Land and Power in Ptolemaic Egypt
The Structure of Land Tenure

Offers an coherent framework for understanding the structure of the Ptolemaic state and economy.

J. G. Manning (Author)

9780521044301, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 October 2007

360 pages, 2 maps 13 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.534 kg

'[Manning] modestly describes this book as 'a prolegomenon to the study of the Ptolemaic economy'. It is also an essential contribution to the study of the Ptolemaic state and politics.' Ancient West & East

This history of land tenure under the Ptolemies explores the relationship between the new Ptolemaic state and the ancient traditions of landholding and tenure. Departing from the traditional emphasis on the Fayyum, it offers a coherent framework for understanding the structure of the Ptolemaic state, and thus of the economy as a whole. Drawing on both Greek and demotic papyri, as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions and theories taken from the social sciences, Professor Manning argues that the traditional central state 'despotic' model of the Egyptian economy is insufficient. The result is a subtler picture of the complex relationship between the demands of the new state and the ancient, locally organized social structure of Egypt. By revealing the dynamics between central and local power in Egypt, the book shows that Ptolemaic economic power ultimately shaped Roman Egyptian social and economic institutions.

List of maps, figures and tables
Preface
Abbreviations
Units of measure
Maps
Part I. Issues and Historical Background: 1. Issues and methodologies
2. The Ptolemaic state and its antecedents
Part II. Regional Case Studies of Land Tenure: 3. The land tenure regime in Upper Egypt
4. The land tenure regime in the Fayyum depression
Part III. Interpretation: 5. The Ptolemaic state, the land tenure regime, and economic power
6. The private transmission of land
7. Conclusions
Appendices
List of references
Index of sources
General index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Asian history [HBJF], General & world history [HBG]