Patterns of Migration in the Eastern Mediterranean c. 400 BCE - c. 100 CE | Christian A. Thomsen

October 5, 2023
This paper explores the evidence of funerary markers left behind by the non-citizen populations of two major population centers and trade hubs, Athens and Rhodes, as evidence for the movement and permanent resettlement of people from across the eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
A first section discusses the methodological challenges involved in studying funerary epigraphy in bulk and potential biases and distortions in the material. Other local epigraphic dossiers, it is argued, such as ephebic lists and subscription lists provide points of comparison that allow us to check for distortions as does comparison between the Athenian and Rhodian material.
The second section analyzes the Athenian and Rhodian data sets of funerary markers and compares results with existing research based on funerary markers. Migration, it is argued, was mainly regional with neighboring poleis accounting for a significant share of settled migrants. For Athens and Rhodes his trend is balanced by the presence of large contingents of migrants from other major trade hubs in the Mediterranean suggesting that migration followed existing trade routes. In addition, it is argued, political factors such as alliances and imagined kinship can be isolated as contributing to increased migration.