Project description
Babylonia study to explain state stability and regime change
The earliest society in the ancient world, Babylonia went through two major regime changes and was consecutively ruled by three empires: the Assyrian, the Chaldean and the (first) Persian. But little is known about how imperial rule was negotiated locally and how the strategies that rulers and the ruled applied in pursuit of their interests interacted and led to instability or stability. The EU-funded GoviB project will explore the politics and authority in the ancient city of Babylon. By analysing newly available textual and archaeological material, the project will shed light on what causes states to be stable or instable and how regime changes fail or succeed.
Objective
GoviB is a historical study of governance in the ancient capital of Babylon. Babylonia is the earliest society in the ancient world that produced sufficient indigenous sources that allow studying the transition from a strongly anchored local to a more ‘global’ (imperial) form of governance. From the late 8th to the 4th century BC, Babylon experienced two major regime changes and was consecutively ruled by three empires – the Assyrian, the Chaldean and the (first) Persian. While the regime changes and other events are known as historical facts, little is known about how imperial rule was negotiated locally and how the strategies which rulers and ruled applied in pursuit of their interests interacted and led to instability or stability. The reasons are incomplete historical data, and difficulties to interpret available ambivalent or conflicting data.
With GoviB I want to achieve a novel understanding of politics and authority in the ancient city of Babylon, leading to a new balanced evaluation of the role which the empires played in the long-term cultural transformation of the ancient Near East. The results will contribute to a re-evaluation of modern perceptions of ‘oriental’ governance as absolute or ‘despotic’, and to the wider question of what causes states to be stable or instable, and how regime changes fail or succeed.
I will achieve these goals by analysing newly available textual and archaeological material: the Neo-Babylonian archival texts from the German excavations in Babylon. The Vorderasiatische Museum in Berlin granted me the rights to put this museum treasure trove to use for GoviB. Furthermore, I will apply the conceptual framework of governance studies to the historical evidence. Its heuristic value lies in the fact that it relocates the focus from government to governance, that is, the interdependencies and interactions between actors, and it includes non-personal factors that influenced decision-making.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-COG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
48149 Muenster
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.