Massalia and Southern Gaul. Cultural Contact, Cooperation and Conflict at the Gulf of Lion (c. 600-49 B.C.)

• Applicant: Dr. Simon Lentzsch
• Subject Area: Ancient History
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 527804022

Throughout antiquity and beyond, southern Gaul was a significant contact zone between the Mediterranean, north-western and central Europe, and the Iberian and Italic peninsulas. Consequently, the region displayed a high level of connectivity and diversity, which was characterised by the manifold interaction of different groups. This constellation produced a complex web of cultural contacts, cooperation and conflicts rivalled by few other regions in the Mediterranean. Massalia, as the most important settlement in the region, played a key role in these encounters. The project examines the history of these entanglements, which is significant for the development of the Mediterranean region, in a wide chronological perspective, on a broad source basis and in engagement with current research on contact zones and processes of 'Mediterraneanization' including cultural, migration, political and economic studies. This will address a substantial desideratum of research on the Western Mediterranean region since an up to date systematic and comprehensive study of these issues is lacking. The project thus expands modern research's understanding of the Greek world beyond its prominent and often treated centres, such as Alexandria, Athens or Sparta and it also pays tribute to the manifold interconnections and interactions of the western Mediterranean world, thereby contributing to an integrated Mediterranean history of the second half of the first millennium BC.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants