Arjan Zuiderhoek
I’m an ancient historian based at the History Department of Ghent University, Belgium. My research interests encompass several broad areas:
1) Civic life in the Hellenistic and Roman East, primarily Asia Minor. Among (too many) other things, I’m interested in Greek civic politics, civic ideology and institutions under Hellenistic and Roman rule, popular participation in the post-Classical poleis, elite/non-elite relations, civic munificence (euergetism), urban public space/public buildings, the urban food supply, civic finances, and the role and functioning of civic sub-groups such as associations;
2) The ancient economy. Here my interest lies primarily with economic performance, the economic role played by cities, the production, distribution and consumption of food, social inequality, social mobility and demography;
3) The comparative study of (ancient) urbanism;
4) Internal conflicts in Greek cities, from Archaic to Roman times.
Phone: +32 (0)9 3310174 (office)
Address: Department of History
Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Ghent University
Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35
BE-9000 Ghent
Belgium
1) Civic life in the Hellenistic and Roman East, primarily Asia Minor. Among (too many) other things, I’m interested in Greek civic politics, civic ideology and institutions under Hellenistic and Roman rule, popular participation in the post-Classical poleis, elite/non-elite relations, civic munificence (euergetism), urban public space/public buildings, the urban food supply, civic finances, and the role and functioning of civic sub-groups such as associations;
2) The ancient economy. Here my interest lies primarily with economic performance, the economic role played by cities, the production, distribution and consumption of food, social inequality, social mobility and demography;
3) The comparative study of (ancient) urbanism;
4) Internal conflicts in Greek cities, from Archaic to Roman times.
Phone: +32 (0)9 3310174 (office)
Address: Department of History
Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Ghent University
Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35
BE-9000 Ghent
Belgium
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Books by Arjan Zuiderhoek
Detailed chapters present critical discussions of research on Greco-Roman urban societies, city economies, key political events, significant cultural developments, and more. Throughout the Companion, the authors provide insights into major developments, debates, and approaches in the field. An unrivalled reference work on the subject, the volume focusses on both the archaeological (spatial, architectural) as well as the historical (institutions, social structures) aspects of ancient cities, and makes Greco-Roman urbanism accessible to scholars and students of urbanism in other historical periods, up to the present day.
Part of the authoritative Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series, A Companion to Cities in the Greco-Roman World is an excellent resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and lecturers in Classics, Ancient History, and Classical/Mediterranean Archaeology, as well as historians and archaeologists looking to update their knowledge of Greek or Roman urbanism.
While there exist many studies of Roman urban space and of the Roman economy, rarely have the two topics been investigated together in a sustained fashion. In this volume, an international team of archaeologists and historians focuses explicitly on the economics of space and mobility in Roman Imperial cities, in both Italy and the provinces, east and west. Employing many kinds of material and written evidence and a wide range of methodologies, the contributors cast new light both on well-known and on less-explored sites. With their direct focus on the everyday economic uses of urban spaces and the movements through them, the contributors offer a fresh and innovative perspective on the workings of Roman urban economies and on the debates concerning space in the Roman world.
This volume will be of interest to archaeologists and historians, both those studying the Greco-Roman world and those focusing on urban economic space in other periods and places as well as to other scholars studying premodern urbanism and urban economies.
* Offers a brief and accessible survey of some of the main scholarly debates on the ancient city;
* Provides an overview of the main characteristics of Greek and Roman cities (their politics, society, economics, urban space, and so on);
* Argues for the historical specificity of the ancient city in comparison with cities in other periods and places and thus contributes to the ongoing debates concerning the nature of the ancient city and pre-modern cities more generally.
Through consideration of the allocation and uses of capital and credit and the role of innovation in the Roman world, the individual essays comprising this volume go straight to the heart of the matter, exploring such questions as how capital in its various forms was generated, allocated, and employed in the Roman economy; whether the Romans had markets for capital goods and credit; and whether investment in capital led to innovation and productivity growth. Their authors consider multiple aspects of capital use in agriculture, water management, trade, and urban production, and of credit provision, finance, and human capital, covering different periods of Roman history and ranging geographically across Italy and elsewhere in the Roman world. Utilizing many different types of written and archaeological evidence, and employing a range of modern theoretical perspectives and methodologies, the contributors, an expert international team of historians and archaeologists, have produced the first book-length contribution to focus exclusively on (physical and financial) capital in the Roman world; a volume that is aimed not only at specialists in the field, but also at economic historians and archaeologists specializing in other periods and places.
Features a range of different methodologies and theoretical perspectives
Relevant to the economic history of medieval and early modern Europe, and therefore appeals to a wide scholarly audience of historians and economists
Explanation of the success and failure of the Roman economy is one of the most important problems in economic history. As an economic system capable of sustaining high production and consumption levels, it was unparalleled until the early modern period.
This volume focuses on how the institutional structure of the Roman Empire affected economic performance both positively and negatively. An international range of contributors offers a variety of approaches that together enhance our understanding of how different ownership rights and various modes of organization and exploitation facilitated or prevented the use of land and natural resources in the production process. Relying on a large array of resources - literary, legal, epigraphic, papyrological, numismatic, and archaeological - chapters address key questions regarding the foundations of the Roman Empire's economic system. Questions of growth, concentration and legal status of property (private, public, or imperial), the role of the state, content and limitations of rights of ownership, water rights and management, exploitation of indigenous populations, and many more receive new and original analyses that make this book a significant step forward to understanding what made the economic achievements of the Roman empire possible.
Readership: Scholars and students interested in the ancient Roman economy and the institutional structure of the Roman Empire, in particular the role played by land and resources, as well as classical studies, economic history, and classical archaeology.
Papers by Arjan Zuiderhoek
Detailed chapters present critical discussions of research on Greco-Roman urban societies, city economies, key political events, significant cultural developments, and more. Throughout the Companion, the authors provide insights into major developments, debates, and approaches in the field. An unrivalled reference work on the subject, the volume focusses on both the archaeological (spatial, architectural) as well as the historical (institutions, social structures) aspects of ancient cities, and makes Greco-Roman urbanism accessible to scholars and students of urbanism in other historical periods, up to the present day.
Part of the authoritative Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series, A Companion to Cities in the Greco-Roman World is an excellent resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and lecturers in Classics, Ancient History, and Classical/Mediterranean Archaeology, as well as historians and archaeologists looking to update their knowledge of Greek or Roman urbanism.
While there exist many studies of Roman urban space and of the Roman economy, rarely have the two topics been investigated together in a sustained fashion. In this volume, an international team of archaeologists and historians focuses explicitly on the economics of space and mobility in Roman Imperial cities, in both Italy and the provinces, east and west. Employing many kinds of material and written evidence and a wide range of methodologies, the contributors cast new light both on well-known and on less-explored sites. With their direct focus on the everyday economic uses of urban spaces and the movements through them, the contributors offer a fresh and innovative perspective on the workings of Roman urban economies and on the debates concerning space in the Roman world.
This volume will be of interest to archaeologists and historians, both those studying the Greco-Roman world and those focusing on urban economic space in other periods and places as well as to other scholars studying premodern urbanism and urban economies.
* Offers a brief and accessible survey of some of the main scholarly debates on the ancient city;
* Provides an overview of the main characteristics of Greek and Roman cities (their politics, society, economics, urban space, and so on);
* Argues for the historical specificity of the ancient city in comparison with cities in other periods and places and thus contributes to the ongoing debates concerning the nature of the ancient city and pre-modern cities more generally.
Through consideration of the allocation and uses of capital and credit and the role of innovation in the Roman world, the individual essays comprising this volume go straight to the heart of the matter, exploring such questions as how capital in its various forms was generated, allocated, and employed in the Roman economy; whether the Romans had markets for capital goods and credit; and whether investment in capital led to innovation and productivity growth. Their authors consider multiple aspects of capital use in agriculture, water management, trade, and urban production, and of credit provision, finance, and human capital, covering different periods of Roman history and ranging geographically across Italy and elsewhere in the Roman world. Utilizing many different types of written and archaeological evidence, and employing a range of modern theoretical perspectives and methodologies, the contributors, an expert international team of historians and archaeologists, have produced the first book-length contribution to focus exclusively on (physical and financial) capital in the Roman world; a volume that is aimed not only at specialists in the field, but also at economic historians and archaeologists specializing in other periods and places.
Features a range of different methodologies and theoretical perspectives
Relevant to the economic history of medieval and early modern Europe, and therefore appeals to a wide scholarly audience of historians and economists
Explanation of the success and failure of the Roman economy is one of the most important problems in economic history. As an economic system capable of sustaining high production and consumption levels, it was unparalleled until the early modern period.
This volume focuses on how the institutional structure of the Roman Empire affected economic performance both positively and negatively. An international range of contributors offers a variety of approaches that together enhance our understanding of how different ownership rights and various modes of organization and exploitation facilitated or prevented the use of land and natural resources in the production process. Relying on a large array of resources - literary, legal, epigraphic, papyrological, numismatic, and archaeological - chapters address key questions regarding the foundations of the Roman Empire's economic system. Questions of growth, concentration and legal status of property (private, public, or imperial), the role of the state, content and limitations of rights of ownership, water rights and management, exploitation of indigenous populations, and many more receive new and original analyses that make this book a significant step forward to understanding what made the economic achievements of the Roman empire possible.
Readership: Scholars and students interested in the ancient Roman economy and the institutional structure of the Roman Empire, in particular the role played by land and resources, as well as classical studies, economic history, and classical archaeology.