Theorising Comparative History for the Ancient Mediterranean: Asking New Questions of Old Evidence
Dylan James · Stephen Harrison
Aug 2025 · Liverpool University Press
Ebook
288
Pages
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About this ebook
Theorising Comparative History for the Ancient Mediterranean examines how ‘soft’ comparative history can illuminate the ancient Mediterranean world. This approach employs alternative periods and settings to prompt new understandings of antiquity, but differs from a side-by-side ‘hard’ comparison. This volume represents the first attempt to theorise the methodology and scrutinise its value for studying the ancient world. The book’s ten chapters examine a cross-section of ancient cultures (Greece, Rome, Egypt, India, Afghanistan, China) and range across political, social, economic, cultural, intellectual, and military history, demonstrating the versatility of the approach. Contributions draw from a variety of comparative settings (e.g. Spanish America, contemporary sub-Saharan Africa, Early Modern Europe, the Antebellum American South) and demonstrate that there are myriad comparative paths to prompt rethinking about antiquity. Each contributor reflects on their own individual practice, and the introduction meditates on the strengths, limitations, and commonalities across these chapters. The volume thus offers a blueprint for how scholars in various fields can utilise comparative history.
About the author
Dylan James is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Classics, University of Reading. He works on historiography, empire, identity, and cultural interaction in the Greek and Roman worlds. Besides comparative history, he is also interested in classical reception in colonial contexts.
Stephen Harrison is Lecturer in Ancient History, Swansea University. His research explores the interplay between the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, Alexander the Great, and the Hellenistic kingdoms. Besides comparative history, he is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to monarchy and empire.
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