War Booty Research Articles

Can Autonomous Weapon Systems be Seized? Interactions with the Law of Prize and War Booty

Abstract The military has often been used as a proving ground for advances in technology. With the advent of machine learning, algorithms and artificial intelligence, there has been a slew of scholarship around the legal and ethical challenges of applying those technologies to the military. Nowhere has the debate been fiercer than in examining whether international law is resilient enough to impose individual and State responsibility for the misuse of these autonomous weapon systems (AWSs). However, by introducing increasing levels of electronic and digital components into weapon systems, States are also introducing opportunities for adversaries to hack, suborn or take over AWSs in a manner unthinkable compared to conventional weaponry. Yet, no academic discussion has considered how the law of prize and war booty might apply to AWSs that are captured in such a way. This article seeks to address this gap.

Proveana – Eine Datenbank für die Provenienzforschung am Deutschen Zentrum Kulturgutverluste

Abstract The Proveana database for provenance research is a new service of the German Lost Art Foundation in Magdeburg. Complementing the Lost Art database for the documentation of cultural assets which were displaced or relocated as a result of the events of World War II, the centre has released the new database in 2020 to support provenance research through documenting historical information from four different provenance research areas on cultural assets seized due to national socialist persecution (Nazi-looted art), cultural assets displaced during wartime (war booty), cultural assets seized in the Soviet-occupied zone and the GDR, as well as cultural assets and collections from colonial contexts, thereby making it more transparent and contributing to the solution of unresolved cases.

«Законное право» на награбленное: распределение военной добычи и римская civitas периода Республики

the article examines the distribution and use of war booty in the Roman Republic. In spite of quite extensive historiography on this question, scholars as a rule focused their interest on the role of the commander in the process of dividing the loot, and the collective of citizens of the Roman state, which also claimed part of the loot, unreasonably remained without required attention. Therefore the article analyzes the parts of the Roman civitas, among which the spoils of war were distributed, namely, the commander, the soldiers and the treasury. Besides the desire of each of the parties to get their «legitimate» part of the loot inevitably led to a number of conflicts, which were later reflected in the literary tradition. Based on the information from narrative sources, author of the article highlights not the economic, but the political and ideological aspects of the problem – how the distribution of loot was carried out, what traditions were formed for this procedure, whether there was any law, what social contradictions were in the division of the loot, what ideas are associated with this process and what place civil community is occupied in the distribution of the spoils of war. Discussion of all these issues allows us to create an idea of the role that war booty played in the economy of the Roman Republic; in particular, the article reveals the issues of the relations between war booty and tax system. In addition, the article presents a number of important remarks on the interrelation of the commander, the army and the state treasury, which were the main players in the process of dividing the spoils of war. The article concludes that in Rome, until the end of the Republic, there was no universal norm of law which would regulate the processes of distribution of war booty; it is more likely to claim that there is some tradition which took into account the interests of all parties and changed with the development of Roman statehood.

The Diamond from Banjarmasin: A Story in Facets

This article tells the socio-political life story of the Banjarmasin diamond that is on display in the Rijksmuseum’s nineteenth-century colonial room. How the diamond came into the possession of the Dutch in 1859 was not entirely clear, although both in the Netherlands and in Indonesia it is cited as a typical example of ‘war booty’ and ‘looted art’. It is therefore used in debates about contemporary identity formation, like the Dutch approach to their violent colonial past and Indonesian post-colonial nation building. But the stone has more to tell: stories about war and violent subjugation, about resistance and the co-optation of the local rulers, about trade and monopolization and about colonial pretension. On the basis of a provenance report written as part of the Pilot Project Provenance Research on Objects of the Colonial Era, this article aims to shed more light on various moments in the diamond’s life story, from mining to exhibition. This also makes it clear that the present-day debate about its painful history and its possible restitution to Indonesia will be not the conclusion but a brand-new chapter in the diamond’s long socio-political history.

THE EFFECTS OF KOREAN POTTERS AFTER THE IMJIN WAR ON JAPANESE CERAMIC CULTURE

The Imjin War was fought between Japan and Korea between 1592 and 1598. The process that started with Japan's invasion of Korea resulted in the capture of skilled Korean craftsmen and about 800 Korean potters, among them, after the war. Captive Korean potters were settled in areas of western and southern Japan ruled by the Lords of the time. Korean potters, who have a deep-rooted ceramic tradition, developed ceramic production techniques in the Japanese regions where they were placed and became the creators of products such as Satsuma-yaki, Hagi and Karatsu ceramics, and Arita porcelain, which are known today as Japanese ceramics. As a result of the effects of Korean potters captured as a kind of war booty on Japanese ceramic art and culture, the Imjin War in the literature of ceramic art history; is called the “Tea Bowl War”, “The Pottery War” and the “Ceramic War”. In this study, a brief history of the Imjin War is given, the Korean ceramic tradition and culture, which reached its peak during the pre-war Joseon Dynasty, is evaluated through examples, and finally, technical and formal transformations and new formations in post-war Japanese ceramic production are examined. Keywords: Imjin War, Tea Bowl War, Pottery War, Korean Ceramics, Japanese Ceramics

THE EFFECTS OF KOREAN POTTERS AFTER THE IMJIN WAR ON JAPANESE CERAMIC CULTURE

The Imjin War was fought between Japan and Korea between 1592 and 1598. The process that started with Japan's invasion of Korea resulted in the capture of skilled Korean craftsmen and about 800 Korean potters, among them, after the war. Captive Korean potters were settled in areas of western and southern Japan ruled by the Lords of the time. Korean potters, who have a deep-rooted ceramic tradition, developed ceramic production techniques in the Japanese regions where they were placed and became the creators of products such as Satsuma-yaki, Hagi and Karatsu ceramics, and Arita porcelain, which are known today as Japanese ceramics. As a result of the effects of Korean potters captured as a kind of war booty on Japanese ceramic art and culture, the Imjin War in the literature of ceramic art history; is called the “Tea Bowl War”, “The Pottery War” and the “Ceramic War”. In this study, a brief history of the Imjin War is given, the Korean ceramic tradition and culture, which reached its peak during the pre-war Joseon Dynasty, is evaluated through examples, and finally, technical and formal transformations and new formations in post-war Japanese ceramic production are examined. Keywords: Imjin War, Tea Bowl War, Pottery War, Korean Ceramics, Japanese Ceramics

100 × Congo: A Century of Congolese Art in Antwerp

100 × Congo: A Century of Congolese Art in Antwerp

Fury in State Wealth, Determination of Punishment for Theft and its possibilities of execution

Gulool )ولغل )is a specific term in Islamic Jurisprudence which means to prevent the fury in war booty. It is the need of the time to enhance the application of war booty on the whole wealth of State. In Islamic theology, it has been prescribed by various jurisprudents that the wealth should be recovered from the betrayal at any cost and he must be persecuted according to the Islamic Jurisprudential laws. The Islamic Jurisprudence needs to be reconstructed because according to the exiting Islamic jurisprudential laws it may not be possible to prevent the fury of state wealth. In this regard Jurisprudents should review the laws of punishment of the betrayal of state wealth. This research study aims to highlight the significance, causes and recommendations to prevent all kind of fury from state wealth. It may be possible to declare the betrayal treacherous of the state and punish him accordingly. If we do not review our jurisprudential laws, we can’t be able to preserve the stat economy. Finally, we can say that Sharia in all terms highly condemns the Gulool.

The Late Roman and Early Byzantine Solidi of Scania & the Lund University History Museum

This paper is a study of the Late Roman and Early Byzantine solidi from the province of Scania in southern Sweden and the solidi kept in the coin cabinet of the Lund University History Museum. The catalogue lists 34 solidi and classifies the recorded issues according to modern numismatic standards using the current DOC, MIBE and RIC typologies. It is argued that most of the preserved coins from Scania are probably of different types than those originally imported during the solidus influx to Scandinavia. It is more probable than not that the vast majority of solidi imported to Scania in the fifth century came as war booty with returning veterans. As Scania may have had a more hierarchical structure than other parts of Scandinavia, it seems likely that most solidi were recast as ring gold or jewelry in an effort to concentrate wealth and power to inland central places. The few solidi that remain are mainly found along the shorelines of Scania, many of which are looped and have been worn as pendants. As symbolic manifestations of political alliances, these solidi have served a different function than most solidi preserved elsewhere in Scandinavia, notably on neighboring Bornholm, and Öland.

The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1958–1971 (Excerpt)

The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1958–1971 (Excerpt)

«Большой» ойратский сфероцилиндрический шлем из собрания Тобольского историко-архитектурного музея-заповедника

The article studies the helmet under inventory number ВО-171, stored in the Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (THAMR) depositary. Previously, the helmet attracted the attention of scientists; however it has never been the object of an independent scientific study. The key objectives is to provide a description of the construction and design of the helmet, clarify its dating and attribution, reconstruct its potential original appearance. The helmet was obtained from Siberian Tatars in 1910. The name of the donator is not specified. Presumably, the helmet was donated to Tobolsk Provincial Museum by the descendants of an authoritative Tatar dynasty — the Kulmametievs. The Kulmametievs have been the donators of other Siberian and Central Asian helmets, stored in Tobolsk Museum-Reserve depositary, in 1908–1910. It has been established that the helmet is part of the Oirat spherocylindrical grouping (‘jug-shaped’, ‘vase-shaped’) of helmets of the late Middle Ages and early Modern Period. It is likely that the craftsmen who made such helmets were inspired by the Buddhist stupa (in Kalmyk ‘suburgan’). Based on the construction and design features (including the presence of Buddhist symbols on the crown) it is possible that the helmet was forged by Oirat or South Siberian gunsmiths for a wealthy Oirat Buddhist warrior in the 1610’s — 1680’s. Originally the helmet was equipped with a three-part platelike aventail, that is currently connected to the helmet of Siberian Tatars (inventory number: ВО-70). A comprehensive analysis of the sources made it possible to reconstruct the likely initial appearance of the helmet. The helmet under inventory number ВО-171 presents a striking example of the 17th century Oirat helmets. It could be obtained by Siberian Tatars as war booty, political present or trade exchange. The history of the helmet is a vivid example of interaction between Mongolian- and Turkic-speaking population of Central Asia and Western Siberia during the period of ‘Minor Mongolian (Oirat) invasion’ in the 17th — the middle of the 18th centuries.

Epigraphy and Collective Memory: Cicero and the War Booty Inscriptions

AbstractBased on the information provided by Cicero in the Verrines, this paper explores the evolution in public perception of some of the inscriptions that accompanied the works of art procured as...

Trading with the enemy? The flow of scrap between Britain and Germany from pre-war rearmament to post-war reconstruction

Ferrous scrap is a vital ingredient in the manufacture of steel, and it constitutes a strategic material of the greatest significance in modern warfare. During the late 1930s, Britain exported considerable quantities of scrap metal to Nazi Germany, a trade which subsequently proved embarrassing and which officialdom sought to obscure. Following the Second World War, Britain obtained large amounts of iron and steel from Western Germany, much of which it took—often surreptitiously—as war booty. Historians have paid relatively scant attention to this flow of scrap, yet it had important economic, strategic, and diplomatic consequences. Two reasons for this lack of attention are the overwhelming influence that the US and the USSR played in shaping the fate of postwar Germany, and a tendency of British policymakers and historians to support an overly simplified narrative that contrasted Western beneficence toward their former enemy with Soviet rapaciousness.

Celebrating victory: art and war booty in Classical GrCelebrating victory: art and war booty in Classical Greeceeece

The celebration of victory, along with the demonstration of power and invincibility, was one of the key elements of public art in advanced ancient civilizations. Ancient Greece was no exception. Classical Athenian art was largely funded by the Athenians’ military booty and the members of the Delian League. Every piece of work was designed to make the unity and power of the Greek world visible, led by Athens, to emphasize the difference between Greeks and those they called barbarians. Permanent monuments, tropaia , served to constantly remind people of the great triumphs of the Hellenes over defeated enemies. They began to appear during the Greco-Persian Wars. These were community works that later became a model for the propaganda repertoire of the Romans and other nations. However, there were not the only Greek memorials celebrating victory. In individual city-states and temple districts were buildings, sculptures and paintings celebrating the power of Hellenes that were complemented by literary works of poets and playwrights. The effort to make military power and superiority more visible in art was also characterized by the fratricidal battles of the Greeks during the Peloponnesian Wars.

De Vendelhelm uit Hallum: wat doet deze helm in Friesland?

The Vendel helmet from Hallum: What is this helmet doing in Friesland? The helmet with copper-alloy animal heads found at Hallum (province of Friesland), which was presented in two previous volumes of Paleo-aktueel, is here interpreted in its historical context. An attempt is made to explain what a Scandinavian-type Vendel helmet is doing at a terp site in present-day Friesland. Three options are discussed: (1) local manufacture in Friesland; (2) war booty from a military expedition in the North Sea area; and (3) a gift from a Scandinavian king to a Frisian warrior who had undertaken an adventurous journey to central Denmark or Sweden. Option 1 is seen as unlikely, because Scandinavian-style helmets from England are executed in a style that is local to the region, as is Scandinavian-style jewellery from Friesland. Option 2 is seen as more probable, although no other Vendel helmet is recorded for the North Sea area, where military expeditions from Friesland are expected to have taken place. Option 3 is seen as the most probable: a Frisian warrior – like Beowulf – undertook an adventurous journey to central Denmark or Sweden, was rewarded with a Vendel helmet, and brought this helmet back to his homeland. Although the further history of the helmet cannot be reconstructed, an additional fastening hole in the lower part of each of the animal heads is proof that these mounts were removed at some point, probably to be attached to a new helmet. In this way, the mounts referred to the deeds of an adventurous Frisian warrior predecessor, whose fame now supported a young warrior in his quest to prove himself.

Interpreting 14C Measurements on 3rd–4th Century AD Iron Artifacts from Nydam, Denmark

ABSTRACTRadiocarbon (14C) ages were determined for 10 iron samples from the war booty offering site in the Nydam peat bog (SE Denmark), and compared to archaeologically inferred periods of deposition. Additional 14C measurements were carried out for modern iron standards made with charcoal of known isotopic composition to evaluate possible effects of handling. Modern iron standards give depleted 14C concentrations, compared to the initial charcoal 14C composition, and may indicate carbon fractionation effects during carbon dissolution in the iron lattice. Further studies are needed to verify if this is a common effect during iron production. 14C dating of two swords and one ax head are in comparatively good agreement with expected deposition times and indicate only small old-wood effects. In contrast, 14C dating of iron rivets from the Nydam (B) oak boat proved difficult due to corrosion with siderite (FeCO3) and conservation with wax. A step-combustion procedure was applied, using a low (∼570–600°C) temperature prior to the high (∼970–1000°C) combustion temperature for carbon extraction, aiming to remove siderite and wax before collecting the original carbon dissolved in the iron lattice. Nevertheless, measured 14C ages of the iron rivets differ by about 200–300 years from the dendro-date of the Nydam (B) oak boat they belong to, indicating persisting aging effects (e.g. old-wood, contamination with fossil carbon added during iron making and/or handling prior 14C dating). Also, a possible recycling of older iron cannot be excluded.

Teuku Panglima Polem’s Purse

AbstractThe Dutch colonial wars in Southeast Asia had manuscripts as by-products. The subject of the present article is the content of the purse of Teuku Panglima Polem (d. 1940), an Acehnese leader during the final episode of the colonial war that the Dutch waged in Aceh, a staunch Muslim country in the Northern part of Sumatra. The captured purse was part of war booty in 1899. It contained a number of short Islamic texts, written in anyone of the three languages that at the time were in current use in Aceh: Acehnese, Malay and Arabic. It is, in fact, a small portable library. A full description of the purse’s contents is given and an attempt is made to offer an analysis of the texts that Panglima Polem carried on his person. Such documents were often considered as subversive by the colonial authorities. In an appendix, the author identifies a considerable number Islamic manuscripts in the Leiden collection with similar provenances.

Logistyka zaopatrzenia, przygotowania militarne i podział łupów na Półwyspie Iberyjskim w XIII wieku (na podstawie regulacji prawnych zawartych w kodeksie Siete Partidas oraz przykładów zaczerpniętych z kampanii militarnych)

Logistyka jest nieodzowna dla powodzenia działań militarnych, aczkolwiek jej rola często bywa lekceważona. Transport zaopatrzenia, zapewnienie prowiantu dla wojsk i garnizonów oraz administracja wojskowa to niezbędne elementy każdej kampanii militarnej. Artykuł ten traktuje o średniowiecznej logistyce wojskowej na podstawie regulacji zawartych w Siete Partidas – zbiorze praw skodyfikowanych w Kastylii w latach 1251–1265. Kodeks ten, autorstwa Alfonsa X Mądrego, reguluje wszystkie formy ludzkiej działalności oraz interakcji społecznych. W tekście omówiono fragment drugiej Partidy poświęcony zagadnieniom związanym z wojną, m.in. takim jak: działania wojenne na lądzie, kwalifikacje i zakres odpowiedzialności dowódców wojska, broń, machiny oblężnicze i inne niezbędne narzędzia, zarządzanie wojskiem w trakcie przemarszu, rozbijanie obozu, plądrowanie, wypady rabunkowe i inne metody zdobywania prowiantu, utrzymanie dyscypliny w wojsku. Przedstawione również zostały regulacje dotyczące odszkodowań za straty poniesione wskutek działań wojennych oraz zasady gromadzenia i podziału łupów wojennych. Ponadto przytoczone przykłady aprowizacji wojsk w trakcie pierwszych wypraw krzyżowych oraz podczas rozlicznych kampanii na Półwyspie Iberyjskim, w Anglii i Francji XIII–XIV w. dostarczają lepszego wglądu w funkcjonowanie i skuteczność ówczesnych sieci zaopatrzenia.

Insight on the Ancient Arabian Horse from North Arabian Petroglyphs

The origin of the Arabian horse breed has been the topic of much speculation. The earliest clear depictions of horses with Arabian attributes are in Egyptian New Kingdom tomb art, although they were likely first obtained as war booty during Asian battles. Rock art from the 1st millennium BCE to early 1st millennium CE indicates a possible start date for their arrival in the Arabian Peninsula. This study focuses on petroglyphs near Taymāʾ, Ḥāʾil, and al-ʿUlā oases, important caravan way stations along the incense route. Regional artists developed a characteristic style for depicting horses and camels, distinguishing them temporally and spatially. From its initial appearance the breed was closely associated with chariots, but its eventual value to equestrians is equally evident in Arabian rock art. Petroglyphs in this region elucidate physical conformation, military roles, and high status. Practical aspects and cultural indicators such as training, tack, grooming, and henna body painting are revealed in the detailed illustrations.

A glimpse into the Roman finances of the Second Punic War through silver isotopes

doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.1613 The defeat of Hannibal’s armies at the culmination of the Second Punic War (218 BC–201 BC) was a defining moment in Western world history. One of the underappreciated consequences of the conflict was the Roman monetary reform of 211 BC, which ushered in a monetary system that would sustain Roman power for the next many centuries. This system would encapsulate many of the issues plaguing finances of governments until today, such as inflation, debasement, and the size of monetary mass. Here we approach the issue of financial fluxes using a newly developed powerful tracer, that of silver isotopic compositions, in conjunction with Pb isotopes, both of which we measured in Roman coinage minted before and after the 211 BC monetary reform. The results indicate that pre-reform silver was minted from Spanish metal supplied by Carthage as war penalty after the First Punic War, whereas post-reform silver was isotopically distinct and dominated by plunder, most likely from Syracuse and Capua. The 211 BC monetary reform and the end of debasement, therefore, were aimed at accommodating new sources of silver rather than being the response to financial duress. The drastic weight reduction of silver coins implemented by the Roman mint was not motivated by metal shortage but by the need to block inflation after a major surge of war booty. Received 17 February 2016 | Accepted 30 March 2016 | Published 15 April 2016