Moab in the Iron Age
Hegemony, Polity, Archaeology
Bruce Routledge(Author)
University of Pennsylvania Press
Published on 26. July 2004
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-8122-3801-3 (ISBN)
Description
Moab was an ancient kingdom located in the highlands east of the Dead Sea, in what is now Jordan. Known primarily from references in the Hebrew Bible, Moab has long occupied a marginal position, one defined by the complex interrelationship of history, theology, and politics that underlies biblical archaeology. Moab in the Iron Age: Hegemony, Polity, Archaeology inverts this position, using Moab as the centerpiece of an extended reflection on the nature and meaning of state formation.
Focusing on the state as an effect rather than a cause, Bruce Routledge examines the constitution of the kingdom over a period of some seven hundred years. In particular, he develops Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony by examining the ways intellectual products, such as inscriptions, public buildings, and administrative practices, transformed local cultural resources in order to construct political dominance as a moral order. Through a careful analysis that combines archaeology and textual study, Routledge demonstrates how long-established principles underlying local identities were transformed when appropriated for particular state building projects. From this, he offers insights into the realization and historical reproduction of political power in everyday life.
Rich in previously unpublished material, Moab in the Iron Age reinvigorates discussions of politics and culture in early complex societies, and presents a novel approach to the study of state formation.
Focusing on the state as an effect rather than a cause, Bruce Routledge examines the constitution of the kingdom over a period of some seven hundred years. In particular, he develops Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony by examining the ways intellectual products, such as inscriptions, public buildings, and administrative practices, transformed local cultural resources in order to construct political dominance as a moral order. Through a careful analysis that combines archaeology and textual study, Routledge demonstrates how long-established principles underlying local identities were transformed when appropriated for particular state building projects. From this, he offers insights into the realization and historical reproduction of political power in everyday life.
Rich in previously unpublished material, Moab in the Iron Age reinvigorates discussions of politics and culture in early complex societies, and presents a novel approach to the study of state formation.
Reviews / Votes
"From both a methodological and a theoretical point of view . . . Routledge's work demonstrates the real potential of new and alternative approaches to Iron Age archaeology."-American Journal of ArcheologyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Pennsylvania
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
35 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 155 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-8122-3801-3 (9780812238013)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Bruce Routledge is a Lecturer at the School of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool.
Content
1. The "thingness" of the state
2. Hegemony, polity, identity
3. Land and story
4. Beginnings I : the Late Bronze Age
5. Beginnings II : the Early Iron Age
6. Structures and metaphors
7. Mesha and the naming of names
8. Replicative kingship
9. Local space in a global state
10. Once again, the state
2. Hegemony, polity, identity
3. Land and story
4. Beginnings I : the Late Bronze Age
5. Beginnings II : the Early Iron Age
6. Structures and metaphors
7. Mesha and the naming of names
8. Replicative kingship
9. Local space in a global state
10. Once again, the state