Books by Silvia Balatti
Since Prehistory, communities principally engaged in herding activities have occupied the intermo... more Since Prehistory, communities principally engaged in herding activities have occupied the intermontane valleys and plains of the Zagros (Western Iran). Relations, tensions and cultural exchange between the inhabitants of the mountains and the Mesopotamian plains already occurred during the Bronze Age. These contacts increased in the course of the 1st millennium BCE, as is suggested by Near Eastern and subsequently by Greek and Latin sources which provide us with numerous new names of peoples living in the Zagros. The present volume investigates the social organisation and life style of the peoples of the Zagros Mountains in the 1st millennium BCE and deals with their relationships with the surrounding environment and with the political authorities on the plains. Among these peoples, for example, were the 'fierce' Medes, breeders and purveyors of fine horses, the Manneans, who inhabited a large territory enclosed between the two contending powers of Assyria and Urartu, and the 'warlike' Cosseans, who bravely attempted to resist the attack of Alexander the Great's army. The Southern Zagros Mountains, inhabited by mixed groups of Elamite and Iranian farmers and pastoralists, were also of key importance as the home of the Persians and the core area of their empire. Starting from Fārs, the Persians were able to build up the largest empire in the history of the ancient Near East before Alexander. The interdisciplinary approach adopted in this study, which juxtaposes historical records with archaeological, zooarchaeological, palaeobotanical and ethnographic data, provides a new, holistic and multifaceted view on an otherwise little-known topic in ancient history.
Papers by Silvia Balatti
Quaternary International, 2024
in: Reinhard Bernbeck, Gisela Eberhardt and Susan Pollock (eds.) Coming to Term with the Future: Concepts of Resilience for the Study of Early Iranian Societies, Leiden 2023, 83-96.
This paper aims to investigate episodes of water stress and the human response to them
in the S... more This paper aims to investigate episodes of water stress and the human response to them
in the Southern Zagros Mountains from a long-term perspective. The integrative analysis
of data from different archives allows for identification of phases of drought in the region,
especially starting from the Sasanian period onwards. This investigation also shows that
specific imperial politics such as that of the Sasanian Kings Kawāḏ I and Ḵosrow I helped
to ensure that agricultural communities and practices were sufficiently resilient to these
changes. These politics were essentially based on tax reliefs for in-need farmers and
state investments on the micro-level. However, pastoral and multi-resources lifestyles
remained the ultimate resilience strategies in case of severe aridification.
The Achaemenid Empire can be reasonably considered an "empire of peoples" from both an ideologica... more The Achaemenid Empire can be reasonably considered an "empire of peoples" from both an ideological and structural perspective. It included all the lands of the peoples of the world and all people helped to maintain imperial order and prosperity. In reality, the empire had boundaries and there were peoples who lived near and beyond them. Under King Darius I, groups of people were annexed at the northeastern and northwestern margins of the imperial territory, thus entering the imperial space and consequently also the Achaemenid documents. The border peoples of the Yau̯ nā and Sakā were the only peoples of the empire to be differentiated through epithets, which were added to their collective names in the texts. This shows a unique process of group identity constructions by the authorities on the edges of the imperial space. The analysis of the system of epithets used to indicate the Yau̯ nā and Sakā conducted in this paper allows us to draw some conclusions on the mechanisms and reasons behind these specific forms of identity constructions at the margins. Moreover, it shows how this process reflected the main directions of imperial expansion under the first Achaemenids.
In: Kasper M., Korenjak M., Rollinger R. und Rudigier A. (Hsg.) Entdeckungen der Landschaft. Raum und Kultur in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 2017
In addition to George's arguments against i-tu-ra-am-ma is the possible explanation of the verb a... more In addition to George's arguments against i-tu-ra-am-ma is the possible explanation of the verb as scribal error by dittography of the preceding Sumerogram TU in K 3375 or the syllable tu in VAT 11294, used to spell out su-ma-tu mušen . The error is likely reinforced by the scribes thinking about the act of the bird returning in the following line. While this posits dittography by two scribes in two separate texts, it seems plausible given the clearly redundant reading of târu and sahāru. However, it is the translation of the verb i-pi-ra-am-ma that is of more importance and can be established more securely.
Ancient Persia witnessed one of its most prosperous cultural and socio-economic periods between 5... more Ancient Persia witnessed one of its most prosperous cultural and socio-economic periods between 550 bc and ad 651, with the successive domination of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanian Empires. During this period agricultural activities increased on the Iranian plateau, as demonstrated by a remarkable arboricultural expansion. However, available data are not very informative about the spatial organization of agricultural practices. The possible links between climate conditions and agricultural activities during this millennium of continuous imperial domination are also unclear, due to the lack of parallel human-independent palaeoclimatic proxies. This study presents a new late Holocene pollen-based vegetation record from Lake Parishan, SW Iran. This record provides invaluable information regarding anthropogenic activities before, during and after the empires and sheds light on (i) spatial patterning in agricultural activities and (ii) possible climate impacts on agro-sylvo-pastoral practices during this period. Results of this study indicate that arboriculture was the most prominent form of agricultural activity in SW Iran especially during the Achaemenid, Seleucid and Parthian periods. Contrary to the information provided by some Greco-Roman written sources, the record from Lake Parishan shows that olive cultivation was practiced during Achaemenid and Seleucid times, when olive cultivation was significant, at least in this basin located close to the capital area of the Achaemenid Empire. In addition, pollen from aquatic vegetation suggests that the period of the latter centuries of the first millennium bc was characterized by a higher lake level, which might have favoured cultural and socio-economic prosperity.
In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Eastern Anatolia and South Caucasus Cultures, 10-13 October 2012, Atatürk University and ESRUC Consortium. Erzurum.
Leggo! Studies Presented to Frederick Mario Fales in the Occasion of his 65th Birthday , 2012
The ANDAVAL stela represents one of the typical Neo-Hittite monuments in which hieroglyphic writi... more The ANDAVAL stela represents one of the typical Neo-Hittite monuments in which hieroglyphic writing signs and iconographic elements complement each other. Since its rediscovery on June 25th 1890, many scholars have dealt with either the bas-relief of the male head or the Luwian hieroglyphic inscription, both depicted on the ANDAVAL lithic surface. The aim of this paper is to show how only a complete analysis of iconography, palaeography and content may suggest a plausible dating hypothesis for the monument. Such an all-accomplished investigation implies comparative studies especially among the Neo-Hittite monuments coming from Tuwana, Southern Cappadocia which are datable to the 8th century B.C. According to its 'archaic' iconographic and palaeographic characteristics, the ANDAVAL stela may have been one of the first monuments realized in the Neo-Hittite kingdom of Tuwana. A dating of the piece to the 9th-very early 8th century B.C. is highly probable.
Biblioteca di Athenaeum by Silvia Balatti
Il volume è il secondo di una serie editoriale espressamente dedicata all'archeologia classica e ... more Il volume è il secondo di una serie editoriale espressamente dedicata all'archeologia classica e del Vicino Oriente, destinata a ospitare i migliori prodotti scientifici di giovani studiosi formati all'Università di Pavia. Raccoglie e amplia gli spunti e le riflessioni della giornata di studi ‘Antichi persiani: questi sconosciuti’, tenutasi a Pavia il 6 aprile 2016, organizzata e coordinata da Clelia Mora e Cesare Zizza.
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Books by Silvia Balatti
Papers by Silvia Balatti
in the Southern Zagros Mountains from a long-term perspective. The integrative analysis
of data from different archives allows for identification of phases of drought in the region,
especially starting from the Sasanian period onwards. This investigation also shows that
specific imperial politics such as that of the Sasanian Kings Kawāḏ I and Ḵosrow I helped
to ensure that agricultural communities and practices were sufficiently resilient to these
changes. These politics were essentially based on tax reliefs for in-need farmers and
state investments on the micro-level. However, pastoral and multi-resources lifestyles
remained the ultimate resilience strategies in case of severe aridification.
Biblioteca di Athenaeum by Silvia Balatti
in the Southern Zagros Mountains from a long-term perspective. The integrative analysis
of data from different archives allows for identification of phases of drought in the region,
especially starting from the Sasanian period onwards. This investigation also shows that
specific imperial politics such as that of the Sasanian Kings Kawāḏ I and Ḵosrow I helped
to ensure that agricultural communities and practices were sufficiently resilient to these
changes. These politics were essentially based on tax reliefs for in-need farmers and
state investments on the micro-level. However, pastoral and multi-resources lifestyles
remained the ultimate resilience strategies in case of severe aridification.