“The Sources of Royal Power: A study on the migration of power structures from the kingdom of Argead Makedonia to early Ptolemaic Egypt” Margarita Lianou Ph.D. 30th March 2010 I, Margarita Lianou, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 88.000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2004 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in September 2005; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2004 and 2010. date 19.11.2010 signature of candidate I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date 19/11/10 signature of supervisor In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. We have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to printed copy but embargo of electronic publication of thesis for a period of 5 years (maximum five) on the following ground: publication would preclude future publication. date 19/11/10 signature of candidate signature of supervisor ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are so many people to which I am indebted for the realisation of this thesis. First and foremost, I am grateful to my supervisors Christopher Smith, Sian Lewis and Alan B. Lloyd for their insightful input, endless patience and support, understanding and guidance throughout this endeavour. I would also like to thank my examiners Jason König and Lynette Mitchell for a highly satisfying viva, as well as for their constructive comments. I am also indebted to Elizabeth Carney, Daniel Ogden, Vassilios Christides, Panos Kousoulis, Christian Mileta and Stanley M. Burstein for either or all of the following: discussing, reading, commenting and providing valuable feedback and indispensable material on aspects of my work. Furthermore, I am grateful for the support, encouragement and friendly banter provided by all the people at the School of Classics here in St Andrews, with whom I’ve worked, taught and discussed this thesis: Jon Coulston, Ralph Anderson, Greg Woolf, Adrian Gratwick (for all the fond memories of lunchtime Latin), Harry Hine, Stephen Halliwell, Roger Rees, Jon Hesk, Emily Greenwood, Emma Buckley and Alice König. I’m also grateful for the reliably keen assistance provided by Irene Paulton sometimes at the shortest of notices. Extra special thanks go to Rebecca Sweetman, especially for that last push somewhere between Olympia and Delphoi.. I would also like to thank the people over at the Management School of the University of St Andrews who put up with the Classicist with the funny little green books amongst them for so long without complaining. Alan McKinlay’s, Chris Carter’s, Peter McKiernan’s and Henning Berthold’s kind words of wisdom also added a flair of interdisciplinarity to my ancient history. I feel obliged to remember Dr JK for introducing me to Anthony Giddens, the meaning of the prefix meta-, and for inspiring me to begin this thing.. I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to my friends here in St Andrews and back home for believing in me, helping me keep my optimism and providing heaps of entertainment in the most stressful of times: Kostas Zafeiris, Lenia Kouneni, my κολλητός little Apostolos, Melina Kerou, Katerina Oikonomopoulou, Eleni Kefala, Jorge Fuentes, Jérôme Fontane, Paris Veltsos, Pola Karageorgiou, Jackie Whalen, Dan A. Powers, Mena Blatsiou, Brian Sheridan, Gladys Mokhawa and, last but not least, rre Thupayagale. Above all, I thank my good friends Dr Carmen Cvetković, who was there every step of the way during the last most difficult year and Stamatis Beltsos for his unfaltering support, for liking my title and for working alongside me in the wee hours of the morning. And for that energy drink before the viva.. I would also like to express my gratitude for the generous financial support of the Maria & Demetrios Lianos Fund, as well as the Miller-Lyell Scholarship Award, which helped sustain my studies and general level of well-being all these years. I dedicate this thesis to Mom and Dad (δε θα τα κατάφερνα και τόσο καλά χωρίς εσάς..) and maybe to Paris (για να σου γυρίσω τη χάρη!) ii THESIS ABSTRACT This thesis discusses the sources of royal power in the kingdoms of Argead Makedonia and early Ptolemaic Egypt. The overarching aim is to assess the degree of change and continuity between the structures and networks that framed Argead and Ptolemaic royal power. Viewing power not as an abstraction but as the outcome of the real and observable interrelations between individuals and groups, this thesis builds upon the historical sociology of Michael Mann in order to identify four main sources of royal power: dynastic, courtly, military and economic. In their capacity to enhance or limit royal power, the social networks that are formed between the king and representatives of these groups in each context, as well as the structures that produce and reproduce their behaviour, form the focal points of this research. As such, this thesis distances itself from that segment of socio-historical tradition, which grants ultimate primacy to human agency. The Introduction presents the main scholarly debates surrounding the nature of Ptolemaic and Argead kingship and highlights the fact that although both have received considerable attention separately, they have not yet been the focus of a systematic, comparative analysis. At the same time, this chapter brings in the theoretical and methodological framework employed in the thesis. Chapter One discusses the structural organisation of the dynasty, focusing on patterns of marriage and succession, and the manipulation of dynastic connections, real or constructed, as instruments of legitimation. It is argued that the colonial circumstances in early Ptolemaic Egypt led to an amplification of the importance of the dynasty as a source of power. Chapter Two examines the interrelations of the ruler with his extended circle of friends and associates, i.e. the courtiers. A discussion of the physical and social structure of the courts in Aigai, Pella and Alexandria in the early Ptolemaic period confirms that administration at the highest level continued to be organised around personal relations. Chapter Three identifies the enabling mechanisms, which sustained the military power of the Makedonian king. It is argued that royal military leadership and the integration of facets of military organisation (e.g. the institution of klerouchia) and values (through education) in society remained integral to the social iii organisation of early Ptolemaic Egypt. Finally, Chapter Four examines the economic power of the ruler, as revealed by the organisation of property rights. The absence of the Makedones and the prominence of temples as economically significant groups in early Ptolemaic Egypt underline the structural discontinuities that arise from the necessary adaptation to different local conditions. This thesis concludes that the structures that framed Argead royal power were in their majority remembered and instantiated in the organisational practices of the early Ptolemaic rulers. Deviations from the Argead paradigm occurred when pragmatism led to the introduction of corrective practices, such as the co-regency principle aimed at eradicating the dynastic instability that had plagued the Argead monarchy, and when ecological and political considerations, such as the needs of their non-Hellenic, non-Makedonian audience, dictated a greater degree of accommodation to local conditions, especially in the field of economic organisation. Even there, however, one can discern the influence of the flexible, all-inclusive model of Argead administration of its New Lands as an organisational template. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATIONS........................................................................................................i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..........................................................................................ii ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...........................................................................................v SELECT ABBREVIATIONS...................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES and APPENDICES ..............................................................viii