Urbanization and Settlement Network as Nodes of Connectivity in Afro-Eurasian Frontier Zones (300 BCE – 300 CE)

We are happy to announce the second international conference hosted by BaSaR.

Click here to see our program and here to see our abstract booklet.

Click here to enter the Webinar (Webinarcode: BaSaR2021).

In this conference, we examine the interrelationships between settlement and urbanism, on the one
hand, and political and economic development, on the other, within frontier zones. Following the work
of Elton (1996) and Parker (2006), we conceptualize frontier regions as broad zones where multiple
boundaries of different types (ecological, political, cultural, religious, etc.) overlap. We explore how the
meeting of difference in frontiers — flexible, fluctuating spaces with access to various cultural and social
spheres — impacts economic processes and the development of urban networks, markets, and exchange.
Urban networks played a critical part in creating the long-distance connections that spanned the
continents, and were in turn shaped by these connections. At the same time, they were also the
products of local political, religious, and economic developments — conditions that were particularly
complex in frontier regions. We hope to explore the interplay of the varied influences that operated at
different scales in their development; and to consider how their characteristics influenced the flows of
goods, people and ideas along the networks that they formed.

The following themes are of particular interest:

Logistical Details:

The conference will be held online on September 23rd and 24th between 14:00 and 19:00 CEST.

Speakers: