Description
“The Eurasian Comparandum: rules and regulations of associations in ancient India and early medieval China” A central issue in the study of ancient associations is the rules and regulations they created in order to give themselves organisational existence and achieve their objectives. Numerous studies have dealt with either 'Greek' or 'Roman' associations, the geographical and linguistic divide between Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West, however, rendering any attempt at a synthesis on the matter, or even a comparative study, difficult, to say the least. That being said, it appears that 'il fenomeno associativo' by tacit assumption comprises the entire Mediterranean as an area of potential study — causality, interaction, and a common chronological framework being the fundamental premises. However, associations are not a phenomenon restricted in time and space to Greco- Roman Antiquity. In fact, remarkably similar organisations are attested along one of the major Eurasian arteries, that is, from ancient India as early as the 1st century BCE onwards, up through Gandhara and the Tarim Basin of the 1st–3rd centuries CE, reaching westernmost China from as early as the 4th century CE. Accordingly, even a superficial survey of similarities and differences between the rules and regulations of Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese associations is of interest, as it is bound to generate insights into institutional parallels and divergences. Undeniably, this is a huge field of study, but by focusing narrowly on the association- phenomenon in its different guises, it might be possible to sketch an outline of the institutional characteristics and development of this kind of organisation in early Eurasia. First and foremost, though, this paper is designed to pose questions, not answer them, and this modest aim will be achieved through contrasting the statutes of Greek and Roman associations with those of their more or less contemporary Indian and later Chinese counterparts, the main focus of this brief comparative analysis being the different kinds of documents attesting rules, values and their enforcement.| Period | 22 May 2014 → 23 May 2014 |
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| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Athen, DenmarkShow on map |