| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76626 | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree. | en_US |
| dc.format | Monograph | |
| dc.format.medium | Electronic Resource | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY. | |
| dc.type | Dissertation | |
| dcterms.abstract | Ancient states and early complex societies emerged in areas where urban settlements had the resources to house large populations and where economic and political centers and institutions could be established to run the society. By contrast, marshes, isolated deserts, extreme mountain peaks and thick forests served as refuges for those who wanted to escape from the state. Moreover, taking these examples into consideration, scholars seem to share the assumption that it is unexpected to find urban centers and central political organizations of isolated refuge areas in the ancient world. This dissertation examines the hypothesis that under certain historical and environmental circumstances, the marshes of southern Iraq, which are normally considered places of refuge, could become centers of political power and develop a political organization independent of that associated with irrigated areas. The focus of this dissertation will be on the archaeological evidence for an example of political independence in the marshes during the first Sealand dynasty (1739 -1340 BCE). Specifically, the objective is to understand how the archaeological record reflects the existence of this dynasty, and helps explain its success in these exceptional conditions. The data will also help us to understand the archaeology of the Sealand during this time of political centralization in the southern Mesopotamian marshes. To date, all information concerning this dynasty has been based on textual sources unsupported by archaeological data. From 2003 to 2009, I conducted surveys in both the alluvial plain and also the marshes of southern Iraq. The data I collected during that time will test the hypothesis that the people of Mesopotamia’s ancient marshes exploited specific political and economic circumstances, through the use of their unique environmental setting, to create their own independent political structure, the first Sealand Dynasty. It will further test the idea that this dynasty took on the shape of a shadow state that confronted the primary state in Babylon. | |
| dcterms.abstract | Ancient states and early complex societies emerged in areas where urban settlements had the resources to house large populations and where economic and political centers and institutions could be established to run the society. By contrast, marshes, isolated deserts, extreme mountain peaks and thick forests served as refuges for those who wanted to escape from the state. Moreover, taking these examples into consideration, scholars seem to share the assumption that it is unexpected to find urban centers and central political organizations of isolated refuge areas in the ancient world. This dissertation examines the hypothesis that under certain historical and environmental circumstances, the marshes of southern Iraq, which are normally considered places of refuge, could become centers of political power and develop a political organization independent of that associated with irrigated areas. The focus of this dissertation will be on the archaeological evidence for an example of political independence in the marshes during the first Sealand dynasty (1739 -1340 BCE). Specifically, the objective is to understand how the archaeological record reflects the existence of this dynasty, and helps explain its success in these exceptional conditions. The data will also help us to understand the archaeology of the Sealand during this time of political centralization in the southern Mesopotamian marshes. To date, all information concerning this dynasty has been based on textual sources unsupported by archaeological data. From 2003 to 2009, I conducted surveys in both the alluvial plain and also the marshes of southern Iraq. The data I collected during that time will test the hypothesis that the people of Mesopotamia’s ancient marshes exploited specific political and economic circumstances, through the use of their unique environmental setting, to create their own independent political structure, the first Sealand Dynasty. It will further test the idea that this dynasty took on the shape of a shadow state that confronted the primary state in Babylon. | |
| dcterms.available | 2017-09-20T16:50:49Z | |
| dcterms.contributor | Stone, Elizabeth C. | en_US |
| dcterms.contributor | Hildebrand, Elisabeth | en_US |
| dcterms.contributor | Zimansky, Paul | en_US |
| dcterms.contributor | Ur, Jason. | en_US |
| dcterms.creator | Al-Dafar, Abdulameer M. | |
| dcterms.dateAccepted | 2017-09-20T16:50:49Z | |
| dcterms.dateSubmitted | 2017-09-20T16:50:49Z | |
| dcterms.description | Department of Anthropology. | en_US |
| dcterms.extent | 274 pg. | en_US |
| dcterms.format | Application/PDF | en_US |
| dcterms.format | Monograph | |
| dcterms.identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76626 | |
| dcterms.issued | 2015-12-01 | |
| dcterms.language | en_US | |
| dcterms.provenance | Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-20T16:50:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1
AlDafar_grad.sunysb_0771E_12640.pdf: 12982725 bytes, checksum: eff94fdcd493515ba380b3741ae99ee2 (MD5)
Previous issue date: 1 | en |
| dcterms.publisher | The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY. | |
| dcterms.subject | Iraq, Landscape Archaeology, Marshes, Mesopotamia, Sealand, Shadow State | |
| dcterms.subject | Archaeology | |
| dcterms.title | Shadow States: The Archaeology of Power in the Marshes of Southern Mesopotamia | |
| dcterms.type | Dissertation | |
