Maritime Connections and their Influence on the Ancient Sea Trade - Nautical Simulations as Basis for Historical Enquiries

该项目旨在将古代世界的海上联系作为一个研究领域进行量化分析，从而提供一个专注于开发新方法的新视角。主要研究海上贸易领域，以及海上贸易在古代欧洲产生的准全球化现象。为了促进对这一问题的研究，将进行古代海上贸易的模拟，并将开发一种方法，用于计算a)海上贸易路线的路线和能力，b)估计参与海上贸易的人进行的古代经济计算的经验基础。由于这些计算的基础数据和结果都将以数字方式保存，并且由于模拟将在“DIMAG -数字交互式海事历史地图集”（数字交互式海事历史地图集）的框架内以视觉方式呈现，其他学者将受益于科学和学术上合理的历史地理信息系统（GIS）作为进一步研究的操作工具。这项研究，由此产生的计算，以及用于图形化描述它们的数字基础设施，可以并且将被应用于经济史以外的其他研究领域，例如，通过海上路线进行的通信和人员或思想的转移。第一个项目阶段将重点关注罗马帝国，包括学术研究和开发数字海洋地图集，接下来的第二和第三阶段将扩展地理和时间上的分析，即通过包括额外的海洋空间（海景）和包括古代历史上的其他历史时期。因此，为本研究项目开发的方法的可转移性和适用性将在其他历史研究领域得到证明。

The project intends to establish quantifying analyses into maritime connections of the ancient world as a field of research, thus providing a fresh perspective focused on the development of new methodologies. It focuses on the field of maritime trade and the quasi-globalising phenomena that this trade caused to appear in ancient Europe. In order to facilitate research on this subject, the simulation of ancient maritime trade will be undertaken and a methodology will be developed for calculating a) courses and capacities for maritime trade routes and, b) for estimating the empirical basis for ancient economic calculations undertaken by persons involved in maritime trade. As both the underlying data and the results of these calculations will be digitally preserved and since the simulations will be visually presented within the framework of “DIMAG – Digitaler Interaktiver Maritimer Atlas zur Geschichte” (Digital Interactive Maritime Atlas of History), other scholars will benefit from a scientifically and academically sound historical-geographic information system (GIS) as an operational tool for further research. This research, the resultant calculations, and the digital infrastructure for graphically depicting them, can and will then be applied to additional fields of enquiry beyond that of economic history, such as, e.g., communication and the transfer of persons or ideas by way of maritime routes. Whereas the first project phase will focus on the Roman Empire, both in terms of scholarly research and of developing the digital maritime atlas, the following second and third phases will expand the analysis both geographically and chronologically, i.e. by including additional maritime spaces (seascapes) and by including other historical periods in ancient history. Thus, the transferability and applicability of methods developed for and by this research project will be demonstrated for other fields of historical research.