Walser
Fakultäten » Philosophische Fakultät » Historisches Seminar » Alte Geschichte, Fachbereich » Prof. Dr. Christian Marek » Walser
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Peasants and creditors. Law, Politics and the Economy in early Hellenistic Ephesos (PhD Thesis) |
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||
| Original title / Originaltitel | Bauern und Zinsnehmer. Recht, Wirtschaft und Politik im frühhellenistischen Ephesos (Dissertationsprojekt) |
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| Summary / Zusammenfassung | In 1876, the excavations at ancient Ephesos brought to light a long inscription preserving part of a decree dating to the beginning of the third century B.C. It records a complicated set of regulations providing a solution for a severe and prolonged credit crisis. This crises threatened to ruin many citizens, especially the peasantry who was weakened by long wars and - in consequence - heavily indebted. In the first years after the edition of the inscription a number of commentaries were published, which could elucidate some of the legal problems but were completely mistaken in its historical interpretation. Since then, no serious effort has been made to make use of this unique document for the social and economic history of the early hellenistic period. The present study seeks to take up this task: By means of a comprehensive commentary of the decree’s legal provisions, the cause, evolution and consequences of the Ephesian credit crisis are to be reconstructed. From this starting point the thesis tries to answer more general questions: What are the effects of war on the economy and society of a Greek city-state? What economic or political processes were responsible for the failure of the ordinary risk-buffering strategies of the peasants? What political means has a Greek polis to cope with a socio-economic and political crisis? In the way of such a »case study«, the thesis aims at contributing to our understanding of the economic and social history of the Greek World. |
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| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | Hellenistic, Ephesus, Ephesos, Debt, Credit, ancient economy, economic history, social history, credit crisis | ||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Other Public Sources (e.g. Federal or Cantonal Agencies) |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | May 2002 to Dec 2005 |