Hellenistic cities across multiple scales: a study on urbanity and regional integration on the West coast of Anatolia between the 3rd and the 1st centuries B.C

• Grant number: 23/14900-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Gilberto da Silva Francisco
• Grantee: Felipe Perissato
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This postdoctoral project aims to investigate processes of integration in Ionia, a region located on the west coast of Anatolia, between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, through a multi-scalar approach. The research will investigate the development and adaptation of two cities in this region (Miletus and Magnesia on the Maeander) with a focus on reciprocal shaping between urban topography and religious practices. It applies spatial and temporal scales to frame the production of space and religious change based on multiple agencies and the interaction between different actors in order to identify strategies, plans and negotiations for regional integration. This research aims to deepen recent interpretations on the vitality and urban prosperity of Hellenistic cities. However, it intends to highlight the complexity of this issue by confirming our hypothesis that such urban development did not occur without social tensions and negotiations between different actors. To this end, this project will use a methodology that integrates different historical sources (topographical, epigraphic and textual) to highlight the agency of different individuals and the formation of their networks. Moreover, it will contribute to an interpretation of interstate practices adopted by Miletus and Magnesia on the Maeander after their context of urbanity. As results, this project will produce a multi-scalar analytical methodology for a historical approach towards processes of integration in the Ancient Mediterranean and for deepening interpretations on the Ionian region during Hellenistic Period.These results will be disseminated in two papers to be published in scientific journals of excellence, as well as in the preparation and lecturing of a Graduate discipline at Federal University of São Paulo, and organisation of a scientific event. (AU)