The Corrupting Sea
First edition | |
| Author | Peregrine Horden and Nicholas Purcell |
|---|---|
| Subject | Mediterranean history |
| Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
Publication date | 7 April 2000 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 776 pages (paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0631218906 |
The Corrupting Sea: A Study of Mediterranean History is a book written by Peregrine Horden and Nicholas Purcell and published in 2000.[1] The book is regarded as revolutionizing Mediterranean studies, introducing important concepts such as micro-ecologies and 'history of,' rather than 'history in'.[2]
Environmental historian J. Donald Hughes (1932–2019), a prominent researcher on deforestation during the Roman period, cited The Corrupting Sea amongst the milder challengers of the scholarly consensus that human activity in the ancient Greco-Roman Mediterranean world led to severe deforestation and soil erosion: "[W]hile admitting that forests were destroyed by factors such as overgrazing and mining, [Horden and Purcell] opine that such damage was rare and localized, and that deforestation was seen as a "Good Thing" because it improved the landscape for agriculture."[3]
References
- ^ The Corrupting Sea: A Study of Mediterranean History. ISBN 978-0631218906.
- ^ Morris, Ian (2003). "Mediterraneanization". Mediterranean Historical Review (2): 32–33 – via Taylor and Francis Online.
- ^ Hughes 2011, p. 45.
Bibliography
- Hughes, J. Donald (2011). "Ancient Deforestation Revisited". Journal of the History of Biology. 44 (1). Springer: 43–57. ISSN 0022-5010. JSTOR 41488387. Retrieved 5 September 2025.