The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological ApproachUsing a comprehensive evaluation of recent archaeological findings, Avni addresses the transformation of local societies in Palestine and Jordan between the sixth and eleventh centuries AD. Arguing that these archaeological findings provide a reliable, though complex, picture, Avni illustrates how the Byzantine-Islamic transition was a much slower and gradual process than previously thought, and that it involved regional variability, different types of populations, and diverse settlement patterns. Based on the results of hundreds of excavations, including Avni's own surveys and excavations in the Negev, Beth Guvrin, Jerusalem, and Ramla, the volume reconstructs patterns of continuity and change in settlements during this turbulent period, evaluating the process of change in a dynamic multicultural society and showing that the coming of Islam had no direct effect on settlement patterns and material culture of the local population. The change in settlement, stemming from internal processes rather than from external political powers, culminated gradually during the Early Islamic period. However, the process of Islamization was slow, and by the eve of the Crusader period Christianity still had an overwhelming majority in Palestine and Jordan. |
Contents
Four Eyewitness Accounts versus Arguments in Stone | 1 |
Shifting Paradigms for the ByzantineIslamic Transition | 11 |
From Polis to Madina The Evolution of Large Urban Communities | 40 |
A Tale of Two Cities Jerusalem and Ramla in the Early Islamic Period | 107 |
The Changing Land Settlement Patterns and Ethnic Identities | 191 |
The Transformation of Settlement and Society A Synthesis | 300 |
Conclusion | 344 |
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The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach Gideon Avni Limited preview - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
749 earthquake abandoned Abbasid agricultural al-Muqaddasi Arab conquest Arabah archaeological evidence archaeological findings Ascalon Avni Beth Shean buildings Byzantine and Early Byzantine period Caesarea cent central centre Christian churches and monasteries city wall congregational mosque construction courtyard Crusader dated decline deserted discussion in Ch Early Islamic period East eastern eighth century eleventh century farmsteads Fustat Galilee hinterland Hirschfeld historical sources Holy indicate inhabited inscriptions Israel Antiquities Authority Jarash Jerusalem Jewish Judaean Kathisma Khirbet large number located Magness Mamshit Mediterranean monumental mosaic floors Muslim Nasir-i Khusraw nearby Negev Negev Highlands ninth and tenth nomads northern Palestine Palestine and Jordan Patrich population pottery Ramla region religious residential areas revealed Roman and Byzantine rural Samaritan Schick second half seems Sepphoris seventh and eighth Shivta sixth century southern streets suggested surveys synagogue Temple Mount tenth centuries Tiberias town Tsafrir and Foerster Umayyad urban villages Walmsley White Mosque Yoqneam