Ionia from the Macedonian Conquest to the Peace of Apameia (334-188 BCE): Geography, Politics, and Economics

Most interest in Ionia is rooted in the Archaic and Classical periods, in which the region served as a Greek colonial periphery and a buffer zone with the Achaemenid empire. Until very recently, less attention had been paid to Ionia in later eras, in which these Greek cities tend to blend relatively seamlessly into general discussions of 'the Greeks of Asia' against the background of Graeco-Macedonian and Roman domination. Any specificity and particularity is lost in the broader milieu of the Hellenistic world.

I propose to take Ionia's regionality seriously and examine it from three perspectives: geography, economics, and politics. 'Ionia' existed as a discrete unit in the Greek imaginary at least from Herodotus's time, and this was articulated in the Hellenistic period through entities like the Ionian koinon. It was a geographically bounded space and a cultural area, but its sub- and intra-regional dynamics are less clear.

Although both within Ionia, what networks or culture connected Miletos to Phokaia? Did these places not have more in common with neighbouring Karia and Aiolis? How was political fragmentation between competing empires negotiated and understood by local populations? How were regional dynamics shaped by royal power, and how did those dynamics shape royal power?

My project requires engagement with a wide variety of evidence. The epigraphy of Ionia has been well-documented in various corpora, and new discoveries continue to emerge. Such qualitative evidence can provide unique insights into institutions and contemporary politics.

Numismatic evidence, meanwhile, provides a complementary insight into self-representation through coin iconography, and into commercial networks and local economies. Weight standards, circulation patterns, and die-studies permit quantification, and together provide a thick description of these cities' economic vitality, within and beyond the regional horizon.

I will also draw upon archaeological evidence, both extensively excavated sites, and field surveys covering regions where we lack such granular detail. Although we have few contemporary authors and our narrative histories are patchy, some local histories may be extracted with care from later authors.

I will adopt a tripartite structure. The initial topic will be geography. I will consider how the region was socially produced, the impact of its physical geography and ecology on its mental construction and subdivision, and how these eco-zones conditioned different imperial responses.

Then, I will turn to Ionia's political landscape. I will explore the role of the Ionian League in fostering regional integration, mechanisms for mediating or permitting intra-regional rivalries, and the influence of high-political fragmentation on the local horizon. Finally, I will examine regional economics, from both new institutional and Marxist perspectives.

I will look at the extent of Ionia's interconnectivity through markets, trade, and mobility, the link between economic cooperation and political solidarity, and how connections beyond Ionia shaped specific areas differently. These aspects are all intimately related, but by dealing with each in turn I hope systematically to tease out commonalities and distinctions across the whole region.

This project will build upon many general works that have examined both the polis's place in the Hellenistic world and the articulation of royal power. Yet understanding the nuances of localities and regions in history is crucial to avoiding generalisation. By grounding case studies in their own context and particular logic, I will focus on local contours that broader histories tend to flatten.

I do not expect to provide complete answers to the questions I have posed, but I will provide a framework through which new evidence can be interpreted. The continuing vitality of the Greek polis is a compelling historical narrative, and I hope through this project to refine it further.