‎Angelo Castrorao Barba, Gabriele Castiglia (eds)‎
‎Perspectives on Byzantine Archaeology. From Justinian to the Abbasid Age (6th?9th Centuries AD)‎

‎, Brepols, 2022 Paperback, 251 pages, Size:216 x 280 mm, Illustrations:100 b/w, 5 col., Language: English. ISBN 9782503596846.‎

Reference : 64507

‎Summary From the rule of Justinian (AD 527-AD 565) up to the Islamic conquests in the Byzantine Empire, the lands of the Mediterranean basin underwent significant change from the sixth to the ninth centuries AD. Urban and rural areas were transformed, landscapes altered, and material cultures saw a fundamental shift. But such changes were by no means uniform across the region. From Jordan, Greece, and the Danube, to the Italian peninsula, Sicily, Spain, and the Horn of Africa, the contributions gathered together in this volume explore new advances and perspectives from the field of 'Byzantine' archaeology over the longue durée in order to shed new light on this period. What was the impact of the reconquest of Justinian? What was the impact of Byzantium in archaeological record? What are the archaeological indicators of urban and rural transformations from the sixth to the ninth centuries? Did architecture represent a marker of socio-economic and cultural change within the Byzantine world? By engaging with such key questions, and by drawing on new data from surveys, excavations, material culture, and historical sources, this volume offers new insights into archaeological perspectives on the broader Byzantine world. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of illustrations 1. Shifting Paradigms in a Shifting Background: An Introduction Angelo Castrorao Barba and Gabriele Castiglia Cities 2. Thessaloniki in Transition (Sixth to Ninth Centuries): The transformation of a Late Antique Imperial Metropolis into a Medieval Urban Center Konstantinos T. Raptis 3. Rome ?The Legacy of the Gothic War in the Urban Defensive Systems Lucrezia Spera 4. Ravenna, the Last Capital of the Western Roman Empire Enrico Cirelli Landscapes 5. The Justinian Renaissance in the East: Reality or Illusion? Basema Hamarneh 6. Umm al-Rasas / Kastron Mefa'a (Jordan) along the Limes Arabicus. Transformation and Resilience of a Cultural Landscape between Byzantine and Early Islamic Period Carmelo Pappalardo 7. Settled Lansdscapes in the Late Antique Peloponnese: A Review for a Topographical Reassessment Priscilla Ralli 8. Aquae in the De Aedificiis. Territorial and Administrative Issues in Dacia Ripensis during the Sixth Century Ivan Gargano 9. From Twilight to a New Dawn: Byzantine Southern Italy Paul Arthur 10. The Sicilian countryside during the Byzantine period: Archaeological Perspectives on Settlement Patterns Giuseppe Cacciaguerra and Angelo Castrorao Barba 11. Shaping a Christian Empire: Early Christianity in the Horn of Africa from Alexandria to Byzantium Gabriele Castiglia and Philippe Pergola Material culture 12. The Circulation of Coinage in Two Byzantine Cities: Rome and Naples in Comparison Flavia Marani 13. Movable Churches, or How Byzantium Influenced Hispania: An Archaeological Reflection on a Current Debate María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo 14. Material Encounters in a Byzantine Setting (Sixth/Seventh to Tenth Centuries AD) Joanita Vroom‎