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This article initially presents a reworking of data in a Venetian census of 1700 for the Peloponnese, a region in southern Greece. The analysis is then compared with one based on another Venetian document dated either to 1702 or 1711, and a mean family size of about 4.0 is confirmed. The calculations for 1700 are refined to produce calculations of mean family size for urban and rural communities (3.60 and 4.17, respectively). The results are then discussed in terms of data from the early nineteenth century for the same region. Conclusions are drawn that support the case for a small mean family size in southern Europe in the eighteenth century and question the continued use of multipliers as high as 5.0 in converting Ottoman fiscal data into population numbers.

Tibor Živković Η χρονολογία της δημιουργίας του θέματος ΠελοποννήσουΣτην ιστορική επιστήμη υπάρχει, για τη δημιουργία του θέματος Πελοποννήσου, η κυρίαρχη άποψη ότι προέκυψε μεταξύ των ετών 783 και 812, είτε ως διαίρεση του θέματος Ελλάδος είτε ανεξάρτητα από αυτό. Στην παρούσα μελέτη, προσπαθήσαμε να λύσουμε και τα δύο αυτά ζητήματα, της χρονολόγησης και του τρόπου δημιουργίας του θέματος Πελοποννήσου. Το συμπέρασμα μας είναι ότι το θέμα Πελοποννήσου προέκυψε από την διαίρεση του θέματος Ελλάδος. Από την άλλη πλευρά, θεωρήσαμε την χρονολόγηση του στο πλαίσιο των διπλωματικών σχέσεων του Βυζαντίου προς τη Δύση (τους Φράγκους) κατά τη βασιλεία της αυτοκράτειρας Ειρήνης. Εξετάζοντας τις πηγές (Χρονικόν της Μονεμβασίας, Σχόλια του Αρέθα και De Administrando Imperio), συμπεράναμε ότι το θέμα. Πελοποννήσου υπήρχε ήδη όταν ανέβηκε στο θρόνο ο Νικηφόρος Α' (802). Στα πλαίσια της πολιτικής της Ειρήνης προς τους Φράγκους στην Ιταλία, συμπεράναμε ότι η εκστρατεία του λογοθέτη Σταυρακίου το 783 ήταν η αρχή της πραγματοποίησης ενός ευρύτερου σχεδίου. Περαιτέρω όξυνση των βυζαντινο-φραγκικών σχέσεων, που κορυφώθηκε με την επίθεση του Καρόλου του Μεγάλου εναντίον του Benevento το 786, οδήγησε στην εκστρατεία του ευνούχου Ιωάννη το 788/89 στην Ιταλία. Ως εκ τούτου, συμπεραίνουμε ότι το θέμα Πελοποννήσου δημιουργήθηκε μεταξύ των ετών 784 και 788, στα πλαίσια των προετοιμασιών για τον πόλεμο με τους Φράγκους, πιο συγκεκριμένα μεταξύ του χειμώνα 786 και του καλοκαιριού 788. ; Tibor Živković Η χρονολογία της δημιουργίας του θέματος ΠελοποννήσουΣτην ιστορική επιστήμη υπάρχει, για τη δημιουργία του θέματος Πελοποννήσου, η κυρίαρχη άποψη ότι προέκυψε μεταξύ των ετών 783 και 812, είτε ως διαίρεση του θέματος Ελλάδος είτε ανεξάρτητα από αυτό. Στην παρούσα μελέτη, προσπαθήσαμε να λύσουμε και τα δύο αυτά ζητήματα, της χρονολόγησης και του τρόπου δημιουργίας του θέματος Πελοποννήσου. Το συμπέρασμα μας είναι ότι το θέμα Πελοποννήσου προέκυψε από την διαίρεση του θέματος Ελλάδος. Από την άλλη πλευρά, θεωρήσαμε την χρονολόγηση του στο πλαίσιο των διπλωματικών σχέσεων του Βυζαντίου προς τη Δύση (τους Φράγκους) κατά τη βασιλεία της αυτοκράτειρας Ειρήνης. Εξετάζοντας τις πηγές (Χρονικόν της Μονεμβασίας, Σχόλια του Αρέθα και De Administrando Imperio), συμπεράναμε ότι το θέμα. Πελοποννήσου υπήρχε ήδη όταν ανέβηκε στο θρόνο ο Νικηφόρος Α' (802). Στα πλαίσια της πολιτικής της Ειρήνης προς τους Φράγκους στην Ιταλία, συμπεράναμε ότι η εκστρατεία του λογοθέτη Σταυρακίου το 783 ήταν η αρχή της πραγματοποίησης ενός ευρύτερου σχεδίου. Περαιτέρω όξυνση των βυζαντινο-φραγκικών σχέσεων, που κορυφώθηκε με την επίθεση του Καρόλου του Μεγάλου εναντίον του Benevento το 786, οδήγησε στην εκστρατεία του ευνούχου Ιωάννη το 788/89 στην Ιταλία. Ως εκ τούτου, συμπεραίνουμε ότι το θέμα Πελοποννήσου δημιουργήθηκε μεταξύ των ετών 784 και 788, στα πλαίσια των προετοιμασιών για τον πόλεμο με τους Φράγκους, πιο συγκεκριμένα μεταξύ του χειμώνα 786 και του καλοκαιριού 788.

Unequal spatial distribution of economic activity within countries continues to be important despite the significant progress of the world economy during the second half of this century. Interest in spatial processes and inequalities has recently been revived by the influential work of Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1991, 1992, 1995) and others on the trends of convergence or divergence across countries or regions, by the theoretical work of Krugman (1991) on geography and increasing returns, and by the work of Matsuyama (1995a,b) on cumulative processes in models of monopolistic competition. The recent literature is concerned with balanced development and has important implications for regional or development policies. Noteworthy in this context is the argument advanced by Kaldor (1970), namely that unequal regional development within a given country poses more serious intellectual challenges for policy than unequal development internationally. Several studies suggest that the existence of selective tendencies, convergence clubs as in Quah (1996), and asymmetric shocks in various economies have led to the persistence and exacerbation of spatial inequalities within the European Union.

This paper examines the political 'system', behaviour and attitudes of Christian landed elites in the Ottoman Peloponnese in the decades preceding the Greek Revolution of 1821. Particular attention is given to the relationship between these important local power-holders and the Filiki Etairia (Society of Friends), the secret organization that set the revolution in motion. Questions raised by earlier scholars concerning the motivations which led the notables to join this venture are reconsidered here in light of the aims disclosed in previous separatist plots and a closer reading of the interactions between the notables and the Etairia leadership. These help to indicate what the proposed revolution meant to those involved from a standpoint of opportunities and risks, as well as the assumptions contained in contemporary elite notions of sovereignty.

Research on ancient Greek rural settlement and agricultural economies often emphasises political agency as a driving force behind landscape change, with comparatively less attention directed to the potential effects of climate. This study analyses climate variability and the spatial configuration of land use in the north-eastern Peloponnese during the Late Hellenistic and Roman (c. 150 BC-AD 300) periods. A synthesis of archaeological field survey data combined with new palaeoclimatological data provides novel insight into how changing climate influenced land use. The authors argue that although climatic variability alone did not drive socio-economic change, drying conditions may have influenced the relocation of agricultural production.

The Peloponnese, a province of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries, was divided into three distinct political entities after 1204: the Frankish Principality of Achaia, the Venetian colonies of Modon and Coron, and the Byzantine lands in the southeast. The number and size of cities in the Peloponnese during the 11th and 12th centuries expanded, and the establishment of the new political entities of the 13th century did not hinder the development of its urban centers. New urban centers appeared, and the dynamics of the old urban centers witnessed a major shift. The focus of this paper is on port towns, since the majority of the available data derive from them, and aims to investigate the economic centrality of the port towns in the Peloponnese in the context of their environs, economic activities, and their position in the eastern Mediterranean exchange system. The theoretical framework is based on concepts of network theory, centrality, and economic complexity, as well as on a thorough evaluation of the material and textual evidence. In doing so, the economic profile of each central place is reconstructed, as well as a comparison between them.

The Peloponnese, a province of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries, was divided into three distinct political entities after 1204: the Frankish Principality of Achaia, the Venetian colonies of Modon and Coron, and the Byzantine lands in the southeast. The number and size of cities in the Peloponnese during the 11th and 12th centuries expanded, and the establishment of the new political entities of the 13th century did not hinder the development of its urban centers. New urban centers appeared, and the dynamics of the old urban centers witnessed a major shift. The focus of this paper is on port towns, since the majority of the available data derive from them, and aims to investigate the economic centrality of the port towns in the Peloponnese in the context of their environs, economic activities, and their position in the eastern Mediterranean exchange system. The theoretical framework is based on concepts of network theory, centrality, and economic complexity, as well as on a thorough evaluation of the material and textual evidence. In doing so, the economic profile of each central place is reconstructed, as well as a comparison between them.

This thesis will contend that Polybius' stress on Achaean unity was related to his need to contrast how tyche and anacyclosis, the two vital supernatural forces that he believed influenced historical events, had influenced the Achaean system of polity detrimentally. Examining the rationale behind Aetolian intervention in the Peloponnese during the Hellenistic period, it will contend that the Aetolians and their allies in Elis and Sparta were engaged in a struggle for control over the Peloponnese against the Macedonians and their Arcadian allies, a situation the Romans exploited. During the Second Macedonian War Polybius presents the Achaean league and Rome acting as equals; this was related to his desire to show the eventual decline in Greece that allowed the Romans to gain control. In reality Flamininus exploited Megalopolitan fears over Aetolian and Spartan interests to ensure the Peloponnese remained stable during the Aetolian/Syrian War. Afterwards Polybius took the question of the Spartan exiles, a relatively unimportant question, and presented its resolution as the decisive turning point in the relationship between Rome and the Achaean league, Callicrates' speech in front of the senate marking the onset of the final stage of anacyclosis in Achaean democracy. This process continued in his portrayal of later events; Polybius was detained by the Romans because of his sympathy for Perseus during the Third Macedonian War; however he blamed Callicrates because at this point he wished to present the corruption and decline that was occurring in the Achaean league. This process ended with the destruction of Corinth in 146BC, where Polybius emphasises the madness and irrationality of the Achaean mob and leadership. This was to provide his readers with the consolation that their society would emerge renewed and strengthened at a time that the Roman Republic began its eventual decline through the resumption of anacyclosis.

Within mainland Greek societies, the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age is characterised as having seen considerable social, political, economic and cultural transformations leading to the emergence of palaces. Yet, being the locus of elites, palaces are unlikely to inform us on the way these changes affected the full spectrum of Mainland societies. To achieve this, we turn here to non-palatial dwellings that are increasingly considered a fruitful domain of investigation for exploring broad societal change. In this paper we analyse a sample of 149 domestic buildings, to assess whether social change happening in the Peloponnese at the transition between MH and LH influenced the layout of houses. The investigation reveals macro-trends related to the gradual disappearance of apsidal buildings and the growth of complexity in domestic buildings. This latter aspect seems to be geographically inflected and potentially connected to the unfolding of the trajectory of the Mycenaean palaces.

This article explores questions surrounding the motivations of the diverse group of actors who took part in the Greek Revolution. Attention is directed especially towards conditions in the Peloponnese and the actions of local political and military elites. The insights gained from this analysis are further used to consider the extent to which the revolution may be compared, from a standpoint of precipitating causes, social forces and international contingencies, with the other great upheavals associated with the Age of Revolution.