<nettime> Contibution by Melentie for ZKP5/net time book

[Melentie Pandilovski <mpandil@soros.org.mk>]

WELCOME BACK TO THE EMPIRE
http://www.scca.org.mk/cefca/empire/

Project by Melentie Pandilovski 


We will try to construct a parallel history.

The combining of the three below mentioned platforms will assist us in that
intention. 

Platform 1.

Alexander III of Macedonia had not died on June 13, 323 BC in Babylon after his
return from India but recovered from malaria and consolidated his forces. The
Empire did not fall apart. He lived on another 20 years firmly ruling and
expanding the empire. He undertook a successful expedition in Arabia as planned
and conducted a serious reorganisation of the Empire. The monetary policy was
based on a uniform currency system.   These will be our starting parallels.  We
should concentrate on essential questions. For instance: How will the existence
of a strong universal state spreading over 3 continents with the utmost diverse
cultures affect the lives of the people ?   How will the cultures interact one
with another? Will this politically and otherwise strengthened cultural system
known widely as Hellenism move to a higher merging of cultures.  What will this
mean on the economical, sociological, religious, educational and all of the
other platforms you can imagine?   How will the empire develop? What will the
educational system be like?   How will Alexander's teacher Aristotle influence
the Empire? Will his teachings in Politics, Ethics, Philosophy and Metaphysics
influence so essentially the Empire that combined with the Eastern teachings
will be able to produce a new kind of reality or will they become a stiffened
doctrine of the society.   How will the storing of books, objects or
information in general develop? What will it produce?  How will the populations
mix? Will this happen only by decrees? They were certainly encouraged by
Alexander who had married Roxane, a Persian princess, as well as by large
economic migrations. Will this lead to a super nation?  What qualifications
determine this region ? What makes it essentially different than Rome, China or
Carthage ?  How will Babylon develop, being the capital of Europe&Asia&North
Africa New discoveries ?  Perhaps the diversity will lead to new discoveries in
Science. I do not mean only Geography but Science in general.   New Inventions?
The inventions must lead to a greater development or revolutionising.  The
transport system. Which new roads will be promoted ? Which cities will boom as
a result of it ?   Religion ? Alexander required his provinces to worship him
as a god ! He truly believed that he was the son of God. Zeus - Amon ? Will the
Greek religious system be proclaimed as a central doctrine? How will the Asian
religious diversity fit into it?  The latter prophets ? Did they appear ? Did
they appear on time?   Is their appearance therefore connected to time and
space or not?  Monotheism ? Christianity, Islam ? Will they be possible in the
given parameters ? If yes how will they affect the Empire ? If not, what will?
Is the empire flexible enough to adjust to new beliefs ?  Will Alexander IV
inherit on the throne his father Alexander the Great in 303 BC, continuing the
same policy ? Will he be given a sacred object-sign by his father. Will their
ancestors carry it through the ages ?  Finally, how far in time can we update
this process ?

Platform 2. 

The second part of the project will in essence be an archive and will
concentrate on collecting images, sounds, various audio and video data from the
region. It should represent a virtual Museum of the Empire.  People from the
region or wider are invited to submit photographs, audio or video materials.
The sounds of this permanent collection could be of ethno or another origin,
although they would have to correspond to the cultural boundaries of the
Empire. Should the conscience for the Empire expand we will expand the
geographical regions where the sounds and images are collected from. 

Platform 3. 

A.
Alternative Artists from Macedonia & Europe will visit the main knots in
the Empire, passing thus from Europe to Asia. 

The knots are signified by the main battles fought by Alexander: 

1. Issus
2. Tyre 
3. Gaza
4. Gaugamela - Arbela
5. Susa
6. Persepolis 

- The artists will cover the topography with audio&video footage. 

- The artists will also concentrate on investigating the historical conscience
  of the local population by covering the stories of the villagers regarding
  these battles. 

- The artists will try to investigate how the local communities perceives the
  past, and how much of the past is still rooted and living in them. 

- The artists will meet domestic artists, will try to involve them in the
  project and will exchange experiences with them. 

B.

The artists will in this later phase pursue Alexander's spirituality by
visiting and documenting the temple of Zeus - Amon in the Libyan desert, the
city of Alexandria as centre of culture and commerce, and Babylon as a capital. 

C.

The artists will concentrate on documenting different materials from Pakistan
and India, trying to investigate traces of Alexander's presence in the
conscience of the local population. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ones interested in participating may send texts, audio and video
materials to: 
mpandil@soros.org.mk 
SCCA - Skopje, Macedonia
Orce Nikolov 109,  91000 Skopje Macedonia
Tel/Fax: 389.91.133.541
http://www.scca.org.mk/cefca/empire/

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