Editing Colonies in antiquity

{{Short description|Colonies founded from a mother-city during the classical period}}
[[File: Ancient colonies.PNG|right|500px|thumb|The Mediterranean c. 6th century BC: Phoenician settlements in red, Greek areas in blue, and other territories as marked]]

'''Colonies in antiquity''' were post-[[Iron Age]] [[city-state]]s founded from a mother-city or [[metropolis]] rather than from a territory-at-large. Bonds between a [[colony]] and its metropolis often remained close, and took specific forms during the period of [[classical antiquity]].<ref name="Martin2000">{{cite book | author = Thomas R. Martin | title = Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times | url = https://archive.org/details/ancientgreecefro00mart_1 | url-access = registration | access-date = 24 February 2013 | date = 1 August 2000 | publisher = Yale University Press | isbn = 978-0-300-08493-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/ancientgreecefro00mart_1/page/56 56] | quote = ...at their new location, colonists were expected to retain ties with their metropolis. A colony that sided with its metropolis's enemy in a war, for example was regarded as disloyal... }}</ref>
Generally, colonies founded by the ancient [[Phoenicians]], [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]], [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], [[Alexander the Great]] and his [[Diadochi|successors]] remained tied to their metropolis, though [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] colonies of the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic]] and [[Classical Greece|Classical]] eras were sovereign and self-governing from their inception. While earlier Greek colonies were often founded to solve [[Stasis (political history)|social unrest]] in the mother-city by expelling a part of the population, [[Hellenistic]], [[Roman Empire|Roman]], [[History of Carthage|Carthaginian]], and [[Han dynasty|Han Chinese]] colonies served as centres for [[trade]] ([[entrepôt]]s), [[expansionism | expansion]] and [[Imperialism|empire-building]].

==Sabean Colonization of Africa==
{{Main article|Sabean colonization of Africa}}
One of the oldest [[Colonization|colonisation]] process in history occurred around 1000 BC, the [[Sabaeans|Sabeans]] of southern Arabia, with a civilization based on agriculture, began to colonize the highlands of northern [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h6JDAAAAYAAJ&dq=sabean+colonised&pg=PA107 |title=The Babylonian and Oriental Record |date=1894 |publisher=D. Nutt |pages=107 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Japp |first1=Sarah |last2=Gerlach |first2=Iris |last3=Hitgen |first3=Holger |last4=Schnelle |first4=Mike |date=2011 |title=Yeha and Hawelti: cultural contacts between Sabaʾ and DʿMT — New research by the German Archaeological Institute in Ethiopia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41622129 |journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |volume=41 |pages=145–160 |jstor=41622129 |issn=0308-8421}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_wvAQAAIAAJ&q=sabean+colonised |title=Aethiopica: International Journal of Ethiopian Studies |date=2006 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |pages=283 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Robertshaw |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cN1Tf1DncbgC&dq=sabean+yeha&pg=PA96 |title=A History of African Archaeology |date=1990 |publisher=J. Currey |isbn=978-0-85255-065-6 |pages=96 |language=en}}</ref> The indigenous peoples with whom the Sabaeans came into contact were the ancestors of the contemporary [[Agaw people]]. The fusion of southern Arabian culture and Agaw culture resulted in a third culture which are today known as the [[Habesha peoples|Habesha people]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gamst |first=Frederick C. |date=1970 |title=Peasantries and Elites without Urbanism: The Civilization of Ethiopia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/178114 |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=375 |doi=10.1017/S001041750000596X |jstor=178114 |s2cid=143872194 |issn=0010-4175|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Egyptian colonies==
Egyptian settlement and colonisation is attested from about 3200 BC onward, all over the area of southern [[Canaan]], by almost every type of artifact: architecture (fortifications, embankments and buildings), pottery, vessels, tools, weapons, seals, etc.<ref>Branislav Anđelković, [https://www.academia.edu/8826399/Southern_Canaan_as_an_Egyptian_Protodynastic_Colony Southern Canaan as an Egyptian Protodynastic Colony]</ref><ref>Branislav Anđelković, [https://www.academia.edu/6409058/Hegemony_for_Beginners_Egyptian_Activity_in_the_Southern_Levant_during_the_Second_Half_of_the_Fourth_Millennium_B_C Hegemony for Beginners: Egyptian Activity in the Southern Levant during the Second Half of the Fourth Millennium B.C.]</ref> [[Narmer]] had [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] pottery produced in [[Canaan]] and exported back to [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]],<ref name="Naomi">Naomi Porat, "Local Industry of Egyptian Pottery in Southern Palestine During the Early Bronze I Period," in ''Bulletin of the Egyptological, Seminar 8'' (1986/1987), pp. 109-129. See also [http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/foreignrelations/1stdynegyppotsinpalestine.html University College London web post, 2000].</ref> from regions such as [[Tel Arad|Arad]], [[Besor Stream|En Besor]], [[Rafah|Rafiah]], and [[Tel Erani]].<ref name="Naomi"/> Recently, a contemporary brewery belonging to a Bronze Age Egyptian settlement has been found in [[Tel Aviv]].<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-egyptian-brewery-found-in-downtown-tel-aviv/ Ancient Egyptian brewery found in downtown Tel Aviv]</ref> [[Shipbuilding]] was known to the [[ancient Egypt]]ians as early as 3000 BC, and perhaps earlier. The [[Archaeological Institute of America]] reports<ref name="AIA">Ward, Cheryl. "[http://www.archaeology.org/0105/abstracts/abydos3.html World's Oldest Planked Boats]", in ''[[Archaeology (magazine)|Archaeology]]'' (Volume 54, Number 3, May/June 2001). [[Archaeological Institute of America]].</ref> that the earliest dated ship — dating to 3000 BC<ref name="AIA2">Schuster, Angela M.H. "[http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/abydos.html This Old Boat]", Dec. 11, 2000. [[Archaeological Institute of America]].</ref> – may have possibly belonged to the Pharaoh [[Hor-Aha|Aha]].<ref name="AIA2"/>

==Phoenician and Carthaginian colonies==
{{see also|Phoenicia#Important cities and colonies}}
The [[Phoenicia]]ns were the major [[trade|trading]] [[Power in international relations|power]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] in the early part of the [[1st millennium BC|first millennium BC]]. They had trading contacts in [[Egypt]] and [[Greece]], and established colonies as far west as modern [[Spain]], at Gadir (modern [[Cádiz]]), and modern [[Morocco]], at [[Tingi]]s and [[Essaouira|Mogador]]. From Spain and Morocco, the Phoenicians controlled access to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the [[trade route]]s to [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Senegal]]. 

The most famous and successful of Phoenician colonies was founded by settlers from [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] in 814–813 BC and called Kart-Hadasht (''Qart-ḥadašt'',<ref name="Carpio1992">{{cite book|author=Martín Lillo Carpio|title=Historia de Cartagena: De Qart-Ḥadašt a Carthago Nova / colaboradores: Martín Lillo Carpio ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEH6PgAACAAJ|access-date=12 February 2013|year=1992|publisher=Ed. Mediterráneo}}</ref> literally "New Town"<ref name="Moscati2001">{{cite book|author=Sabatino Moscati|title=The Phoenicians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1EEtmT9Tbj4C&pg=PA48|access-date= 8 August 2013|date= January 2001|publisher= I.B.Tauris|isbn= 978-1-85043-533-4|page= 48}}</ref>), known in English as [[Carthage]]. The [[Carthaginians]] later founded [[Carthaginian empire | their own colonies]] in the western Mediterranean, notably a colony in southeast Spain, [[Carthago Nova]], which was eventually [[Roman conquest of Hispania| conquered]] by their enemy, [[Ancient Rome|Rome]].

According to [[María Eugenia Aubet]], Professor of Archaeology at the [[Pompeu Fabra University]], Barcelona: 
<blockquote>The earliest presence of Phoenician material in the West is documented within the precinct of the ancient city of [[Huelva]], Spain... The high proportion of Phoenician pottery among the new material found in 1997 in the Plaza de las Monjas in Huelva argues in favour, not of a few first sporadic contacts in the zone, but of a regular presence of Phoenician people from the start of the ninth century BC. The recent radiocarbon dates from the earliest levels in Carthage situate the founding of this Tyrian colony in the years 835–800 cal BC, which coincides with the dates handed down by Flavius Josephus and Timeus for the founding of the city.<ref name=Aubet2008>{{cite web|title=Political and Economic Implications of the New Phoenician Chronologies|url=https://www.upf.edu/documents/163262092/164235373/AubtCrono.pdf|publisher=Universidad Pompeu Fabra|access-date=24 February 2013|author=Maria Eugenia Aubet|page=179|year=2008}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Ancient Greek colonies{{anchor|Greek_colonies}}==
{{main|Iron Age Greek migrations|Greek colonisation}}
{{See also|Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul|Emporion|Magna Graecia|Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea|Pontic Greeks}}
[[File:Empuries MaisonduPeristyle.jpg|thumb|Ruins of a [[peristyle]] home from the Greek period of [[Empúries]], [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]]]
In [[Ancient Greece]], a defeated people would sometimes found a colony, leaving their homes to escape the subjugation of a foreign enemy. Sometimes colonies formed as a result of [[civil disorder]], where the losers in internecine battles left to form a new city elsewhere; sometimes they would form to relieve population pressure and thereby to avoid internal unrest; and also, as a result of [[ostracism]]. In most cases, however, colony founders aimed to establish trade relations with foreign countries and to further the wealth of the metropolis. Colonies were established in [[Ionia]] and [[Thrace]] as early as the 8th century&nbsp;BC.<ref name="HornblowerSpawforth2003">{{cite book | last1 = Hornblower | first1 = Simon | last2 = Spawforth | first2 = Antony | title = The Oxford Classical Dictionary | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=flSVuAAACAAJ | access-date = 24 February 2013 | year = 2003 | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-956738-6 | page = 1515 | quote = From the 8th century BC the coast of Thrace was colonised by Greeks. }}</ref>

More than thirty Greek city-states had multiple colonies, dotted all across the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] world. From the late 9th to the 5th century BC, the most active colony-founding city, [[Miletus]] of the [[Ionian League]], spawned more than 60 colonies<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Miletus | title=Miletus &#124; Ancient Greek City, Turkey, & Map &#124; Britannica }}</ref> encompassing the shores of the [[Black Sea]] in the east, the [[Iberian Peninsula]] in the west, [[Magna Graecia]] (southern Italy) and several colonies on the Libyan coast of northern [[Africa]].<ref name="Hammond1959">{{cite book|author= Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond|title= A history of Greece to 322 B.C.|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0FoAAAAMAAJ|access-date= 8 August 2013|year= 1959|publisher= Clarendon Press|page= 109|isbn= 978-0-19-814260-7}}</ref>

Greeks founded two similar types of colony, the ''[[wikt:ἀποικία#Ancient Greek|apoikía]]'' (ἀποικία from ἀπό ''[[wikt:ἀπό#Ancient Greek|apó]]'' “away from” + οἶκος [[wikt:οἶκος#Ancient Greek|oîkos]] “home”, pl. ἀποικίαι ''apoikiai''), an independent city-state, and the ''[[Emporium (antiquity)|emporion]]'' (ἐμπόριov, pl. ἐμπόρια ''emporia''), a trading colony.

Greek city-states began to establish colonies between 900<ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/angk/hd_angk.htm Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and 800&nbsp;BC; the first two were [[Al Mina]] on the [[Syria|Syrian]] coast and the Greek emporium [[Pithecusae]] at [[Ischia]] in the [[Gulf of Naples|Bay of Naples]], both established about 800&nbsp;BC by [[Euboea#Ancient|Euboeans]].<ref name="Fox2010">{{cite book | author = Robin Lane Fox | title = Travelling Heroes: In the Epic Age of Homer | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NZFM-TUwFxgC | access-date = 24 February 2013 | date = 9 March 2010 | publisher = Random House Digital, Inc. | isbn = 978-0-679-76386-4 | page = 131 | quote = Robin Lane Fox examines the cultural connections made by Euboean adventurers in the 8th century }}</ref>

[[File:Pontos Euxeinos.gif|thumb|upright=1.35| Ancient Greek colonies of the [[Black Sea]], 8th-3rd century BC]]
Two new waves of colonists set out from Greece between the [[Greek Dark Ages|Dark Ages]] and the start of the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic Period]] – the first in the early 8th century&nbsp;BC and the second in the 6th century. Population growth and cramped conditions at home seem an insufficient explanation, while the economic and political dynamics produced by the competition between the frequently leaderless Greek city-states – newly introduced as a concept and striving to expand their spheres of economic influence – better fits as their true incentive. By means of this Greek expansion, the use of coins flourished throughout the [[Mediterranean Basin]].

Influential Greek colonies in the western Mediterranean&nbsp;– many in present-day southern Italy&nbsp;— included [[Cumae|Cyme]]; [[Reggio Calabria|Rhegion]] by [[Chalcis]] and [[Messina|Zancle]] (c.&nbsp;8th century); [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] by [[Corinth]] and [[Tenea]] (c.&nbsp;[[730s BC|734&nbsp;BC]]); [[Naxos (Sicily)|Naxos]] by Chalcis (c.&nbsp;734&nbsp;BC); [[Marseille|Massalia]] (Marseille, c.&nbsp;[[590s BC|598&nbsp;BC]]) and [[Agde|Agathe]], shortly after Massalia, by [[Phocaea]]; [[Velia|Hyele]] in Italy and [[Empúries|Emporion]] in [[Spain]] by Phocaea and Massalia (c.&nbsp;[[540s BC|540&nbsp;BC]] and early 6th century); [[Antibes|Antipolis]] in France by [[Achaea]]; [[Aléria|Alalia]] in [[Corsica]] by Phocaea and Massalia (c.&nbsp;545&nbsp;BC) and [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]] ([[Cyrenaica]], Libya) by [[Santorini|Thera]] (762/61 and 632/31&nbsp;BC).<ref>[[:Category:Greek colonies|A list of Greek colonies with individual articles.]]</ref>

The Greeks also [[Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea|colonised]] the [[Crimea]] in the [[Black Sea]]. The settlements they established there included the city of [[Chersonesus (Crimea)|Chersonesos]] (modern [[Sevastopol]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.chersonesos.org/?p=index&l=eng|title= About Chersonesos, Sevastopol|work= National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos|access-date= 7 April 2014}}</ref> Another area with significant Greek colonies was the coast of ancient [[Illyria]] on the [[Adriatic Sea]] (e.g. Aspalathos, modern [[Split, Croatia]]).

[[Cicero]] remarks on the extensive Greek colonization, noting that "Indeed it seems as if the lands of the barbarians had been bordered round with a Greek sea-coast."<ref>Cicero, ''De republica'', ii, 9</ref> Several formulae generally shaped the solemn and sacred occasions when a new colony set forth. If a Greek city decided to send out a colony, the citizenry almost invariably consulted an [[oracle]], such as the [[Delphi|Oracle of Delphi]], beforehand. Sometimes certain classes of citizens were called upon to take part in the enterprises; sometimes one son was chosen by lot from every house where there were several sons; and strangers expressing a desire to join were admitted. A person of distinction was selected to guide the emigrants and to make the necessary arrangements. It was usual to honor these founders as heroes after their death. Some of the sacred fire was taken from the public hearth in the [[Prytaneis|Prytaneum]], from which the fire on the public hearth of the new city was kindled. Just as each individual had his private shrines, so the new community maintained the worship of its chief domestic deities, the colony sending embassies and votive gifts to the mother-city's principal festivals for centuries afterwards.

After the conquests of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] and [[Alexander the Great]], a further number of [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] colonies were founded, ranging from Egypt to India.

===Greek colonies in Anatolia===
By the 15th century BC, the [[Mycenaeans]] had reached [[Rhodes]], [[Crete]] and [[Cyprus]] ( where [[Teucer]] is said to have founded the first colony) and the shores of [[Anatolia]].<ref>"The Greeks". Encyclopædia Britannica. US: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2008. Online Edition.</ref><ref>Criti, Maria; Arapopoulou, Maria (2007). A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 417–420. {{ISBN|0-521-83307-8}}.</ref> In addition, Greeks were settled in [[Ionia]] and [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]]. [[Miletus]] in Ionia was an ancient Greek city on the west coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the [[Büyük Menderes River|Meander River]]. In the late [[Bronze Age]] (13th century BC), Miletus saw the arrival of  the [[Carians]], [[Luwian language|Luwian]] speakers from south central Anatolia. Later in that century, other Greeks arrived. The city at that time rebelled against the [[Hittites|Hittite Empire]]. After the fall of that empire, the city was destroyed in the 12th century BC and starting about 1000 BC was resettled extensively by  Ionians. 

Before the invasion from [[Persia]] in the middle of the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered the greatest and wealthiest Greek [[polis]].<ref>A Short History of Greek Philosophy By John Marshall page 11 “For several centuries prior to the great Persian inversion of Greece, perhaps the very greatest and wealthiest city of the Greek world was Miletus”</ref><ref>Ancient Greek civilization By David Sansone page 79 “In the seventh and sixth centuries BC the city of Miletus was among the most prosperous and powerful of Greek Poleis.”</ref> Over several centuries, numerous ancient Greek city-states were established on the coasts of Anatolia. Greeks began [[Western philosophy]] on the western coast of Anatolia ([[Pre-Socratic philosophy]]).<ref>Carl Roebuck, The World of Ancient Times, 1984.</ref> [[Thales]], [[Anaximander]], [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]] and [[Diogenes of Apollonia]] were among the renowned philosophers of the [[Milesian school]]. [[Heraclitus]] lived in [[Ephesus]] another ancient Greek city<ref>Michael Gagarin (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press. pp. 2–. {{ISBN|978-0-19-517072-6}}. "Historical Overview A Greek city-state on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, at the mouth of Cayster River (Küçük Menderes), Ephesus ..."</ref><ref>Carlos Ramirez-Faria (1 January 2007). Concise Encyclopedia Of World History. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. {{ISBN|978-81-269-0775-5}}.</ref> and [[Anaxagoras]] was from [[Clazomenae]], a member of the [[Ionian League]]. All the [[Ancient Greek dialects]] were spoken in Anatolia in the various city states and the [[list of ancient Greek theatres]] in Anatolia is one of the longest among all places the Greeks settled. 

[[Greeks]] traditionally lived in the region of [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]], on the south shores of the Black Sea and in the [[Pontic Alps]] in northeastern [[Anatolia]], the province of Kars in Caucasus, and also in Georgia. Those from southern Russia, Ukraine, and Crimea are often referred to as 'Northern [[Pontic Greeks]]', in contrast to those from 'South Pontus', which strictly speaking is [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]] proper. Those from Georgia, northeastern Anatolia, and the ones who lived in present-day Armenia are often referred to as 'Eastern [[Pontic Greeks]]' or Caucasus Greeks. Many Greek-founded colonies are well known cities to this day. [[Sinop, Turkey|Sinope]] and [[Trabzon]] (Greek: Τραπεζοῦς ''Trapezous''), were founded by [[List of ancient Milesians|Milesian]] traders (756 BC) as well as [[Samsun]], [[Rize]] and [[Amasra]]. Greek was the lingua franca of Anatolia from the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]] up to the invasion of the [[Seljuk dynasty|Seljuk]] [[Turkish people|Turks]] in the eleventh century AD.

=== Jewish colonies ===
During the Ptolemaic rule of Judea, large-scale Jewish settlement in Egypt commenced. The Ptolemies brought in Jewish soldiers along with their families, while other Jews migrated from Judea to Egypt likely for economic opportunities. Additionally, the Ptolemies established Jewish colonies in the cities of Cyrenaica (modern-day Libya).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ancient Jewish Diaspora |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/history/Ancient_and_Medieval_History/539_BCE-632_CE/The_Diaspora.shtml |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=My Jewish Learning |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Relations of colony and metropolis===

The relation between colony and mother-city (''[[metropolis]])'' was viewed{{by whom|date=June 2018}} as one of mutual affection. Differences were resolved peacefully whenever possible, war being seen as a last resort. (Note though that the [[Peloponnesian War]] of 431&ndash;404 BC broke out partly due to a dispute between [[Corinth]] and her colony [[Corfu|Corcyra]].) 

The charter of foundation contained general provisions for the arrangement of the affairs of the colony, and also some special enactments. A colony would usually adopt the constitution of the mother-city, but the new city remained politically independent. The "holy fire" of the ''metropolis'' was preserved in a special place to remind people of the common ties. If the colony sent out a fresh colony on its own account, the mother-city was generally consulted, or was at least asked to furnish a leader. Frequently the colonies, declaring their commitment to the various metropolitic alliances formed in the Greek mainland and for religious reasons, would pay tribute in religious centres such as Delphi, [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], or [[Delos]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cl135/Students/Maria_Daniels/colonies.html |title= Ancient Greek colonies &#124; 5.97 &#124; Maria Daniels |publisher= Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date= 2009-05-05}}</ref>

The [[Cleruchy|cleruchs]] (κληροῦχοι, ''klêrouchoi'') formed a special class of Greek colonists, each being assigned an individual plot of land (κλῆρος, ''klêros''). The trade factories set up in foreign countries, such as [[Naucratis]] in Egypt, were somewhat different from ordinary colonies, with the members retaining the right of domicile in their own homeland and confining themselves to their own quarter in the foreign city.

==Roman colonies==
{{main|Colonia (Roman)}}
[[File:Romancoloniae.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|right|Map showing Roman colonies as of the mid-2nd century AD. Augustus' "Roman coloniae" in north Africa are depicted in red.]]

It was an old custom in [[History of Italy during Roman times|ancient Italy]] to send out colonies for the purpose of securing new conquests. The [[Roman Republic|Romans]], having no [[standing army]], used to plant bodies of their own citizens in conquered towns as a kind of garrison. These bodies would consist partly of [[Roman citizenship|Roman citizens]], usually to the number of three hundred and partly of members of the [[Latin League]] in larger numbers. One third of the conquered territory was taken for the settlers. The ''coloniae civium Romanorum'' (colonies of Roman citizens) were specially intended to secure the two coasts of Italy, and were hence called ''coloniae maritimae''. The far more numerous ''coloniae Latinae'' served the same purpose for the mainland, but they were also inhabited by Latins and much more populated.

The duty of leading the colonists and founding the settlement was entrusted to a commission usually consisting of three members. These men continued to stand in the relation of [[Patronage in ancient Rome|patrons (''patroni'')]] to the colony after its foundation. The colonists entered the conquered city in military array, preceded by banners, and the foundation was celebrated with special solemnities. The coloniae were free from taxes, and had their own [[Roman Constitution|constitution]], a copy of the Roman, electing from their own body their [[Roman Senate|Senate]] and other officers of State. To this constitution the original inhabitants had to submit. The ''coloniae civium Romanorum'' retained [[Roman citizenship]], and were free from military service, their position as outposts being regarded as an equivalent. The members of the ''coloniae Latinae'' served among the ''[[socii]]'', the allies, and possessed the so-called ''[[Latin Right|ius Latinum]]'' or Latinitas. This secured to them the right of acquiring property, the concept of ''commercium'', and the right of settlement in Rome, and under certain conditions the power of becoming Roman citizens; though in course of time these rights underwent many limitations.

From the time of the [[Gracchi]] the colonies lost their military character. Colonization came to be regarded as a means of providing for the poorest class of the [[Plebs|Roman Plebs]]. After the time of [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]] it was adopted as a way of granting land to veteran soldiers. The right of founding colonies passed into the hands of the [[Roman Emperor|Roman emperors]] during the [[Principate]], who used it mainly in the [[Roman province|provinces]] for the exclusive purpose of establishing military settlements, partly with the old idea of securing [[Borders of the Roman Empire|conquered territory]]. It was only in exceptional cases that the provincial colonies enjoyed the immunity from taxation which was granted to those in Italy.<ref>Most of this text is taken from [[Harry Thurston Peck]]'s ''[[Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities]]'' (1898)</ref>

==Chinese colonies==
{{multiple image | direction = vertical | image1 = Han map.jpg | caption1 = [[Han dynasty]] in 87 BC, showing the [[Protectorate of the Western Regions]] to the west in the Tarim Basin | image2 = End of Han Dynasty Warlords.png | caption2 = China at the [[end of the Han dynasty]] from 189-220 AD}}

[[Imperial China]] during the [[Han dynasty]] (202 BC–220 AD) extended its rule over what is now much of [[China proper]] as well as [[Inner Mongolia]], [[northern Vietnam]], [[northern Korea]], the [[Hexi Corridor]] of [[Gansu]], and the [[Tarim Basin]] region of [[Xinjiang]] on the easternmost fringes of Central Asia. After the nomadic Mongolic [[Xiongnu]] ruler Hunye (渾邪) was [[Han-Xiongnu war|defeated]] by [[Huo Qubing]] in 121 BC, settlers from various regions of China under the rule of [[Emperor Wu of Han]] colonized the Hexi Corridor and [[Ordos Plateau]].<ref>Chang, Chun-shu. (2007). ''The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Volume II; Frontier, Immigration, & Empire in Han China, 130 B.C. – A.D. 157''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, pp. 5–8, 23–33, 53–56, 173. {{ISBN|978-0-472-11534-1}}.</ref> ''[[Tuntian]]'', self-sustaining agricultural military garrisons, were established in frontier outposts to secure the massive territorial gains and [[Silk Road]] trade routes leading into Central Asia.<ref>Di Cosmo, Nicola. (2002). ''Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 241–244, 249–250. {{ISBN|978-0-521-77064-4}}.</ref> Emperor Wu oversaw the [[Han conquest of Nanyue]] in 111 BC, bringing areas of [[Guangdong]], [[Guangxi]], [[Hainan Island]], and northern [[Vietnam]] under Han rule, and by 108 BC completed the [[Han conquest of Gojoseon]] in what is now [[North Korea]].<ref>Yü, Ying-shih. (1986). "Han Foreign Relations," in ''The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220'', 377-462. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 448–449, 451–453. {{ISBN|978-0-521-24327-8}}.</ref> Han Chinese colonists in the [[Xuantu Commandery|Xuantu]] and [[Lelang Commandery|Lelang]] [[Jun (country subdivision)|commanderies]] of northern Korea dealt with occasional raids by the [[Goguryeo]] and [[Buyeo]] kingdoms, but conducted largely peaceful trade relations with surrounding [[Korean people]]s who in turn became heavily influenced by [[Chinese culture]].<ref>Pai, Hyung Il. "Culture Contact and Culture Change: The Korean Peninsula and Its Relations with the Han Dynasty Commandery of Lelang," in ''World Archaeology'', Vol. 23, No. 3, Archaeology of Empires (February 1992): 306-319 [pp. 310–315].</ref>

In 37 AD the [[Eastern Han]] general [[Ma Yuan (Han dynasty)|Ma Yuan]] sent Han Chinese to the northeastern frontier and settled defeated [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]] tribes within Han China's [[Tianshui Commandery]] and [[Longxi Commandery]].<ref>de Crespigny, Rafe. (2007). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, p. 659. {{ISBN|9004156054}}.</ref> Ma pursued a similar policy in the south when he defeated the [[Trưng Sisters]] of [[Jiaozhi]], in what is now modern [[northern Vietnam]], resettling hundreds of Vietnamese into China's [[Jing Province]] in 43 AD, seizing their [[Dong Son drum|sacred bronze drums]] as rival symbols of royal power, and reinstating Han authority [[Chinese law|and laws]] over Jiaozhi.<ref name="de crespigny 2007 p 660">de Crespigny, Rafe. (2007). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, p. 660. {{ISBN|9004156054}}.</ref> Historian [[Rafe de Crespigny]] remarks that this was a "brief but effective campaign of colonisation and control", before the general returned north in 44 AD.<ref name="de crespigny 2007 p 660"/>

Cao Song, an Eastern Han administrator of [[Dunhuang]], had military colonies established in what is now [[Yiwu County]] near [[Hami]] in 119 AD. However, Empress [[Deng Sui]], regent for the young [[Emperor Shang of Han]], pursued a slow, cautious policy of settlement on the advice of Ban Yong, son of [[Ban Chao]], as the Eastern Han Empire came into conflict with the [[Jushi Kingdom]], the [[Shanshan]] and their [[Xiongnu]] allies located around the [[Taklamakan Desert]] in the [[Western Regions]].<ref>de Crespigny, Rafe. (2007). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, pp. 125–126. {{ISBN|9004156054}}.</ref> In 127 AD Ban Yong was able to defeat the [[Karasahr]] in battle and colonies were established all the way to [[Turfan]], but by the 150s AD the Han presence in the Western Regions began to wane.<ref>de Crespigny, Rafe. (2007). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, p. 476. {{ISBN|9004156054}}.</ref> Towards the [[end of the Han dynasty]], chancellor [[Cao Cao]] established agricultural military colonies for settling wartime refugees.<ref>de Crespigny, Rafe. (2007). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, p. 36. {{ISBN|9004156054}}.</ref> Cao Cao also established military colonies in [[Anhui]] province in 209 AD as a means to clearly demarcate a border between his realm and that of his political rival [[Sun Quan]].<ref>de Crespigny, Rafe. (2007). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD)''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, pp. 37–38. {{ISBN|9004156054}}.</ref>

==See also==
{{col div|colwidth=40em}}
* [[Classical demography]]
* [[List of cities founded by the Romans]]
* [[List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia]]
* [[List of settlements in Illyria]]
* [[Alexandria (disambiguation)]]
* [[Roman Empire]]
{{colend}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
*Antonaccio, Carla M. 2001. "Ethnicity and colonization." In ''Ancient perceptions of Greek ethnicity.'' Edited by Irad Malkin, 113–57. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
*————. 2003. "Hybridity and the cultures within Greek culture." In ''The cultures within ancient Greek culture: Contact, conflict, collaboration.'' Edited by Carol Dougherty and Leslie Kurke, 57–74. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Aubet, Maria Eugenia. 2001. ''The Phoenicians and the west: Politics, colonies and trade.'' 2nd ed. Translated by Mary Turton. New York: Cambridge University Press.
*Boardman, John. 1999. ''The Greeks Overseas: Their Early Colonies and Trade.'' 4th ed. London: Thames and Hudson.
*————. 2001. "Aspects of 'colonization.'" ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'' 322: 33–42.
*Branigan, Keith. 1981. "Minoan colonialism." ''Annual of the British School at Athens'' 76: 23–33.
*Broadhead, William. 2007. "Colonization, land distribution, and veteran settlement." In ''A companion to the Roman army.'' Edited by Paul Erdkamp, 148–63. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
*Cornell, Timothy J. 1995. ''The beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC).'' Routledge History of the Ancient World. New York: Routledge.
*Demetriou, Denise. 2012. ''Negotiating identity in the ancient Mediterranean.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Donnellan, Lieve, Valentino Nizzo, and Gert-Jan Burgers, eds. 2016. ''Conceptualizing early colonisation.'' Brussels: [[Belgisch Historisch Instituut te Rome]].
*Dunbabin T. J. 1948. ''The Western Greeks.'' Oxford: Thames & Hudson.
*Forrest, W. G. 1957. "Colonisation and the rise of Delphi." ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'' 6 (2): 160–75.
*Garland, Robert. 2014. ''Wandering Greeks: The ancient Greek diaspora from the age of Homer to the death of Alexander the Great.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
*Graham, A. John. 1983. ''Colony and mother city in ancient Greece.'' 2nd ed. Chicago: Ares.
*————. 2001. ''Collected Papers On Greek Colonization.'' Leiden: Brill.
*Hägg, Robin, and [[Nanno Marinatos]], eds. 1984. ''The Minoan Thalassocracy: Myth and reality; Proceedings of the third international symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens, 31 May–5 June 1982.'' Stockholm: Swedish Institute at Athens.
*Hodos, Tamar. 1999. "Intermarriage in the western Greek colonies." ''Oxford Journal of Archaeology'' 18: 61–78.
*Horden, Peregrine, and Nicholas Purcell. 2000. ''The corrupting sea: A study of Mediterranean history.'' Oxford: Blackwell.
*Keppie, Lawrence. 1984. "Colonisation and veteran settlement in Italy in the first century A.D." ''Papers of the British School at Rome'' 52: 77–114.
*Knappett, Carl, and Irene Nikolakopoulou. 2008. "Colonialism without colonies? A Bronze Age case study from Akrotiri, Thera." ''Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens'' 77 (1): 1–42.
*Malkin, Irad. 1987. ''Religion and Colonization In Ancient Greece.'' Leiden: Brill.
*————. 2011. ''A Small Greek World: Networks In the Ancient Mediterranean.'' New York: Oxford University Press.
*Mann, J. C. 1983. ''Legionary recruitment and veteran settlement during the Principate.'' Edited by Margaret M. Roxan. London: University of London.
*Niemeyer, Hans-Georg. 1990. "The Phoenicians in the Mediterranean: A non-Greek model for expansion and settlement in antiquity." In ''Greek colonists and native populations: Proceedings of the First Australian Congress of Classical Archaeology, held in honour of emeritus professor A. D. Trendall.'' Edited by Jean-Paul Descœudres, 469–89. Oxford: Clarendon.
*Salmon, Edward T. 1936. "Roman colonisation from the Second Punic War to the Gracchi." ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 26 (1): 47–67.
*————. 1955. "Roman expansion and Roman colonization in Italy." ''Phoenix'' 9 (2): 63–75.
*————. 1969. ''Roman colonization under the Republic.'' Aspects of Greek and Roman Life. London: Thames and Hudson.
*Stek, Tesse D., and Jeremia Pelgrom, eds. 2014. "Roman Republican colonization: New perspectives from archaeology and ancient history." ''[[Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome|Papers of the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome]]'' 2014 (62). Rome: Palombi Editori.
*[[Rebecca Sweetman|Sweetman, Rebecca J]]., ed. 2011. ''Roman colonies in the first century of their foundation.'' Oxford: Oxbow.
*Ridgway, David. 1992. ''The first Western Greeks.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Tartaron, Thomas E. 2013. ''Maritime networks in the Mycenaean world.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Tsetskhladze, Gocha R., ed. 2006. ''Greek Colonisation: An Account of Greek Colonies and Other Settlements Overseas.'' Leiden: Brill.
*van Dommelen, Peter. 1998. ''In colonial grounds: A comparative study of colonialism and rural settlement in first millennium BC west central Sardinia.'' Leiden, The Netherlands: University of Leiden.

==External links==
* Ancient History Encyclopedia [https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Colonization Greek Colonization]
* [http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/greek_colonies/ Map of Greek Colonies 9th-6th Centuries BC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916112429/http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu/greek_colonies/ |date=2015-09-16 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120831060912/http://web.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/ ''The Roman Law Library'' by Professor Yves Lassard and Alexandr Koptev]
* ''Donald Kagan'', Introduction to Ancient Greek History. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMs9mema--Q 6. The Greek "Renaissance" - Colonization and Tyranny] ([[Open Yale Courses]])
* [http://www.AncientPortsAntiques.com A complete catalogue of ancient ports.]
* [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/angk/hd_angk.htm Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art-The Metropolitan Museum of Art]

{{Phoenician cities and colonies}}
{{Magna Graecia}}
{{Hellenistic colonies}}
{{Roman colonies in Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonies In Antiquity}}
[[Category:Colonies in antiquity| ]]
[[Category:Greek colonization| ]]
[[Category:History of colonialism|Antiquity]]
[[Category:Roman law]]