At the end of the Late Minoan IIIA2 period, the destruction of the "palace" at Knossos, the oldest monumental building compound of the island, marked the end of a political authority which had controlled most of Crete during the Late Minoan II and Late Minoan IIIA periods. Regional centers, once secondary capitals under the Knossian control, subsequently regained a degree of independence. Regional elites exerted their authorities over the land by adopting social instruments and ideological strategies which turned out to be very similar to those used by the previous Knossian power, possibly including the use of Linear B script for bureaucratic purposes.
[1]
Things changed in the eleventh century, with the fall of the great Eastern Mediterranean powers and a resulting period of instability in both the region generally and the island specifically.
[2]
Population and political organization
Firth estimated the Cretan population during Late Minoan IIIA and IIIB periods (1400-1200 BCE) at 110,000 people
[3]
As for political organization, the supreme leader of the state was the king (wanax), presided over the political, economic and religious hierarchy, though possibly lacked military and judicial authority
[4]
[1]: (Borgna 2003, 153-183) Elisabetta Borgna. 2003. ’Regional settlement patterns in Crete at the end of LBA’. SMEA 45: 153-83.
[2]: (Hallager 2010, 157-158) Erik Hallager. 2010. ’Crete’ in The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean, edited by E.H. Cline. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[3]: (Firth 1995, 33-55) R. Firth. 1995. ’Estimating the population of Crete during LM IIIA/B’. Minos 29-30: 33-55.
[4]: (Shelmerdine and Bennet 2008, 292-295) C.W. Shelmerdine and J. Bennet. 2008. ’Mycenaean states. Economy and administration,’ in The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, edited by C.W. Shelmerdine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
| unknown [---] |
| Cretan Broze Age Civilization |
| Final Postpalatial Crete |
| Succeeding: Final Postpalatial Crete (gr_crete_post_palace_2) [None] | |
| Preceding: Monopalatial Crete (gr_crete_mono_palace) [None] |
| quasi-polity |
| Year Range | Postpalatial Crete (gr_crete_post_palace_1) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1300 BCE 1201 BCE) | Crete |
Regional centers, once secondary capitals under the Knossian control, regain a degree of independence and become the seats of political authorities. Kydonia (Chania), in west Crete, seems to have been a centre of significant importance during Late Minoan IIIB (1300-1200 BCE). Tablets written in Linear B script and inscribed locally produced stirrup jars used to transport aromatic oils points to a central administration. [1] [2] [3] There is no evidence, however, to argue that Kydonia was the seat of a central political authority controlling Crete.
[1]: Hallager, E., Vlazakis, M., and Hallager, B. 1992. "New Linear B tablets from Khania," Kadmos 31, 61-87
[2]: Palaima, T. G. 1995. "Ten reasons why KH115 ≠ KN115," Minos 27-28, 261-81
[3]: Haskell, H. W., Jones, R. E., Day, P. M., Killen, J. T. 2011. Transport Stirrup Jars of the Bronze Age Aegean and East Mediterranean (Prehistory Monographs 33), 119-20, 126-27, 131.
The beginning of the period is marked by the destruction of the Knossian palace and its end by wide destructions.
It is very likely that the regional ruling elites were in contact with the powerful dynasties of mainland Greece during the Late Minoan IIIB period. The relation between these groups is unknown.
The violent destruction of the Knossian "palace" at the end of the Late Minoan IIIA2, the longest-lived monumental building compound of the island, mark the end of the political authority which controlled most regions of Crete during the Late Minoan II and Late Minoan IIIA periods. Regional centers, once secondary capitals under the Knossian control, regain a degree of independence. The regional elites exerted their authorities over the land by adopting social instruments and ideological strategies which turned out to be very similar to those used by the previous Knossian power, beginning possibly with the Linear B administration. [1] Crete, to quote Popham "was free, too, of centralized control and it may be assumed that the various geographical regions, or provinces, existed independently under their local rulers." [2]
[1]: Borgna, E. 2003. "Regional settlement patterns, exchange systems and sources of power in Crete at the ends of the Late Bronze Age: establishing a connection," SMEA 45, 158.
[2]: Popham, M. R. 1994. "Late Minoan II to the end of the Bronze Age," in Evely, D., Hughes-Brock, H., and Momigliano, N. (eds), Knossos. A Labyrinth of History. Papers in Honour of Sinclair Hood, London, 90.
Most population spoke Minoan while early Greek was mostly used in administration.
Most population spoke Minoan while early Greek was mostly used in administration.
The population of Knossos, the largest urban centre of the island, dramatically declined after Late Minoan IIIA (1300 BCE). Its population is estimated to 1,000 souls.
[1]
Minoan Crete "a lively and pleasure loving matriarchal society, made wealthy by extensive trade."; "Houses were up to 5 stories high, palaces had plumbing with flush toilets and there was little indication of warfare or social strife on the island and in their colonies."
[2]
[1]: Whitelaw, T. 2004. "Estimating the population of Neopalatial Knossos," in Cadogan, G., Hatzaki, E. and Vasilakis, A. (eds), Knossos: Palace, City, State: Proceedings of the Conference in Herakleion organized by the British School at Athens and the 23rd Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Herakleion, in November 2000, for the Centenary of Sir Arthur Evans’s Excavations at Knossos (BSA Studies 12), London, 147-58.
[2]: (Basilevsky 2016, 25) Basilevsky, Alexander. 2016. Early Ukraine: A Military and Social History to the Mid-19th Century. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Jefferson.
Km2. Crete has an area of 8,336 square kilometres. However, during this period, after the collapse of the Knossian state, it was divided into many small, independent polities. [1] Crete, to quote Popham "was free, too, of centralized control and it may be assumed that the various geographical regions, or provinces, existed independently under their local rulers." [2] Expert input may be needed to suggest a code for the territory of a typical Post-Palatial polity.
[1]: Borgna, E. 2003. "Regional settlement patterns, exchange systems and sources of power in Crete at the ends of the Late Bronze Age: establishing a connection," SMEA 45, 158.
[2]: Popham, M. R. 1994. "Late Minoan II to the end of the Bronze Age," in Evely, D., Hughes-Brock, H., and Momigliano, N. (eds), Knossos. A Labyrinth of History. Papers in Honour of Sinclair Hood, London, 90.
people. Firth estimated the Cretan population during Late Minoan IIIA and IIIB periods (1400-1200 BCE) as 110,000. [1] However, during this period, after the collapse of the Knossian state, it was divided into many small, independent polities. [2] Crete, to quote Popham "was free, too, of centralized control and it may be assumed that the various geographical regions, or provinces, existed independently under their local rulers." [3] Expert input may be needed to suggest a code for the population of a typical Post-Palatial polity.
[1]: Firth, R. 1995."Estimating the population of Crete during LM IIIA/B," Minos 29-30, 33-55.
[2]: Borgna, E. 2003. "Regional settlement patterns, exchange systems and sources of power in Crete at the ends of the Late Bronze Age: establishing a connection," SMEA 45, 158.
[3]: Popham, M. R. 1994. "Late Minoan II to the end of the Bronze Age," in Evely, D., Hughes-Brock, H., and Momigliano, N. (eds), Knossos. A Labyrinth of History. Papers in Honour of Sinclair Hood, London, 90.
1-4 The Knossian state was disintegrated in independent regional entities (quasi-polities) centered upon a large town. [1] . The size of these towns varies from 4 to 54 ha. Some were densely occupied while habitation in others was more dispersed, suggesting a trend toward a ruralization of the urban setting. Data points to a four-tiered hierarchy: the large town is surrounded by villages, hamlets, and farmhouses. The most important centers were Kydonia (Chania), in west Crete and Hagia Triada, in south-central Crete. [2] [3] [4] The reference to a wanax (king) in the inscription painted on the shoulder of some inscribed stirrup jars, produced in the area of west Crete, prompting the speculation for the presence of a "palatial" authority. [5] By the end of Late Minoan IIIB most settlements had suffered destruction or abandonment.
[1]: Driessen, J. and Frankel, D. 2012."Minds and mines: settlement networks and the diachronic use of space on Cyprus and Crete," in Cadogan, G., Iacovou, M., Kopaka, K. and Whitley, J. (eds), Parallel Lives: Ancient Island Societies in Crete and Cyprus (BSA Studies 20), London, 76.
[2]: La Rosa, V. 2010. "Ayia Triada," in Cline, E. H. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC), Oxford, 495-508
[3]: Vlazaki-Andreadaki, M. 2010. "Khania (Kydonia)," in Cline, E. H. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC), Oxford, 518-28
[4]: Kanta, A. 2001. "Cretan refuge settlements: problems and historical implications within the wider context of the eastern Mediterranean towards the end of the Bronze Age," in Karageorgis, V. and Morris, C. E. (eds), Defensive Settlements of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean after c. 1200 B.C., Nicosia, 13-21.
[5]: Andreadaki-Vlazaki, M. and Hallager, E. 2007. "New and unpublished Linear A and Linear B inscriptions from Khania," Proceeding of the Danish Institute at Athens V, 7-22.
In Mycenaean states, the wanax is the head of the religious hierarchy. [1] Like the gods themselves he received offerings (e.g. perfumed oil) but he had not a divine status. He was assisted by a considerable priesthood. [2]
[1]: Shelmerdine, C. W. and Bennet, J. 2008. "12: Mycenaean states. 12A: Economy and administration," in Shelmerdine, C. W. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge, 293.
[2]: Ventris, M. and Chadwick, J. 1973. Documents in Mycenaean Greek, London,128-29.
The lawagetas was the supreme military leader. Officers, called hequetai (followers) accompanied military continents. he lawagetas was the supreme military leader. Officers, called hequetai (followers) accompanied military continents. [1] [2]
[1]: Shelmerdine, C. W. and Bennet, J. 2008. "12: Mycenaean states. 12A: Economy and administration," in Shelmerdine, C. W. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge, 292-95.
[2]: Nikoloudis, S. 2008. "The role of the ra-wa-ke-ta: insights from PY Un718," in Sacconi, A, del Freo, M., Godart, L., and Negri, M. (eds), Colloquium Romanum: Atti del XII Colloquio Internazionale de Micenologia. Roma 20-15 febbraio 2006, vol. 2, Rome, 587-94.
1-4 The only centre which provided evidence for Linear B administration during the Late Minoan IIIB period is Kydonia (Chania). It is very likely that administration was organized as in the Mycenaean states. The supreme leader of the state was the king (wanax). [1] The reference to a wanax (king) in the inscription painted on the shoulder of some inscribed stirrup jars, produced in the area of west Crete, prompting the speculation for the presence of a "palatial" authority. [2] He presided over the political, economic and religious hierarchy. It is not certain thought if he had any military and judicial duty. Ranked second was the lawagetas, a military leader. [3] Below these leaders were the hequetai, followers, who accompanied military contingents and may also performed other functions. Other officials, the so-called collectors, were involved in acquiring and distributing exchange commodities. Among the figures at a lower level were the qasireu who served as overseer of group of workers -the predecessor of the word known from ancient Greek as the word for the king (baseless) - the telestas , officials, the korete and porokorete, mayor and vice-mayor, and scribes. Administration also occurred in the other major regional centers of the period (e.g. Hagia Triada) and probably followed these established during the Monopalatial period (1450-1300 BCE). Data, however, is rather meagre.
[1]: Shelmerdine, C. W. and Bennet, J. 2008. "12: Mycenaean states. 12A: Economy and administration," in Shelmerdine, C. W. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge, 292-95.
[2]: Andreadaki-Vlazaki, M. and Hallager, E. 2007. "New and unpublished Linear A and Linear B inscriptions from Khania," Proceeding of the Danish Institute at Athens V, 7-22.
[3]: Nikoloudis, S. 2008. "The role of the ra-wa-ke-ta: insights from PY Un718," in Sacconi, A, del Freo, M., Godart, L., and Negri, M. (eds), Colloquium Romanum: Atti del XII Colloquio Internazionale de Micenologia. Roma 20-15 febbraio 2006, vol. 2, Rome, 587-94.
In Mycenaean states the wanax is the head of the religious hierarchy. [1] Like the gods themselves he received offerings (e.g. perfumed oil) but he had not a divine status. He was assisted by a considerable priesthood. [2]
[1]: Shelmerdine, C. W. and Bennet, J. 2008. "12: Mycenaean states. 12A: Economy and administration," in Shelmerdine, C. W. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge, 293.
[2]: Ventris, M. and Chadwick, J. 1973. Documents in Mycenaean Greek, London,128-29.
The lawagetas was the supreme military leader in Mycenaean states. Officers, called hequetai (followers) accompanied military continents.
Kydonia is the only Cretan centre which provides evidence for bureaucracy. [1] It very likely that the administration of the local polity was organized in a three-tiered hierarchical system of bureaucratic control: a) the central bureaucracy located in the palace (or adjacent subsidiary structures) at the town, to b) local officials and representatives of Palace residing in the second-order centers scattered in the polity’s districts, down to c) collective groups and individuals of various occupations and social standings in the small settlements within these districts. [2]
[1]: Vlazaki-Andreadaki, M. 2010. "Khania (Kydonia)," in Cline, E. H. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC), Oxford, 518-28.
[2]: Karagianni, A. 2015. "Linear A administration: the communicative aspects of written media and the organization of the Mycenaean Bureaucracy," in Enderwitz, S. and Sauer, R. (eds), Communication and Materiality, Berlin and Boston, 25-60.
he existence of markets in the Aegean did not enjoy scholarly support for many decades, mostly due to the wide and uncritical acceptance of the Polanyian paradigm of ancient economies. Palatial institutions were seen as the only regulators of any economic transaction. Acting as redistributive agents, they were thought to draw upon raw materials and labour from the hinterland in order to produce and distribute specialized artisanal goods. In recent years, however, new perspectives have effectively challenged not only the redistributive role of governing institutions but also the negative attitude towards the existence of market and market-like systems in the Aegean. Once people started looking for them, markets have begun to appear in much earlier chronological horizons, shaping the emergence of state administrative institutions. [1] ( Garraty and Stark 2010). Although there are some constrains in recognizing and understanding markets in prehistoric societies, the market is an economic process which should developed further in Bronze Age Crete.
[1]: see various contributions in Garraty, C. P. and B. L. Stark (eds). 2010. Archaeological Approaches to Market Exchange in Ancient Societies. Boulder, University of Colorado Press.
e.g. the extensive public storerooms at Hagia Triada. [1] [2]
[1]: Privitera, S. 2007. I granai del re. L’immagazzinamento centralizzato dell ferrate a Creta tra il XV e il XIII secolo a.C., Rome,104-13
[2]: Privitera, S. 2014. "Long-term grain storage and political economy in Bronze Age crete: contextualizing Ayia Triada’s silo complexes," American Journal of Archaeology 118, 429-49.
e.g. the ports at Kommos (south-central Crete) and Kydonia (west Crete). Data points to networks of interchange with the Aegean, Mainland Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Sardinia. [1]
[1]: Rutter, J. B. 1999. "Cretan external relations during LM IIIA2-B (ca. 1370-1200 B.C.): A view from the Messara," in Phelps, W., Lolos, Y., and Vichos, Y. (eds), The Point Iria Wreck: Interconnections in the Mediterranean ca. 1200 B. C. Proceedings of the International Conference, Island of Spetses, September 19, 1998, Athens, 139-86; Betancourt, P. P. "Minoan trade," in Shelmerdine, C. W. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge, 219-23.
Written records during this period were found only at Kydonia (Chania). [1] They consists of clay tablets accidentally baked by the fire that destroyed the complex. The tablets, written in Linear B script, record the economic interest of palatial administration. The contain records of agricultural products and animal husbandry.
[1]: Andreadaki-Vlazaki, M. and Hallager, E. 2007. "New and unpublished Linear A and Linear B inscriptions from Khania," Proceeding of the Danish Institute at Athens V, 7-22.
The script use by the central administration is the Linear B. [1] [2] Unlike the other Bronze Age scripts, Linear B has been deciphered; the primary language in the preserved texts is Greek as it was developing in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE.
[1]: Ventris, M. and Chadwick, J. 1973. Documents in Mycenaean Greek, Cambridge
[2]: Palaima, T. G. 2010. "Linear B," in Cline, E. H. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean, Oxford, 356-72.
Written records during this period were found only at Kydonia (Chania). [1] They consists of clay tablets accidentally baked by the fire that destroyed the complex. The tablets, written in Linear B script, record the economic interest of palatial administration. The contain records of agricultural products and animal husbandry.
[1]: Andreadaki-Vlazaki, M. and Hallager, E. 2007. "New and unpublished Linear A and Linear B inscriptions from Khania," Proceeding of the Danish Institute at Athens V, 7-22.
In the Mycenaean world, the year was divided into named months (menos, μήνας in ancient Greek). [1] Two months are attested at Pylos: the pakijanijojo and the powowitojo, the latter interpreted as the sailing month. Months recorded at Knossos are the deukijojo, wodewijo, karaerijo, diwijojo, amakoto, and rapato. The data provided, however, by the preserved texts is not full enough to permit any reconstruction of the calendaric system (s).
[1]: Ventris, M. and Chadwick, J. 1973. Documents in Mycenaean Greek, Cambridge, 303-12.
It has been generally argued that all economic transactions were based on fruitful barter. [1] Recent research, however, suggest that market exchanges also existed in prehistory Aegean. [2] [3]
[1]: e.g. Chadwick, J. 1976. The Mycenaean World, Cambridge, 78.
[2]: Christakis, K. S. 2008. The Politics of the Storage. Storage and Sociopolitical Complexity in Neopalatial Crete (Prehistory Monographs 25), Philadelphia, 138-39
[3]: Parkinson, W., Nakassis, D., and Galaty, M. L. 2013. "Crafts, Specialists, and Markets in Mycenaean Greece: Introduction," American Journal of Archaeology 117, 413-22.
It has been generally argued that all economic transactions were based on fruitful barter. [1] Recent research, however, suggest that market exchanges also existed in prehistory Aegean. [2] [3]
[1]: e.g. Chadwick, J. 1976. The Mycenaean World, Cambridge, 78.
[2]: Christakis, K. S. 2008. The Politics of the Storage. Storage and Sociopolitical Complexity in Neopalatial Crete (Prehistory Monographs 25), Philadelphia, 138-39
[3]: Parkinson, W., Nakassis, D., and Galaty, M. L. 2013. "Crafts, Specialists, and Markets in Mycenaean Greece: Introduction," American Journal of Archaeology 117, 413-22.
It has been generally argued that all economic transactions were based on fruitful barter. [1] Recent research, however, suggest that market exchanges also existed in prehistory Aegean. [2] [3]
[1]: e.g. Chadwick, J. 1976. The Mycenaean World, Cambridge, 78.
[2]: Christakis, K. S. 2008. The Politics of the Storage. Storage and Sociopolitical Complexity in Neopalatial Crete (Prehistory Monographs 25), Philadelphia, 138-39
[3]: Parkinson, W., Nakassis, D., and Galaty, M. L. 2013. "Crafts, Specialists, and Markets in Mycenaean Greece: Introduction," American Journal of Archaeology 117, 413-22.
The evidence for scale armors is extremely scanty; only two scale plates are know from the Aegean and it is not certain if this type of body armor, typical in the Near East, was used in Mycenaean Greece. [1]
[1]: Georganas,I. "Weapons and warfare," in Cline, E. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC), Oxford, 311.
Greaves were made from a thin braze sheet and worn over a legging of linen, leather or felt. [1] It seems, however, that bronze greaves were not widely used and warriors preferred to wore linen or leather leggings. [2]
[1]: Everson, T. 2004. Warfare in Ancient Greece: Arms and Armour from the Heroes of Homer to Alexander the Great, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 22.
[2]: Georganas,I. "Weapons and warfare," in Cline, E. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC), Oxford, 311.
The most common helmet is the so-called boar’s tusk helmet made by a series of small boar’s tusks sewn onto a cup-shaped piece of leather or felt in alternating rows. [1] [2] These helmets were used from ca. 1650 to 1150 BCE. They were depicted on frescoes -a very fine example was found at Thera - seals, and metal vessels. Bronze helmets with a plume knob and two cheek guards that were sewn onto the bowl were also know from the Warrior Graves at Knossos. Helmets were recorded in Linear B tablets. [3]
[1]: Everson, T. 2004. Warfare in Ancient Greece: Arms and Armour from the Heroes of Homer to Alexander the Great, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 5
[2]: Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki, N. 2005. The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Athens, 207. For the online version see http://www.latsis-foundation.org/eng/electronic-library/the-museum-cycle/the-archaeological-museum-of-herakleio.
[3]: Ventris, M. and Chawick, J. 1973. Documents in Mycenaean Greek, Cambridge, 291-381.