The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach (Oxford Studies in Byzantium) - Hardcover

Avni, Gideon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199684332 ISBN 13: 9780199684335

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2014

Synopsis

Using 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.

About this title

About the Author:

Gideon Avni is the Head of the Archaeological Division in the Israel Antiquities Authority and a lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. His academic interests focus on various aspects of Classical, Late Antique and Early Islamic archaeology, the cultural and religious transformation of the Near East from Byzantine to Islamic rule, and the archaeology of desert societies in the Levant. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Negev Desert, Beth Guvrin, Jerusalem, and Ramla.

Review:

In The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archeological Approach, Gideon Avni provides a synthesis of current knowledge on the archaeology of Palestine and Jordan in the period from the sixth to eleventh centuries ... Avni provides a huge service to other scholars in bringing together a large amount of recent, specialist material in an accessible format. * Phil Booth, American Historical Review *

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0199684332
• ISBN 13: 9780199684335
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448