Description
Book SynopsisPeace in the Ancient World: Concepts and Theories conducts a comparative investigation of why certain ancient societies produced explicit concepts and theories of peace and others did not.
- Explores the idea that concepts of peace in antiquity occurred only in periods that experienced exceptional rates of warfare
- Utilizes case studies of civilizations in China, India, Egypt, and Greece
- Complements the 2007 volume War and Peace in the Ancient World, drawing on ideas from that work and providing a more comprehensive examination
Trade Review"Considering how under-studied ancient peace is compared with conflict, this work is a welcome and important contribution to an increasingly topical subject; the issues addressed concern scholars not only in peace, but in international relations, state doctrines, philosophical schools and historiography, which provides the book with the benefit of a wide readership. By allowing for cultural comparisons, the book allows for a wider engagement concerning the issues that are usually omitted in political discussions of antiquity.... Raaflaub and the other scholars deserve credit for bringing this research gap to the forefront...."
Bryn Mawr Classical Review BlogTable of ContentsNotes on Contributors vii
Series Editor’s Preface ix
Introduction 1
Kurt A. Raaflaub
1 Abhorring War, Yearning for Peace: The Quest for Peace in the Ancient World 12
Kurt A. Raaflaub
2 Concepts of Peace in Ancient Egypt 43
Susanne Bickel
3 Thinking about Peace in Ancient India 67
Johannes Bronkhorst
4 Searching for Peace in the Warring States: Philosophical Debates and the Management of Violence in Early China 98
Robin D. S. Yates
5 Greek Concepts and Theories of Peace 122
Kurt A. Raaflaub
6 Broadening the Scope: Thinking about Peace in the Pre-Modern World 158
Hans Van Wees
Index 181
