The Byzantine-Islamic transition in Palestine : an archaeological approach

441 Pages·2014·17.97 MB·English

by  Avnî

OXFORD STUDIES IN BYZANTIUM
EditorialBoard
jameshoward-johnston elizabethjeffreys
marclauxtermann paulmagdalino
henrymaguire cyrilmango
marliamango jean-pierresodini
jonathanshepard
OXFORD STUDIES IN BYZANTIUM
OxfordStudiesinByzantiumconsistsofscholarlymonographsandeditions
onthehistory,literature,thought,andmaterialculture
oftheByzantineworld.
Byzantines,Latins,andTurksintheEasternMediterraneanWorldafter1150
EditedbyJonathanHarris,CatherineHolmes,andEugeniaRussell
DebatingtheSaints’CultintheAgeofGregorytheGreat
MatthewDalSanto
TheEmbodiedIcon
LiturgicalVestmentsandSacramentalPowerinByzantium
WarrenT.Woodfin
‘WehaveNoKingButChrist’
ChristianPoliticalThoughtinGreaterSyriaontheEveofthe
ArabConquest(c.400–585)
PhilipWood
TillingtheHatefulEarth
AgriculturalProductionandTradeintheLateAntiqueEast
MichaelDecker
TheChronicleofMorea
HistoriographyinCrusaderGreece
TeresaShawcross
TheTrophiesoftheMartyrs
AnArtHistoricalStudyofEarlyChristianSilverReliquaries
GalitNoga-Banai
AByzantineEncyclopaediaofHorseMedicine
TheSources,Compilation,andTransmissionoftheHippiatrica
AnneMcCabe
GeorgeAkropolites:TheHistory
Introduction,Translation,andCommentary
RuthMacrides
HolyFoolsinByzantiumandBeyond
SergeyA.Ivanov
SimonFranklin
BasilIIandtheGovernanceofEmpire(976–1025)
CatherineHolmes
–
The Byzantine Islamic
Transition in Palestine
An Archaeological Approach
GIDEON AVNI
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For my parents—Esther and Haim

Preface
Eversincemyfirstfieldworkexperienceinarchaeologicalsurveysandexcav-
ationsintheNegevHighlandsbackintheearly1980s,Ihavebeenintriguedby
the apparently unbridgeable gap between the traditional historical narratives
on the Arab conquest of the Near East in the 630s, which influenced the
acceptedarchaeologicalconventionsononehand,andthe‘factsontheground’,
whichwerebeingrevealedbythoseofusworkinginthisremotecornerofthe
settledlandsontheother.Documentingwhatwasthenbelievedtobesettlement
sitesfromtheByzantineperiod,wehaverealizedthattheArabconquestleftno
traceinthearchaeologicalrecordofmanysurveyedandexcavatedsites.
These early studies were followed by three decades of exhaustive research,
during which I was privileged to conduct research and excavations in several
majorurbansitesofthesettledcountry,amongwhichwerethecitiesofJerusalem
andRamla,andthenecropolisofBethGuvrin-Eleutheropolis.Theresultsofour
researchescoincidedwithaplethoraofdatafromexcavatedsitesinneighbouring
regions, many of which addressed questions on the political, religious, and
cultural transformation in the Near East during the second half of the first
millennium, enhancing the development of a new approach to the Byzantine–
Islamic transformation. With the progress of pottery-dating methodologies, the
longue durée approach for the existence of these settlements was inevitably
adopted, and the seeds of a new insight on the transformation of settlement
and society were planted, consequently treating the the traditional historical
narrativesandarchaeologicalconventionsbeingviewedwithagrainofsalt.
Likeahugejigsawpuzzle,thearchaeologicaldataslowlybegantoproducea
fascinating picture of a Mediterranean society gradually transformed. In
contradiction of the harsh scenario of ‘smoke and fire’ that emphasizes a
violent conquest followed by rapid change, archaeological findings paint a
muchmilderpicture,inwhichpoliticalandreligioustolerancesetthetonefor
therelationshipsbetweenvariousethniccommunitiesinPalestine.
Whileaddressingoneofthemostsignificantpoliticalandreligiouschanges
in the history of the Near East, in which a new reality was gradually created,
one cannot avoid the analogy with recent events in this turbulent region,
longingforpoliticalandreligioustolerancethatwillreplacethesmokeandfire
thathasbeenspreadingthroughoutitinmoderntimes.
IwouldliketothanktheIsraelAntiquitiesAuthorityforprovidingmewith
itsresourcesonsurveysandexcavationsthroughoutthecountry.Partofthis
research was supported by a generous grant from the Israel Science Founda-
tion, which enabled me to conduct, in partnership with Amikam Elad, Katia
Cytryn-Silverman, and Ofer Efrati, a detailed study of the urban centres of
viii Preface
PalestineduringtheEarlyIslamicperiod.Largepartsofthisbookwerewritten
during my 2008–9 fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Studies in the
HebrewUniversityofJerusalem.Iamgratefultobothinstitutionsforallowing
me the time and space to pursue the research in inspirational scholarly
surroundings.
I am deeply indebted to my colleagues and friends Ronnie Ellenblum,
AmikamElad,andKatiaCytryn-Silvermanfortheirinsights,andfordiscuss-
ing many topics that stimulated my research. I am also grateful to Donald
Whitcomb,AlanWalmsley,RobertSchick,JodiMagness,andMarliaMango
forsharingwithmetheirvastknowledgeontheperiod,itssites,andfinds.
Many colleagues and friends provided me with details from their excav-
ationsandresearches,andIamindebtedtothemall:ShlomitWeksler-Bdolah,
Alexander Onn, Eli Yannai, Uzi Dahari, Gabi Mazor, Walid Atrash, Rachel
Bar-Nathan,MosheHartal,JonSeligman,MiriamAvissar,TaliErickson-Gini,
Peter Fabian, Yigal Israel, Dov Nahlieli, Ofer Sion, Uzi ‘Ad, Motti Haiman,
Uzi Avner, Yuval Baruch, Amir Gorzalczany, Eli Haddad, Haim Barbe, Alla
Nagorsky, Yehiel Zelinger, Yael Gorin-Rosen, Peter Gendelman, Edna Stern,
RinaAvner,DannySyon,DavidAmit,ShimonGibson,AmosKloner,Yitshak
Magen, Haim Ben David, Yoram Tsafrir, Oren Gutfeld, Benny Arubas, Ken-
neth Holum, Vasilios Tzaferis, Alan Walmsley, Katia Cytryn-Silverman,
Donald Whitcomb, Oren Tal, Ignacio Arce, Daniel Master, Tracy Hoffman,
JohnPeterOleson,andRebeccaFoote.
ManythanksareduetothelibrariansoftheIAAlibraryattheRockefeller
Museum in Jerusalem for their most helpful assistance in my endless search
forobscurebibliographicalitems,andtoNataliaZak,whopatientlyproduced
the maps for the book, as well as to Gila Brand for her meticulous editing of
largesectionsofthemanuscript.
This book is dedicated with love to my wife, Orli, my children, Yuval and
Ya‘ara,andespeciallytomyparents,HaimandEstherAvni,whoaccompan-
ieditscreationwithgreatinterestandsoundadvice,frommyearlyyearsinthe
fieldtothefinalstagesofwriting.
GideonAvni
IsraelAntiquitiesAuthorityand
theHebrewUniversityofJerusalem
Contents
ListofFigures xi
ANoteonTerminologyandChronology xiv
Abbreviations xv
Prologue:FourEyewitnessAccountsversus‘ArgumentsinStone’ 1
1. ShiftingParadigmsfortheByzantine–IslamicTransition 11
2. FromPolistoMadina:TheEvolutionofLarge
UrbanCommunities 40
3. ATaleofTwoCities:JerusalemandRamlaintheEarly
IslamicPeriod 107
4. TheChangingLand:SettlementPatternsandEthnicIdentities 191
5. TheTransformationofSettlementandSociety:ASynthesis 300
6. Conclusion 344
AppendixI:CitiesinByzantinePalestine,Phoenice,andArabia 354
AppendixII:EarlyIslamicSettlementsinPalestineandJordan 356
AppendixIII:RegionalSurveys:ByzantineandEarlyIslamicsites 363
Bibliography 365
Index 415