Eastern Frontier Research Articles

Palmyra and Its Empire: Zenobia's Revolt against Rome

In the twilight of the third century C.E., the unity of the Western world was threatened by financial crisis, invasion, and plague. The Syrian city Palmyra had long protected Rome against Persian invasion, but under its queen Zenobia, Palmyra broke away from Roman hegemony. The Roman Empire had never been closer to disintegration, nor had it suffered so much before at the hands of a woman. This volume is the first comprehensive historical treatment in any language of Roman Syria, the revolt of Zenobia, and the city of Palmyra. Drawing on discoveries in archaeology, the history of the Silk Road, numismatics, and Roman and Persian history, Richard Stoneman has assembled a rich collage of knowledge about this intriguing period. As he tells the story of this major revolt and its leader, the author surveys the history of the spice trade in antiquity, the religious ferment of third- century Syria, early modern travelers to Palmyra, and in particular Zenobia's changing image through the ages. The lucid text and numerous illustrations will attract all who are intrigued by the third- century Roman Empire and its frontiers, by pre-Islamic Arab culture, by Roman Syria and Palmyra itself, and by the fascinating Queen Zenobia. . . an excellent synthesis of current knowledge and a sound introduction to the third cen-tury, especially in the East. . . .--Journal of Military History . . Stoneman provides an excellent and readable introduction to what is known about Palmyra, and particularly the astonishing period in the mid-third century A.D. . . . [He] marshalls recent reinterpretations of the politics of the eastern frontier by both historians and archaeologists, as well as the inspiration of his own visits to Syria, to underline Palmyra's unique commercial position and the ability over the centuries of Roman rule of its ethnically and religiously highly heterogeneous ruling class to exploit the caravan trade from East and South Asia to their economic and political advantage.--Greece & Rome Richard Stoneman has published numerous books on the ancient world and on travel in the Eastern Mediterranean. He is Senior Editor at Routledge.

The eastern frontier of Western Europe: mobility in the buffer zone.

"The post-Communist countries of Poland, Hungary, [and] the Czech and Slovak Republics have become a buffer zone between East and West. In this article we analyse the way in which this occurs in terms of migration in and out of the region. Our analysis focuses upon the emerging role which this region plays in relation to other parts of Western and Eastern Europe and the way in which economic and political developments there have encouraged particular forms of migration. We attempt to build a picture of some of the different kinds of migration taking place in relation to the social and ethnic characteristics of migrants. The article concludes that these movements are better understood as part of the mobility and circulation of people rather than as one-way migration."

Nuer Prophets: A History of Prophecy from the Upper Nile in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

I: PRELUDE 1. 'The Hammer of the Kujurs': Government, Ethnography, and Nilotic Religions 2. Deng and Aiwel: Elements of the Prophetic Idiom and Definition of the Moral Community II: PROPHETS 3. Ngundeng: Prophetic Inspiration on the Eastern Frontier 4. Deng Laka: A Pragmatic Prophet 5. Guek Ngundeng and the Minor Prophets: Divinity Dispersed 6. Dual Diu and the Continuity of a Prophetic Tradition 7. Prophetic Rivalries in the Western Homeland III: PROPHECY 8. Prophetic Traditions in Peace and War 9. The Life of Phophecy APPENDICES 1. Nilotic Populations 2. Nuer Divisions 3. Nuer Age-Sets Bibliography Index

Air Photographic Mapping of San Marcos Pueblo

AbstractSan Marcos Pueblo, dating between A.C. 1340 and 1700, is a large,Glaze Period town of the Anasazi-Pueblo cultural tradition. An aerial map of this protohistoric site was made from CIR (color infrared) photography provided by the Stennis Space Center, NASA. Ground confirmation of the aerial map has been affected through archaeological studies beginning in 1915 and continuing, intermittently, until 1993. The verified map is presented as a modern settle1nent statement as well as a vehicle for plotting differential spatial distributions of artifacts useful in evaluating the role of tasks and activities. Among these intramural activities are apartment living, religious life, craft production, water hauling, and other work tasks. Outside of the town were 1nining and “walk-out” gardening locales.The town of San Marcos played a significant role as a member of the “Eastern Frontier” of pueblos manning the border between the American Southwest and the High Plains. Interaction with Plains buffalo hunters was...

The Shift in Ben-Gurion's Attitude toward the Kingdom of Jordan

The year 1958 was a period of turmoil and disruption in the Middle East. In Israel, events in the region stimulated expectations about rectifications on the eastern border. After careful consideration of the changing situation, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion decided to preserve the status quo along Israel's eastern frontier. This decision signaled the start of a shift in his attitude toward the Kingdom of Jordan. At the beginning of the decade, Ben-Gurion had defined the border with Jordan as "ridiculous." 1 He claimed that "Jordan is an artificial state with no future." 2 Toward the end of the decade, he had come to perceive Jordan's independent existence as an important factor for contributing to Israel's security, and worked to maintain the status quo along the borders of the two states.

Visa Requirements, Carrier Sanctions, 'Safe Third Countries' and 'Readmission': The Development of an Asylum 'Buffer Zone' in Europe

"This paper explores the development of a so-called asylum 'buffer zone' around the eastern frontiers of the west European region as a result of the Schengen, EU and EFTA member states' introduction of more restrictive asylum policies during the first half of the 1990s. Restrictive policies in western Europe are forcing central and east European states into a 'buffer role', obliging them to absorb asylum-seekers who fail to gain entry into western Europe and/or restrict asylum-seekers' access to the borders of potential 'receiving' states. In addition to examining the mechanisms by which this 'buffer zone' is developing and questioning what it might mean for future asylum trends and policies in Europe, the paper considers the wider questions raised by this development in relation to the changing geopolitical landscape of Europe, particularly in relation to the changing political and security relations between western, central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union."

The limits and possibilities of a European identity

During the Cold War period European identity was largely secured by the notion of the West; despite its lofty ideals it was a Cold War construct shaped and defined by the global confrontation of capitalism and communism. Europe was secure in its identity as the eastern frontier of the United States. Today, however, European identity is being redefined, but the terms of its redefinition are uncertain. With the collapse of the old bi-polar constructs of West versus East, the European idea is becoming the focus for a new struggle for hegemony in what is coming to be increasingly recognized as a multi-polar world. The problem I address in this article is the normative foundations of European identity. More fundamentally this is related to the question whether we in fact need a European identity, particularly if this is to be another totalising idea in the grand style of Christendom, the West, Modernity, the Nation. Integral to this critique is a concern with the possibility of post-national collective identity as the basis of a new kind of identity. Is European identity just another ideological construct in the increasingly international stage of politics? Or does it represent a genuine attempt to come to terms with the problem of the crisis of identity in the modern polity?

THE WITNESS OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Some information about churches With exception of a few smaller groupings of churches in South Africa are based in Afrikaans-speaking(1) communities.(2) For purposes of this article read Reformed where title says Reformed. The largest of these churches (the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk -- NGK) is in fact organized into four separate racial(3) churches, and explicitly speaks of itself as a family of The second largest Afrikaans church (the Nederduitsche Hervormde Kerk -- NHK) has an infamous Article III in its constitution which states that only whites may be members. A third (the Gereformeerde Kerke -- GK, of which current president, F.W. de Klerk, is an active member) is strongly Calvinistic and has a strong majority of whites. Together these Dutch churches (with their black offshoots -- see later) represent largest religious grouping in South Africa, with exception of African independent churches. A privileged past The Dutch Church (DRC) was planted in 1652 at southern tip of Africa when a Dutch settlement came into being at Cape of Good Hope. This settlement was a commercial enterprise of Dutch East India Company, which needed a halfway station en route to east. However, a formal prayer was part of prescribed ritual when Jan van Riebeeck stepped ashore. The prayer mentioned planting of the true Christian Religion among wild and brutal men (Du Plessis 1911:23). For a century and a half this church was official -- and for all practical purposes only -- church in settlement. The company controlled it, but that didn't bother anybody, because to be Dutch meant being Christian of (Calvinistic) extraction. The company only formalized this. The church's position was a privileged one, but it implied a grave responsibility. Basically church was religious arm of government, looking after religious needs of colonists. But christianization of indigenous Khoikhoi people, whom they encountered in their efforts to barter fresh meat and other products, was also contemplated. The people charged with pastoral oversight of settlers were expected to deal also with natives. The relations with these people were always dualistic: as children of their time Dutch had romantic notions of noble savages, but on other hand never questioned absolute superiority of their own culture and religion. They had a benevolent paternalistic attitude, but it easily turned negative when they encountered difficulties. Nevertheless, records show that a number of Khoikhoi were welcomed into Christian fold, even though relations were generally less than cordial. The same happened with some slaves from Indonesia as well as elsewhere in Africa (Du Plessis 1911:29-35). But strict ruling that converted slaves were freed didn't really make evangelization popular! By nineteenth century colonial era arrived when European governments themselves took responsibility for Cape. The colonial government (Dutch, and later British) still had authority over church, but other persuasions were also allowed. It was only in 1824 that church could convene its first synodical meeting, but already at this first session decided to embark on missionary work (Crafford 1982:36). The next quarter of a century was an extremely traumatic one for Dutch Church at Cape. General dissatisfaction with colonial government's handling of clashes with Xhosa peoples on eastern frontiers led many farmers and townspeople to leave colony. This they did against explicit wishes and advice of church leaders. The result of so-called Great Trek was founding of free Boer Republics in north. …

The Two Fifth-Century Wars Between Rome and Persia

The fifth century was in general a peaceful period for Rome’s eastern frontier. On just two occasions was this peace disturbed, and only one of these involved significant campaigning. Perhaps because of this comparative lack of conflict between Rome and Persia, these two occasions have attracted considerable scholarly attention. The account of the church historian Theodoret of Cyrrhus has been at the centre of this discussion, and will be dealt with in detail below. This article will look first at Theodoret’s account, and the problems arising from it, and then at the treatment of the wars by ancient authorities generally. First, however, it would be worth considering briefly the background and course of the two wars.

Les limites orientales de l'espace européen

Patrick Jager : The Eastern limits of Europe. Fixing the Eastern frontier of Europe is a complex problem that changed over the 18th Century ; it is connected with the value-laden distinction opposing enlightened to barbarian. For travellers, Russia was part of Europe while the Greek Archipelago tended to be outside it. But between these two worlds was a frontier zone which was not a line but an area, a sort of no man's land which finally seems to take on its own cultural identity, being neither European nor Oriental. This zone includes the Archipelago, the Phanariot principalities and part of Russia, but its extent varies.

East Central Europe after the Warsaw Pact: security dilemmas in the 1990s

Introduction The Legacy of Geopolitics, 1918-1985 The Collapse of the Warsaw Pact Poland between Two Great Powers Czechoslovakia in Search of Confederated Europe Hungary's Road to Western Europe Conclusion: Europe's New Eastern Frontier Selected Bibliography Index

Dispute Resolution on the Eastern Frontier: Some Questions for Modern Missionaries

Dispute Resolution on the Eastern Frontier: Some Questions for Modern Missionaries

Through Western Eyes: A Review of Recent Publications on Rome's Eastern Frontiers

Through Western Eyes: A Review of Recent Publications on Rome's Eastern Frontiers

The Impact of the Southern and Eastern Frontiers of Muscovy On the Ulozhenie (Law Code) of 1649 Compared With the Impact of the Western Frontier

The Impact of the Southern and Eastern Frontiers of Muscovy On the Ulozhenie (Law Code) of 1649 Compared With the Impact of the Western Frontier

Socioeconomic Differentiation among Small Cultivators on Paraguay's Eastern Frontier

Until the 1970s, Paraguay's eastern frontier was known primarily for its vast virgin forests and its domination by semifeudal enterprises engaged in extracting yerba maté and timber. After the 1970s, however, the extension of transportation networks, construction of the massive binational Itaipú hydroelectric works, and the release of state lands for private purchase paved the way for large-scale in-migration, settlement, and transformation of the region into a zone for commercial agriculture. In less than two decades, the rapid expansion of soybean production into this area has catapulted Paraguay into the ranks of the world's major exporters of soybeans.

An Unequivocal Guarantee? Fleet Street and the British Guarantee to Poland, 31 March 1939

He added that the French government had 'authorized' him 'to say that they stand in the same position in this matter as do His Majesty's Government'.' This statement represented a revolution in British foreign policy, for since Versailles all British governments had followed a policy of limited liability upon the European continent. They had been prepared, acting in concert with others, to accept security commitments in Europe guaranteeing those western European frontiers that had been a consequence of the Versailles settlement. What no British government had been prepared to do was to enter into any security commitment guaranteeing those eastern European frontiers similarly established. Locarno had symbolised the ambivalence of the British attitude towards the Versailles settlement and signalled to the rest of the world that His Majesty's Government would not necessarily oppose the revision of the Versailles settlement in eastern Europe, provided of course that this was done, if it were to be done at all, by peaceable means and with the free agreement of all interested parties. It was therefore some measure of the impact upon British public opinion and upon the policy-makers themselves made by Hitler's brutal occupation of Prague on 15 March 1939, in defiance of that ethnographical principle that had hitherto given some modest cover

La frontera oriental de Humahuaca y sus relaciones con el Chaco

Eastern frontier and ethnic relations: Humahuaca and Chaco, (1595-1650) Abstract This article presents the results of an etnohistorical research on ethnic relations between the native groups of the Quebrada of Humahuaca and those of the Chaco, in the center-south of Andean Region. In this area of ecological and cultural transition, those groups developed various kinds of ethnic relations, modified through different historical periods: pre-inca, the inca rule, and the Spanish conquest. Besides these relations, the peoples of the Quebrada of Humahuaca had direct access to the eastern slope lands to complement their own agrarian resources.

Maya Postclassic State Formation: Segmentary Lineage Migration in Advancing Frontiers

1. Introduction Part I. Chontal segmentary lineage formation within the gulf frontier and diasporas to Yucatan, Chiapas and Guatemala 2. Segmentary lineage organisation of the Quiche, Chontal and Itza 3. The cult of the feathered serpent: the Toltec connection 4. Warrior and aristocratic lineages: ecological conditions leapfrog migrations Part II. The early postclassic Mexican-Mayan frontier of the midwestern Guatemalan highlands: 5. The acropolis centres and tun/katan ritual alliances 6. The Quiche segmentary state of the Late Postclassic period Part III. The Eastern Frontier of Mesoamerica: 7. Demographic and sociocultural dynamics of segmentary lineage expansion: sociocultural transformations 8. The ballgame ritual and myth for massing through complementary opposition Part IV. Comparisons among the Mexican-Mayan frontiers 9. Conclusions Bibliography Index.

A Proper Degree of Terror: John Graham and the Cape's Eastern Frontier

A Proper Degree of Terror: John Graham and the Cape's Eastern Frontier

A Proper Degree of Terror: John Graham and the Cape's Eastern Frontier

Journal Article A Proper Degree of Terror: John Graham and the Cape's Eastern Frontier Get access A Proper Degree of Terror: John Graham and the Cape's Eastern Frontier, by Ben Maclennan. Ravan, Jobannesburg, 1986. 252 pp. £9.95 paperback. ISBN 0 86975 235 9. (Distributed in U.K. by Third World Publications, 151, Stratford Rd, Birmingham B11 1RD). RICHARD BOUCH RICHARD BOUCH University of South Africa Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar African Affairs, Volume 87, Issue 347, April 1988, Page 307, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098047 Published: 01 April 1988