Also online on Teams.
The second lecture analyzes Iron Age socio-political transformations in the Levant, with a special focus on early Israel. The social profile of the protagonists of political action is that of charismatic warlords, individuals able to recruit large groups of armed followers and to build networks of alliances with leaders of local communities, often in the form of patronage relations. This social type was already known during the Late Bronze Age, when it identified individuals who operated at the margins of the palatial systems. In the Canaanite highlands, rulership rested on unstable foundations until, by the mid-9th century, the Omrid family managed to establish a royal seat in Samaria. Stories which found their way into the Hebrew Bible provide the discursive foundations for the ethno-political identity of the newly consolidated kingdom of Israel and offer insights into contrasting views on the nature of political leadership that were current at the time.
The Evans-Pritchard Lectures 2026
Dr Marco Santini (University of Edinburgh)
Theme: 'The Reinvention of Rule: Political Leadership and Legitimacy in the Iron Age Eastern Mediterranean, ca. 1200–600 BC'
This series of five lectures proposes an overarching interpretation of key political developments that characterized Greece, Anatolia, and the Levant during the period called the Iron Age (ca. 1200–600 BC). By overcoming traditional disciplinary divides between Classical and Near Eastern Studies, the lectures will show that significant common patterns can be detected across the three regions, disproving widespread views that the political development of early Greece followed a peculiar and unparalleled trajectory. By emphasizing the Mediterranean dimension of early Greek history, and by positing the existence of a shared, coherent system of political thought and practice across Iron Age Eastern Mediterranean societies, the lectures will make the case for a new understanding of the so-called foundations of “western civilization.”
All welcome to join in person or online via this Teams link.
Wednesday 29 April (Week 1): ‘The Eastern Mediterranean in the Iron Age: Making Sense of a Fragmenting World’
Wednesday 6 May (Week 2): ‘War for Power and the Power of War: Charismatic Leaders in the Iron Age Levant’
Wednesday 13 May (Week 3): ‘Rulers of Many Names: Experiments with Power in Iron Age Anatolia'
Wednesday 20 May (Week 4): ‘Warriors, Traders, and Shepherds of the People: Versatile Heroes in Iron Age Greece’
Wednesday 27 May (Week 5): ‘Fragments Recomposed’
Lectures will take place at 5 pm in the Old Library, All Souls College, and on Teams, except for Week 3, which will be in the Wharton Room.
Open to the public, all welcome.
All Souls website
