Heliodorus's Aethiopica
The first time I opened Heliodorus's Aethiopica, I found myself asking numerous questions. Who is Thyamis? Why has the story suddenly shifted to an Athenian named Cnemon? Why are entirely new characters introduced before earlier ones have even been explained? Heliodorus expected his readers to tolerate uncertainty. He refused to explain everything immediately because he wanted his readers to reconstruct the story themselves. Only gradually did I realize that what initially ap
Arda Tunca
Aug 314 min read
War, Yield Spikes, and the Yen Rescue
A geopolitical standoff in the Middle East, a soaring US national debt, volatile Treasury yields, and sudden currency market interventions in Tokyo are all structural components of a single, interconnected dynamic. Washington's naval blockade and expanding economic pressure on Iran have choked off maritime transport through the Strait of Hormuz, forcing commodity vessels down to a trickle. This supply restriction directly triggered a sharp spike in crude oil and energy prices
Arda Tunca
Aug 223 min read
Cretan Muslims and the Transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Nation-State
What makes a person Turkish or Greek? Is it the land where they were born? The language they speak? The religion they practice? The state of which they are a citizen? Or the community to which they feel they belong? From today's perspective, many people might regard these as questions with straightforward answers. Yet, for many people living during the final century of the Ottoman Empire, categories such as territory, language, religion, citizenship, and communal belonging we
Arda Tunca
Aug 1214 min read
