The role of loot as motive in ancient warfare is well known, but not always well understood, as it is frequently represented in the abstract. Relatively rarely do we see accountings of the damages, and those accountings we see tend to be boasting by victorious commanders and armies.
There were some rules or understandings. It was generally understood you were not to pillage your own or allied territory, and if you captured the enemy’s loot it was supposed to be returned to the victims. Condemnation was common, but also tended to be tied to the looting of temples as the most despicable act. In other cases, troops broke discipline in their eagerness for loot despite the efforts of the commanding officer. Lastly, the victims of looted farms are often alleged to be pushed into military or mercenary service to make ends meet.
This panel aims to bring together a set of perspectives on how states and generals imposed limits (whether real or theoretical) to wartime looting and what recompense was made for victims of wartime plunder.
For this reason, we encourage proposals that highlight the different perspectives with regard to the topic of looting in the Classical Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds. Some lines of research may include:
1. Slavery as a result of wartime plunder, sales contracts of such slaves and a possibility of regaining status.
2. Restrictions of looting aimed at soldiers in the perspective of military discipline.
3. Bilateral agreements as a way to protect goods and people.
4. The legal status of looted goods and slaves.
5. Personal stories and tragedies in literary and epigraphic sources.
This panel will be part of the Warfare in the Ancient World International Conference (WAWIC) 2025, which will be held in-person in Duluth (MN) for North American participants and simultaneously in Münster, Germany for European participants. These in-person gatherings will be connected via Zoom for several panels.
This panel in particular will have an in-person session at each location.
Individual presentations should be in English and no longer than 20 minutes; online presentations are also possible. However, participation in presence is desirable if there are no special personal reasons preventing it.
Depending on the funding, participants in Münster (especially doctoral students) will ideally have part of their travel expenses reimbursed.
The contributions are planned to be published in a journal or an edited volume. Further details will be provided after the conference.
For the contributions, please send an abstract of 300 words and a brief bio to Aaron Beek (alb280@case.edu), Joshua Hall (camitlans@gmail.com), and Anna Tarwacka (a.tarwacka@uksw.edu.pl) BEFORE January 10th 2025. An indication of your preferred venue (Duluth, Münster, or remote) would be appreciated. For general information about the conference contact Dr. Lennart Gilhaus (lgilhaus@uni-bonn.de).