Horse Husbandry and Empire in the Middle Scamander Valley

Abstract

This chapter examines the power dynamics which can exist in processes of regional integration. While regional integration can be pursued in such a way that it is mutually beneficial to all participants, economies of scale and political unification can equally be achieved at the expense of the political sovereignty, economic advantage, and communal identity of less powerful communities. This was the case with the communities of the middle Scamander valley in the late Classical and Hellenistic periods: a region of the Troad which had supported up to seven small to medium-sized cities in the Classical period was carved up by Ilion and Alexandreia Troas in the course of the Hellenistic period, leaving only Skepsis independent by the second century BC. This process is usually assumed to have begun with Antigonos Monophthalmos in the 300s. However, this unequal power dynamic between coast and interior had already existed in the Classical period and was allowed to develop by the nature of Persian rule. The chapter examines the impact which the creation of a royal horse stud in the middle Scamander valley in the fourth century BC will have had on this region and places this development within the longer history of the unequal power dynamic between coast and interior in the Troad.