Series | Antiquity Studies
Edited book | Wine Cultures
Chapter | Wine in Achaemenid Arachosia
Wine in Achaemenid Arachosia
An Imperial Network of Regional Wines
Abstract
This essay investigates the possible beginnings of viniculture in Arachosia, an Achaemenid satrapy in the southeastern end of the empire. It explores the idea of how in creating a consistent Achaemenid administrative system across the empire, new regional centres had to rapidly adopt practices that soon evolved to become the standard. One such practice was the use of wine for social, economic, and religious reasons as attested by various Achaemenid administrative texts from around the empire. I argue that it is within this context that we should understand the initiation or scaling up of viniculture around the empire including, and especially in, Arachosia. Arguably, the integration of Arachosia into the imperial network transforms the region into a holistic vinicultural landscape as seen through a shift in ceramics, the presence of certain building types, increased investment in irrigation at the site of Old Kandahar and also, most importantly, the mention of Arachosian wine in administrative texts.
Submitted: Nov. 7, 2023 | Accepted: Feb. 26, 2024 | Published Oct. 8, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Achaemenid • Viniculture • Viticulture • Ancient wine • Arachosia • Afghanistan • Iranian Plateau
Copyright © 2024 Prabhjeet K. Johal. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-816-3/007
