Minorities at the Edge of the Empires

How do borders create minorities? How are minorities used to construct and defend these borders? What is their role in keeping these borders permeable in order to secure trade and communication with the other side? The studies focus mainly on Antiquity and deal with methodological questions regarding our understanding of borders and minorities. The interdisciplinary character of the contents fosters cross-fertilization between different fields. Several concepts are at play in the present book, none of which are obvious enough to encapsulate them in short, dictionary-like definitions. The investigators have to face the permanent task of finely balancing them to the historical context, socio-economic environment, ethnicity, belief system and material culture. Terms like „minority“, „periphery“, „identity“ or „border“ will play tricks and can be hard to tame. Details at https://www.parthenon-verlag.eu/product/minorities-at-the-edge-of-the-empires-proceedings-of-the-conference-held-in-deva-1st-8th-september-2019/