How were borders divided and enforced in ancient societies? I imagine they'd follow rivers, forests, mountains and other natural borders, but how close would settlements be to these borders and how would you know if you were in one nation or another?
>>898938
>How were borders divided and enforced in ancient societies?
Walls and troops
>>898938
>How are borders divided and enforced in contemporary societies? I imagine they'd follow rivers, forests, mountains and other natural borders, but how close would settlements be to these borders and how would you know if you are in one nation or another?
>>898951
Gps
>>898938
Walls and outposts near natural landforms.
If they saw some people settling near them, they'd just halt them or whatever since they're near.
>>898938
Usually they followed some form of natural formation like a set of hills, a desert waste, a river etc. More complex states had guards and some level of fortification, shit like Hadrian's Wall was exceptionally rare though, it was primarily a way of broadcasting the emperor's power.
>>898938
>How were borders divided and enforced in ancient societies?
"Hey you, pay us taxes and in return we'll post troops to keep th raiders out."
>>898938
In places where there were cities that garnered control of surrounding countryside their power was set on a gradient that literally went out from the city walls and diminished the farther it got from them.
>>898938
>how would you know if you were in one nation or another?
by which one was collecting taxes and which one was stealing your livestock.
The one taking your money is your nation, the one taking your livestock is not.
Not everyone had a concept of borders. Some tribes are more friendly than others. Some tribes wouldn't want to see your foreign looks and would kill you because they don't like you being near them.
>>898938
Borders, as we know it, didn't exist in ancient societies.
>>899175
Those tribal deadzones.
>>899105
So then were there swathes of land that were officially under the control of a nation or city but was practically deserted?
>>899210
I mean it depends when you are talking about, but yes huge swathes of land were really low populated.
Strict enforcement of border control is a modern thing which came together with the concept of nation state. Before that there wasn't much of a border even in loose posts sense, people were more or less free to go.
Customs were still enforced, though, because people will never skip on a chance to get some shekels.
>>899210
A good example of that is what's now South-Eastern Ukraine. It was even called "Wild Field". On modern maps you can see some parts of it belonging to one country or another to simplify things but in reality there wasn't much of anything at all.
I mean shit, look at North Africa and Middle East with all those deserts. It not like people will ever be able to guard the borders there.
>>898938
The Roman Limes weren't necessarily borders how we know it, since they can change according to need. But yeah, natural boundaries, plus forts, plus walls.
>>899269
>that inaccurate as fuck map
>Rome ever controlling up to Jutland
>all of the Balkans under total control even far beyond the Danube
>Taurica under direct Roman control
>implying Rome controlled anywhere near that deep into North Africa for than months at a time
>Mesopotamia
>Roman control of the Caspian shore
>>899608
Pretty sure it includes colonies and tributary states lad
>>899823
Nah, the Iazyges and Roxolani either side of Dacia weren't Roman tributes. Neither were the Garamantians, Moors deep in the Atlas Mountains, the Nubians, Characene etc.
