Ancient boundaries were drawn by extending the frontier
of civilization (pomerium in Latin) out beyond city walls into the realms
of the barbarian -- not by first drawing lines on paper (or sheepskin)
separating territory, but by establishing limits based on landmarks (physical
features for the most part) reflecting extent of rule. The Great
Wall and Hadrian's Wall are the most notable examples of the extension of the
frontier delimiting civilization from barbary. Nomadic peoples today
still see the limits of their territories as the extent to which they graze
their animals during the yearly migration and not a line which abutts someone
else's lands. Last year Saudi Arabia and Yemen delimited a boundary based
on a series of points that will be demarcated not on straight line segments or
land contours but the limits of local Bedouin rule (a real problem as the
tribesmen don't consider themselves to be either Saudi or Yemeni and don't
perceive their defined worlds as lines in the sand).
The
late 19th Century Durand Line that separates Afghanistan from Pakistan was based
on the British deciding the limit of their administration over colonial
India. Beyond it lay unmanageable fighting tribesmen. Russia
drew a similar line from the north along the Amu Darya (Oxus) to define the
limit of their control over Turkestan. The result was the nation of
Afghanistan being formed in between -- codified in subsequent Anglo-Afghani
treaties -- but a dividing of the Pashtun peoples as a result. We should
be wise to remember that Afghanistan (and the former Soviet Union) vehemently
protested the Durand frontier line as a legitimate boundary after the
Second World War until factional fighting dissolved a unified
government. They argued a frontier does not an international boundary
make.
I look
forward to more responses to this "fiat" boundary question.
Ray
What about the Great Wall of China, the Wall
between Britannia and
Scotia? The early Chinese Kingdoms had
borders, authoritative or
arbitrary. What about lands described in
the Old Testament. Egypt and
others.?
Emil
David Mark
wrote:
>What do you think is the oldest example of a purely "fiat"
international
>boundary? A purely fiat boudnary is one which is drawn
independently of
>any features on the earth's surface-- a straight line,
an arc of a circle,
>etc. Can anyone give an example of such a
boundary from ancient times?
>By international we mean a boundary
between two independent kingdoms or
>realms. Negotiated, demarked
boudnaries that follow drainage divides or
>rivers don't count. I
suspect that the Romans had them, perhaps earlier
>groups, but cannot
cite an example. My colleague suggests that they began
>in the
'colonial' period of the last 500-600 years. (The oldest of thise
>would
be interesting
too.)
>
>David
>
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