Books by Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen
Grækenlands Historie, 2020
A short overview of ancient Greek history for secondary schools
University Press of Southern Denmark, 2020
Ancient Sparta was famous - and infamous - for its brutal discipline, its fearless warriors and i... more Ancient Sparta was famous - and infamous - for its brutal discipline, its fearless warriors and its strong, independent women. The rigorous Spartan education system produced generation after generation of elite fighters and created an image of Sparta as a military superpower that no other Greek state could hope to match.
The myth of Spartan invincibility drew admiration from Sparta's friends and struck terror into the hearts of her enemies, but in the longer term, it contributed to the fossilization of the Spartan state and stood in the way of the social and military reforms urgently required to meet the geopolitical challenges of a changing world. In the 3rd century BC, the last rulers of an independent Sparta - Agis IV, Cleomenes III and Nabis - attempted to reform the economy and expand the citizen base, but by then it was too late. Sparta succumbed to her Achaean rivals and was eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire, but the Spartan myth lived on, and still lives today.
256 pp, paperback, richly illustrated with colour photos. Cartography by Richard Szydlak.
Black Sea Studies, 2008
Most studies of Roman local administration focus on the formal structures of power: provincial la... more Most studies of Roman local administration focus on the formal structures of power: provincial laws, imperial edicts, urban institutions and magistracies. This book explores the interplay of formal politics with informal factors such as social prejudice, parochialism and personal rivalries in the cities of northwestern Asia Minor. Through a detailed analysis of the writings and the career of the philosopher-politician Dion Chrysostomos, we gain new insights into the petty conflicts and lofty ambitions of an ancient small-town politician and those around him.
University Press of Southern Denmark, 2018, 2018
The history of Rome is the story of the Mediterranean. Wearing a purple-bordered toga, the wealth... more The history of Rome is the story of the Mediterranean. Wearing a purple-bordered toga, the wealthy senator spoke to his voters from a platform decorated with the prows of captured warships, while the destitute proletarian depended on seaborne wheat imports from Egypt, North Africa or Sardinia for his daily bread. To Romans, the Mediterranean was a bountiful sea, a source of riches, power and prosperity, but it was also a cruel and unforgiving sea where human lives and vast fortunes might be lost in the blink of an eye.
This study, the first of its kind in Danish, traces the role of the Mediterranean in the lives of the Romans over a period of 800 years. Topics covered include the technological evolution of shipbuilding, naval warfare and merchant ships; the social history of seafaring; fishing, fish-breeding and fish processing; salt extraction and purple production; the harbours of Rome; fear of the sea, superstition, pagan gods and Christian saints.
240 pp., hardbound, illustrated with photographs and maps. Cartography
by Richard Szydlak.
The shores of the Mediterranean-Black Sea basin were home to some of the earliest urban communiti... more The shores of the Mediterranean-Black Sea basin were home to some of the earliest urban communities and some of the earliest literate cultures. Their complex history and rich archaeological heritage have been studied by generations of scholars, to a degree of detail
comparable to no other macro-region of our planet.
Its waters, too, have been the object of intense and systematic investigation, motivated not only by scientific curiosity but also by increasing concern for the well-being of their marine life. Yet until
recently, there have been few attempts at integrating the results of different scientific approaches in order to write the ecohistory of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
In this volume, eighteen scholars from eleven different countries and representing a wide range of scientific disciplines address the question of how humans have interacted with the Mediterranean-Black Sea ecosystem from the dawn of prehistory until the twentieth century; how
they have exploited its resources; what consequences this has had for life in the sea - and what, based on past experience, the future may hold in store.
Die neueste Ausgabe des „Orbis Terrarum“ – einer weltweit führenden Zeitschrift für die antike Ge... more Die neueste Ausgabe des „Orbis Terrarum“ – einer weltweit führenden Zeitschrift für die antike Geographie – enthält achtzehn Beiträge zu verschiedenen Bereichen der historischen Raum und Umweltforschung. Der thematische Schwerpunkt liegt auf dem Thema „Wasser in der Antike“. Die von international angesehenen Fachleuten verfassten Artikel bieten neue und interessante Zugänge und Einblicke in die öffentliche und private Lebenswelt des Altertums. Sie sind in englischer oder deutscher Sprache abgefasst. Angesprochen sind mit diesem Band neben Historischen Geographen besonders Althistoriker, Altphilologen und Klassische Archäologen, aber auch alle an der Alten Welt interessierten Leser.
Mit beiträgen von
Mariachiara Angelucci | Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen | Horst Beinlich
| Veronica Bucciantini | Antonio Corso | Philipp Deeg |
Sebastian Fink | Josef Fischer | Herbert Graßl | Jasmin Hettinger
| Volker Kaminske | Andreas Klingenberg | Ivan Ladynin |
Carmen Sánchez-Mañas | Pierre Schneider | Monika Schuol |
Søren Lund Sørensen | Irina Tupikova / Klaus Geus
309 Seiten mit 33 Abbildungen und 10 Tabellen
€ 112,–
978-3-515-11205-5 kartoniert
978-3-515-11206-2 e-book
Orbis Terrarum 12 (2014)
In this volume, thirteen contributors from nine diferent countries address the question of how lo... more In this volume, thirteen contributors from nine diferent countries address the question of how local identitties were created and maintained in Northern Anatolia from the fall of Mithradates VI to the Middle Byzantine period. The papers were originally presented at an international conference at the University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, in October 2012. The volume is edited by Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen, director of the research project "Where East meets West".
The fishing technology of the Classical world has so far received little systematic attention, ne... more The fishing technology of the Classical world has so far received little systematic attention, neither from historians nor from archaeologists. In this volume, the reader will find a series of studies offering a wide range of approaches to the topic of ancient fishing technology, based on detailed studies of the available literary, archaeological, pictorial and icthyological evidence as well as on diachronic comparisons with fishing techniques of the Early Medieval and Modern periods. The articles included in the present volume are based on the authors' presentations at an international, interdisciplinary workshop in Cádiz, covering the history of fishing from Pre-history to the present day, with a special emphasis on the Roman period.
This volume challenges the orthodox view that fishing and fish played only a marginal role in the... more This volume challenges the orthodox view that fishing and fish played only a marginal role in the economy of the ancient world. In fact, there is archaeological evidence for ancient fish processing on a commercial scale not only in the Mediterranean itself, but also on the Atlantic coast and in the Black Sea region, especially the Crimea. Our literary sources testify to the widespread culinary and medicinal use of salted fish and fermented fish sauces in antiquity, and especially in the first centuries AD.
The earliest roads in Cyprus go back to the Bronze Age, and by the end of the Hellenistic period ... more The earliest roads in Cyprus go back to the Bronze Age, and by the end of the Hellenistic period the road network encircled the entire island. More roads were added and older roads rebuilt during the Roman period to serve the needs of the provincial administration as well as of the individual cities. This book, the first on its subject, traces the development of the Cypriot road network over a period of a thousand years, drawing on a combination of archaeological, epigraphic and literary sources. Separate chapters deal with travellers and life on the road, transport technology and the legal and administrative context of road building. It is often assumed that the primary purpose of Roman road building was military domination, but, as this study demonstrates, road development in Cyprus is best understood in terms of communication between cities and their territories and the day-to-day exchanges between town and countryside.
At the height of the Empire, Roman control extended over two-thirds of the Pontic shoreline. The ... more At the height of the Empire, Roman control extended over two-thirds of the Pontic shoreline. The advent of Rome brought immediate changes in administration, taxation and power relations. Over time other, less tangible, but no less important changes in lifestyle, modes of thought, self-perception and consumption patterns followed. This volume traces the cultural impact of Rome on its Pontic dominions, as well as the reactions of the indigenous population.
Antikkens historie: Høvdingdømme, Bystat, Imperium
Papers by Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen
Orbis Terrarum vol. 22, 2024
Under classical Roman law, the seashore was common property, in effect
a no man’s land which any... more Under classical Roman law, the seashore was common property, in effect
a no man’s land which anyone was free to exploit. The peculiar status of the beach zone (defined in law as the space between the water’s edge and the high-water mark) had its roots in the agrarian ideology of the early Republic. From the late Republic onwards, as wealthy Romans began to build seaside villas and fishponds along the Tyrrhenian coast, conflicts inevitably arose. Imperial rescripts confirmed the ‘freedom of the shore’, but from the second century AD, if not earlier, with the additional proviso that shore fishermen had to keep their distance from villas and public buildings (monumenta). Though not always observed to the letter, the principle of open access to the coast apparently remained on the lawbooks until the end of the ninth century, when it was officially revoked by the Byzantine emperor Leo VI.
For an excerpt from the paper, click link.
På vej mod katastrofen: Pompeji og Herkulanum, 2020
A short history of the Roman port of Puteoli (Pozzuoli) and a survey of Roman shipbuilding and na... more A short history of the Roman port of Puteoli (Pozzuoli) and a survey of Roman shipbuilding and navigation techniques, from the catalogue "På vej mod katastrofen" ("Bound for disaster"), Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus
På vej mod katastrofen: Pompeji og Herkulanum, 2020
A short history of the Roman naval base on cape Misenum, from the catalogue "På vej mod katastrof... more A short history of the Roman naval base on cape Misenum, from the catalogue "På vej mod katastrofen" ("Bound for disaster"), Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus
Detailed report of a field survey in northern Anatolia, October 2013.
A Turkish version is avalia... more Detailed report of a field survey in northern Anatolia, October 2013.
A Turkish version is avaliable at https://www.sdu.dk/en/halys
The Black Sea Region in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Problems of Historical Geography, 2023
As early as the fifth century BC salted fish were exported from the northern coast of the Black S... more As early as the fifth century BC salted fish were exported from the northern coast of the Black Sea to the cities of the Mediterranean. From the beginning of our era, Pontic fish-salters also produced garum, a sauce made from fermented fish. At some sites, production of salted fish and sauce continued well into the Byzantine period.
Literary texts such as the Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus (c. AD 200) attest to the importance of Black Sea salt-fish in the Mediterranean market during the Roman period, while finds of large-scale salting installations at several sites in the Crimea testify to the large volumes of fish that were processed into garum or salt-fish. On the other hand, finds of amphorae for the finished product are rare.
Taking imports rather than exports as its starting point, this paper proposes a new model for the development and organization of fish exports from the Black Sea. The export trade was not primarily driven by the Mediterranean demand for processed fish, but by the demand for prestige goods among the Pontic elite. Exports generated the cash income required for the elite’s consumption of imported prestige commodities such as oil and high quality wine. As the supply of another export commodity – slaves – declined under the pax Romana, the volume of fish exports was increased, and fish-salters diversified into a new product, garum for the Roman market. It is also proposed that fish products were not as a rule exported by the producers themselves. Rather, they were acquired in bulk at the production site by travelling wholesalers, who packed them in amphorae brought from the Mediterranean, thus the Pontic fish trade has left few traces in the archaeological record.
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Books by Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen
The myth of Spartan invincibility drew admiration from Sparta's friends and struck terror into the hearts of her enemies, but in the longer term, it contributed to the fossilization of the Spartan state and stood in the way of the social and military reforms urgently required to meet the geopolitical challenges of a changing world. In the 3rd century BC, the last rulers of an independent Sparta - Agis IV, Cleomenes III and Nabis - attempted to reform the economy and expand the citizen base, but by then it was too late. Sparta succumbed to her Achaean rivals and was eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire, but the Spartan myth lived on, and still lives today.
256 pp, paperback, richly illustrated with colour photos. Cartography by Richard Szydlak.
This study, the first of its kind in Danish, traces the role of the Mediterranean in the lives of the Romans over a period of 800 years. Topics covered include the technological evolution of shipbuilding, naval warfare and merchant ships; the social history of seafaring; fishing, fish-breeding and fish processing; salt extraction and purple production; the harbours of Rome; fear of the sea, superstition, pagan gods and Christian saints.
240 pp., hardbound, illustrated with photographs and maps. Cartography
by Richard Szydlak.
comparable to no other macro-region of our planet.
Its waters, too, have been the object of intense and systematic investigation, motivated not only by scientific curiosity but also by increasing concern for the well-being of their marine life. Yet until
recently, there have been few attempts at integrating the results of different scientific approaches in order to write the ecohistory of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
In this volume, eighteen scholars from eleven different countries and representing a wide range of scientific disciplines address the question of how humans have interacted with the Mediterranean-Black Sea ecosystem from the dawn of prehistory until the twentieth century; how
they have exploited its resources; what consequences this has had for life in the sea - and what, based on past experience, the future may hold in store.
Mit beiträgen von
Mariachiara Angelucci | Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen | Horst Beinlich
| Veronica Bucciantini | Antonio Corso | Philipp Deeg |
Sebastian Fink | Josef Fischer | Herbert Graßl | Jasmin Hettinger
| Volker Kaminske | Andreas Klingenberg | Ivan Ladynin |
Carmen Sánchez-Mañas | Pierre Schneider | Monika Schuol |
Søren Lund Sørensen | Irina Tupikova / Klaus Geus
309 Seiten mit 33 Abbildungen und 10 Tabellen
€ 112,–
978-3-515-11205-5 kartoniert
978-3-515-11206-2 e-book
Orbis Terrarum 12 (2014)
Papers by Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen
a no man’s land which anyone was free to exploit. The peculiar status of the beach zone (defined in law as the space between the water’s edge and the high-water mark) had its roots in the agrarian ideology of the early Republic. From the late Republic onwards, as wealthy Romans began to build seaside villas and fishponds along the Tyrrhenian coast, conflicts inevitably arose. Imperial rescripts confirmed the ‘freedom of the shore’, but from the second century AD, if not earlier, with the additional proviso that shore fishermen had to keep their distance from villas and public buildings (monumenta). Though not always observed to the letter, the principle of open access to the coast apparently remained on the lawbooks until the end of the ninth century, when it was officially revoked by the Byzantine emperor Leo VI.
For an excerpt from the paper, click link.
A Turkish version is avaliable at https://www.sdu.dk/en/halys
Literary texts such as the Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus (c. AD 200) attest to the importance of Black Sea salt-fish in the Mediterranean market during the Roman period, while finds of large-scale salting installations at several sites in the Crimea testify to the large volumes of fish that were processed into garum or salt-fish. On the other hand, finds of amphorae for the finished product are rare.
Taking imports rather than exports as its starting point, this paper proposes a new model for the development and organization of fish exports from the Black Sea. The export trade was not primarily driven by the Mediterranean demand for processed fish, but by the demand for prestige goods among the Pontic elite. Exports generated the cash income required for the elite’s consumption of imported prestige commodities such as oil and high quality wine. As the supply of another export commodity – slaves – declined under the pax Romana, the volume of fish exports was increased, and fish-salters diversified into a new product, garum for the Roman market. It is also proposed that fish products were not as a rule exported by the producers themselves. Rather, they were acquired in bulk at the production site by travelling wholesalers, who packed them in amphorae brought from the Mediterranean, thus the Pontic fish trade has left few traces in the archaeological record.