , and socio-
cultural syncrctisms ' , , ln eflect , cach rival nullificd any degrcc of adrninistrarivc
or cconornic inrcgrarion achievcd by the othcr - and, considcring rhe inrrinsic
socio-economic discquilibrium of rhe lowlands, this was seldorn ditficulr. Thus lhe
pcuerration of bedouin rribes , ' , imo rhe sertlcd zone is cxplaiucd not 50 rnuch by
aggrcssion ()[1 rhe ir parr as bv thc abseuce of local authoriry and me decline of rural
scrtle mcnts. (Marfoc 1979, 18)

Such J[\ inrcrprcration (thar echocs in its closing lines rhe analysis ot rhe
Hilali invasions oflcrcd in Scction 3 above ) can only rentarivcly link thc polirical
instabilirv of thc Biqa lowlands with rhe inrcnse local variabiliry of thc mino,
ecologics rhcrc. Ir is nor a basis for gcnerulization across orher lcss ti'agrllcnred
par'cs 01" Syria - still less across other parts ar
rhe Mcditcrrancan 11'0 ri d , Bur ir

does, once again, ruim to the waj's in which political and ccological change can
bc bound up with cach orher: aud ir crnphasizcs rhe conrriburion rhar a srudy 01'
nucrocnvironmcnts rnight rnakc to the broader undersranding 01' Mcditcrraneau
history. Appreciarion of Ia trame d u monde offers rhe possibiliry of a sysrcmaric
approach to thc task 01' rclaring the rnurable pattcrns of producuve choiccs and
the tormarion ofnctworks ofpower , cooperarion, allegiance and dependcncc. In
rhe chaptcrs thar follow we plan to rest rhc conccpt turther. And \\'C starr in rhc
world ir! which Thcodoric and Dantc rnust be prirnarily locared - although wit h
some words of Dantc rhar imrnediarcly projecr thc ropic in an untarniliar bur, to
us , congcnial lighr.