Between priests and empires: a political history of the Babylonian temples from Xerxes to Antiochus I (484-281 BCE)

• Grant number: 24/03481-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Aparecido Rede
• Grantee: Santiago Colombo Reghin
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The beginning of Xerxes' reign (r. 486-465 B.C.E.) was characterized by the outbreak of revolts, from Greece to Babylonia, which were quickly contained. Babylonia was a focus of separatist movements, driven by the urban priestly elite. The temples that hosted them were therefore the most impacted institutions by the imperial repressions in 484 BCE. This research will investigate the ways in which the temples reorganized themselves after the suppression of the revolts, as well as the relationship of their members with the imperial structure established both by the Achaemenids, starting with Xerxes, and by the Macedonian kings, up to Seleucus I - covering the period between 484 and 281 BCE. The aim is to study the political history of Babylon, focusing on the impact of imperial measures on the functioning of the temples and the social strata that surrounded them. To this end, Babylonian administrative and historiographical tablets, royal inscriptions, Persepolis treasure tablets and Greek literature are analyzed. The methodology involves the creation of a database and its analysis using two approaches: (1) serial history, which aims to capture the change and permanence in the composition of the temples over two centuries; and (2) the Assyriological philology, for the precise translation and interpretation of the concepts involving the institutions, agents and imperial fiscal systems established in Babylonia. As theoretical perspectives, the sociology of empires and the sociology of fiscal regimes offer models that help to conceive the domination and taxation policies of pre-modern states, as well as the strategic responses of their subjects. The research will contribute to two central questions in the state of the art: (1) the magnitude of Xerxes' reprisals; and (2) to what extent Macedonian rule represents a continuity or rupture in relation to the Achaemenid period.