| Project Detail |
Exploring fiscal reform in the Hellenistic world
The Greek conquest of the eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic period (332–30 BCE) led to significant changes in institutional practices, including the adoption of new taxation systems by ruling kings. Supported by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the FARE project aims to investigate the development of the Ptolemaic fiscal system in Egypt, one of the most well-documented Hellenistic states. It seeks to determine how the Ptolemaic kings developed earlier fiscal practices, particularly those evident under the preceding Achaemenid rulers. The project analyses Greek, Demotic, and Aramaic documents to understand how the system evolved from earlier fiscal practices under the Achaemenid rulers. This includes creating a database of Persian Egyptian fiscal texts.
The project challenges the notion of a dramatic break in institutional practice following the Greek conquest of the eastern Mediterranean in the Hellenistic period (332–30 BCE) by reconstructing the genealogy of the Ptolemaic fiscal system in Egypt, the best documented Hellenistic state. Building on my previous research on Ptolemaic taxation, I will establish the extent to which these kings developed earlier fiscal practices, especially those in evidence under the Achaemenid rulers preceding them, both inherited and new. The main objective encompasses 3 work packages: the documentation produced by the respective regimes, the rationale of their fiscal systems, and the collectors and beneficiaries of the taxes. To this end, I will combine for the first time documentation written in Greek, Demotic, and Aramaic, and approaches divided over ancient history, Egyptology, and Semitic studies, resulting in the long-lasting collaborations required for exploring interconnections across the Mediterranean. A major aspect of the project is the creation of a pioneering database of Persian Egyptian fiscal texts. Training will focus on acquiring a working knowledge of Aramaic and the open science skills required for the highly collaborative research. The project will be hosted at the CNRS joint research unit ArScAn in Nanterre and supervised by Dr. Agut-Labordère, specialist of Achaemenid Egypt and director of Achemenet, the major platform for dissemination in Achaemenid studies. The Achaemenid expertise centered in Paris is the perfect complement to my background in Greek and Demotic papyrology. Learning Aramaic will moreover provide me with a uniquely broad perspective on later Egyptian history, leading to more groundbreaking research in the future. Communication measures will focus on the long history of fiscal systems and their impact on society, inviting greater reflection on our own democratic societies, a key EU priority, and will include stakeholders in contemporary Egypt. |
