Imperial Geographies
This chapter provides a narrative overview of the urban history of this period of the formation of the Hellenistic states. It presents the restructuring of urban centers against the backdrop of the warfare and state-building activities of the early Hellenistic kings. Covering the period 322–281 (and, to a lesser extent, 281–ca. 250), it stresses both the ideological and structural roles of urbanization in underpinning the Hellenistic states. It treats both the political history of the wars of the successors and presents a detailed survey of the archaeological and historical evidence for the effects of Hellenistic imperial policy on settlement patterns in northern Greece and Asia Minor. What emerges is a picture of great political and social disruption, but also the centrality of polis institutions.