David Abulafia (ed.), The Mediterranean in History. London: Thames & Hudson, 2!. "#. !2.

$%&' ()*2!+(,2-(!. .-..

/ontributors: David Abulafia, 0liver 1a23ham, Marlene %uano, Mario Torelli, 4eoffrey 1i23man,
5ohn "ryor, Mi2hel &alard, Molly 4reene, and 5eremy &la23
1evie6ed by 1yan 7. &alot, 8ashin9ton :niversity in %t. Louis (r3balot;6ustl.edu)
8ord 2ount: <)=* 6ords
:nder the aus#i2es of the 5. "aul 4etty Museum, David Abulafia has #rodu2ed this 2olle2tion of
ten essays treatin9 the Mediterranean from #rehistory throu9h the year 2 AD. $n his
introdu2tion, Abulafia em#hasi>es the human 2ontribution to Mediterranean history, so as to
differentiate the volume from the lon9ue dur?e, e2olo9i2al a##roa2h of &raudel, and more
re2ently of Horden and "ur2ell.< As Abulafia #uts it, @in 6ritin9 the history of the Mediterranean it
is essential to 6rite a human history of the Mediterranean %ea eA#ressed throu9h the
2ommer2ial, 2ultural and reli9ious intera2tion that too3 #la2e a2ross its surfa2e@ (2+). The
distin9uished 2ontributors 2arry out this #lan 6ith a 2ertain de9ree of su22ess. They illustrate that
the sea itself enabled 2ommuni2ation, eA2han9e, and 2onfli2t amon9 the diverse #oliti2al, so2ial,
and reli9ious 9rou#s inhabitin9 the Mediterranean basinB the sea a2ted as a for2e of unity even
6hen it 6as a battle9round. Cven so, the volume does not develo# a novel historio9ra#hi2
a##roa2h to the re9ion. Mu2h of it reverts to the traditional history of events, 6ithout illustratin9
the distin2tiveness of the Mediterranean as a frame or #robin9 lar9er Duestions of #eriodi>ation,
diversity, and 2ultural 2onta2t.
This result is disa##ointin9, sin2e the introdu2tion lays out a #otentially im#ortant 9oal. Abulafia
ar9ues that &raudelEs fo2us on the environment, and on the lon9ue dur?e, has eAer2ised a
#o6erful and not alto9ether salutary 9ri# on Mediterranean studies. The #roblem, he says, is its
la23 of attention to human a9en2y. He ma3es this #oint 6ith referen2e to the first historian of
@9eo#oliti2s@: @Thu2ydides troun2es &raudel by sho6in9 an understandin9 of the human element
in the ma3in9 of Mediterranean history@ (<2). $ndividuals and #eo#les self(2ons2iously 2onne2ted
themselves by 6aterB they res#onded 2reatively to their environmentsB and those 6ho 6ere able
derived #o6er from the sea. 1ein2or#oratin9 individuals into the Mediterranean environment thus
be2omes a #ressin9 historio9ra#hi2 ne2essity. A fo2us on the human 2ontribution, in AbulafiaEs
vie6, enables this volume to move beyond The /orru#tin9 %ea of Horden and "ur2ell, 6ho @are
still not so far from &raudel@ in their em#hasis on @masses and 6aves@ (2!(2-).
Ho6ever, for all AbulafiaEs efforts to distan2e this volume from &raudelEs model, it remains
indebted to lon9ue dur?e historio9ra#hy. The boo3Es o#enin9 essay, 0liver 1a23hamEs @The
"hysi2al %ettin9,@ sho6s that the environment has both a natural and a human history and ar9ues
that human bein9s did not de9rade the Mediterranean lands2a#e (=-). &ut 1a23hamEs fo2us on
9eolo9y, flora and fauna, and the 2limate sits a636ardly 6ith AbulafiaEs introdu2tion. Cven if some
su2h statement is ne2essary, AbulafiaEs methodolo9y 2alls for environmental history to be more
2losely inte9rated into the ar9uments of individual 2ontributors.
'onetheless, AbulafiaEs 9oal is 6orth6hile. $t should be #ossible and 6ould be useful to re(
2on2eive of Mediterranean history alon9 more human, and less e2olo9i2al, linesB or, more
#re2isely, to re2onsider ho6 6e relate the human to the environmental.2 &y invo3in9 Thu2ydides,
Abulafia attra2tively su99ests that the Mediterranean in history mi9ht be 6ritten as the history of
thalasso2ra2y (( sin2e @sea #o6er@ has often #rovided the 2ru2ial lin3 bet6een the human and the
#hysi2al in the Mediterranean (<2). /ertain 2ontributors follo6 this line to eA2ellent effe2t (( for
eAam#le, 4eoffrey 1i23man (@The /reation of Mare 'ostrum: ! &/ ( - AD@), 6ho illustrates
that the sea 6as a 2entral tool of 1oman elite #o6er from the third 2entury &/ until late antiDuity.
As 1i23man sho6s, "olybius ri9htly #er2eived that the 1omans united the sea after the
Hannibali2 8ar and 2ame to 2all it @Mare 'ostrum,Eour seaE, all of it, and 6ith a##enda9es in the
&la23 %ea and 1ed %ea, and even beyond the %traits of 4ibraltar@ (<!!). :nity in the
Mediterranean had to be for9ed throu9h the 2areful 6or3 of an im#erial #o6er. The best of the
other essays offer a similar 2on2entration on sea #o6er, #rovidin9 2lear(headed overvie6s of
#oliti2al, e2onomi2, and military maneuverin9 in the Mediterranean, 6ith useful 9enerali>ations
illustrated by 2arefully 2hosen details. A 2ase in #oint is Marlene %uanoEs @The First Tradin9
Cm#ires: "rehistory to 2. < &/.@ Throu9h eAaminin9 the history of e2onomi2 #o6er, %uano
aims to understand the @2urious 3nots@ lin3in9 the diverse #eo#les of the Mediterranean (+,). The
numerous @thalasso2ra2ies@ mentioned in CusebiusE /hroni2on are reinter#reted as tradin9
net6or3s useful for the movement of elite #resti9e 9oods throu9hout the Mediterranean. %uano
2on2ludes 6ith a thesis about the 2olla#se of the &ron>e A9e #ala2e system (*(*!): Hittite
im#erialism #rodu2ed a lar9e 9rou# of u#rooted #eo#le, 6ho established themselves in /y#rus,
6here they @traded outside the established offi2ial net6or3, loosenin9 ties of vassala9e and
re2i#ro2ity, subvertin9 and finally hel#in9 to unbalan2e and destroy the old system@ (*!). 8hether
or not this thesis instantly 2ommands assent, her 2ontribution 2ommendably sho6s that material
2ulture 2an yield im#ortant eviden2e about 2ross(2ultural relationshi#s in the Mediterranean.
CDually valuable is Mi2hel &alardEs @A /hristian Mediterranean: <(<-,@ 6hi2h analy>es the
#ro2ess throu9h 6hi2h the 8estern Mediterranean #o6ers eA#anded into the Cast and made the
Mediterranean @a Latin sea@ by <<-! (<*). $n #arti2ular, &alard sho6s that the /rusades led to a
@reversal of for2es@ bet6een Cast and 8est (<)*). &y the end of this #eriod, the Mediterranean
had be2ome @the heart of an international trade net6or3@ (2=) and the home base for eA#loration
in the dire2tion of both the Atlanti2 and the Far Cast. Thus, li3e 1i23man, &alard raises the 2ru2ial
Duestion of the frontiers of the Mediterranean.! Molly 4reeneEs @1esur9ent $slam: <-(<,@
also illustrates the im#ortan2e of the sea in 2reatin9 lar9e 2on9lomerations of #o6er and 6ealth.
4reene tra2es the rise of the 0ttoman Cm#ire, the eventual stand(off bet6een the 0ttomans and
the %#anish, the im#ortan2e of #ira2y in the seventeenth 2entury, and the seeds of the nation(
state in Curo#e. Her essay is hel#ful, even #erha#s to#i2al, be2ause it sho6s that the sea lin3ed
hostile #o6ers even 6hen they had informally a9reed to return to their o6n s#heres of influen2e.
Des#ite the usefulness of these essays, ho6ever, the 2olle2tion as a 6hole ne9le2ts Horden and
"ur2ellEs im#ortant distin2tion bet6een the @history of@ the Mediterranean and @history in@ the
Mediterranean (Horden and "ur2ell, 2(!). 8as there anythin9 distin2tive about the Mediterranean
as a frame6or3 for the history that ha##ened to ta3e #la2e thereG As3in9 this Duestion 6ould
have substantially im#roved 5ohn "ryorEs @The Mediterranean &rea3s :#: -(<.@ "ryor
eA#lores the 2haoti2 series of 6ars bet6een 4oths, the &y>antine em#erors, and the Muslim
em#ire, 6hi2h led late antiDuity into the Middle A9es. $n the 2ourse of his hi9hly detailed
treatment, ho6ever, "ryor missed the o##ortunity to dis2uss reli9ious intera2tion and to inter#ret
lar9er #atterns of 2han9e and 2ontinuity in the re9ion. %imilarly, Mario TorelliEs @The &attle for the
%ea 1outes: <(! &/@ fo2uses on the sea in limited, if not idiosyn2rati2, 6ays. Torelli hardly
mentions the "ersian 8ars, the "elo#onnesian 8ar, the Athenian Cm#ire, or the 2onfli2ts
bet6een %i2ilian 4ree3s and /artha9inians, 2on2entratin9, to a lar9e eAtent, on Ctrus2an,
"hoeni2ian, Cuboean, and $onian trade. This mer2antile em#hasis falls flat, es#e2ially as a
treatment of su2h a lively (and, in #arts, 6ell do2umented) histori2al #eriod. These essays are
notably different from the #revious e2olo9i2al, lon9ue dur?e treatments, but they have not fully
inte9rated the insi9hts made available by those treatments.
$n the li9ht of AbulafiaEs introdu2tion, it is even more troublin9 that all the 2ha#ters ne9le2t the
2ultural features of the Mediterranean. For eAam#le, the 2ontributors have made little use of the
hu9e anthro#olo9i2al literature on Mediterranean honor and shame (2f. Horden and "ur2ell, =)-(
-<). 1eli9ion (at least as a 2ultural or ritual #ra2ti2e) is rele9ated to AbulafiaEs o6n t6o(#a9e,
inter(2ha#ter @interludes,@ 6hi2h try, valiantly, to inte9rate 2ulture and the flo6 of ideas, but 6ithout
havin9 mu2h im#a2t on the boo3 as a 6hole. 0ften one is tem#ted to as3: 6hat about issues in
so2ial history, su2h as slavery, or in intelle2tual history, su2h as the dissemination of s2ientifi2
3no6led9e or #hiloso#hi2al thou9htG 8hat about lin9uisti2 intera2tion, or, for that matter, foodG
The final t6o essays (5eremy &la23Es @The Mediterranean as a &attle9round of the Curo#ean
"o6ers: <,(<*@ and David AbulafiaEs @A 4lobali>ed Mediterranean: <*(2@) stand a#art
from the others, sin2e they treat themes 2hara2teristi2 of the modern era. The 2entral
transformation, as &la23 sho6s, is that by the <)th 2entury the Mediterranean @6as no lon9er the
2entre of the 6orld@ (2-<)B it 2ame to be understood @in terms of 9eo#oliti2al aAes devised by
strate9ists in distant 2a#itals and its resour2es 6ere used to su##ort their strate9ies@ (2+). &la23
tra2es the rise of &ritish naval #o6er in the Mediterranean, and 2arefully a22ounts for the shiftin9
allian2es of &ritain, Fran2e, and 1ussia, and their res#e2tive relationshi#s to the 2rumblin9
0ttoman Cm#ire. The dominan2e of the nation(state 6as nearly 2om#lete in the 6estern
Mediterranean 6hen the ne6 $talian army su22essfully invaded the "a#al %tates in <), (2+)). $n
the boo3Es final 2ha#ter, Abulafia aims @to eAamine 6ays in 6hi2h the Mediterranean has,
#arti2ularly in the t6entieth 2entury, been transformed as a result of its lin3s to the outside 6orld,
as 6ell as to eA#lore the meetin9 of 2ultures 6ithin the Mediterranean in su2h 2ities as
AleAandria@ (2)!). Abulafia deftly des2ribes the ne6 2entrality of the Middle Cast to the rival
Curo#ean states, alon9 6ith $talian im#erialism, the inter(6ar rivalries, the 6orld 6ars themselves,
the Arab($sraeli 2onfli2ts, northern Curo#eansE vie6s of the Mediterranean, and mass tourism.
These 2ha#ters offer a #o6erful sense of t6o Mediterraneans (( a #re(modern and a modern.
Thus, by the 2on2lusion of AbulafiaEs essay, the volume has #rovo3ed im#ortant Duestions about
#eriodi>ation, Mediterranean distin2tiveness, Mediterranean unity, and the relationshi# bet6een
the Mediterranean and 2lassi2al antiDuity. $s the Mediterranean %ea enou9h, in itself, to unify this
vast histori2al s6ee#G 8hy 6ere the sele2ted #eriods and 2hronolo9ies 2onsidered most
a##ro#riate to 6ritin9 the history of the Mediterranean (( as o##osed, for eAam#le, to a themati2
treatment em#hasi>in9 2ultural 2onta2t or fra9mentationG 8hat, if anythin9, is distin2tive about
the human history of the Mediterranean basin, as o##osed to other areas of lon9 human
habitationG 8hat 2an be 9ained from 2om#arin9 the #re(modern and modern histories of the
MediterraneanG Does diversity or unity #redominate (( and, in historio9ra#hy of the re9ion, 6hi2h
should ta3e #riorityG 0ther Duestions 6ill be es#e2ially im#ortant to the #rin2i#al readers of this
Hournal, #resumably 2lassi2ists and an2ient (4ree3 and 1oman) historians. 8hat 9ains in
understandin9 2an 2lassi2ists ma3e from ado#tin9 a Mediterranean %tudies modelG Assumin9
that there is a @Mediterranean 6orld,@ 6ere the 4ree3s and 1omans distin2tive 6ithin itG Did their
values, la6s, so2ial and reli9ious #ra2ti2es, and so forth resemble or stand in 2ontrast to those of
the other Mediterranean so2ietiesG /an the (Mediterranean) history of later #eriods shed li9ht,
2om#aratively, on #atterns of 2ross(2ultural intera2tion 3no6n in 2lassi2al antiDuityG
This volume does not offer determinate ans6ers to these Duestions. To its 2redit, ho6ever, it
#rovides a #romisin9 basis for further refle2tion on Mediterranean historio9ra#hy. "uttin9 su2h
Duestions on the a9enda is 2ru2ial, ri9ht no6, be2ause of 6ides#read 2alls to restru2ture
de#artments, dis2i#lines, and 9raduate edu2ation alon9 more @Mediterranean@ lines. /lassi2ists
and an2ient historians 6ould #rofit from #arti2i#atin9 in su2h debates (( and, #rior to that, from
2onsultin9 this interestin9, if fla6ed, 2olle2tion.
'otes:
<. F. &raudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean 8orld in the A9e of "hili# $$, transl. %.
1eynolds ('e6 Ior3: Har#er and 1o6, <*,2)B "ere9rine Horden and 'i2holas "ur2ell, The
/orru#tin9 %ea: A %tudy of Mediterranean History (0Aford: &la236ell, 2).
2. AbulafiaEs introdu2tion eAa99erates the defi2ien2ies of Horden and "ur2ellEs volume and
overstates its #roAimity to &raudel. Moreover, &raudelEs ma9isterial treatment is still 6orth readin9
(( es#e2ially his introdu2tion to "art Three, @Cvents, "oliti2s, and "eo#le,@ 6hi2h arti2ulates
im#ortant, if debatable, ideas about historio9ra#hy in 9eneral (&raudel <*,2, *<(*!). For an
interestin9 re2ent 2ommentary on &raudel and on Horden and "ur2ell, see &rent D. %ha6,
@/hallen9in9 &raudel: A 'e6 Jision of the Mediterranean,@ 51A <= (2<) =<*(-!.
!. %ha6Es 2omments on the frontiers of the Mediterranean are #arti2ularly hel#ful: see
@/hallen9in9 &raudel,@ =2!(2=.
The Mediterranean and @the 'e6 Thalassolo9y@
"C1C41$'C H01DC' and '$/H0LA% ":1/CLL
%ea and o2ean history is more novel than it sounds. $t admirably eAem#lifies a ne6 historio9ra#hy
of lar9e areas. $n one sense, the inDuiry revisits a traditional histori2al 9eo9ra#hy. At the same
time, both its s2o#e and its methods are so distin2tive as to ma3e it an eA2itin9Kand Duite
un#redi2tableKarea of refle2tion and resear2h. <
A de2ade or so a9o, su2h histories 6ere hardly en2oura9ed. $n #ostmodern historio9ra#hy,
subHe2ts of every 3ind, but es#e2ially identities and #o6er relationshi#s, be2ame infle2tions of
dis2ourse. And be2ause it made its o6n 6orld, dis2ourse 2ould not be an2hored to a #arti2ular
#la2e, even if, for #ra2ti2al reasons, its historians had to use teAts from a #arti2ular re9ion and
#eriod. "reset frontiers 6ere taboo.< The 2onteAt, 6hether for an eAer2ise in mi2rohistory, in ne6
histori2ism, or in #ost2olonialism, 6as, ideally, 9lobal. 2
Area studies, in many 6ays the 2reation of 2ultural anthro#olo9y and lon9 sus#e2t in that
dis2i#line, no6 flourish a9ain.2 &ut they are invi9orated by 6hat has been learned from the
lin9uisti2 turn: there is no turnin9 ba23. Cven area studies, in their revived form, are therefore in
some sense 9lobal, too. They may, for instan2e, be dire2tly or indire2tly influen2ed by debates on
the nature and im#a2t of e2onomi2 and 2ultural 9lobali>ation. The ne6 interest in re9ional history
derives, fundamentally, from the tas3 of findin9 a different a##roa2h to 6orld historyKnot throu9h
formulatin9 9enerali>ations about everythin9, but throu9h the analysis of the 6hole by 6ay of its
2om#onents, and, 2onseDuently, of ho6 those 2om#onents fit to9ether.! The re9ions of the ne6
re9ional history tend to have one obvious 2hara2teristi2: they are bi9Kinevitably, sin2e they are
im#li2itly or eA#li2itly elements in a lar9er and #otentially all(embra2in9 histori2al #roHe2t. For the
same reason, their historians share a so#histi2ated 2ons2iousness of the #roblems of
delimitation.= !
The ne6 re9ional history also (hardly sur#risin9ly) retains the taste of late(t6entieth(2entury
s2holarshi# for the erasure of established dis2i#linary and histori2al frontiers. %ome eAistin9
2ate9ories seem reinvi9oratedB others are ne6. &ut a further 2ommon feature is that they 2ut
a2ross the #oliti2al divisions that have sha#ed traditional history: the study of the la3es of the Cast
Afri2an 1ift Jalley, for eAam#le, or the %il3 1oad. =
History of seas a##eals to this #roHe2t be2ause the layout of sea and land ma3es the o2eans
and their embayments a 6ay of a##roa2hin9 most #arts of the 6orld. &y a sim#le meta#hori2al
eAtension, @virtual seas@ 2an be in2luded, too, s#a2es of dan9er and variable 2ommuni2ationsK
mountain ran9es, forests, or arid 6ildernesses su2h as the %ahara. %ome of these 6ill resemble
o2eani2 eA#ansesB others, in bein9 more densely surrounded by #o#ulated >ones and dotted 6ith
island oases, 6ill be inland @seas@ li3e the Mediterranean. The systemati2 2om#arison of real and
meta#hori2al seas 2an su99est a ne6 2onfi9uration of history, and one that mi9ht attain a 9lobal
s2ale.- %o #romisin9, indeed, does the notion of a sea or an o2ean a##ear for this tas3 that the
term @the ne6 thalassolo9y@ has seemed an a##ro#riate 2oina9e to denote it.+ -
The 2hoi2e of sea sometimes follo6s traditional 9eo9ra#hi2al 2lassifi2ations, as 6ith the
Atlanti2, "a2ifi2, and $ndian o2eansB but it is more enti2in9 in many 6ays to #ro#ose less familiar,
and sometimes smaller, maritime s#a2es, su2h as the "hili##ine island 6orld., 'ovel s#e2ies of
HuAta#osition and 2om#arison be2ome #ossible. They reveal uneA#e2ted 2oheren2es, su2h as the
re2urrent features of the northeast shores of the Atlanti2 in the #remodern ar2haeolo9i2al re2ord.)
"eri#heries be2ome 2ores, and it is ar9uably one of the main attra2tions of the ne6ly 2reated or
identified areas that they tend to be #oliti2ally neutral. A#art from i9norin9 national boundaries,
they subvert im#erial hierar2hies that #rivile9e some #o6ersE involvement in the areas in
Duestion. Thus, for instan2e, in the @ne6@ Atlanti2 historio9ra#hy, a @6hite,@ a @bla23,@ a @9reen@
($rish), and even a @red@ (MarAist) Atlanti2 may 2oeAist in eDuilibrium.* %ea history also hel#s to
eA#ose the @myth of 2ontinents@ and the #re2eden2e that historians have 9iven to land over 6ater
as the su##ort of so2ial life.< @Cast Asia@ may be #referable to @the Far Cast,@ but the
investi9ation of the 2ontinuum of the /hina %ea is more liberatin9 still. Last, and not least, 6e
mi9ht 9uess from our o6n eA#erien2e, sea history allo6s sedentary landlubber historians to
indul9e a taste for the roman2e or the frisson of seafarin9.<< +
The Mediterranean has some 2laim to be the 9reat ori9inal of seas as the subHe2t of history.
%ea(based #oliti2al he9emony 6as identified as an obHe2t of historio9ra#hi2al inDuiry in the fifth
2entury b.2. by the first historians in the 8estern tradition, Herodotus and Thu2ydides, 6ho
invented for it the label @thalasso2ra2y@ (sea rule). From still earlier, in the 0dyssey, seafarin9
o22u#ied a 2entral #la2e in the first 4ree3 literary ima9ination.<2 Cven more influential in the
t6entieth 2entury has naturally been the #rototy#e sea history, Fernand &raudelEs The
Mediterranean and the Mediterranean 8orld in the A9e of "hili# $$.<! &raudel elaborated a
unitary theory of time and 2ausation, and a##lied it, on the 9randest s2ale, in that 2hara2teristi2
#rodu2t of the Annales s2hool, the re9ional mono9ra#h in 6hi2h all the so2ial s2ien2es are
synthesi>ed into @total history.@ @8hen $ thin3 of the individual,@ he 6rote in the 2on2ludin9
#ara9ra#h of the se2ond edition of The Mediterranean,
$ am al6ays in2lined to see him im#risoned 6ithin a destiny in 6hi2h he himself has little hand,
fiAed in a lands2a#e in 6hi2h the infinite #ers#e2tives of the lon9 term stret2h into the distan2e
both behind him and before. $n histori2al analysis as $ see it, ri9htly or 6ron9ly, the lon9 run
al6ays 6ins in the end ... $ am by tem#erament a @stru2turalist,@ little tem#ted by the event, or
even by the short(term 2onHun2ture 6hi2h is after all merely a 9rou#in9 of events in the same
area.<=
Iet, in that @lon9 run@ that al6ays 6ins, &raudelEs le9a2y has lain less in #hiloso#hy than in
9eo9ra#hy, throu9h 6hi2h the Mediterranean is u#held as a distin2tive unity:
'one of my 2riti2s has re#roa2hed me for in2ludin9 in this histori2al 6or3 the very eAtended
9eo9ra#hi2al se2tion 6hi2h o#ens it, my homa9e to those timeless realities 6hose ima9es re2ur
throu9hout the 6hole boo3 ... The Mediterranean as a unit, 6ith its 2reative s#a2e, the ama>in9
freedom of its sea(routes ... 6ith its many re9ions, so different yet so ali3e, its 2ities born of
movement, its 2om#lementary #o#ulations, its 2on9enital enmities, is the un2easin9 6or3 of
human handsB but those hands have had to build 6ith un#romisin9 material, a natural
environment far from fertile and often 2ruel, one that has im#osed its o6n lon9 lastin9 limitations
and obsta2les. All 2ivili>ation 2an be defined as a stru99le, a 2reative battle a9ainst the oddsB the
2ivili>ations of the Mediterranean basin have 6restled 6ith many often visible obsta2les, usin9
sometimes inadeDuate human resour2es, they have fou9ht endlessly and blindly a9ainst the
2ontinental masses 6hi2h hold the inland sea in its 9ri# ... $ have therefore sou9ht out, 6ithin the
frame6or3 of a 9eo9ra#hi2al study, those lo2al, #ermanent, un2han9in9 and mu2h re#eated
features 6hi2h are the @2onstants@ of Mediterranean history.<-
For all its em#hasis on the 2onstrainin9 for2e of a @timeless@ lands2a#e, &raudelEs vividly #eo#led
9eo9ra#hy is maritime as 6ell as terrestrial. $t allo6s as mu2h 2on2e#tual s#a2e to freedom of
movement and 2ommuni2ation a2ross and around the sea as to the lo2al hold of the environment.
Above all, it #la2es the Mediterranean re9ion 6ithin a lar9er frame, a @9reater Mediterranean@ that
2an in2lude Ant6er# and #la2es still more remote.<+ ,
This distin9uished 9enealo9y has hel#ed ma3e the Mediterranean a standard #oint de re#Lre
for maritime historians. The &alti2M'orth %ea re9ion is @the Mediterranean of the 'orth.@ The 6orld
2reated by later medieval $berian navi9ators around the islands of the eastern Atlanti2, in the
#eriod #re2edin9 that for 6hi2h a @full@ Atlanti2 history is 2on2eivable, is the @Atlanti2
Mediterranean@ or @Mediterranean Atlanti2.@<, David Abulafia has even 9enerali>ed the 2on2e#t
of the Mediterranean, in its stri2t meanin9 of @inland sea,@ to a ran9e of areas over 6hi2h trade
and 2ommuni2ation has been 2om#aratively intense. He a##lies the term not only to the @sub(
Mediterraneans@ of the Adriati2,<) Ae9ean, and &la23 seas,<* and the Duasi(Mediterranean of
the /aribbean, but also to the @5a#anese Mediterranean.@2 The Mediterranean #ro#er a##ears
to have an unassailable #osition in the mainstream of historio9ra#hy, and to lend itself to the
2om#arativism of modern re9ional study. %o it is reasonable to eA#e2t that the Mediterranean 6ill
also have mu2h to offer the ne6 thalassolo9y. )
&ut does itG $n 6hat follo6s, 6e address that Duestion in four #arts: first, by revie6in9 the
serious 2riti2isms that have been leveled at @Mediterranean@ as a 2ate9oryB se2ond, by loo3in9 at
ho6 other Mediterranean historians have res#onded to the 2hallen9eB third, by outlinin9 our o6n
su99estions for doin9 Mediterranean historyB and finally, by debatin9 the #la2e of the
Mediterranean thus 2onfi9ured in a 6ider s2holarly 6orld of 2om#arative sea history and 9lobal
history. *

The @ori9inal@ Mediterranean is in fa2t more #roblemati2 as a 2om#onent in the ne6 re9ional
history than its illustrious forebears mi9ht su99est. First, 6hen historians else6here are robustly
2onstru2tin9 re9ions out of uneA#e2ted seaboards, so as to #onder re2her2h?net6or3s of
2ommuni2ation and #atterns of 2ultural resemblan2e, those studyin9 the Mediterranean find that
their subHe2t is freDuently dismissed #re2isely on the 9rounds that it is no more than a
2onstru2tion. %e2ond, 6hen the ne6 re9ional vision hel#s to eman2i#ate s2holars from insidious
#oliti2al fo2ali>ation, the Mediterranean stands a22used of bein9 an essentially o##ressive
2on2e#t, born of im#erialism and de#loyed in the servi2e of #oliti2ally undesirable master
narratives. Third, even a#art from the s#e2ifi2 ideolo9i2al undesirability of lin3s 6ith Curo#ean
im#erialism, the Mediterranean 2arries so mu2h ba99a9e of a more 9eneral 3ind that its
usefulness in 2om#arative history 2an seem very limited. $ts #roblems as a historio9ra#hi2al
subHe2t are those of su22ess. <
%u2h #roblems tend to a22entuate its uniDueness. 'o other sea has been the fo2us of a
2ultural history in 6hi2h a unified stret2h of 6ater 9ives its name to a su##osedly distin2tive
surroundin9 lands2a#e and 2ulture, and even to #resumed #ersonality traits.2< The relative
seniority and so#histi2ation of Mediterranean studies as a dis2i#line is also si9nifi2ant, even if 6e
date it ba23 no further than the <*!s, 6hen &raudel 2on2eived his maHor 6or3.22 A 9reater
2hallen9e for the historian is that the Mediterranean is 2ulturally frei9hted in so many 6ays. This
frei9htin9 is of 2ourse a far lar9er #henomenon than 2ould be 2onHured u# from the history of
9eo9ra#hy.2! $t hardly needs statin9 that the Mediterranean, as an area seldom 2learly defined
but often sub2ons2iously redu2ed to $taly and 4ree2e, has been the #er2eived 2enter of
Curo#ean 2ivili>ation sin2e the 1enaissan2e, and in many res#e2ts sin2e 2lassi2al antiDuity. @The
&alti2 of the %outh@: the absurdity of the inversion ma3es the #oint. <<
The 2ultural stature so often as2ribed to the Mediterranean renders it un#alatable for many. $t
is un#alatable for anyone 6ho sees in the 2on2e#tion and study of 4re2o(1oman antiDuity sim#ly
another manifestation of im#erialist ideolo9y. ("erha#s 6e should avoid the 4ree3(derived term
@thalassolo9y@ for that very reason.) $t is un#alatable for those 6ho are vi9ilant a9ainst all that a
2lassi2al edu2ation 2ontributed to the self(#er2e#tion of the elites 6ho invented and tried to rule
the Mediterranean from the ei9hteenth 2entury to 8orld 8ar $$. The fame of the Mediterranean
also lost nothin9 from the 2ulture of international tourism that develo#ed in the se2ond half of the
t6entieth 2entury, even if this 2ulture is one from 6hi2h historians may find it relatively easy to
distan2e themselves.2= These miAed re#utations distin9uish the MediterraneanKfor no6Kfrom
most other seas and o2eans. Moreover, they raise serious Duestions about 6hat sort of subHe2t it
mi9ht be. <2
%u2h Duestions underlie the most eAtreme atta23 on the 6hole notion of Mediterranean
studies. The 2ultural anthro#olo9ist Mi2hael Her>feld has reinvi9orated his 2ritiDue of 6hat he
2alls @"ra2ti2al Mediterraneanism.@ His essay of that title is subtitled @CA2uses for Cverythin9,
from C#istemolo9y to Catin9.@2- At the be9innin9 of a ne6 2entury, he finds it astonishin9 that
#eo#le are still tal3in9 about the utility of @the@ Mediterranean as a 2onstru2t 6hen almost all
2om#arable 2ate9ories (he 9ives no eAam#les) have been de2onstru2ted or re2onstru2tedKor
have self(destru2ted.2+ This 2on2e#tual durability is, ho6ever, a matter not Hust for astonishment
or re9ret but for investi9ation. The Mediterranean is indeed @out there,@ and not only in the limited
sense that it is a stret2h of 6ater. $t eAists as somethin9 @6e say,@ as a subHe2t of various
@dis2ourses.@ (The ar9ument 2an be summed u#, not alto9ether unfairly, 6ith an analo9y:
theolo9y eAists, therefore 4od eAists.2,) For Her>feld, @6e@ are all 3inds of #eo#le: inhabitants of
2ir2um(Mediterranean lands, for instan2e, 6ho are fully a6are of the stereoty#i2al traits attributed
to us in a massive literature, histori2al, literary, anthro#olo9i2al, and touristi2. $nhabitantsE eA2use
for misbehavior 2an be @the Mediterranean tem#erament@ (hot(blooded, selfish)B their eA2use for
#oliti2al in2om#eten2e 2an be a 2ulture of maNana.2) @8e@ are also a2ademi2s. As
Mediterranean s#e2ialists, 6e insert ourselves into a 9lobal hierar2hy of value, a hierar2hy in
6hi2h @Mediterranean@ falls some6here bet6een @modern@ and @#rimitive,@ the 2o>ily familiar and
the 6holly eAoti2. To sustain su2h a2ademi2 ali9nments, 6e fall ba23 on a 2ir2ular ar9ument, from
@the Mediterranean@ as a distin2tive and homo9eneous re9ion or 2ulture to its #arti2ular
eAem#lifi2ationsKand ba23 a9ain. Mediterraneanists al6ays end by validatin9 6hat they had
#resu##osed. <!
Her>feldEs tar9et is the stron9est and most 2om#leA version of the sin of
@Mediterraneanism.@2* $t is a tellin9 indeA of the methodolo9i2al >eal that the Mediterranean
eli2its that, besides bein9 an eA2use, Mediterraneanism eAists in (at least) t6o other forms:
eA2lusivism and eA2e#tionalism. The first is relatively sim#leKthin9s Mediterranean are a tired
subHe2t, and their students tend to be introverted, it is su99ested, 6hen they 2ould be interested
instead, or at least also, in more stimulatin9 and less 6ell(trodden fields. The term
@Mediterraneanism@ has also been used to identify a 2laim that, es#e2ially in the more distant
#ast, served to Hustify Mediterranean eA2lusivismKa 2laim that this area and some of its 2ultures
have a s#e2ial status amon9 histori2al subHe2ts, and that 2om#arisons further afield are s2ar2ely
needed.! And there is a 2lear lin3 bet6een some of the forms that eA2e#tionalism has ta3en and
the 6orld of the Her>feldian eA2uses, 6hi2h is a Mediterranean of subaltern status, eA#li2itly
modeled on the late Cd6ard %aidEs @orientalism.@!< <=
Her>feld reasonably reDuires those 6ho use the Mediterranean 2ate9ory to see themselves
as subHe2ts of ethno9ra#hi2 investi9ation. They should #ut @the Mediterranean@ 6ithin the frame
rather than assume it as the frame itself. $t be2omes an obHe2t of resear2h rather than an analyti2
tool. Historians must also #ut themselves 6ithin the frame: 8hy do they 6ant to use this termG
8hat (self()interest does it serveG There 2an be no doubt that &raudelKfor instan2eKfails any
su2h refleAivity test. $t is 2learly no lon9er #ermissible for the ans6er to the Her>feldian Duestion
@8hat is your eA2use for doin9 thisG@ to be sim#ly, as in the #refa2e to &raudelEs first edition, @$
have loved the Mediterranean 6ith #assion.@!2 <-
To study this area 6ithout #roblemati>in9 it almost out of eAisten2e is thus, for Her>feld, to
2ollude in a @disdainful 2ultural im#erialism@Kand not only 2ultural. For, as %aid is ta3en to have
sho6n, 2ultural and #oliti2al im#erialisms are al6ays intimately lin3ed.!! Her>feld has been
2riti2i>in9 2ultural anthro#olo9ists of the last fe6 de2ades.!= &ut his 2ritiDue 2learly has a lar9er
histori2al dimension. $t relates to the history of #oliti2s and 2ulture 6ithin the 2ir2um(
Mediterranean area.!- And it a##lies above all to the history of 9eo9ra#hy. <+
The re9ion as it is usually defined today 6as delineated in the nineteenth 2entury, not earlier.
A Mediterranean 6orld 6as, for eAam#le, elaborated in the early systemati2 anthro#o9eo9ra#hy
of 4ermany. $t emer9ed as a by(#rodu2t of the 9eneral 2on2e#tuali>ation of s#a2e under a
headin9 6ith a terrible future, Lebensraum.!+ &y the early <*s, the 9eo9ra#her Theobald
Fis2her 2ould eA#li2itly 2onne2t 9eo9ra#hi2al 3no6led9e in 4ermany, as a 6orld #o6er and a
for2e in 6orld trade, 6ith the uneA#loited #otential of @slumberin9@ Mediterranean lands.!, The
2onne2tion bet6een s2ientifi2 3no6led9e and im#erialism in the Mediterranean is, ho6ever,
2learest in the Fren2h 2ase.!) The Mediterranean 6as re#resented as a Curo#ean seaKthe
2hara2teri>ation of the Mediterranean as a re9ion 6ith distin2tive relief or flora 2ame more slo6ly,
and in more s#e2iali>ed and not al6ays 9eo9ra#hi2al 6or3s. %tri3in9 2om#arisons 6ere dra6n:
7abylia as a sort of "roven2e, the Atlas Mountains as an analo9ue of the Al#s.!* Iet
2om#arisons 2ould 6or3 the other 6ay, tooKbet6een a villa9e in the Jar and one in Moro22o, or
the stony #lain of the fossil delta of the Duran2e and the %ahara. &raudelEs remote intelle2tual
an2estry 2omes into fo2us. <,
Althou9h not strai9htfor6ard, the nineteenth(2entury @invention@ of the Mediterranean, as a
re9ion and not Hust a sea, is thus 2ertain.= 0nly then did it be2ome, li3e &ismar23Es Curo#e, a
full(fled9ed 9eo9ra#hi2al eA#ression. The environmental 2hara2teristi2s formin9 the @9ivens@ of
t6entieth(2entury Mediterranean 9eo9ra#hy had not been systemati2ally identified earlier. $t is
hardly sur#risin9 that no other re9ion has ins#ired su2h hand(6rin9in9 amon9 intelle2tuals over
the Duestion of 6hether it is an im#erialist 2ate9ory. There is, to our 3no6led9e, no 2om#arable
debate over the #ro#riety of @Atlanti2ism@ or @"a2ifi2ism.@ (The former is, rather, a term of art in
strate9i2 thou9ht and refersK#ositivelyKto the Atlanti2 allian2e bet6een the :.%. and 8estern
Curo#ean #o6ersB the latter has to do 6ith #ea2e, not 6ater.)=< This des#ite the fa2t that
@Atlanti2,@ unli3e @Mediterranean,@ is a name 2har9ed 6ith 2lassi2al mytholo9y and, li3e all other
o2ean names, a Curo#ean 2reation.=2 %#e2ialists in the Atlanti2 and the "a2ifi2 may, as
else6here in this forum, debate the #ro#riety of their dis2i#linary labels. &ut these are not, or not
yet, seen as so #oliti2ally tainted as to demand some alternative. <)

Ho6 have Mediterranean historians res#onded to Mediterraneanism, no6 that its insidious variety
has been so loudly #ro2laimedG Fe6 seem to have ta3en u# the a##roa2h advo2ated by
Her>feld, 6hi2h 6ould 2onfine their studies to #oliti2ally attuned dis2ourse analysis. 8e have no
2om#rehensive histori2al and ethno9ra#hi2 study of @the idea of the Mediterranean.@ <*
More freDuently, the 6hole #roblem of 2hara2teri>in9 the re9ion has been i9nored or
sideste##ed. &raudelian human 9eo9ra#hyKon 6hi2h differen2es of #eriod (an2ientMmedieval),
and even differen2es of 2ulture and reli9ion (/hristianMMuslim), #ress only li9htlyKmay 2ontinue
to fas2inate, and to #rovide useful illustration for @history from belo6.@ And yet su2h a 9eo9ra#hy
is #re2isely 6hat has been missin9 from many of the most si9nifi2ant 2ontributions to histori2al
6ritin9 on the Mediterranean #ublished around the turn of the millennium. "erha#s it has seemed
reasonable to su##ose that there is no need for further environmental study, at least on any
s2ale, be2ause everythin9 that needs to be done has been done already, and eA2ellentlyKby
&raudel. $n 2, 6e ar9ued, 6ith deliberate #rovo2ation, that &raudelEs Mediterranean boo3
mar3ed @the end of the Mediterranean.@=! 8e had many reasons for doin9 so. Durin9 the
#re2edin9 de2ade, history and the various relevant so2ial s2ien2es all seemed to have moved
a6ay from 9rand re9ional studies. $n any 2ase, 6hat more 6as there to 6rite aboutG &raudel had
done the Hob of studyin9 the relations of #eo#le and environmentsKon #lains, mountains, islands,
and 2oastlandsB alon9 routes and in to6nsB and on the o#en sea. He had seemin9ly done this not
Hust for the a9e of "hili# $$, but for all timeKor 2ertainly for #remodern histori2al time. 'one of his
subseDuent 6ritin9s on the Mediterranean added anythin9 of substan2e.== More than t6enty
years after his death, 6ho no6 reads &raudel on "hili# $$G Iet for any student of Mediterranean
human 9eo9ra#hy, his boo3 is still an invaluable resour2e. 2
Cvadin9 the #roblem of 9eo9ra#hi2al 2hara2teri>ation allo6s @the Mediterranean@ to flourish
as a fla9 of 2onvenien2e (if not an eA2use). To sho6 ho6, 6e 2an dra6 a distin2tion bet6een
@history in@ and @history of@ the re9ion.=- $t is, admittedly, not a 6holly satisfa2tory distin2tion.
@History of@ su99ests the all(en2om#assin9, althou9h it is meant to refer to history of the 6hole in
a #arti2ular 9eo9ra#hi2al sense, not to history of all 2on2eivable Mediterranean subHe2ts.
&raudelEs Mediterranean is of 2ourse the 9reat eAem#lar of @history of.@ 0n the other hand,
@history in@ the re9ion is hardly the ideal 6ay of 2onveyin9 6hat @history of@ mi9ht sometimes
leave out. @History in@ the Mediterranean is only 2ontin9ently or indire2tly Mediterranean. That is,
referen2e to the environment 6ould need to 2ome in the eAtreme ba239round of analysis or
eA#lanation. $t 6ould, for eAam#le, be the #oint (6hi2h 6e shall not try to identify here) at 6hi2h
the historian finds the inelu2table %#anishness of the %#anish /ivil 8arK%#anishness in a
9eo9ra#hi2al sense, rather than the 2ultural or #sy2holo9i2al essentialism beloved of an older
national historio9ra#hy. 'o @history in@ the re9ion is utterly deta2hable from its Mediterranean
settin9. %till, the @inMof@ di2hotomy is a useful one. 2<
$t is useful first of all 6hen 6e 2onfront the fa2t that des#iteKor be2ause ofKre#orts of the
death of the Mediterranean, it is multi#lyin9 as a 3ey6ord in s2holarly Hournal titles.=+ There are
more and more of these #ubli2ations, and many thousands of #eo#le must re2eive the ele2troni2
information servi2e @H(Mediterranean@ or visit Mediterranean history sites on the 6eb. &ut mu2h
of 6hat #asses for Mediterranean history here is a re2y2lin9 of old @Mediterraneanist@ #ositions.
%ome of it is a 2over: s#e2ialists in antiDuity, for eAam#le, may have re2ourse to @Mediterranean@
as a label that, unli3e @4ree3,@ @1oman,@ or @2lassi2al,@ avoids the sti9ma of intelle2tual 2ollusion
6ith the dominant 2ulture in a so2ially diverse 6orld. The maHority of s2holarly 6ritin9 is
2onventional, relatively lo2al, #oliti2al, so2ial, or e2onomi2 @history in@ some Mediterranean
2ountryKof no immediate 6ider si9nifi2an2e, and 6ith little attention to 9eo9ra#hy or
environment. 22
Amon9 boo3s of the last de2ade or so, @history in@ re2eives its 2onsummate eA#ression in
Histoire de la M?diterran?e, edited by 5ean /ar#entier and FranOois Lebrun.=, Here there is no
#rior definition of the subHe2t of Mediterranean history and no obvious underlyin9 2on2e#tion to
Hustify 2hoi2es of to#i2 beyond that of 2onventional 9eo9ra#hy. 8e find, rather, a full and hel#ful
2hronolo9i2al synthesis of the #oliti2al, e2onomi2, reli9ious, and 2ultural history of Mediterranean
landsKes#e2ially the northern Mediterranean. The sie9e of Toulon is in2luded, a subHe2t on 6hi2h
&raudel le2turedB=) and so is the %e2ond Jati2an /oun2il. The latter illustrates ni2ely ho6 a
maHor event, and all the lar9er trends and stru2tures it en2a#sulates, 2an be #art of @history in@ the
Mediterranean, 6ithout in any im#ortant 6ay reDuirin9 attention to 9eo9ra#hy. 0f 2ourse, it is not
9eo9ra#hi2ally 2ontin9ent that the 2oun2il 6as held in a Mediterranean 2ityKor 1ome in
#arti2ular. &ut the lo2ation of the #a#a2y 6ould hardly be at the forefront of any eA#lanation of
6hen and ho6 the 2oun2il 2ame to be 2alledB and the 2oun2il is, very obviously, an event of mu2h
more than Mediterranean si9nifi2an2e.=* 2!
Cven environmental histories 2an be read as ta3in9 it for 9ranted that there is no need either
to return to or in maHor 6ays to 9o beyond &raudelEs human 9eo9ra#hy. 8ith only a fe6
eA2e#tions, the environmental history of the Mediterranean has not attra2ted mu2h attention
lately.- And the eA2e#tions are of a some6hat traditional 3ind. For eAam#le, in A. T. 4rove and
0liver 1a23hamEs eA2ellent boo3 The 'ature of Mediterranean Curo#e, the Mediterranean is
defined on2e and for all at the outset in the usual 2limati2 terms as one of siA @mediterraneoid@
#arts of the 6orld. The authors 2an then 9et on 6ith the business of sho6in9 that it is no lost
Cden, subHe2t to #ro9ressive de9radation by humanity. Here is an e2olo9i2al narrative that is
2ertainly history @of@ its subHe2t. $t brin9s the relationshi# bet6een human3ind and the
environment ba23 to the 2enter of the #i2ture, and sho6s the diversity of Mediterranean e2olo9ies
and the sim#lifi2ations of so many earlier a22ounts of human intervention. &ut it is a history of
2limate, 9eolo9y, and flora and fauna in 6hi2h the effe2ts of humanityKalthou9h seen as all(
#ervasiveKare dire2tly addressed in only one and a half 2ha#ters. 2=
A third ty#e of Mediterranean history sideste#s the anti(Mediterraneanist 2ritiDue by 2onfinin9
itself #rimarily to the less 2ontroversial unity of the sea. This 2an be labeled @the maritime turn.@ $n
@Mediterranean &reviary@ (to translate its ori9inal title), "redra9 MatveHeviP 3ee#s his subHe2t
mana9eable by restri2tin9 it to the sea and fifty 3ilometers inland.-< The boo3 is un2lassifiable:
#art histori2al m?lan9e, #art 2ontem#orary evo2ation. Here 6e read of the @nobility@ of studyin9
Mediterranean 9eolo9y. Many Mediterranean #eo#le, 6e learn, @9o in for horos2o#es@B @theft is a
Mediterranean art form@B li9hthouses are an im#ortant Mediterranean institutionB and @a shi# that
sin3s does so in silen2e or in bedlam.@ Above all, there is the roman2e of the #orts, the shi#s, and
the seafarers: @$ have listened to #eo#le livin9 on both north and south 2oasts of the
Mediterranean s#ea3 of sea smells. $ have ta3en 2areful notes.@-2 This is &raudel as re6ritten by
8alt 8hitman. Cverythin9 is surfa2e, and a fri2tionless one at that. 4enerali>ations meet no
resistan2e. The boo3 isKfor the most #artKa study really @of@ the Mediterranean. Iet it is
s2ar2ely history. 2-
Another fresh syno#sis of Mediterranean history a9ain virtually omits the environment
alto9ether. $t does this not be2ause &raudel has dealt 6ith it, but in deliberate reHe2tion of his
a##roa2h as leavin9 too little s#a2e for individual human initiative. $n David AbulafiaEs edited
volume The Mediterranean in History,-! that subHe2t is redu2ed to the sea and its immediate
2oastlands. $t mi9ht have been entitled History in (or on) the Mediterranean. There is an o#enin9
2ha#ter in 6hi2h 0liver 1a23ham rehearses his ar9uments a9ainst #ro9ressive lon9(term
de9radation, but on this o22asion he does not define the environment in Duestion at all. After
1a23hamEs 2ha#ter, the theme is the 2onfli2t or mutual influen2e of states and e2onomies a2ross
the sea. The re9ional settin9 disa##ears from vie6. Alon9 the same lines, Abulafia no6 #romises
6hat 6ill undoubtedly be a ma9nifi2ent narrative history of the Mediterranean %ea, its islands and
2oastlands, in 6hi2h full 6ei9ht is 9iven to the de2isions of named individuals. "erha#s it 6ill be
Her>feld(#roof, but the immunity may have been bou9ht at some 2ost. 2+

/onfli2t and influen2e a2ross the sea are indeed 2entral to any histori2al 6ritin9 about the
Mediterranean. Iet the 2oheren2e and distin2tiveness of the re9ion as a subHe2t is not, 6e thin3,
to be sou9ht in the relatively 2lear(2ut fa2ts of 'orman states, lin3ed by sea, or the trade that
enri2hed Lusi9nan 3in9s. 'orman seafarin9 and /y#riot su9ar #lantations need to be set 6ithin a
mu2h 6ider #anorama. They need to be seen 6ithin a time frame that is not only lon9, but also
un2onstrained by the di2tates of narrative. $f the ne6 re9ional history 6e have been des2ribin9 is
to avoid bein9 a #at2h6or3 of ill(assorted dis2ursive 2onstru2ts, the arrestin9 Dualities of its
obHe2ts should be des2ribed in 6ays that fa2ilitate 2om#arison and 2ontrast. /ommon
denominators need to be found. For all the a22umulated 2on2e#tual and 2ultural frei9ht of the
Mediterranean, a different ty#e of 2riti2ism of Mediterranean history has been that in #ra2ti2e it
la23s 2ohesion a2ross time and s#a2e. There is no interestin9 basis, it mi9ht be said, for
2om#arin9 /orsi2a and the 'ile delta, or the a9e of the %ea "eo#les 6ith that of the /orsairs.
&raudel, of 2ourse, thou9ht differently. And his assertion of 2om#arability a2ross very 6ide 9a#s
of #eriod and #la2e 6ithin the Mediterranean im#els us to try, a9ainst the s3e#ti2s, to ma3e a
2ase for the value and 2oheren2e of a Mediterranean re9ional a##roa2h to an2ient, medieval, and
early modern history.-= The follo6in9 a22ount of one #ossible vie6 of the Mediterranean #ast
offers some ho#e of meetin9 the #rovo2ations of @Mediterraneanism.@ $t does so, moreover, by
eA#lorin9 2hara2teristi2s of the Mediterranean that in2lude the 6ays in 6hi2h it related to other
re9ions around it. $t therefore su##orts the lar9er @thalassolo9i2al eA#eriment@ on t6o fronts. First,
the Mediterranean need not be a #oliti2al embarrassment, a dan9erously fla6ed foundation stone
in the edifi2e of 9lobal 2om#arativism. %e2ond, the study of 2oherent stru2tures in Mediterranean
history thro6s u# Duestions and models that may hel# the 9lobal historian to understand ho6 the
ne6 2onstituent re9ions of 6orld history have a2tually intera2ted. 2,
At the most basi2 level, 6e have attem#ted in earlier 6or3 to develo# a frame6or3 for
inter#retin9 2ertain as#e2ts of Mediterranean history. These are as#e2ts that shed li9ht on the bi9
Duestions of unity, distin2tiveness, and 2ontinuity in the re9ion before @modernity,@ ho6ever
defined. The frame6or3 rests on a fourfold des2ri#tion of #rimary #rodu2tion, derived to an
im#ortant eAtent from the so2ial anthro#olo9y and ar2haeolo9y of the last third of the t6entieth
2entury. The first sta9e is to identify a distin2tive re9ime of ris3, in 6hi2h bad years of many
different 3inds have been 2ommon enou9h to ma3e it essential to find remedies for them, but not
so 2ommon as to outnumber 9ood ones. The se2ond sta9e is to identify a distin2tive @lo9i2@ of
#rodu2tion or9ani>ed around 2o#in9 6ith this ris3 re9ime. $t rests on the tri#le strate9y of (in
as2endin9 order of histori2al im#ortan2e) diversifi2ation of #rodu2tive enter#rise to 2o#e 6ith the
different 3inds of bad yearsB stora9e of the sur#lus normally a22umulated as insuran2e a9ainst
future bad yearsB and redistribution of the stored as 6ell as the fresh, usin9 different rhythms for
the different #rodu2ts of diversifi2ation. 2)
These t6o main as#e2ts, ris3 and #rodu2tion, are further #atterned by t6o other 2ru2ial
elements. 0ne of them is an eAtreme to#o9ra#hi2al fra9mentation, derivin9 ultimately from the
te2toni2s of the Mediterranean re9ion. This fra9mentation 2an be eA#ressed throu9h the
vo2abulary of the @mi2roe2olo9y,@ a deliberately loose 2on2e#t. Mi2roe2olo9ies are as mu2h in the
#er2e#tions of #rimary #rodu2ers as in any to#o9ra#hi2al #arti2ularity. They are intera2tive, both
lo2ally bet6een #eo#le and environment, and more broadly bet6een different mi2roe2olo9ies,
6hi2h very 9reat distan2es sometimes se#arate. Mi2roe2olo9ies resist ma##in9. They are fluid,
mutable 2reations. This mutability bears on both of the first t6o sta9es of the ar9ument. $t vastly
in2reases the 2a#ri2iousness and un#redi2tability of the normal ris3 re9ime. Therefore it also
#romotes and re6ards a 2ertain a##roa2h to #rodu2tion: the three im#eratives of diversifi2ation,
stora9e, and redistribution. 2*
Finally, there is the distin2tive re9ime of 2ommuni2ations made #ossible by the 9eo9ra#hy of
the sea, 6ith its 2om#leA 2oastlines and numerous islands, interlo23in9 2oastal lo6lands, and
freDuently navi9able la9oons and rivers. The effe2t of su2h a re9ime is #rimarily on the 2hara2ter
and si9nifi2an2e of redistribution, and throu9h that it feeds ba23 into the 6hole system. $t 2ould
thus be 2laimed that the 3ey variable in assessin9 the so2ial and e2onomi2 2hara2ter of any
Mediterranean mi2roe2olo9y at a 9iven histori2al moment is its @2onne2tivity,@ a term borro6ed,
ultimately, from 9ra#h theory. !
This ra#id summary is inevitably abstra2t. &ut the fourfold modelKof ris3 re9ime, lo9i2 of
#rodu2tion, to#o9ra#hi2al fra9mentation, and internal 2onne2tivityKis deliberately so: it is
intended to embra2e the 2hara2teristi2 variability of Mediterranean human e2olo9y. And one
advanta9e of it may be that it 2an 6ithstand a22usations of @Mediterraneanism.@ First, a9ainst the
2har9e of eA2lusivism, it raises a number of issues that are 9ermane to many other histori2al
2onteAts. $t 9ets a6ay from the environmental ty#olo9y of &raudelEs Mediterranean, in 6hi2h a
residual determinism is dete2table (mountain so2ieties, for eAam#le), and brin9s out the t6o(6ay
intera2tion of humanity and the environment. $t allo6s 2on2e#tual s#a2e for the #er2e#tions and
de2isions of both small #rodu2ers and those 6ho 2ontrol them. $t ta3es in the 6hole environment,
both land and sea, and althou9h it stresses the rural, it is meant to be a##li2able to the full ran9e
of human settlement, from the hermita9e to the metro#olis. &e2ause it is @mi2ro@ in s2ale, it
avoids the near(insu#erable #roblems set by the #ursuit of a sin9le histori2al e2olo9y of the
Mediterranean re9ion as a 6hole. For this 6ould seem to reDuire estimates of @9lobal@ #o#ulation
si>e and density, and 2arryin9 2a#a2ity, arrived at in the li9ht of a not less than 2om#lete inventory
of human and animal food sour2es. !<
A se2ond @Mediterraneanist@ a22usation is eA2e#tionalism. &ut be2ause the e2olo9i2al
meta#hor is stru2tural or systemi2 in 2hara2terK#ur#osefully abstra2ted from s#e2ifi2
environmental featuresKit also removes the need to define the Mediterranean environment in the
standard terms that have under#inned 2laims about its su#eriority. The Mediterranean of
2onventional (nineteenth( and t6entieth(2entury) human 9eo9ra#hy has been variously
2on2eived. &ut three interrelated ty#es have a2hieved notable #rominen2e. First, there are the
2limati2ally based definitions, in 6hi2h, for instan2e, 2ertain isohyets (rainfall 2ontours) are
sele2ted to demar2ate the re9ions 2hara2teri>ed by lo6 summer #re2i#itation. %e2ond, there are
the environmentally determined versions of these, in 6hi2h it is the distribution of 2ertain flora,
and es#e2ially e2onomi2ally im#ortant 2ro#s, that ma#s the Mediterranean. (The >one of
2ultivation of olive and vine has been the most #o#ular.) Finally 2ome the 2ultural derivatives of
the first t6o ty#es, su2h as the su##osed distin2tion bet6een the lands of the oil(eaters and those
of the butter(eaters.-- The #rin2i#al 2avil 6ith analyses of this 3ind is that none of the botani2al,
2limatolo9i2al, or environmental definitions 2an fully and satisfa2torily ma# the Mediterranean
re9ion 6ith 6hi2h the historian 6ants to o#erate.-+ To mention only one serious and
underestimated diffi2ulty, 2limati2ally, as &raudel himself a23no6led9ed, every mountainto# is
outside the Mediterranean.-, !2
The unity and distin2tiveness of the Mediterranean should be differently 2on2eived. The unity
is not that of e2olo9i2al or 2ultural ty#es so mu2h as of 2onne2tivity bet6een stru2turally similar
(similarly mutable) mi2roe2olo9ies. The distin2tiveness, on the other hand, be2omes harder to #in
do6n. 'one of the four elements in the s2hema outlined above is in any obvious 6ay essentially
or distin2tively Mediterranean. The re9ime of bad years is 2onfi9ured by the s#e2ifi2s of the ty#e
of 2limate 6e 2onventionally 3no6 as MediterraneanB but there is no reason 6hy lo2al 2limates in
Duite different 2limati2 >ones should not dis#lay eDually 2om#leA re9imes of ris3. The lo9i2 of ris3
bufferin9, the intensity of fra9mentation, and the #ossibility of 2onne2tivity 2an ea2h be readily
#aralleled else6here (for eAam#le, in %outheast Asia).-) The only 6ay in 6hi2h the
Mediterranean is differentiated both from its nei9hbors and from 2om#arable areas mu2h farther
a6ay is by the sheer intensity and 2om#leAity of the in9redients. That 2an, for instan2e, be seen
in the notable differen2es in histori2al 2hara2ter bet6een islands in the Mediterranean and those
in the o2eans. The former are (sometimes) ri2h and #o#ulous, ti9htly en9a9ed in net6or3s of
6hi2h they are often the #rin2i#al nodes, and sometimes even the 2enters of lar9e he9emonies,
the most hi9h(#it2hed individual 2ases of the 2hara2teristi2 #rodu2tive and redistributive re9imes.
The latter, the o2eani2 islands, are, by 2ontrast, 3no6n for #overty, de#enden2e, mar9inality, and
a subaltern status.-* !!
:neA#e2tedly, the Mediterranean therefore turns out to be identified by the uniDue
2on2entration of fa2tors that are not themselves #e2uliar to the re9ion. That 2on2entration should,
at least in #rin2i#le, be sus2e#tible of 2alibration and ma##in9. Here &raudelEs meta#hor of the
Mediterranean as an ele2troma9neti2 field, or a sour2e of li9ht, is hel#fulB+ and still more so is
his ima9e of the Mediterranean in this sense as @#ulsin9,@ eA#andin9 and 2ontra2tin9 to embra2e
adHa2ent >ones. The sha#e and eAtent of the @#aroAysm@ of Mediterranean diversity has
sometimes been determined only loosely by the seaEs #hysi2al 9eo9ra#hy. !=
The mi2roe2olo9i2al a##roa2h also 9ives us a 6ay of delimitin9 the MediterraneanKor rather,
of avoidin9 delimitin9 it in any fiAed, @timeless@ 6ay. The re9ion has only shiftin9 and @fu>>y@
boundaries. As one moves a6ay from the sea, mi2roe2olo9ies 2ease or radi2ally 2han9e
2hara2ter, althou9h in differin9 6ays and at differin9 rates in the many 3inds of frontier >ones that
the re9ion #resents to its nei9hbors. The Mediterranean may also be 2on2eived as a lar9e >one
of net introversion or involution. $t is an area 6ithin 6hi2h internal 2onta2ts are, overallKif 6e
2ould ever arrive at some su#reme re23onin9Kmore numerous, dense, or durable than eAternal
ones, even thou9h the MediterraneanEs @eAternal relations@ (&raudelEs 9reater Mediterranean)
have rea2hed ri9ht a2ross the 9lobe. !-
Ar9uments of the mi2roe2olo9i2al 3ind also reassure on the Duestion of 6hether the
Mediterranean is a #ro#er subHe2t for any sort of history (eA2e#t #ossibly the history of im#erialist
learnin9), let alone the ne6 re9ional variety. The many(sidedness of the model hel#s the historian
avoid reifi2ation. 8eavin9 to9ether the e2olo9i2al 2onditions of Mediterranean 2oastlands 6ith the
nature of seaborne 2onne2tivity #rodu2es an a##roa2h to Mediterranean distin2tiveness that may
be less vulnerable to the #oliti2al and heuristi2 diffi2ulties asso2iated 6ith im#erial 9eo9ra#hy than
are other, sim#ler a22ounts. !+
0ur model is also to a sur#risin9 eAtent 2om#atible 6ith the history of Mediterranean self(
#er2e#tion. The a6areness of livin9 in a fra9mented 6orld, nonetheless united by the 2onne2tivity
that over2omes that fra9mentation, has a lon9 history in Mediterranean so2ieties. Althou9h the
semanti2 eAtension of @the Mediterranean@ from sea to re9ion first o22urred in the nineteenth
2entury, the sea itself had first been #er2eived as a unity more than t6o thousand years earlier.
For at least some 4ree3s, the sea 6e no6 2all the Mediterranean 6as intuited as somethin9
more than an ensemble of lin3ed smaller seas.+< $t 6as the 4reat %ea, the @sea in our #art of the
6orld,@ the sea around 6hi2h @6e@ (never eA#li2itly identified) @live li3e ants and fro9s around a
6etland,@ as %o2rates #uts it in "latoEs "haedo (<*b). This sea 6as one term of a dual
2lassifi2ation of the 6orldEs surfa2e 6ater. The @mediterranean@ (6ithout the 2a#ital letterKa
9eo9ra#hi2al term, not a name) 6as the only one of its 3ind, the sea in the middle of the land, as
distin2t from the lands in the middle of the sea, that is, the 2ontinents surrounded by outer o2ean.
$t ha##ens that the #re2ise #hrase mediterraneum mare is not attested until after the 1oman
Cm#ire had ended in the 8est.+2 The 2on2e#t to 6hi2h it refers, ho6ever, is far older. !,
&e2ause it 6as #art of a refle2tion on the layout of the 6hole 9lobe, the an2ient invention of
the Mediterranean 6as essentially maritime. $t 6as only very indire2tly a 2ontribution to re9ional
thou9ht. ($ts 2ounter#art, the invention of the 2ontinents, 6as Duite different: 2ontinental land 6as
indeed already in the fifth 2entury b.2. s#lit three 6ays, into Asia, Afri2a, and Curo#e, to ea2h of
6hi2h 6as attributed a 9enuine re9ional identity.) %omethin9 similar to the an2ient 2on2e#tion of
the Mediterranean %ea is revealed in the 2osmolo9i2al @&oo3 of /uriosities@ from eleventh(
2entury /airo, the uniDue manus2ri#t of 6hi2h, no6 in 0Aford, 6as redis2overed in 2.+! Here,
on a stri3in9 ma#, the Mediterranean is a unity 2ontainin9 and 2learly 2hara2teri>ed by <2
islands and <2< mainland an2hora9es. 0n2e a9ain it is a remar3able ty#e of sea, rather than a
lar9er area. !)
The definition of the Mediterranean as a re9ion 6as not, therefore, a by(#rodu2t or
2on2omitant of an2ient im#erialism.+= 'or did it a##ear in medieval or early modern Curo#ean
thou9ht, even that of the 0ttomans, 6hose mastery of the sea in the earlier siAteenth 2entury 6as
almost as eAtensive as 1omeEs. Thus it is not, des#ite the fears and s2ru#les of some
2ontem#orary 6riters, #art of the master narrative of the a99ressive elites of #remodern em#ires.
$t is true that in an2ient di#lomati2 ne9otiationsKa 2entral vehi2le of he9emoni2 thou9htKthe
unity of the Mediterranean lands did sometimes find eA#ression. Most famously, in a settlement
bet6een Athens and "ersia attributed to the middle of the fifth 2entury b.2., one 2lause 6as held
to have forbidden "ersian messen9ers to 2ome 6ithin fifty miles or a dayEs ride of the sea (even
2alled the 4ree3 sea in one version of events).+- $n a still more im#erialist 2onteAt, the 2ommand
of "om#ey the 4reat a9ainst #ira2y, and his later 2ontrol of the redistribution of 2ereal sta#les,
6ere defined as runnin9 all over the Mediterranean and inland for the eDuivalent of fifty miles.
!*
$n this 6ay of thin3in9, ho6ever, somethin9 rather different from Mediterranean em#ire is to
be seen. 0n2e a9ain, 6e en2ounter a 2on2e#tion of ho6 the maritime 6orld 6or3ed, and 6hat it
meant to the land. $t 6as the domain of naval 6ar, but also of redistribution, es#e2ially of sta#les.
And it 6as the #la2e 6here the rhythms of redistribution 6ere threatened by endemi2 #ira2y. %u2h
thin3in9 is identi2al to "latoEs o#inion about the in2om#atibility of 9ood 9overnment 6ith the sea
and its a2tivities. His ideal 2ity 6as to be ten miles inland, 6ell a6ay from mer2antile vi2e.++
8hen the 1omans 6anted an eA2use to destroy the 9reat entre#Qt of /artha9e in <=* b.2., the
deliberately #re#osterous 2ondition they laid do6n 6as that /artha9e should be u#rooted and
moved inland, a6ay from its 9reat #orts. The distan2e they a##ointed 6as ten miles.+, =
An2ient thou9ht about the Mediterranean thus 2on2erned itself not 6ith the 2reation of a
9eo9ra#hi2al eA#ression to denote a re9ion that mi9ht be subdued, but 6ith an analysis of the
so2iety (in a very loose sense) to 6hi2h the sea 6as 2entral. $t 6as a 2hara2teri>ation of the 6orld
around the sea, not a labelin9 of a 6orld that the sea ha##ened to adHoin. $t refle2ted, althou9h
obliDuely, the distin2tive intera2tion of Mediterranean 2onne2tivity and terrestrial e2olo9y that 2an
be dis2erned in many other #eriods of Mediterranean history. %u2h a Mediterranean, far from
bein9 a relatively sim#le #oliti2al 2onstru2tion, 6ill be eAtremely hard to define, and 6ill ma# onto
the 2on2erns of human 2ommunities, value systems, e2onomi2 ambitions, and interre9ional
alle9ian2es in an intrinsi2ally unstable 6ay. This Mediterranean should indeed be an @essentially
2ontested@ 2ate9ory.+) The le9a2y of an2ient and nineteenth(2entury 9eo9ra#hy and other
elements in the @meta(subHe2t@ of dis2ourse about the Mediterranean, the areaEs lon9(
a22umulated 2ultural ba99a9e, are refle2tions of su2h 2ontestation. They form an as#e2t of the
subHe2t that 6e have to 6or3 6ith, and throu9h. &ut they do not invalidate it. 0n the 2ontrary, in a
history of #er2e#tions of the Mediterranean that 9oes beyond the dete2tion of evil em#ires, 6hat
6e 2at2h is an intrinsi2 #art of a mi2roe2olo9i2al 6orld. =<

0ur aim here is em#hati2ally not to im#ose a ne6 #aradi9m on Mediterranean historians,
forestallin9 dis2ussion of alternatives. $t is, rather, to dis2over on 6hat basis 6e 2an treat an2ient
and medievalKor, more 6idely, #remodernKMediterranean history as a sin9le field of inDuiry,
and ho6 far an a##roa2h derived ultimately from &raudel enables us to 2ross the boundaries that
s2holarshi# seems to have ere2ted. This involves @de2enterin9@ the Mediterranean,+* as 6ell as
ado#tin9 an eAtremely lon9 time frame. The 9oal is 2om#arable 6ith the 6ays in 6hi2h some of
the other ne6 re9ional historians have striven to brea3 traditional molds and es2a#e older
dis2i#linary 2onstraints. $t is en2oura9in9 that others have found in maritime history a satisfyin9
route to this destination. =2
$t is a further ha##y 2onseDuen2e of develo#in9 ne6 models for the inter#retation of re9ional
history that there is 2ommon 9round bet6een Mediterranean history and the most outs#o3en anti(
Mediterraneanist of all, Mi2hael Her>feld. To thin3 in terms of Mediterranean history is indeed an
@eA2use@Kan eA2use for (as he 9enerously #uts it in res#onse to our ideas) @definin9 ne6
allian2es and a99lomerations 2a#able of 9eneratin9 novel and interestin9 heuristi2 o#tions.@,
This 2onver9en2e 6ith Her>feld may refle2t the eAtent to 6hi2h @our@ Mediterranean is no lon9er
Mediterraneanist. &ut unli3e the other authors mentioned above, su2h as David Abulafia, 6e may
have thro6n the baby of 9lobal 2om#arability out 6ith the bath6ater of traditional Mediterranean
analysis. Althou9h the Mediterranean a##ears to be a 2ons#i2uous eAam#le of the ty#e of
net6or3 throu9h 6hi2h other ne6 re9ions tend to be defined, its distin2tive histori2al re9imes of
2onne2tivity a2tually turn out to be very unusual, and notably hard to #arallel in other #arts of the
6orld. =!
Ta3e the eAam#le of the movement of #eo#le and 9oods. $n traditional Mediterranean history,
6hat 6as visible 6as hi9h 2ommer2e, the 9lamorous movement of hi9h(value 2ar9oes. This is
also 6hat 6as most #rominent in the eviden2e from antiDuity, and it 6as re9ularly mar9inali>ed as
@only@ luAury trade, small(s2ale and of interest #rimarily to the elite. Cven for the early modern
#eriod, &raudel had to insist that hi9h(value 2ar9oes mattered e2onomi2ally, too. $n o2eani2
s#a2es, su2h net6or3s 6ere tra2ed in antiDuity, as in the eAtraordinary first(2entury survey of the
2oasts of the $ndian 02ean, the "eri#lous of the Crythraean %ea. 8ith &raudel, 6e a23no6led9e
the im#ortan2e of hi9h(value, lo6(bul3 2ar9oes. &ut the interde#enden2e of the Mediterranean is
based on a different 3ind of #ro2ess entirely: a redistribution that is an eAtension of #rimary
#rodu2tion indu2ed by the need to buffer ris3s. ==
This basi2 en9a9ement of the #rimary #rodu2er 6ith maritime 2onne2tivity, already visible in
the lands2a#e of HesiodEs 8or3s and Days at the end of the ei9hth 2entury b.2., underlay the
familiar an2ient notion of @our sea.@ %u2h #ossessiveness 6as not, to re#eat, a 2ultural assent to
the a99ressive #ro#rietorshi# of an2ient im#erial states. 0n the 2ontrary, it re#resented, ho6ever
self(2ons2iously, a rural, @#easant,@ mi2rore9ional vie6. %imilarly, in the late fifth to early fourth
2entury b.2., the author of the Hi##o2rati2 1e9imen 2laims to be 6ritin9 for the maHority of men.
He is addressin9 those 6ho use ordinary, a22essible food and drin3B 6ho eAert themselves as
mu2h as is essentialKand 6ho underta3e both overland Hourneys and sea voya9es to 2olle2t their
livelihood.,< This a9ain ni2ely refle2ts the 6ay in 6hi2h the outlet to the medium of redistribution
is #art of every mi2rore9ionEs ideal #ortfolio of resour2es, and is labeled a22ordin9ly: @our
mountain #asture,@ @our 6etland,@ @our irri9able meado6s,@ @our s2rublands@K@our sea.@ The
Mediterranean of the an2ient 4ree3s 6as a mi2rore9ion 6rit lar9e. =-
%o 6hen 6e 2ome to s2rutini>e 6hat this Mediterranean has to offer the systemati2
2om#arison of sea histories, there is, as far as 6e 2an tell at this sta9e, little alternative to
@a9reein9 to differ@Kboth 6ith other Mediterranean s2holars and 6ith those at 6or3 on other
seas. The terrestrial environment is of relatively little im#ortan2e in sea historio9ra#hy else6here,
Hust as it has often been mar9inal to Mediterranean histori2al 6ritin9 sin2e &raudel. @02eans
/onne2t@ is the 9reat theme, as refle2ted in the title of an on9oin9 Ford Foundation #roHe2t at
Du3e :niversity. $t is not @Cnvironments :nite.@,2 To study the &alti2 %ea may reDuire a 9ood
deal of environmental 3no6led9e, and invites a broad 2limati2 and 9eolo9i2al ba23dro#, but on
nothin9 li3e the s2ale that has been evin2ed, ri9htly or 6ron9ly, either by &raudel or in the
mi2roe2olo9i2al model offered above.,! The Atlanti2 and "a2ifi2 o2eans are too lar9e and their
2oastlands too diverse for any e2olo9i2al, 2ultural, or #sy2holo9i2al (stereo)ty#es to have been
6idely asso2iated 6ith them.,= 0n the 2ontrary, 6hat mattersK6hat ma3es these seas ne6 and
eA2itin9 historio9ra#hi2al 2ate9oriesKis the density and variety of human 2onne2tions a2ross
them. Thus David Armita9eEs ty#olo9y of Atlanti2 history 6ritin9 is all about 2onta2ts, and the
#olities, e2onomies, and 2ultures that are ma3in9 themB it is not about the e2olo9y of the Atlanti2Es
various Curo#ean, Afri2an, and Ameri2an littorals. @/ir2um(,@ @trans(,@ and @2is(Atlanti2@ studies do
not even #resu##ose 2ommon environmental or 2limati2 features, let alone an Atlanti2
#ersonality.,- The Atlanti2, the $ndian 02ean, "a2ifi2 ar2hi#ela9oes, and even the %ahara are
s#a2es ne9otiated by hi9h(#rofile trade and throu9h the movements, mi9rations, and dias#oras
2onne2ted 6ith it or 6ith the 2on2erns of states. %imilar movements have of 2ourse had a lon9
history in the Mediterranean, but they are not the se2ret of its identity. 8e 6ait to be told that
there are maritime s#a2esK#erha#s in the 5a#anese ar2hi#ela9o, or in the early modern
/aribbeanKin 6hi2h it is an e2olo9i2ally driven interde#enden2e that 6eaves the fabri2 of the
re9ion. :ntil that #oint, the Mediterranean remains stri3in9 for its otherness. =+

The a9enda for foldin9 the Mediterranean into lon9(ran9e 2om#arative re9ional history 2annot,
then, rely 6holly on ty#olo9ies of harbors or routes, on densities of #ort 2ities or maritime
2onfederations, on the #enetration of e2onomi2 net6or3s by valuable seaborne 9oods, on
#atterns in the re2ruitment of seafarers, or on te2hnolo9i2al innovations in trans#ort. 8hat of the
other theme im#li2it in the ne6 thalassolo9yKho6 the seas that are its obHe2ts Hoin u# to
2onstitute a 2han9in9 9lobal historyG =,
"lato 6as too san9uine in thin3in9 that at ten miles inland, even in mountainous /rete, his
ideal 2ity 6ould es2a#e the @2orru#tion@ en9endered by the 2om#leA e2olo9y of the sea. The
Duestion is ho6 to model the 6ays in 6hi2h the net6or3s of movement that 2hara2teri>e
Mediterranean s#a2e rea2h out into the surroundin9 >ones, >ones in 6hi2h the 2onditions that
#romoted the movements fall off or are alto9ether absent. $an Morris has 2oined the notion of
@Mediterraneani>ation@ to 2a#ture the de9ree to 6hi2h 2onne2tivity may intensify or abate 6ithin
the traditional MediterraneanKand in the >ones, sometimes even Duite distant ones, 6ith 6hi2h it
has 2onta2t. Many transitional >ones around the Mediterranean eAhibit 6hat &rent %ha6 has
2alled re2ursiveness, reversin9 #olarity so that the land eAerts a more #otent influen2e on the
2oastlands than does the 6orld of the sea.,+ There is the additional #ossibility that the inte9rated,
involuted Mediterranean milieu has at 2ertain times had a re#ellent effe2t on the e2onomies and
so2ial systems of nearby re9ions. These turn their ba23s on the 6orld of the sea, and establish
lines of 2ommuni2ation by#assin9 the Mediterranean interior. T6o eAam#les 6ould be the 2orridor
from the &la23 %ea to the 1hine, and the routes that 2ross the hi9hlands of eastern Anatolia from
the /au2asus and rea2h the 1ed %ea 6ithout im#in9in9 on the inner Mediterranean >one. They
res#ond to "latoEs 2orru#tin9 sea, but not throu9h bein9 dire2tly en9a9ed 6ith itKrather the
o##osite. CDually, there are the @hemorrha9e@ #oints at 6hi2hKa9ain at #arti2ular moments in
millennial historyKdifferent 9ate6ays o#en. Throu9h these 9ate6ays, the distin2tive
Mediterranean 6orld intera2ts, sometimes very intensively, 6ith, for instan2e, the >ones to 6hi2h
the rivers of the :3rainian ste##e or the 2oastal trade routes of the 1ed %ea or "ersian 4ulf 9ive
a22ess. =)
The #art #layed by our Mediterranean in the 6ider assembla9e of re9ional #ie2es that ma3es
u# 6orld history seems li3ely to #rove an unusual one. 0f 2ourse the Mediterranean fits in. &ut it
is #robably the only #ie2e of its 3ind, and not, des#ite the rea2h of &raudelEs 9reater
Mediterranean, a2tually very li3e the other sea(2entered 2om#onents. Althou9h it obviously
belon9s in this 9allery of maritime #ortraits, its interest 6ill be in ho6 different it is from the rest of
the sho6. =*
8e are not, on the other hand, attra2ted by @Mediterranean eA2e#tionalism.@ And that is 6hy
6e thin3 that it is in the study of lon9(distan2e intera2tion even more than in 2om#arison that the
9reatest advanta9e of the ne6 re9ional history lies. 0ur ho#e is that s#e2ialists in one of the
o2eans, the /entral Asian ste##e, or the %ahara 6ill Hoin 6ith students of the Mediterranean in
diale2ti2. $ts ultimate obHe2tive 6ill be to refine the 6ays in 6hi2h 6e frame a 9lobal historyKa
history of 6hi2h the Mediterranean has been su2h a #e2uliar and im#ortant se9ment. -
"ere9rine Horden is 1eader in Medieval History at 1oyal Hollo6ay, :niversity of London. He
2o(authored The /orru#tin9 %ea: A %tudy of Mediterranean History (0Aford 2) 6ith 'i2holas
"ur2ell, and is also 2urrently 6or3in9 6ith him on the seDuel, LiDuid /ontinents, 6hi2h 6ill
address the methodolo9i2al #roblems of fittin9 the distin2tive Mediterranean of /orru#tin9 %ea
into a 6ider 2onteAt of lar9e(s2ale and lon9(term history. He has also 6ritten eAtensively on the
history of medi2ine and 2harity in medieval Curo#e and &y>antium, and on the history of musi2
thera#y. A mono9ra#h on the 9lobal history of the earliest hos#itals is in #ro9ress for Iale
:niversity "ress.
'i2holas "ur2ell is Le2turer in An2ient History at 0Aford :niversity, and a Fello6 of %t 5ohnEs
/olle9e. His 6or3 has addressed a number of #roblems of an2ient so2ial, e2onomi2, and 2ultural
history, and mu2h of it has 2onne2tions 6ith 9eo9ra#hy and the study of lands2a#e. He is 2o(
author 6ith "ere9rine Horden of The /orru#tin9 %ea (0Aford, 2) and its forth2omin9 seDuel,
LiDuid /ontinents.
'otes
< 5. 5. /ohen, @$ntrodu2tion,@ in /ohen, ed., The "ost2olonial Middle A9es (&asin9sto3e, 2), ,:
@a #ost2olonial Middle A9es has no frontiers, only hetero9eneous borderlands 6ith multi#le
2enters.@ %ee also 8. D. Mi9nolo, Lo2al HistoriesM4lobal Desi9ns: /oloniality, %ubaltern
7no6led9es, and &order Thin3in9 ("rin2eton, '.5., 2).
2 1ena Lederman, @4lobali>ation and the Future of /ulture Areas,@ Annual 1evie6 of
Anthro#olo9y 2, (<**)): =2,R==*.
! To be distin9uished from the older 6orld(systems theory: e.9., ". '. 7ardulias, 8orld(%ystems
Theory in "ra2ti2e: Leadershi#, "rodu2tion, and CA2han9e (Lanham, Md., <***)B T. D. Hall, A
8orld(%ystems 1eader (Lanham, Md., 2).
= 1. &in 8on9, @Cntre monde et nation: Les r?9ions braud?liennes en Asie,@ Annales -+, no. <
(2<): -R=<B Mauri2e Aymard, @De la M?diterran?e S9a lEAsie: :ne 2om#araison n?2essaire
(2ommentaire),@ Annales -+, no. < (2<): =!R-.
- David Abulafia, @Mediterraneans,@ in 8illiam J. Harris, ed., 1ethin3in9 the Mediterranean
(0Aford, 2-), +=R*!. 0n the %ahara, see also M?diterran?e **, no. !R= (22), @Le %ahara,
2ette Eautre M?diterran?e.Et@
+ From the an2ient 4ree3 thalassa, @sea.@ Cd6ard "eters, @Tuid nobis 2um #ela9oG The 'e6
Thalassolo9y and the C2onomi2 History of Curo#e,@ 5ournal of $nterdis2i#linary History != (2!):
=*R+<B &rent %ha6, @A "e2uliar $sland: Ma9hrib and Mediterranean,@ Mediterranean Histori2al
1evie6 <) (2!): *!R<2-.
, Frederi23 L. 8ernstedt and 5. C. %#en2er, The "hili##ine $sland 8orld: A "hysi2al, /ultural, and
1e9ional 4eo9ra#hy (&er3eley, /alif., <*+,), is still the startin9 #oint.
) &arry /unliffe, Fa2in9 the 02ean: The Atlanti2 and $ts "eo#les (0Aford, 2<). %ee also 1u#ert
A. Housley and 4eraint /oles, eds., Atlanti2 /onne2tions and Ada#tations: C2onomies,
Cnvironments and %ubsisten2e in Lands &orderin9 the 'orth Atlanti2 (0Aford, 2<).
* David Armita9e, @Three /on2e#ts of Atlanti2 History,@ in David Armita9e and Mi2hael 5.
&raddi23, eds., The &ritish Atlanti2 8orld, <-R<) (&asin9sto3e, 22), <=R<-.
< Martin 8. Le6is and 7Uren C. 8i9en, The Myth of /ontinents: A /ritiDue of Meta9eo9ra#hy
(&er3eley, /alif., <**,)B Daniel Finamore, ed., Maritime History as 8orld History (4ainesville,
Fla., 2=).
<< "ere9rine Horden and 'i2holas "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea: A %tudy of Mediterranean History
(0Aford, 2), !) on &raudel. /ontrast Feli#e FernVnde>(Armesto, @Maritime History and 8orld
History,@ in Finamore, Maritime History, ).
<2 Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, 2=R2-.
<! Fernand &raudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean 8orld in the A9e of "hili# $$,
trans. %iWn 1eynolds, 2nd ed., 2 vols. ('e6 Ior3, <*,+). For &raudelEs intelle2tual bio9ra#hy and
his influen2e on sea and o2ean history, see referen2es in Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9
%ea, -=2R-=!. Add no6 5ohn A. Marino, ed., Carly Modern History and the %o2ial %2ien2es:
Testin9 the Limits of &raudelEs Mediterranean (7ir3sville, Mi2h., 22).
<= &raudel, Mediterranean, <2==.
<- $bid., <2!*.
<+ $bid., <,, !*=R!*+.
<, 1obert %. Lo#e>, The /ommer2ial 1evolution of the Middle A9es, *-R<!- (Cn9le6ood
/liffs, '.5., <*,<), 2, 2!B Abulafia, @Mediterraneans,@ ++, )<.
<) %ee also "ierre /abens, ed., Histoire de lEAdriatiDue ("aris, 2<).
<* /harles 7in9, The &la23 %ea: A History (0Aford, 2=).
2 Abulafia, @Mediterraneans,@ )-R*.
2< "aul %ant /assia, @Authors in %ear2h of a /hara2ter: "ersonhood, A9en2y and $dentity in the
Mediterranean,@ 5ournal of Mediterranean %tudies < (<**<): <R<,.
22 &raudel, Mediterranean, <-.
2! For some biblio9ra#hy, see Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, 2+R2*, -!)R-=.
2= &ertram /. 4ordon, @The Mediterranean as a Tourist Destination from /lassi2al AntiDuity to
/lub Med,@ Mediterranean %tudies <2 (2!): 2!R22+.
2- $n Harris, 1ethin3in9 the Mediterranean, =-R+!. %ee also Her>feld, @"erformin9 /om#arisons:
Cthno9ra#hy, 4lobetrottin9, and the %#a2es of %o2ial 7no6led9e,@ 5ournal of Anthro#olo9i2al
1esear2h -, (2<): 2+-R2+,.
2+ For Ji2toria A. 4oddard, 5ose# 1. Llobera, and /ris %hore, the Mediterranean 6as invented in
the <*+s and #assed its sell(by date in the <*)s. @$ntrodu2tion: The Anthro#olo9y of Curo#e,@ in
4oddard, Llobera, and %hore, eds., The Anthro#olo9y of Curo#e: $dentity and &oundaries in
/onfli2t (0Aford, <**=), =, 2R2!.
2, &y 1o9er &a9nall, at the 2onferen2e held at the /enter for the An2ient Mediterranean,
/olumbia :niversity, %e#tember 2<R22, 2<, at 6hi2h Her>feldEs #a#er ori9inated.
2) For the #oliti2al dimension of @the Mediterranean@ in $sraeli @#ubli2 dis2ourse,@ see Iaa2ov
%havit, @Mediterranean History and the History of the Mediterranean: Further 1efle2tions,@
5ournal of Mediterranean %tudies = (<**=): !<!R!2*.
2* Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, =)+R=),, -22R-2!B Her>feld, Anthro#olo9y throu9h
the Loo3in9(4lass: /riti2al Cthno9ra#hy on the Mar9ins of Curo#e (/ambrid9e, <*),)B 5. de "ina(
/abral, @The Mediterranean as a /ate9ory of 1e9ional /om#arison: A /riti2al Jie6,@ /urrent
Anthro#olo9y ! (<*)*): !**R=+. %ee also Iaa2ov %havit, @The Mediterranean 8orld and
EMediterraneanismE: The 0ri9ins, Meanin9, and A##li2ation of a 4eo(/ultural 'otion in $srael,@
Mediterranean Histori2al 1evie6 ! (<*))): *+R<<,. $t is 6orth attem#tin9 to #lead for 2onsistent
use of labels. $n both $an Morris, @Mediterraneani>ation,@ Mediterranean Histori2al 1evie6 <)
(2!): !R--, and 4re9 8oolf, @A %ea of Faith,@ ibid., <2+R<=!, @Mediterraneanism@ is used to
mean Mediterranean eA2e#tionalism, rather than the subtler obHe2t of Her>feldEs 2ritiDueB or even
more baldly, @9reat interest in the Mediterranean as a histori2al obHe2t@ (Morris, !-R!,).
! /f. 8oolf, @%ea of Faith,@ <=: @the most useful units of study ... are either lar9er or smaller
than the Mediterranean 6orld.@
!< Cd6ard %aid, 0rientalism ('e6 Ior3, <*,))B also 5ames 4. /arrier, ed., 022identalism:
$ma9es of the 8est (0Aford, <**-). For further biblio9ra#hy, see :. Freita9, @The /ritiDue of
0rientalism,@ in Mi2hael &entley, ed., /om#anion to Historio9ra#hy (London, <**,), +2R+!).
!2 &raudel, Mediterranean, <,. &raudelEs eA#erien2e in Al9eria may be more relevant than his
#assion. %ee "ierre DaiA, &raudel ("aris, <**-).
!! %ee also his /ulture and $m#erialism ('e6 Ior3, <**!).
!= 8e attem#t an anthro#olo9i2al reHoinder in Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, =),R-2!.
!- %ee, e.9., 5ane %2hneider, ed., $talyEs @%outhern Tuestion@: 0rientalism in 0ne /ountry
(0Aford, <**))B 'elson Moe, The Jie6 from Jesuvius: $talian /ulture and the %outhern Tuestion
(&er3eley, /alif., 22)B Thomas 8. 4allant, CA#erien2in9 Dominion: /ulture, $dentity, and "o6er
in the &ritish Mediterranean ('otre Dame, $nd., 22), es#. !-R!+, on the @Mediterranean $rish@ of
the $onian $slandsB :ssama Ma3disi, @0ttoman 0rientalism,@ AH1 <,, no. ! (5une 22): ,+)R
,*+.
!+ 1. "eet, @The %o2ial 0ri9ins of Cnvironmental Determinism,@ Annals of the Asso2iation of
Ameri2an 4eo9ra#hers ,- (<*)-): !*R!!!.
!, Theobald Fis2her, Mittelmeerbilder: 4esammelte Abhandlun9en >ur 7unde der
MittelmeerlUnder (<*+B re#r., Lei#>i9, <*<!), v. %ee also Lu2ien Febvre, A 4eo9ra#hi2al
$ntrodu2tion to History (London, <*!2), =<B 8. %tro2h and 4. Meirin9, La m?diterran?e allemande
("aris, 2).
!) Daniel 'ordman, @La M?diterran?e dans la #ens?e 9eo9ra#hiDue franOaise (vers <)Rvers
<*-),@ in /laude 4uillot, Denys Lombard, and 1oderi2h "ta3, eds., From the Mediterranean to
the /hina %ea: Mis2ellaneous 'otes (8iesbaden, <**)), <R2. For the ba239round, see
/hristo#her Dre6 Armstron9, @Travel and CA#erien2e in the Mediterranean of Louis XJ,@ in Harris,
1ethin3in9 the Mediterranean, 2!-R2!,.
!* 'ordman, @M?diterran?e,@ <).
= %ee also %havit, @The Mediterranean 8orld and EMediterraneanism.E@
=< An im#ression derived from @9oo9lin9.@
=2 Armita9e, @Three /on2e#ts,@ <2.
=! Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, !*R=!.
== &raudel, The Mediterranean in the An2ient 8orld, trans. %iWn 1eynolds (<**)B re#r., London,
2<). %ee also &raudel, @Fernand &raudel, lEantiDuit? et lEhistoire an2ienne@ Yintervie6 6ith 5.
Andreau, M. Aymard, and 1. Ctienne, A#ril 2*, <*)-Z, Tuaderni di %toria <2, no. 2= (<*)+): -R2<.
=- Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, 2, *. %ee also %havit, @Mediterranean History and
the History of the Mediterranean,@ for a third 2ate9ory, @Mediterranean history,@ 6hi2h
#resu##oses 2ultural uniformity as 6ell as unity.
=+ %usan C. Al2o23, @Al#habet %ou# in the Mediterranean &asin: The Cmer9en2e of the
Mediterranean %erial,@ in Harris, 1ethin3in9 the Mediterranean, !<=R!!)B Morris,
@Mediterraneani>ation,@ !=R!-.
=, 5ean /ar#entier and FranOois Lebrun, eds., Histoire de la M?diterran?e ("aris, <**)).
=) :ne leOon dEhistoire de Fernand &raudel: /hWteauvallon, 5ourn?es Fernand &raudel, <), <* et
2 02tobre, <*)- ("aris, <*)+), #ls. <*R2, fa2in9 <+<.
=* %ee /ar#entier and Lebrun, Histoire de la M?diterran?e, 2!<, -2R-!, for Jati2an $$ (also,
e.9., <+, on 4re9orian 1eform).
- Ted %teinber9, @Do6n to Carth: 'ature, A9en2y, and "o6er in History,@ AH1 <,, no. ! (5une
22): ,*)R)2. The Mediterranean 9ets little attention in 5ohn F. 1i2hards, The :nendin9
Frontier: An Cnvironmental History of the Carly Modern 8orld (&er3eley, /alif., 2!).
-< "redra9 MatveHeviP, Mediterranean: A /ultural Lands2a#e, trans. Mi2hael Henry Heim (<*),B
re#r., &er3eley, /alif., <***).
-2 $bid., !, =!, !2, +!, !).
-! David Abulafia, ed., The Mediterranean in History (London, 2!).
-= Jol. < of our %tudy of Mediterranean History 6as The /orru#tin9 %ea, its title eA#lained in the
o#enin9 e#i9ra#hs. Jol. 2, LiDuid /ontinents, 6hi2h 2on2entrates on the boundaries of the
Mediterranean, is in #ro9ress. 8hat follo6s also dra6s on "ur2ell, @The &oundless %ea of
:nli3enessG 0n Definin9 the Mediterranean,@ Mediterranean Histori2al 1evie6 <) (De2ember
2!): *R2*, and on Horden and "ur2ell, @Four Iears of /orru#tion: A 1es#onse to /riti2s,@ in
Harris, 1ethin3in9 the Mediterranean, !=)R!,+.
-- &raudel, Mediterranean, <+)R<,, 2!=R2!).
-+ &raudel, ibid., 2!=R2!-, re2o9ni>ed that the Mediterranean 6as a2tually the overla# of other
2limati2 >ones, and that it 6as 2limati2ally diverse itselfB but he maintained its im#ressionisti2
2oheren2e in the fa2e of this reali>ation. %ee also Hen3 Driessen, @"re( and "ost(&raudelian
/on2e#tions of the Mediterranean Area: The "u>>le of &oundaries,@ 'arodna umHetnost: /roatian
5ournal of Cthnolo9y and Fol3lore 1esear2h !+, no. < (<***): -!R+!.
-, &raudel, Mediterranean, 2+R2,.
-) To 2ite only one instan2e: /. Hi9ham, The Ar2haeolo9y of Mainland %outheast Asia from
<, &./. to the Fall of An93or (/ambrid9e, <*)*), <R<=, for e2olo9i2al diversity in this re9ion.
%ee also D. Ludden, An A9rarian History of %outh Asia (London, <***).
-* %te#hen A. 1oyle, A 4eo9ra#hy of $slands: %mall $sland $nsularity (London, 2<).
+ &raudel, Mediterranean, <+).
+< For 6hat follo6s, see Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, <R<!, -!R-!!B "ur2ell,
@&oundless %ea of :nli3enessG@ <!R<+.
+2 $sidore of %eville, Ctymolo9iae, <!.<+.<, in $sidore, $sidori His#alensis C#is2o#i Ctymolo9iarum
sive 0ri9inum Libri XX, ed. 8alla2e Martin Lindsay, 2 vols. (<*<<B re#r., 0Aford, <*)-), 2: *).
There are li3ely to have been earlier su2h 6or3s, no6 lost.
+! &odley, M% Arab. 2. *, fols. !bR!<a. The M% is due to be #ublished in summer 2+ at
666.bodley.oA.a2.u3Mboo3of2uriosities.
+= "ur2ell, @&oundless %ea,@ <-R<+. The 1omans, for instan2e, did not in2or#orate any
@Mediterraneanness@ into their self(definition as em#ire builders, but they 9ave full symboli2 #lay
to the 2ontrast bet6een 2ommuni2able littoral and the im#enetrable forests, mountains, and
deserts of the 2ontinental interiors.
+- "lutar2h, Life of 7imon, <!, <*.
++ La6s, ,=R,-.
+, A##ian, Liby2a, ,!.
+) Horden and "ur2ell, The /orru#tin9 %ea, -2!.
+* Morris, @Mediterraneani>ation,@ !,.
, Her>feld, @"ra2ti2al Mediterraneanism,@ -.
,< 1e9imen Y"eri diaitesZ, +).
,2 htt#:MM666.du3e.eduM6ebMo2eansM#roHe2t.html.
,! 'ils &lom3vist, The Dis2overy of the &alti2: The 1e2e#tion of a /atholi2 8orld(%ystem in the
Curo#ean 'orth (AD <,-R<22-) (Leiden, 2-).
,= For the #ossible 2ountereAam#le of the $ndian 02ean, see 7urti '. /haudhuri, Trade and
/ivilisation in the $ndian 02ean from the 1ise of $slam to <,- (/ambrid9e, <*)-), and
/haudhuri, Asia before Curo#e: C2onomy and /ivilisation of the $ndian 02ean from the 1ise of
$slam to <,- (/ambrid9e, <**), ,. &ut the @unities of material life@ are identified in only very
abstra2t terms. /f. Alain &resson, @C2olo9y and &eyond: The Mediterranean "aradi9m,@ in Harris,
1ethin3in9, <<<R<<2, 2itin9 Andr? 8in3, @From the Mediterranean to the $ndian 02ean: Medieval
History in 4eo9ra#hi2 "ers#e2tive,@ /om#arative %tudies in %o2iety and History == (22): =<+R
==-, on the very un(Mediterranean e2olo9i2al milieus surroundin9 the $ndian 02ean. 'ote also
the avo6edly maritime #ers#e2tive of Mi2hael "earson, The $ndian 02ean (London, 2!), -.
,- Armita9e, @Three /on2e#ts,@ <-R2-.
,+ Morris, @Mediterraneani>ation,@ =!R=+B %ha6, @"e2uliar $sland.@