Counting the People in Hellenistic Egypt 2 Volume Hardback Set (Cambridge Classical Studies) [Hardcover]

Willy Clarysse (Author), Dorothy J. Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0521839335 | ISBN-13: 978-0521839334

This book consists of two closely related parts. Volume I publishes fifty-four Greek and Egyptian demotic papyri which derive from census and tax activities in Egypt of the third and second centuries BC. Volume II is an historical study, using these texts to analyze fundamental aspects of Ptolemaic Egypt. The salt-tax registers of P. Count. make possible an assessment of the fiscal policy of the new Macedonian pharaohs and an analysis of the population make-up in both ethnic and occupational terms. A demographic analysis of this material exploits the best information for family and household structure for the Western world before the fifteenth century. A constant theme throughout is the impact of the Greeks on the native population of Egypt. This is traced, for example, in cultural policies, in administrative geography, in the realm of stock-rearing and in the changing religious affiliations traceable through the names that parents gave their children.

Editorial Reviews

Review

' ... an invaluable contribution and essential reading for all students of ancient history, Egypt and papyri.' The Journal of Classics Teaching

'these volumes are a must-read for anybody interested in Ptolemaic Egypt, or the Hellenistic world at large ... a wonderful piece of scholarship, setting the framework of Ptolemaic society ...' Sehepunkite

Book Description

How in Egypt does a new dynasty deal with the problems of establishing rule in a country with a long history of developed administration? This is the central question informing the historical studies of Volume II based on early Hellenistic taxation registers surviving on papyrus, which are published in Volume I. New light is shed on the taxation system, the occupational and demographic breakdown of the population, and relations between Gr eeks and Egyptians. Other topics discussed include their differing household patterns, stockholding, gender relations, and childrearing.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1056 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521839335
• ISBN-13: 978-0521839334
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,965,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)