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8. Oxyrhynchos: Metropolis and Landscape

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8. Oxyrhynchos: Metropolis and Landscape 8. OXYRHYNCHOS: METROPOLIS AND LANDSCAPE Eva Subías Universitat Rovira i Virgili There are few sites where it is possible to com- Even metropolises, the Nome capitals, the places of bine the papyrological and archaeological study of the residence of the new elite classes and administrative Graeco-Roman city in Egypt. Oxyrhynchos has pro- centres were considered as such in the absence of true duced many documents that have been and continue municipal magistracies. Paradoxically, written texts to be used by papyrologists. For some years now it has bear witness to the complex, monumental nature of also been producing archaeological data. However, these cities, which were set up with the appropriate unlike other ruins, the informative value of Oxyrhyn- facilities for the Greek, and later, the Roman ways of chos lies in its particularly well-preserved natural set- life. We believe that the conceptual debate about the ting, which has only fairly recently begun to undergo categories of settlements during the Ptolemaic and major transformations. These factors have made the High Imperial period in Egypt should not lead us to site a laboratory for investigating a complex and sur- ignore the enormous degree of development in Hel- prising urban situation. lenistic settlements and thus disregard the origin of Strangely enough, although at first sight the ruins their urban planning systems.4 appear discouraging, their reconstruction through the In truth, judging from the scientific literature, ur- analysis of aerial photographs and documents reveals ban planning in the Hellenistic cities of Egypt appears an interesting city and surroundings. Consequently, to have been focused almost exclusively on the reor- our proposed reintegration of the Graeco-Roman city, ganisation of worship and temples. Apart from places returning to and studying in depth the subject mat- of worship, work would have begun on some of the ter we chose for the Workshop,1 contains more im- facilities usually found in Hellenistic cities, although aginary archaeological elements than material ones. the monumental facets of the urban landscape mostly Nevertheless, we believe that in view of the dangers belong to the Roman era. This poor perception of cit- facing Egyptian sites, archaeologists should make this ies can probably be related to the imprint of a strong restoration effort and advance their theories in order “Egyptian dimension” of Ptolemaic colonisation seen, to point research in the right direction before it is too for instance, in certain toponyms: the dynastic foun- late. dations were associated with real names, but often also Based on the emerging data, we are able to obtain a kept their Egyptian names.5 It is interesting to note picture of a special city, one that is different in certain that important metropolises in Middle Egypt, such as aspects to other Mediterranean and Egyptian settle- Oxyrhynchos, Heracleopolis or Hermopolis, had no ments. As a result, our goal is to give a succinct analy- dynastic names. Does this mean that the Ptolemies sis of this urban layout in relation to those of other showed respect for the religious tradition of the Late Egyptian cities, especially in the light of the work car- Period? Or should we take it that the transformation ried out in ancient times in the area surrounding the of the Nome capitals into Hellenistic cities was not city, which no doubt modelled the urban landscape of conceived as a re-foundational act stemming from the Oxyrhynchos. monarchy? Indeed, the founding of cities belonging to the Ptolemaic period would be carried out by persons close to the monarchs, who sometimes acted in their 1. The programme of hellenistic cities own names.6 If the creation of a framework of urban in Egypt life in the Hellenistic world was so important, how can we consider that the work executed in the old metrop- There is a strong current of thought affirming that olises was not important enough to be considered re- the cities of the Valley are comprised only of large vil- foundational? If the metropolises were not subject to lages,2 as they were not originally classified as polis.3 pre-established planning, we should probably consider 1. This document was drafted as part of the Ministry of Science and Innovation R+D Project HAR2008-01623 “The Egyptian City during the Classical Period: Organisation of Space in Graeco-Roman Egypt” with the assistance of the Rovira i Virgili University and the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology. 2. Bowman 2000, for example, refers to “country towns”. 3. However, some think that speaking in these terms is a modern and inappropriate formulation. Cadell 1984. 4. Bingen 1975. The author is also opposed to the reduced image of the metropolises. 5. Mueller 2006, 1-7. 6. Heinen 2000. 93 THE space OF THE CITY IN GRAECO-ROMAN EGYPT. image AND REALITY that the ancient centre of the Nome capital grew of its with similar criteria to those used in other areas of the own accord with the arrival of the new inhabitants Hellenistic kingdoms, i.e. as a privileged scenario of and that the communities took it on themselves, with the monetary economy. no guidelines or planning, to establish facilities that Although before the conquest the country enjoyed were considered essential, such as gymnasiums, baths an administrative structure which was respected to and theatres.7 It is difficult to image a city that had a large extent, it became necessary to set up a social these facilities but lacked a comprehensive road and body that remained loyal to the new sovereigns, since service structure. Perhaps the work carried out in the they were not willing to govern the country person- metropolises was not worthy of the designation foun- ally.11 Emphasis has often been placed on the rural na- dation or re-foundation and such interventions were ture of the country’s colonisation through clerucs, but likely to have been staggered over time. However, to civil immigrants and successive waves of soldiers or understand the development of the cities, it is neces- mercenaries without the right to land also undoubted- sary to accept that there was some notion of planning ly inhabited the settlements, both cities and villages. in a more or less broad sense, depending on the cat- The arrival of these new inhabitants would certainly egory of the settlement. have had an effect on the planning of the metropo- It may seem provocative to suggest the existence of lises, as suggested by some urban toponyms that link an urban programme in the reorganisation of the me- ethnic names to specific quarters.12 In this respect, it tropolises, since it would appear to mean that the Pto- is important to note that both in Philadelphia and lemiess had a very clear idea of their interventions in the Red Sea port of Ptolemais the city was inhabited Egypt from the outset. In actual fact, the papyri show by military settlers,13 which to a certain extent led to above all a concern for maintenance and the consoli- the allocation of urban houses, thereby justifying land dation of farming and craft activities, while there is parcelling strategies.14 little evidence that points to a foundational policy On the other hand, hardly any material informa- based on establishing a framework for municipal life. tion exists about the building of military camps, al- To explain this lack of interest it has been argued that though they may have been relatively numerous in Macedonians were not concerned with the polis idea border areas or in the valley itself during times of cri- and that Pharaonic despotic power did not encourage sis. For example, we know there was a phrourion inside citizenship.8 However, Macedonian domination made the agglomeration or perhaps even inside an ancient it necessary to exert control over the territory from temple in Hermopolis.15 The persistence of the term the standpoint of internal and external peace, giving as a toponym until a later era in the case of Hermopo- rise to a policy based on settlements.9 We need to elu- lis has led to the proposal that there was a kind of cidate which type of settlement formed part of that dipolis.16 Nonetheless, archaeology provides no sig- occupation strategy that, rather than being military in nificant or clear architectural and urban planning data nature, appears to have been based on encouraging in- for that temple-barracks union. In the absence of sig- dustrial and commercial structures, which were with- nificant archaeological data, it is not clear whether the out doubt essential for the city framework. Indeed, Egyptian city of the Ptolemaic era was able to include studies have recently begun to highlight the role of ag- military structures within its enclosure, as would be glomerations as business centres.10 Opening ourselves the case of many of these during later periods.17 up to this idea of Ptolemaic colonisation makes it pos- Regardless of the identity of the new settlers ruled sible to analyse the urban activity of agglomerations by the Ptolemies, they are important in terms of their 7. Although the papyrological information on the Ptolemaic period is relatively poor, we do know that the theatre 8. Jouguet 1968, 68-70. 9. Katja Mueller, analysing the Ptolemaic policy of colonisation, has stressed the importance of foundations and re-foundations as an instrument of control and territorial dominion, as opposed to other Hellenistic kingdoms. Mueller 2006. 10. Manning 2003, 6 and Manning 2006, 257-274. 11. As indicated by Clarysse 2000, who says that on one occasion Ptolemy III would have gone to the Fayum and to Oxyrhynchos between 243 and 242 BC (Pap Teb. III, 748 and 749).
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