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Cyrene’s potential for cereal cultivation and wheat supply in the Hellenistic period: epigraphic evidence
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 October 2025
Abstract
This paper examines Cyrenaica’s capacity for cereal production, focusing on Cyrene’s wheat output supporting the Greek cities. It also explores the region’s favourable agricultural conditions and presents local Hellenistic inscriptions that document cereal cultivation over three centuries. The paper argues that the wheat sent from Cyrene to the Greeks during the Hellenistic period was offered as a donation rather than exported for profit. This argument is supported by three main points: first, the quantities mentioned represent only a quarter, or possibly less, of Cyrene’s annual wheat production; second, a Greek poetic inscription from Cyrene (second or early third century AD) praises the city for donating one hundred ships of grain to aid the Greeks; and, third, literary references describe Cyrenaica and Cyrene as renowned for cereal production, particularly wheat. Literary references, together with epigraphic evidence, also reflect the ongoing demand for wheat among both Greeks and Romans. It concludes that Cyrene was one of the important sources of wheat for these nations, and that it was widely known as a provider of free wheat shipments during times of hardship. It also suggests that Cyrene commemorated the Hellenistic wheat consignment because it was given as a gift.
تناقش هذه الورقة قدرات إقليم كيرينايكي على إنتاج القمح والشعير، مع تركيز خاص على إنتاج مدينة كيريني للقمح ودورها في دعم المدن الإغريقية. كما تُسلط الدراسة الضوء على الظروف الزراعية الملائمة في الإقليم، وتعرض نقوشًا هلينستية محلية توثق زراعة الحبوب وأسعارها على مدى ثلاثة قرون. وتذهب هذه الورقة إلى الاقتراح بأن كميات القمح المُرسلة من كيريني في بداية العصر الهللنستي إلى أماكن مختلفة من العالم الإغريقي، كانت منح ولم تكن صادرات تُباع لأغراض تجارية. ويستند هذا الرأي على ثلاثة مرتكزات رئيسة: أولها أن الكميات المشار إليها في النقش لا تمثل سوى ربع الإنتاج السنوي للقمح لمدينة كيريني وربما أقل من ذلك؛ وثانيها محتوى لنقش شعري إغريقي من مدينة كيريني يعود للقرن الثاني أوالنصف الأول من القرن الثالث الميلادي. إذ يشيد هذا النقش بتقديم مدينة كيريني منح مكونة من مِئة سفينة من الحبوب لإنقاذ الإغريق في وقت سابق غير محدد؛ وثالثها: أن عددًا من المصادر الأدبية تذكر مدينة كيريني والإقليم بأنهما كانا معروفان بإنتاج الحبوب سيما القمح. كما تبين هذه المصادر، إلى جانب بعض النقوش، حاجة الإغريق والرومان المستمرة للقمح. تخلص الدراسة إلى أن مدينة كيريني كانت من أهم مصادر القمح للإغريق والرومان ، وأنها كانت معروفة على نطاق واسع كمزود لشحنات القمح المجانية لهذه الشعوب في أوقات الشدة. وتُظهر الدراسة أيضًا أن سبب تخليد كيريني لشحنة القمح المرسلة في العصر الهلينستي هو كونها قُدِّمت هدية مجانية للإغريق.
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- © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The British Institute for Libyan & Northern African Studies.
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