City states in classical antiquity and medieval Italy

the long version

Athens and Rome, Florence and Venice--the best known city-states in European history--have given Western culture a wealthy inheritance. Many of our basic notions about the nature and organization of towns come from realities born in antiquity and brought to fruition in the Middle Ages. While ancient city-states and medieval "communes" have had great importance for modern culture, much about the history of these institutions is still paradoxical and difficult to understand. The contributors to City-States in Classical Antiquity and Medieval Italy offer valuable insights into these problems. This volume presents a parallel reading of the history and analysis of the development, structures, and conflicts of both sets of cities, using insights gained from one to illuminate the other. This comprehensive yet suggestive book offers innovative answers to familiar questions, as in the articles of David Whitehead and Erich Gruen on the nature and power of the citizen body. City-States also breaks new ground in its persuasive documentation of the ways in which seemingly disparate disciplines may profitably share methods and data.