This dissertation studies the diplomatic communication between the Byzantine Empire and the West during the last century of the empire’s life from 1354 to 1453. The first chapter deals with ambassadorial travel to the West, studying land and sea routes, the season of travel, its speed and duration and the choice of vessel for the transportation of ambassadors to western destinations. The second chapter analyses diplomatic missions to the West, examining both the embassies themselves and the people involved in them, in an effort to create the profile of the late Byzantine imperial ambassador to the West. The third chapter examines specific diplomatic practices focusing both on the different characteristics of each emperor’s reign, and on the late Palaiologan period as a whole. These three chapters are accompanied three Appendices comprised of three main databases that list the embassies of the period, the journeys of the ambassadors and the ambassadors themselves, and a series of tables and charts that further facilitate reading and comprehending the results of this study. Through my research into these aspects of late Palaiologan diplomatic practice, I aim to demonstrate that the late Palaiologoi combined traditional diplomacy and innovative methods, such as their personal involvement in embassies to the West, which reflect the dynamism of the late empire.

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With the broader aim of reconstructing long-term resource use and ecological history for better policy making in times of environmental change, this study is an attempt to decode the mutual effects of human subsistence practices, climate and socio-cultural organization in Sardinia between 4000 and 1900 BC. Was economy changing due to climate change? Was the environment changing due to economic practices? And how were economic practices and socio-cultural factors interacting? The answer is complex, and some convergence of complex systems theory, historical ecology and agency supports this. Diet, at the interface of all of these as fulfilling biological needs constrained by available resources, while being inextricably affected by ethnicity, age, class, gender roles, varies according to unceasingly changing variables. Stable isotopic analyses of human bone tissues were used to build a quantitative dataset, and then integrate this with all the other proxies. The use of bone apatite besides collagen enhanced the dietary reconstruction and the contextual production of paleoclimatic data. The application of correction methods to ensure that dietary signature is distinguished from environmental noise enhanced inter-site comparability, making it possible to outline broad trends over time. The results confirm the negligible role of seafood already documented in western Mediterranean late prehistoric groups. The long-held opinion that local Copper Age and especially Early Bronze Age societies relied more on herding than the Neolithic ones is not supported by the data: contribution of plant foods actually increased. Certainly the data do not indicate any heavier reliance on meat or milk and dairy. Considering the limited data from zooarchaology, material culture and landscape archaeology, the possible economic intensification could more likely be related to changes in power relations, gender roles and their construction through symbolically charged material culture. The two dry climatic events detected through δ18O values in accordance with previous independent studies seem to have had a role in triggering change, and such change followed specific routes based on the particular historical milieu.

The Etruscan civilization was rich in local and interregional trade. Its exchange networks were vital in establishing relationships with other societies, importing exotic materials and goods, as well as disseminating and assimilating information. However, there is little understanding of the participation of smaller inland settlements in the act of exchange. This research answers questions pertaining to the purpose of trade within these self-sustaining communities, the reliability of identifying geographic locations of the clay used in ancient ceramics through the use of non-destructive X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry without sampling current regional clay sources, and the materiality of the ceramics being exchanged in order to establish major forms of production for each settlement. The analyses of trace elements contained within the ceramic materials previously excavated from two remote Etruscan sites (La Piana and Cetamura) can provide a greater understanding of both the trade practices of the Etruscan culture and the reliability of the sourcing methods. Over 100 ceramics ranging from storage containers, bricks and roofing tiles, amphorae, loom weights, and tableware (including red and black gloss) from Cetamura and La Piana were selected to represent a sample base for local and non-local crafted ceramics. The artifacts were analyzed non-destructively using a Bruker Tracer III-SD portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF), which has been shown to be highly successful in other archaeological studies. Six trace elements (rubidium, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, niobium and thorium) of each artifact were recorded and analyzed using principal component analysis to create a comparable data set. The results confirm that while these Etruscan settlements were self-sustaining, they were still participating in long-distance exchanges.

<p>Hazor’s role in an international Late Bronze Age context has long been indicated but never thoroughly investigated. This role, I believe, was more crucial than previously stressed. My assumption is based on the very large size of this flourishing city which, according to documents, possessed ancient traditions of diplomatic connections and trade with Mesopotamia in the Middle Bronze Age. Its strategic position along the most important N-S and E-W main trade routes, which connected Egypt with Syria-Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean Sea with the city and beyond, promoted contacts. Hazor was a city-state in Canaan, a province under Egyptian domination and exploitation during this period, a position that also influenced the city’s international relations.</p><p>Methodologically the thesis examines areas of the earlier and the renewed excavations at Hazor, with the aim of discussing the city’s interregional relations and cultural belonging based on external influences in architectural structures (mainly temples), imported pottery and artistic expressions in small finds, supported by written evidence. Cultic influences are also considered.</p><p>Various origin and find contexts of the imported and culturally influenced material can be recognized, which imply three concepts in the field of interaction studies found within the framework of a modified World Systems Theory and also according to C. Renfrew’s Peer Polity Interaction model:</p><p>1) The northern influenced material at Hazor should be understood in the context of cultural identity. It continues from earlier periods and is maintained through external trade and the regional interaction between Canaanite city-states in the north, resulting in certain cultural homogeneity.</p><p>2) A core-periphery approach is used to explain the special unequal relation between Canaan and Egypt, in which Hazor might have possessed an integrating semi-peripheral role, a kind of diplomatic position between Egypt and its northern enemies. The city’s loyalty to Egypt is hinted at in documents and in the increasing evidences of emulation in elite contexts appearing on the site.</p><p>3) A model of ‘interregional interaction networks’ describes the organization of the trade which provided certain consumers at Hazor with the Aegean and Cypriote pottery and its desirable content. The cargo of the Ulu Burun and Cape Gelidonya ships and documents show that luxury items were transited from afar through Canaan. Such long-distance trade / exchange require professional traders that established networks along the main trade routes. The thesis suggests that Hazor possessed a node position in such a network.</p><p>Keywords: Hazor, Canaan, Eastern Mediterranean, Late Bronze Age, contacts, trade, temple architecture, Mycenaean pottery, Cypriote pottery, interregional interaction networks, emulation, peer polity interaction, centre-periphery approach.</p>

Located approximately in the middle of the central Mediterranean channel, the Maltese Archipelago was touched by the historical events that effected the political, economic and cultural environment of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The islands were close to the major maritime routes throughout history and they were often on the border between clashing military, political, religious, and cultural entities. For these reasons, the islands were presumed to have been strategically and economically important, and, thus, frequented by ships. An underwater archaeological survey around the archipelago revealed the scarcity of submerged cultural remains, especially pertaining to shipping and navigation. Preliminary findings elucidate a story that contrasts with the picture presented by modern history and historiography. In this sense, a comparison of the underwater archaeological data with the information gathered through a detailed study of Maltese maritime history clearly shows that the islands were attributed an exaggerated importance in historical texts, due to political and religious trends that are rooted in the period during which the islands were under the control of the Order of Saint John. An objective investigation of the historical and archaeological material provides a more balanced picture, and places the islands in a Mediterranean-wide historical framework from the first colonization of the archipelago eight thousands years ago to the twentieth century.

El estudio de los niveles y composición del material particulado atmosférico (PM) medido simultáneamente en diferentes ambientes a escala regional se llevó a cabo en la cuenca del Mediterráneo Occidental con el fin de entender las fuentes y patrones de transformación y transporte de aerosoles en esta zona. Para esto, la medida de niveles y caracterización química de PM10, PM2.5 y PM1 se llevó a cabo en tres estaciones de monitoreo: Montsec (MSC, fondo continental, 1570 msnm), Montseny (MSY, fondo regional, 720 msnm) y Barcelona (BCN, fondo urbano, 68 msnm). Además, se midieron niveles de número de partículas (N) y carbono negro (BC) en BCN. Durante el invierno, la frecuente estabilidad atmosférica induce el estancamiento de masas de aire produciendo importantes episodios de contaminación en BCN. Sin embargo, MSY y, más frecuentemente MSC, quedan aislados de la contaminación regional. En determinados escenarios, el desarrollo de la capa límite y las brisas resultan en el transporte de masas de aire contaminadas a zonas rurales, aumentando notablemente los niveles de PM en función de la altitud y la distancia a las zonas fuente. Durante el verano, la circulación de brisas favorece la dispersión, mezcla y envejecimiento de contaminantes a escala regional y la reducción de las diferencias entre BCN, MSY y MSC. Se midieron niveles similares de algunos componentes (materia orgánica, sulfato) a escala regional. Los niveles de materia mineral aumentan en verano por una resuspensión favorecida y una mayor frecuencia de intrusiones africanas, más significativamente en el MSC, dado su impacto en altura. La mayor contribución al PM10 en BCN se debe principalmente al tráfico (50% del PM10), resultante de las emisiones del tráfico primarias, nitrato y aerosoles secundarios envejecidos. La materia mineral se origina por resuspensión del polvo de carretera por vehículos pero también resuspensión por viento y obras. La contribución regional en BCN (25%) es principalmente materia mineral, nitrato y sulfato amónico. La variabilidad horaria de los diferentes parámetros de medida de aerosoles en BCN (N, BC, PM10, PM2.5 y PM1) está muy marcada por emisiones de tráfico y meteorología (especialmente brisas). Sin embargo, algunos parámetros no se rigen solamente por emisiones directas del tráfico, como PM2.5-10 (resuspensión) y N (emisiones de partículas ultrafinas y procesos de nucleación fotoquímica). La influencia de las emisiones del tráfico en los niveles de partículas finas en BCN se refleja en los niveles anuales de PM1, que aumentan de 2003 a 2007 relacionados con un aumento progresivo del tráfico y la flota diesel en BCN. Sin embargo se observó una tendencia decreciente en las fracciones gruesas en BCN y MSY, que se atribuye a la meteorología y a cambios en emisiones industriales. El estudio simultáneo de diferentes parámetros ha mostrado que el control de PM1 (modos de nucleación y acumulación) y/o BC (procesos de combustión), y PM10, (combustión y aerosoles generados mecánicamente) puede ser una estrategia mejor que la combinación de PM2.5 y PM10 como estándares de medida de calidad del aire. La medida en paralelo de aerosoles en fondos urbano, regional y continental ha sido una estrategia útil para entender la fenomenología de aerosoles en la cuenca del Mediterráneo Occidental. Las emisiones urbanas e industriales tienen un impacto considerable en los niveles y composición de PM en zonas rurales situadas a diferentes alturas, tanto en verano, con una importante recirculación y mezcla de masas de aire a escala regional, como en invierno, con transporte de contaminantes activado por brisas. El gran impacto de la contaminación urbana a escala regional demuestra la importancia de aplicar estrategias de reducción de emisiones de tráfico urbano, a fin de mejorar la calidad del aire no sólo a nivel local, sino también a escala regional. / A detailed study of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) levels and composition measured simultaneously in different environments at a regional scale was performed in the Western Mediterranean Basin in order to understand the sources, transformation and transport of tropospheric aerosols in this area. In this direction, the monitoring of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 levels and chemical characterization was carried out at three monitoring stations: Montsec (MSC, continental background, 1570 m.a.s.l.), Montseny (MSY, regional background, 720 m.a.s.l.) and Barcelona (BCN, urban background, 68 m.a.s.l.). In addition, number concentration (N) and black carbon (BC) levels were monitored at BCN. During winter, the frequent anticyclonic atmospheric stability induces the stagnation of air masses that produce important pollution episodes at BCN. However, atmospheric decoupling leaves MSY and, more frequently MSC, isolated from regional pollution during several days. In specific scenarios, the growth of the boundary layer and development of mountain breezes, activated by solar radiation, result in the transport of polluted air masses accumulated in the valley to the rural sites, increasing markedly PM levels at a different rate depending on the altitude and distance to the source areas. During summer, intense breeze circulations and atmospheric mixing favour the dispersion, recirculation and ageing of pollutants at a regional scale, reducing the differences between the urban and the rural sites. Similar levels of some components (organic matter or sulphate) were measured at a regional scale. Mineral matter levels increase during the summer, because of a favoured dust resuspension and higher frequency of African dust outbreaks, more significantly at MSC given the impact of African dust at higher altitudes. The major contribution to PM10 in BCN was mainly related to road traffic (50% of PM10), resulting from primary traffic emissions, secondary nitrate and aged secondary aerosols. Anthropogenic dust may originate from road dust resuspension by vehicles, but also wind resuspension and construction/demolition works. The regional contribution at the urban site (25%) was mainly mineral dust, ammonium sulphate and nitrate. The hourly variability of aerosol measurement parameters (N, BC, PM10, PM2.5 and PM1) at BCN is very influenced by road traffic emissions and meteorology (especially breezes). However, some parameters are not only governed by traffic exhaust emissions, as PM2.5-10 (dust resuspension processes) and N (direct ultrafine particle emissions but also photochemical nucleation processes). The influence of road traffic emissions on the levels of fine PM at BCN is reflected in PM1 mean annual levels, showing an increasing trend from 2003 to 2007 and correlation with the progressive rise in road traffic flow and diesel fleet in BCN. However a decreasing trend was observed for the coarser fractions at BCN and MSY, attributed to meteorology and changes in industrial emissions. The simultaneous study of different parameters showed that the monitoring of PM1 (nucleation and accumulation modes) and/or BC (combustion processes), and PM10 (combustion and mechanically-generated aerosols) may be a better strategy than the combination of PM2.5 and PM10 measurements as air quality standards. The parallel monitoring of aerosols at urban, regional and continental backgrounds was a useful strategy in order to understand the phenomenology of aerosols in the WMB. Urban and industrial emissions have a considerable impact in PM levels and composition in rural areas at different altitudes, both in summer, with important atmospheric recirculation and mixing of air masses at a regional scale, and winter, with breeze-activated transport of stagnated urban pollutants. The high contribution of urban emissions and the transport of air masses at a regional scale demonstrate the importance of applying emission abatement strategies for urban road traffic, in order to improve air quality not only at a local, but also at a regional scale.

Hazor’s role in an international Late Bronze Age context has long been indicated but never thoroughly investigated. This role, I believe, was more crucial than previously stressed. My assumption is based on the very large size of this flourishing city which, according to documents, possessed ancient traditions of diplomatic connections and trade with Mesopotamia in the Middle Bronze Age. Its strategic position along the most important N-S and E-W main trade routes, which connected Egypt with Syria-Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean Sea with the city and beyond, promoted contacts. Hazor was a city-state in Canaan, a province under Egyptian domination and exploitation during this period, a position that also influenced the city’s international relations. Methodologically the thesis examines areas of the earlier and the renewed excavations at Hazor, with the aim of discussing the city’s interregional relations and cultural belonging based on external influences in architectural structures (mainly temples), imported pottery and artistic expressions in small finds, supported by written evidence. Cultic influences are also considered. Various origin and find contexts of the imported and culturally influenced material can be recognized, which imply three concepts in the field of interaction studies found within the framework of a modified World Systems Theory and also according to C. Renfrew’s Peer Polity Interaction model: 1) The northern influenced material at Hazor should be understood in the context of cultural identity. It continues from earlier periods and is maintained through external trade and the regional interaction between Canaanite city-states in the north, resulting in certain cultural homogeneity. 2) A core-periphery approach is used to explain the special unequal relation between Canaan and Egypt, in which Hazor might have possessed an integrating semi-peripheral role, a kind of diplomatic position between Egypt and its northern enemies. The city’s loyalty to Egypt is hinted at in documents and in the increasing evidences of emulation in elite contexts appearing on the site. 3) A model of ‘interregional interaction networks’ describes the organization of the trade which provided certain consumers at Hazor with the Aegean and Cypriote pottery and its desirable content. The cargo of the Ulu Burun and Cape Gelidonya ships and documents show that luxury items were transited from afar through Canaan. Such long-distance trade / exchange require professional traders that established networks along the main trade routes. The thesis suggests that Hazor possessed a node position in such a network. Keywords: Hazor, Canaan, Eastern Mediterranean, Late Bronze Age, contacts, trade, temple architecture, Mycenaean pottery, Cypriote pottery, interregional interaction networks, emulation, peer polity interaction, centre-periphery approach.

S'ha muntat un sistema experimental a l'alzinar de Prades per simular la sequera prevista per a les properes dècades al bosc mediterrani. S'ha realitzat el seguiment de la fotosíntesi, la morfologia i demografia foliar, la fenologia i el creixement de les espècies llenyoses dominants. Els resultats mostren una lleugera disminució en les taxes fotosintètiques i l'eficiència fotoquímica, així com una reducció en la quantitat total de fulles quan la disponibilitat hídrica disminueix. Aquestes variacions han comportat un menor creixement diametral dels troncs i una major mortalitat d'individus. Les diferents espècies dominants d'aquest bosc mostren diferents sensibilitats a l'estrès hídric experimental: Quercus ilex i Arbutus unedo han resultat molt més afectades per la sequera que Phillyrea latifolia.La disponibilitat hídrica constitueix un dels factors més determinants del creixement i la distribució de les espècies vegetals mediterrànies. Els models de canvi climàtic preveuen un augment de la temperatura a zones de clima mediterrani, cosa que implicaria un augment en l'evapotranspiració que, segons els mateixos models, no aniria acompanyada d'un augment en les precipitacions. Per tant, la disponibilitat hídrica dels boscos mediterranis podria disminuir en les properes dècades, encara més del que ho ha fet les darreres.Per estudiar els efectes d'una disminució en la disponibilitat hídrica en ecosistemes forestals mediterranis, s'està fent un experiment a l'alzinar de la Solana dels Torners (serra de Prades). Es tracta d'un bosc de rebrot d'uns 6 m d'alçada i una densitat mitjana de 16.600 peus ha-1, dominat per Quercus ilex, Phillyrea latifolia i Arbutus unedo. L'experiment consisteix en excloure parcialment l'aigua de la pluja i l'escorriment superficial, i assolir un 15% menys d'humitat del sòl a les zones amb exclusió d'aigua respecte de les no tractades experimentalment. S'ha realitzat el seguiment de la fotosíntesi, la morfologia i demografia foliar, la fenologia i el creixement de les espècies llenyoses dominants a cadascuna de les quatre parcel·les control i quatre parcel·les tractament.Una disminució en el 15% de la disponibilitat hídrica superficial ha reduït subtilment les taxes fotosintètiques durant les hores centrals del dia (com a màxim 20% només en determinades estacions de l'any en Quercus ilex), i de l'eficiència fotoquímica durant els períodes més freds de l'any. També ha comportat una reducció de la quantitat total de fulles en Quercus ilex (30%), i la formació de noves fulles amb un menor gruix i una menor àrea. La producció de flors i fruits ha disminuït lleugerament en Quercus ilex i més clarament en Arbutus unedo en resposta a la sequera. L'aparició de diversos estadis fenològics ha estat alterada, especialment en Arbutus unedo. Tots aquests efectes han comportat una reducció del creixement diametral dels troncs en un 37%, però no totes les espècies són afectades per igual. Algunes resulten bastant sensibles, com Arbutus unedo i Quercus ilex, que mostren respectivament, un creixement diametral 77% i 55% més baix en condicions de sequera, mentre que Phillyrea latifolia no experimenta cap disminució apreciable en el creixement diametral. La mortalitat dels individus mostra un patró semblant, ja que en condicions de sequera la mortalitat augmenta, i Arbutus unedo i Quercus ilex mostren una mortalitat més elevada que Phillyrea latifolia. Sota condicions de sequera, l'increment de biomassa aèria (calculada mitjançant al·lometries a partir del diàmetre dels troncs) ha disminuït un 42%.L'experiment ha posat de manifest que, sota condicions més àrides que les actuals, els boscos mediterranis poden minvar bastant les seves taxes de creixement, i per tant, la seva capacitat per segrestar carboni atmosfèric. No totes les espècies vegetals en resultarien igualment afectades, a llarg terme podria haver-hi un canvi en la composició específica, de manera que en resultessin més afavorides les més resistents a la sequera. / An experimental system was installed in Prades holm oak forest to simulate the drought conditions predicted for the next decades in Mediterranean forests. Photosynthetic activity, leaf morphology and demography, phenology and growth of the dominant woody species are monitored. The results show an slight decrease in photosynthetic rates and photochemical efficiency, and also a reduction in the total amount of leaves when water availability decreases. This changes are followed by a reduction in stem radial growth and an increment in stem mortality rates. Different dominant species of this forest show different sensitivity to the experimental drought: Quercus ilex and are Arbutus unedo more affected by drought treatment than Phillyrea latifolia.Water availability is one of the most important factors determining growth and distribution of Mediterranean plant species. Climate change models predict an increase of temperature in Mediterranean areas, with a consequent increase in evapotranspiration. Since no increase in precipitation is expected by these models, water availability in Mediterranean forests would decrease during the next decades, even more than during the last decades.To study the effects of a decrease in water availability in Mediterranean forest ecosystems, an experimental drought is currently being conducted in "Solana dels Torners" holm oak forest (Prades mountains). This forest is constituted by resprouts about 6 m high and a mean density of about 16.000 stems ha-1. The dominant species are Quercus ilex, Phillyrea latifolia and Arbutus unedo. Experimental drought consists of partial rain and water runoff exclusion to reach 15% lower soil moisture in water exclusion areas than in control areas. Photosynthetic activity, leaf morphology and demography, phenology and growth of the dominant woody species are monitored in each one of four control plots and four drought plots.A 15% decrease in water availability slightly reduced photosynthetic rates during central hours of the day (maximum 20% only during few seasons in Quercus ilex), and photochemical efficiency during the coldest periods. The total amount of leaves is also reduced under drought in Quercus ilex (30%), and new leaves are smaller and thinner. Flower and fruit production is slightly reduced in Quercus ilex under drought conditions, but Arbutus unedo show a strong reduction. Some phenological events are delayed by drought, specially in Arbutus unedo. These changes are followed by a 37% reduction in stem radial growth, but not all species have presented the same response. Some species show a great sensitivity. Arbutus unedo and Quercus ilex decrease 77% and 55% their radial growth under drought conditions. On the other hand, the other co-dominant species, Phillyrea latifolia, show similar radial growth in control and drought conditions. Stem mortality shows a similar pattern because Arbutus unedo and Quercus ilex show higher mortality rates than Phillyrea latifolia under drought treatment. Under drought conditions, aerial biomass increment (calculated from allometric relationships with stem diameter) decreases about 42%.This experiment is suggesting that under drier conditions, Mediterranean forests could decrease their growth rates in the future and, in consequence, their atmospheric carbon sequestration capacity. Not all the species will be equally affected and, in the long term, drought-resistant species can be favoured in detriment of less resistant ones, with possible changes in species composition of Mediterranean forests.

Se estudiaron los efectos de la recurrencia del fuego en comunidades vegetales Mediterráneas dominadas por el árbol germinador P.halepensis Mill. (pino carrasco) a nivel regional en Cataluña. Entre 8 y 11 años tras la ocurrencia del fuego, se compararon la estructura y la composición florística de las comunidades vegetales, las poblaciones de P.halepensis, los horizontes orgánicos del suelo y el crecimiento de tres especies leñosas (Q.ilex, P.lentiscus, and R.officinalis) entre áreas quemadas una vez (en 1994) y dos veces (entre 1975 y 1993, y de nuevo en 1994) a lo largo de dos décadas. Se observó un patrón general de pérdida de resiliencia en las comunidades de P.halepensis quemadas dos veces a intervalos entre incendios menores de 17 años. / This work assessed the effects of fire recurrence on Mediterranean plant communities dominated by the seeder tree Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine) at a regional level in Catalonia. It compared structure and floristic composition of plant communities, P.halepensis populations, soil organic horizons and plant growth of three woody species (Q.ilex, P.lentiscus, and R.officinalis) between areas burnt once (in 1994) and twice (between 1975 and 1993, and again in 1994) along 2 decades in the medium term after fire (between 8 and 11 years). A general trend of resilience loss was observed in P.halepensis communities burnt twice at fire intervals shorter than 17 years.