To rise from the ashes : frontiers in the age of civil wars
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This dissertation seeks to answer how and why frontiers of empires remained an integral part of empire-building and maintenance during periods of civil wars. In doing so, it will also address the following questions: How different were frontier policies in these periods from those during times of imperial stability? How did rival factions exploit frontiers, and how did these acts of exploitation allow these factions to further their political struggles in the interior? Why were minority groups often the target of exploitation? Did these minority peoples form some ethnic consciousness (ethnogenesis), or did regionalization and profession serve as dominant forces of group cohesion instead? Finally, why was the mismanagement of frontier affairs so dangerous for these potential claimants to the throne? Using primary literary sources and archaeological evidence, this dissertation examines the military, political, and economic aspects of frontiers in the age of civil wars to fully understand the centrality of frontiers in the power of empires and emperors. Frontiers of the late Eastern Han Empire and the late Roman Empire underwent significant changes during civil wars when unified imperial authority over the empires had broken down, and rival claimants to the throne were vying to establish dynastic control over the lands. By comparing these periods of civil disorder, it is possible to look past the traditional narratives that focus heavily on political developments at the imperial center and instead understand how frontiers played a vital role in the deconstruction and reconstruction of imperial power. Even during civil wars, there was a direct symbiotic relationship between the organization of frontiers and imperial stability at the core of empires. In these times of civil conflict, imperial authority and immediate control over the lands degenerated as rival claimants to power fought for control over the empire. For these rival powers, the frontiers became sources of opportunity and threats to their political fortunes. Inspired by existing Western scholarship on the concept of ethnogenesis and regionalism, this dissertation will also examine how the movement of peoples from different parts of both empires gradually created ethnic identification, which was closely linked to their locale and their military service. As these people settled at the frontiers (voluntarily or coerced), they were exploited for their labor and military service. As a result, they took on new markers of identity.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Place | California |
| Place | [Stanford, California] |
| Publisher | [Stanford University] |
| Copyright date | 2023; ©2023 |
| Publication date | 2023; 2023 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Poh, Gang Hao |
|---|---|
| Degree supervisor | Lewis, Mark |
| Thesis advisor | Lewis, Mark |
| Thesis advisor | Leidwanger, Justin |
| Thesis advisor | Potter, D. S. (David Stone), 1957- |
| Thesis advisor | Sommer, Matthew Harvey, 1961- |
| Degree committee member | Leidwanger, Justin |
| Degree committee member | Potter, D. S. (David Stone), 1957- |
| Degree committee member | Sommer, Matthew Harvey, 1961- |
| Associated with | Stanford University, School of Humanities and Sciences |
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of History |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|---|
| Genre | Text |
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Gang Hao Poh. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of History. |
| Thesis | Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2023. |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/gy871zh6018 |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2023 by Gang Hao Poh
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
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