Description
Book SynopsisBetween the Roman annexation of Egypt and the Arab period, the Nile Delta went from consisting of seven branches to two, namely the current Rosetta and Damietta branches. For historians, this may look like a slow process, but on a geomorphological scale, it is a rather fast one. How did it happen? How did human action contribute to the phenomenon? Why did it start around the Roman period? And how did it impact on ancient Deltaic communities? This volume reflects on these questions by focusing on a district of the north-eastern Delta called the Mendesian Nome. The Mendesian Nome is one of the very few Deltaic zones documented by a significant number of papyri. To date, this documentation has never been subject to a comprehensive study. Yet it provides us with a wealth of information on the region''s landscape, administrative geography, and agrarian economy. Starting from these papyri and from all available evidence, this volume investigates the complex networks of relationships between
Trade ReviewThis is not only an excellent addition to the OSRE series, but also an important work in the scholarship of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, and to ancient economic, enviromental, and social history in general. * Matt Gibbs, Hermathena *
the book is of import to anyone interested in how the physical environment shapes economic, social, and cultural concerns in Egypt and beyond. Scholars in different fields will surely benefit from Blouin's contribution to and her reshaping of this timely and ongoing discussion. * Eleni Manolaraki, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Blouin's work is exemplary of the new Papyrology and is very well contextualized within the New Environmental History. * J.G. Manning, Topoi 20 *
highly recommend this book to anyone interested in agricultural regimes * Penelope Wilson, Phoenix *
In this well-structured and reader-friendly book, Blouin has placed our understanding of the Roman Nile Delta on an entirely more secure footing. * Jane Rowlandson, Journal of Roman Studies *
Table of ContentsI: THE MENDESIAN NOME IN CONTEXT; II: THE MENDESIAN LANDSCAPE UNDER ROMAN RULE; III: 'LE BEAU RISQUE': SOCIETY, THE STATE, AND THE LAND; IV: AUTOPSY OF A REGION IN CRISIS
