brigandage
brigandage(Gk. lēsteia, Lat. latrocinium), the unlawful use of personal violence to maraud by land, was not condemned wholesale by the Classical Greeks. A carry-over from pre-state times, it remained a respectable occupation among some communities (Thucydides 1. 5). In the 3rd cent. bc central Greece was dominated by the Aetolians, whose confederacy (see federal states) protected, indeed quasi-institutionalized, their traditional way of life as bandits and pirates. As with Aetolia, brigandage was particularly prevalent in geographically more marginal zones, especially uplands, over which even the ancient empires exercised only nominal control (in the heart of the Persian empire note the Uxii, Arrian Anabasis 3. 17. 1; Isauria, in SE Asia Minor, is the classic Roman case), and where pastoral mobility (see nomads) facilitated illegal behaviour. With the Roman state's claim to the monopoly...
[The entire page is 334 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
