Whittow Making Of Orthodox Byzantium Essay

, Research Paper

Strategic Geography of

Near East ?

The Balkans ?

difficulty of routes etc, not a natural political unit ?

Not agricultural

wealthy ? too many mountains, but some plains prone to drought.? Suited to small autonomous states.? Larger units short lived or imposed from

outside ?

Thrace and Lower

Danube major agric – extensively used under Ottomans to fed C. 0 agric. Base

Bulgaria and Romania – these plains have potential for agricultural wealth and basis

of political power. The Steppes ?

Small nomadic units on

the hugely dry / cool Eurasian steppes ? middle Ages great political powers. ?

Most powerful force

pre-gunpowder age ? when grouped together ? like Huns and Monguls very

effective and broker West and problematic to East ? why Steppes important. ?

Easily fragmented back

o nomadic roots, withhold first attack second no probem ?

Remounts basis power ?

Hungarian plain not big enough for grazing, so needed to change life if to stay

there Anatolia and Iran ?

Nomads blocked to the

south as well ? formidable barriers to communication etc.? Favourable to east ? west rather than

north-south ?

Iran more suited to

nomadic existence than Anatolia, but neither had big enough plains to sustain

large nomadic power. ?

Anatolia and Iran seen

as heartlands of respective empire, but agriculturally little more than

self-sufficient ? food had to come from elsewhere The Agricultural Plains ?

Asia Minor ? facing

Aegean Sea ? v wealthy as seen by Roman remains ? Iraq fulfils this role like

Asia Minor equiv. Iraq ? Mesopotamia ? Tigris and Euphrates ?

Some of Fertile

Crescent irrigated, but a lot over 200 mm a yesr The Desert ?

Population desert poor

and small before discovery of oil ?

Bedouin tribes in some

way self-sufficient but always bounded to more wealthy neighbours in the

Fertile Crescent ? land not important, but people who lived their were. ?

Enjoyed raiding and

difficult relationship with settled people ? state of permanent peace would

have been foreign economically and culturally to the Bedouin. ?

However raiding not

disastrous for settling community ? did have more horses, although camel

effective tool throughout Near East ?

Pre oil Arabia state

less society ? even tribal leaders limited power, impact fragmentary society

could have on powers of fertile crescent is very limited. ?

Power to become states

? tribal confederations and so forth, round oases etc, but tribal in

fighting.? Nature of desert that need to

split up ? n surplus to reward power etc, unless surplus found.? No surprise Arab states usually based around

places near the fertile plain.? Only

asset to world of desert to achieve unity and wealth is military ability.