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“From Polis to Madina” Revisited – Urban Change in Byzantine and early Islamic Palestine*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2011

GIDEON AVNI
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Extract

The transformation of cities in the Byzantine and early Islamic Near East was discussed by a number of scholars in the last century. Many of them adopted a traditional approach, claiming that the Islamic conquest caused the total collapse of large classical cities, turning them into small medieval towns. The urban landscape was changed dramatically, with the large colonnaded streets of the classical Polis transformed into the narrow allies of the Islamic Madina.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , July 2011 , pp. 301 - 329
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 2011

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Footnotes

*

The research on the early Islamic cities of Palestine was conducted with the assistance of an Israeli Science Foundation grant (given to A. Elad and G. Avni). The paper was written during a fruitful research year at the Institute of Advanced Studies, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in the framework of a research group on “the Concept of Urban Change”.

References

1 Many of these early studies were much influenced from the work of Max Weber, and were further stimulated by the detailed research of French scholars in North Africa and Syria. See for early conceptual works on Late Antique and Islamic cities: Weber, Max, The City, translated and edited by Martindale, D. and Neuwirth, G. (London, 1960)Google Scholar; Von Grunebaum, G. E., “The Structure of the Muslim Town”, in Idem; Islam: Essays in the Nature and Growth of a Cultural Tradition. American Anthropological Association (Memoir 81) (Ann Arbor, 1955), pp. 141–158Google Scholar; de Planhol, X., The World of Islam (Ithaca, 1959)Google Scholar; Hourani, A. and Stern, S.M. (eds.) The Islamic City (Oxford, 1970)Google Scholar; Lapidus, I., Middle Eastern Cities (Berkeley, 1969)Google Scholar; “Evolution of Early Muslim Urban Society”, Comparative Studies in Society and History 15 (1973) pp. 21–50.; For Cities in North Africa and Syria see: Le Tourneau, R., Les villes Musulmanes des L'Afrique du nord, (Algeries, 1957)Google Scholar; W. Marcais, “L‘islamisme et la vie urbaine”, L'academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Comptes Rendus (Jan.-Mar. 1928), pp. 86–100; Sauvaget, J., Alep (Paris, 1941)Google Scholar; “Le plan antique de Damas”, Syria xxvi (1949), pp. 314–358. For summaries and critical evaluations of early studies see: Abu Lughod, J. L., “The Islamic City—Historic Myth, Islamic Essence, and Contemporary Relevance”, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 19 (1987). pp. 155–176CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Reynolds, A., “Islamic City, Arab City: Orientalist Myths and Recent Views”, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 21/1 (1994), pp. 3–18Google Scholar; Alsayyad, N., Cities and Caliphs – on the Genesis of Arab Muslim Urbanism, (New York, 1991)Google Scholar; and Insoll, T., The Archaeology of Islam (Oxford, 1999), pp. 202–218Google Scholar. .

2 Kennedy, H., “From Polis to Madina – Urban Change in Late Antique and Early Islamic Syria”, Past and Present 106 (1985), pp. 3–27CrossRefGoogle Scholar. And see also his “The Last Century of Byzantine Syria: a Reinterpretation”, Byzantinische Forschungen 10 (1985) pp. 141–183; “Gerasa and Scythopolis: Power and Patronage in the Byzantine Cities of Bilād al-Sham”, Bulletin d'Études Orientales 52 (2000), pp. 199–204.

3 Kennedy, From Polis to Madina, pp. 18–19.

4 For example von Grunebaum, Muslim Town; Lapidus, Early Muslim Urban Society; Hourani and Stern, Islamic City.

5 Butler, H.C., Ancient Architecture in Syria, Sections A and B (Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expedition to Syria in 1904–5 and 1909), (Leiden, 1913–1920)Google Scholar; Tchalenko, G., Villages antiques de la Syrie du Nord. Le massif du Bélus a l'epoque romaine (Paris, 1953–1958)Google Scholar.

6 Kraeling, C.H., Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (New Haven, 1938)Google Scholar.

7 The geographical framework of my inspection will be limited to the areas of modern Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan. The numerous excavations conducted in Syria in the last 30 years deserve a special study, and will only be referred to in passing.

8 Beth Shean was extensively excavated by two large expeditions that worked simultaneously in different areas of the civic centre: G. Mazor and R. Bar Nathan directed the Israel Antiquities Authority team, while Y. Tsafrir and G. Foerster led the Hebrew University excavations. These large scale excavations were only partially published to date. See: Tsafrir, Y. and Foerster, G., “Urbanism at Scythopolis – Beth Shean in the Fourth to Seventh Centuries”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 51 (1997), pp. 85–146CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Arubas, B., Foerster, G. and Tsafrir, Y., “Beth Shean – The Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods at the Foot of the Mound: the Hebrew University Excavations”, New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (NEAEHL) 5 (2008), pp. 1636–1641Google Scholar; Mazor, G. and Najjar, A., Nyssa – Scythopolis: The Caesareum and the Odeum, IAA Reports 33 (Jerusalem, 2007)Google Scholar; Mazor, G., “Beth Shean – the Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods: the Israel Antiquities Authority Excavations”, NEAEHL 5 (2008), pp. 1623–1635Google Scholar.

9 The round church at the Tel and the Monastery of Lady Mary at Tel Istabba were excavated in the 1920s. see: Fitzgerald, G.M., Beth Shean Excavations 1921–1923: The Arab and Byzantine Levels, (Philadelphia, 1931)Google Scholar; A Sixth Century Monastery at Beth Shean, (Philadelphia, 1939). And see Mazor, Beth Shean, p. 1634 for the monasteries at Tel Iztabba.

10 For example Zori, N., “The House of Kyrios Leontis at Beth Shean”, Israel Exploration Journal 16 (1966), pp. 123–134Google Scholar; Bahat, D., “A Synagogue at Beth Shean”, in Levine, L.I. (ed.), Ancient Synagogues Revealed, (Jerusalem, 1981), pp. 82–85Google Scholar; Peleg, M., “Bet-Sh‘an – A Paved Street and Adjacent Remains”, ‘Atiqot 25 (1994), pp. 139–155Google Scholar.

11 Foerster and Tsafrir Urbanism at Scythopolis, pp. 116–135; Mazor and Najjar, Nysa – Scythopolis, pp. xiii-xiv.

12 Agadi, S. et al. . “Byzantine Shops in the Street of the Monuments in Bet Shean (Scythopolis)” in Rutgers, L.V. (ed.), What Athens Has to Do with Jerusalem (Leuven, 2002), pp. 423–506Google Scholar.

13 Tsafrir and Foerster, Urbanism at Scythopolis, p. 125; Mazor, Beth Shean, p. 1634.

14 Tsafrir and Foerster, Urbanism at Scythopolis, pp. 137–138; Arubas, B., “Introduction” in. Hadad, S., Islamic Glass Vessels from the Hebrew University Excavations at Bet Shean (Qedem Reports 8) (Jerusalem, 2005), pp. 1–2Google Scholar.

15 Mazor, Beth Shean, pp. 1635–1636.

16 Ibid; pp. 1635–1636; Arubas, Introduction; I thank R. Bar Nathan for sharing with me her yet unpublished information from the excavations at the Sigma area.

17 Mazor, Beth Shean, p. 1635. Tsafrir and Foerster, Urbanism at Scythopolis, p. 137.

18 I thank Rachel Bar Nathan for this information.

19 Mazor, Beth Shean, p. 1635.

20 Khamis, E., “Two Wall Mosaic Inscriptions from the Umayyad Market Place in Bet Shean / Baysān”, Bulletin of the School of Islamic and African Studies 61 (2001), pp. 159–176CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

21 Some sources mention the year 747 ce for the earthquake. On the 749 ce date see: Tsafrir, Y. and Foerster, G., “The Dating of the ‘Earthquake of the Sabbatical Year‘ of 749 in Palestine”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 55 (1992), pp. 231–235CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

22 Mazor suggested that following the 660 earthquake the city centre of Umayyad Baisān shifted from the central valley to the top of the Tel. Mazor, Beth Shean, pp. 1634–1635.

23 Tsafrir and Foerster, Urbanism at Scythopolis, pp. 135–146. Mazor adopts this view: Mazor and Najjar Nysa Scythopolis, p. xiv.

24 Tsafrir and Foerster mention the existence of humble houses built on top of the destroyed colonnaded streets. See a brief description by Arubas, Introduction, p. 2. Agady, S. and Arubas, B. Y., Mihrab Representations in the Art and Architecture of Early Islamic Baysān, in Di-Segni, L., Hirschfeld, Y., Patrich, J. and Talgam, R. (eds.), Man Near Roman Arch – Studies Presented to Prof. Yoram Tsafrir (Jerusalem, 2009), pp. 74–87Google Scholar.

25 Sharon, M., Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae (CIAP) vol. 2, B-C. (Leiden, 1999), pp. 221–222Google Scholar. The discovery of another building inscription from 753 provides additional evidence for the recovery of Abbasid Baisān from the damages of the earthquake. A. Elad, The Caliph Abū‘l ‘Abbās al Saffāh, the First ‘Abbāsid Mahdī – Implications of an Unknown Inscription.

26 For preliminary results of these excavations see: Syon, D., “Bet She‘an”, Excavations and Surveys in Israel 116 (2004), www.Hadashot-esi.org.ilGoogle Scholar; Atrash, W., “Bet She‘an”, Excavations and Surveys in Israel 121 (2009), www.Hadashot-esi.org.ilGoogle Scholar. And see: Sion, O. and el-Salam, A., “A Mansion House from the Late Byzantine – Umayyad Period in Bet Shean Scythopolis”, Liber Annus 52 (2002), pp. 353–367CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

27 Fitzgerald, The Arab and Byzantine Levels. Excavations Tel Beth Shean were renewed by the Hebrew University expedition: Mazar, A., Excavations at Tell Beth Shean 1989–1996, I: From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medieval Period (Jerusalem, 2006)Google Scholar.

28 Fitzgerald, The Arab and Byzantine Levels, pp. 14–27.

29 Mazor, Beth Shean, p. 1635. R. Bar Nathan – oral communication.

30 Fitzgerald, The Arab and Byzantine Levels, p. 48. One of the inscriptions was dated to 806 ce, see: Sharon, CIAP II, pp. 223–225; Schick, R., The Christian Communities of Palestine from Byzantine to Islamic Rule: An Historical and Archaeological Study Studies in late Antiquity and Early Islam, 2. (Princeton, 1995) pp. 270–272Google Scholar.

31 Unfortunately there is no adequate publication for this area. The excavation was described in brief. See: Fitzgerald, The Arab and Byzantine Levels, pp. 11–17.

32 Mazar, Tell Beth Shean, pp. 42–43.

33 This was the typical court house of the early Islamic period in the Near East, found also in Fustat, Ramla, Caesarea, Yokneam and other sites.

34 Tsafrir and Foerster, Urbanism at Scythopolis, pp. 135–143. For other aspects of this process see: Kennedy, From Polis to Madina, pp. 17–19.

35 Al-Muqaddasī, Ahsan al-Taqāsīm fi Ma'rifat al-Aqālīm, M. J. De Goeje, (ed.), 2nd edition, Bibliotheca Geographicorum Arabicorum, 3 (Leiden, 1906), p. 169. For a translation see: Collins, B. A., Al-Muqaddasī: The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions (Reading, 1994), p. 138Google Scholar.

36 Hirschfled, Y., Excavations at Tiberias 1989–1994. IAA Reports, 22 (Jerusalem, 2004)Google Scholar; Hirschfeld, Y. and Galor, K., “New Excavations in Roman, Byzantine, and Early Islamic Tiberias”, in Zangenberg, J., Attridge, H.W. and Martin, D. B. (eds.), Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in Ancient Galilee (Tübingen, 2007), pp. 207–230Google Scholar.

37 al-Muqadassī, Ahsan al-Taqāsīm p. 161; Collins, Al-Muqaddasī: p. 137.

38 Large areas were excavated by B. Rabani in 1954–1956, and by A. Druks in 1964–1968. For a short summary of these excavations see Hirschfeld, Y., “Tiberias”, NEAEHL 4 (1993), pp. 1464–1470Google Scholar.

39 This area was excavated by G. Foerster in 1973–1974 but only preliminarily published, except for the Early Islamic levels: D. Stacy, Excavations at Tiberias 1973–1974 – The Early Islamic Period. IAA Reports 21 (Jerusalem, 2004).

40 For summaries of these excavations see: Stepansky, Y., “Tiberias”, NEAEHL 5 (2008), pp. 2048–2053Google Scholar and the bibliograhpy. A total of more than one hundred excavations were conducted in Tiberias before 2009.

41 For the main publications and preliminary results of these excavations see: Hirschfeld, Excavations at Tiberias, Hirschfeld and Ganor, New Excavations. The most recent excavations at the theatre and southern areas are yet unpublished. I thank M. Hartal and W. Atrash for providing me with the information about these sites. Cytryn-Silverman, K., “The Umayyad Mosque of Tiberias”, Muqarnas 26 (2009), pp. 37–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

42 See: Hirschfeld and Galor, New Excavations, p. 224, Fig. 14 for a suggested reconstruction of the Byzantine town.

43 Ibid, p. 216.

44 K. Cytrin-Silverman “The Early Islamic Mosque at Tiberias”, Muquarnas, (forthcoming). The interpretation of this monumental building as a mosque was further reinforced by the discovery of two large metal chains that supported large lamps illuminating the inner structure. See: Lester, A. and Hirschfeld, Y., “Brass Chains from a Public Building in the Area of the Bathhouse in Tiberias”, Levant 38 (2006), pp. 145–158CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

45 These rescue excavations were conducted in 2008. for a preliminary notice see Hartal, M., “Hammat Tiberias (South), Preliminary Report”, Excavations and Surveys in Israel 121 (2009), www.Hadashot-esi.org.ilGoogle Scholar.

46 Atrash, W., “Tiberias, the Roman Theatre, Preliminary Report”, Excavations and Surveys in Israel 122 (2010), www.Hadashot-esi.org.ilGoogle Scholar.

47 Hirschfeld, Y. and Gutfeld, O., Tiberias: Excavations in the House of the Bronze, Final Report I: Architecture, Stratigraphy and Small finds. Qedem 48 (Jerusalem, 2008)Google Scholar. “Tiberias – The ‘House of the Bronze and associated remains”, NEAEHL 5 (2008), pp. 2053–2054.

48 This area was excavated by M. Hartal in 2007–2008.See: Hartal, M., “Tiberias”, Excavations and Surveys in Israel 120 (2008), www.Hadashot-esi.org.ilGoogle Scholar. I thank him for sharing with me his insight on the excavation.

49 Hirschfeld and Galor, New Excavations, pp. 217–218.

50 Stacy, Excavations at Tiberias. pp. 30–36.

51 This is perhaps the bridge mentioned by al-Muqaddasī in his description of Tiberias. Ahsan al-Taqāsīm p. 161; Collins, Al-Muqaddasī: p. 137. The bridge was re-discovered in 2008 by M. Hartal.

52 Stacy, Excavations at Tiberias, p. 67.

53 Ibid, p.56.

54 Walmsley, A. and Damgaard, K., “The Umayyad Congregational Mosque of Jarash in Jordan and its Relationship to Early Mosques”, Antiquity 79 (2005) pp. 362–378CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Walmsley, A., Early Islamic Syria – an Archaeological Assessment (London, 2007), pp. 80–86Google Scholar.

55 Kraeling, Gerasa.

56 See: F. Zayadine (ed.), Jerash Archaeological Project 1981–1983 I (Amman, 1986); II, 1984–1988, Syria 66 (1989). Occasional excavation reports were published in the Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

57 Schick, Christian Communities, pp. 315–322.

58 Walmsley, A. et al. , “A Mosque, Shops and Bath in Central Jarash: the 2007 Season of the Islamic Jarash Project”, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 52 (2008), pp. 109–137Google Scholar.

59 The church of St Stephen was dedicated in 620, the church of St Peter in 624, The Prophet Isaiah church in 635, and the Menas church in the same year. See: Piccirilo, M., “The Antiquities of Rihab of the Bene Hasan”, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 24 (1980), pp. 153–156Google Scholar; Schick, Christian Communities, pp. 442–443.

60 The church of St George had an inscription dating its mosaic floor to around 640, and the church of John the Baptist had a mosaic laid over the original stone pavement around 635. See: Humbert, J.B., “Huit campagnes de fouilles au Khirbet as-Samra (1981–1989)” Revue Bibilique 97 (1990), pp. 252–259Google Scholar; Schick, Christian Communities, pp. 377–378.

61 These conclusions are also supported from the excavations at the village cemetery, which yielded many inscriptions from the seventh and eighth centuries. See: MacAdam, H.I., “Settlements and Settlement Patterns in Northern and Central Transjordan, ca 550 – ca 750” in Cameron, A. and King, G.R.D. (eds.), The Byzantine and Islamic Near East II. Studies in Late Antiquity and Islam I (Princeton, 1994), pp. 49–94Google Scholar; Nabulsi, A.J., “The Ancient Cemetery of Khirbat as-Samra after the Sixth Season of Excavations (2006)”, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 51 (2007), pp. 273–281Google Scholar.

62 Kennedy, H., “Islam”, in Bowersock, G.W., Brown, P. and Grabar, O. (eds.), Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Post Classical World (Cambridge, 1999), pp. 229Google Scholar; Liebeschuetz, J.H.W.G., “Late Antiquity (6th and 7th Centuries) in the Cities of the Roman Near East”, Mediteraneo Antico 3 (2000), pp. 47–50Google Scholar. The Decline and Fall of the Roman City (Oxford, 2001), pp. 295–298.

63 Walmsley, A., “Economic Development and the Nature of Settlement in the Towns and Countryside of Syria-Palestine, ca 565–800”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 61 (2007), p. 334Google Scholar.

64 Ibid, pp. 335–338; Early Islamic Syria, pp.81–87.

65 Levine, L.I., Caesarea Under Roman Rule (Leiden, 1975)Google Scholar; Holum, K.G. (ed.) King Herod's Dream – Caesarea on the Sea (New York, 1988)Google Scholar; Raban, A. and Holum, K.G. (eds), Caesarea Maritima: a Retrospective after Two Millennia (Leiden, 1996)Google Scholar.

66 Patrich, J., “Urban Space in Caesarea Maritima, Israel”, in. Burns, T.S. and Eadie, J.W. (eds.), Urban Centers and Rural Contexts in Late Antiquity (East Lansing MI, 2001), pp. 77–110Google Scholar.

67 The church was excavated by the Combined Caesarea Expedition (CCE – Area TP). For general description of the church and its excavation see Holum, K.G., “Ceasarea's Temple Hill – The archaeology of Sacred Space in an Ancient Mediterranean city”, Near Eastern Archaeology 67 (2004) pp. 184–199CrossRefGoogle Scholar; “Caesarea – The combined Caesarea Expeditions Excavations”, NEAEHL V (2008) pp. 1665–1668. For the dating of construction and abandonment see Horton, F. L. “The Advent of Islam at Sepphoris and at Caesarea Maritima”, in Meyers, E.M. (ed.), Galilee through the Centuries – Confluence of Cultures (Winona Lake, 1999), pp. 377–390Google Scholar.

68 Patrich, Urban Space, pp. 90–92.

69 An exceptionally large villa was discovered west of the city, built on top of a ridge facing the walls of Caesarea. See: Porath, J., “Palaces in Bizantine Caesarea”, Cathedra 122 (2006), pp. 117–142 (Hebrew)Google Scholar.

70 See for example Hirschfeld, Y. and Birger-Calderon, R., “Early Roman and Byzantine Estates near Caesarea”, Israel Exploration Journal 41 (1991), pp. 81–111Google Scholar; Hirschfeld, Y., Ramat Hanadiv Excavations: Final Report of the 1984–1998 Seasons (Jerusalem, 2000)Google Scholar. For the map of Caesarea's hinterland see: Olami, Y., Sender, S. and Oren, E., Archaeological Survey of Israel, Map of Binyamina (48) (Jerusalem, 2005)Google Scholar.

71 Estimations of the population of Caesarea range between 35,000 and 100,000. See: J. Patrich, Urban Space, p. 80.

72 Patrich, Urban Space; Levine, Caesarea Under Roman Rule, pp. 136–139.

73 Patrich dates some of the changes in the public buildings of the southern quarter to the time of the Persian conquest (614–628). Patrich, J., “Caesarea between Byzantine and Islamic Rule – The Archaeological Evidence from the Southwest Zone and the Textual Sources”, Cathedra, 122 (2007), pp. 143–172 (Hebrew)Google Scholar. This dating is based on an earlier dating of the buildings. See: Toombs, L. E. “The Stratigraphy of Caesarea Maritima”, in Murrey, P.R.S. and Parr, P. (eds), Archaeology in the Levant: Essays for Kathleen Kenyon (Warminster, 1978), pp. 223–232Google Scholar. However, these dates were refuted by Lenzen, Holum and Horton, based on the re-evaluation of the ceramic sequences from the JECM excavation. See: F. L. Horton, The Advent of Islam, p. 386 for a summary of different views.

74 Magness, J., The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine. (Winona Lake, 2003), pp. 210–213Google Scholar and references therein.

75 For example Patrich, “Caesarea between Byzantine and Islamic Rule”; Toombs, The Stratigraphy.

76 Magness, Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlemet, p. 215; For a revised view of the impact of the Persian conquest on Caesarea see: Foss, C., “The Persians in the Roman East”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 13 (2003), pp. 160–162Google Scholar.

77 For general summaries of the siege and conquest see: Gil, M., A History of Palestine 634–1099 (Cambridge, 1992), p. 58Google Scholar. For a detailed evaluation of the historical sources and the archaeological evidence see: J. Patrich, Caesarea between Byzantine and Islamic Rule. For the Samaritan sources relevant to seventh century Caesarea see: Levy-Rubin, M. “New Evidence Relating to the Process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period – The Case of Samaria”, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 43 (2000), pp. 259–276CrossRefGoogle Scholar. “The Influence of the Muslim Conquest on the Settlement Pattern of Palestine during the Early Muslim Period”, Cathedra 121 (2006), pp. 53–78 (Hebrew).

78 While Patrich and Porath propose that the southern quarter was completely abandoned and converted into an agricultural area, Holum dates that abandonment to the years following the conquest. And see: G. Avni, “Archaeology and the Early Islamic Conquests – Three Case Studies from Palestine”, in J. Schiettecatte and C. Robin (eds.), Orient on the Eve of Islam (4th-7th Centuries) – the Setting of the Transition (forthcoming) for summaries of the different opinions.

79 Holum, Ceasarea's Temple Hill; Caesarea, p. 1668.

80 Raban, A. and Arnon, Y., “Caesarea in the Early Islamic Period and its Water Installations”, Cathedra, 122 (2007), pp. 177–202 (Hebrew)Google Scholar; Holum, K.G., Stabler, J.A., and Reinhardt, E.G., (eds.), Caesarea Reports and Studies – Excavations 1995–2007 within the Old City and the Ancient Harbor (BAR International Series 1784) (Oxford, 2008)Google Scholar; Arnon, Y., Caesarea Maritima, the Late Periods (700–1291) (BAR International Series 1771) (Oxford, 2008), pp. 1–18Google Scholar.

81 J. Patrich, “Caesarea between Byzantine and Islamic Rule”, pp. 163; idem et. al. “The Warehouse Complex and Governor's Palace (areas KK, CC, and NN, May 1993-December 1995), in K.G. Holum, A. Raban and J. Patrich (eds.), Caesarea Papers II (Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplement Series, Portsmouth RI, 1999), pp. 82–83.

82 The line of this wall was recently discovered in the course of excavations conducted by N. Fauscher and H. Barbe. I thank them for providing me this information.

83 The most comprehensive evaluation of Byzantine and Early Islamic Jerusalem is still the monumental work of Vincent, H. and Abel, F.-M., Jérusalem, Recherches de topographie, d'archeologie et d'histoire. Tome II—Jérusalem Nouvelle (Paris, 1914–26)Google Scholar. For recent comprehensive summaries of the archaeology of Byzantine Jerusalem see: Geva, H., “Jerusalem, The Byzantine Period”, NEAEHL 2 (1994), pp. 768–785Google Scholar; Tsafrir, Y., “The Topography and Archaeology of Jerusalem in the Byzantine Period”, in Tsafrir, Y. and Safrai, S. (eds.), The History of Jerusalem—The Roman and Byzantine Periods (70–638 CE) (Jerusalem, 1999), pp. 281–352, (Hebrew)Google Scholar. For the urban components of Jerusalem as represented in the Madaba map, see: Yonah, M. Avi, The Madaba Mosaic Map (Jerusalem, 1954)Google Scholar; Donner, H., The Mosaic Map of Madaba (Kempen, 1992)Google Scholar; Tsafrir, Topography and Archaeology, pp. 342–351. For the archaeology and topography of Early Islamic Jerusalem see: Bahat, D., “The Physical lnfrastructure”, in Prawer, J. and Ben-Shammai, H. (eds.), The History of Jerusalem—The Early Muslim Period (638–1099) (Jerusalem, 1996), pp. 38–101Google Scholar.

84 Tsafrir, Topography and Archaeology, pp. 285–295, 330–342.

85 Lagrange, M. J., Saint Etienne et son sanctuaire a Jérusalem (Paris, 1894)Google Scholar; Vincent and Abel, Jerusalem Nouvelle, pp. 743–879; and for the recent excavations see: Amit, D. and Wollf, S., “An Armenian monastery in the Morasha neighborhood, Jerusalem”, in Geva, H. (ed.) Ancient Jerusalem revealed, 2nd edition (Jerusalem, 2000), pp. 293–298Google Scholar; V. Tzaferis, N. Feig, A. Onn, and E. Shukron, “Excavations at the Third Wall, North of the Jerusalem Old City”, in Geva. Ancient Jerusalem revealed, pp. 287–292.

86 P. B. Bagatti, “Scavo di un monastero al Dominus Flevit”, Liber Annus 6 (1955–56), pp. 240–270.

87 G. Barkay, “Excavations of Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem”, in Geva, Ancient Jerusalem Revealed, pp. 85–106; Illife, J.H., “Cemeteries and a ‘Monastery’ at the Y.M.C.A., Jerusalem”, Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine 4 (1935), pp. 70–80Google Scholar; Ussishkin, D., “The Village of Silwan—The Necropolis from the Period of the Judean Kingdom (Jerusalem, 1993), pp. 346–359Google Scholar.

88 Avni, G., “The Conquest of Jerusalem by the Persians (614 CE) – An Archaeological Assessment, Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 357 (2010) pp. 35–48CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

89 The main early Islamic monuments attracted the attention of scholars from the nineteenth century onwards. There is an exhaustive literature on the construction and role of the early Islamic monuments on the Temple Mount. For the major works see: Creswell, K. A. C., Early Muslim Architecture, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1969)Google Scholar; Grabar, O., “The Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem”, Ars Orientalis 3 (1959), pp. 33–62Google Scholar; idem, The Shape of the Holy—Early Islamic Jerusalem (Princeton, 1996); M. Rosen Ayalon, The Early Islamic Monuments of al-Haram al-Sharīf, An Iconograhic Study. Qedem 28 (Jerusalem, 1989); A. Elad, Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic Worship—Holy Places, Ceremonies, Pilgrimage (Leiden, 1995).

90 The excavations were conducted by Mazar and Ben-Dov between 1968–1978 and by Reich and Billig between 1994–1996. See: Mazar, B., The Mountain of the Lord (New York, 1975)Google Scholar; Ben Dov, M., In the Shadow of the Temple (New York, 1982) pp. 273–321Google Scholar; R. Reich and Y. Billig, “Excavations Near the Temple Mount and Robinson Arch, 1994–1996”, in Geva, Ancient Jerusalem Revealed, pp. 340–352. For the interpretation of the buildings see: Rosen-Ayalon, The Early Islamic Monuments, pp. 8–11; Grabar, Shape of the Holy, pp. 128–130.

91 Several interpretations for the political and religious background that led to the establishment of the new Islamic centre in the Temple Mount / Haram el-Sharīf area were suggested; see: Elad, Medieval Jerusalem, pp. 147–162 for a summary of the previous researches.

92 Tsafrir, Topography and Archaeology, pp. 135–142; Geva, Jerusalem, p. 693.

93 Hamilton, R. W., “Excavations Against the North Wall of Jerusalem”, Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine 10 (1944), pp. 1–54Google Scholar; Magness, J., “The Walls of Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period”, Biblical Archaeologist 54 (1991), pp. 208–217CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

94 Ben Dov, M., The Historical Atlas of Jerusalem (New York, 2002), pp. 174–182Google Scholar; Bahat, The Physical Infrastructure, pp. 43–45.

95 Bahat, Physical Infrastructure, pp. 37–41. According to Vincent and Tsafrir, the southern walls were abandoned in the second half of the tenth century, see: Vincent and Abel, Jérusalem Nouvelle, p. 942; Tsafrir, Y., “Muqaddasi's Gates of Jerusalem, A New Identification Based on Byzantine Sources”, Israel Exploration Journal 27 (1977), pp. 152–161Google Scholar. Ben Dov delays the date of abandonment of the Byzantine walls to the second half of the eleventh century. See: Ben Dov, Historical Atlas of Jerusalem, pp. 187–192.

96 For the streets in Jerusalem see: Bahat, Physical Infrastructure, pp. 49–52.; For Jarash see: Kraeling, Gerasa, pp. 116–117; for Palmyra: Al-As‘ad, K. and Stepinowski, F. M., “The Ummayad Suq in Palmyra”, Damaszener Mitteilungen 4 (1989), pp. 205–223Google Scholar.

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99 Bahat, Physical Infrastructure, pp. 53–65.

100 Ibid, pp. 58–65; A. Linder, “Christian Communities in Jerusalem”, in Tsafrir and Safrai, The History of Jerusalem, pp. 121–162.

101 Bahat, Physical Infrastructure, pp. 62–64.

102 Ibid., pp. 60–65; and See: Patrich, J., “The Structure of the Muristan Quarter of Jerusalem in the Crusader Period”, Cathedra 33 (1984) pp. 3–17 (Hebrew)Google Scholar; Boaz, A., Jerusalem in the Times of the Crusaders (London, 2001), pp. 85–88Google Scholar.

103 Clear continuity from Byzantine to Early Islamic times is evident from a recent survey and excavations conducted at the Church and its surroundings. See: Avni, G. and Seligman, J., “New Excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Compound”, in Bottini, G. C., Di Segni, L. and Chrupcala, L. D. (eds.), One Land—Many Cultures—Archaeological Studies in Honor of Stanislao Loffreda OFM (Jerusalem, 2003), pp. 153–162Google Scholar.

104 One of the main finds of the recent excavations in this area are the remains of a hitherto unknown church built in the early Islamic period and annexed to the main complex of the Church. Ibid., pp. 156–158.

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113 For a detailed list of churches and monasteries in and around Jerusalem see: Schick, The Christian Communities, pp. 325–359; Bahat, Physical Infrastructure, pp. 87–95.

114 D. Amit, J. Seligman and I. Zilberbod, “The ‘Monastery of Theodoros and Cyriacus’ on the Eastern Slope of Mount Scopus, Jerusalem”, in Bottini,. Di Segni and Chrupcala, One Land—Many Cultures, pp. 139–148.

115 Arav, Eg. R., Di Segni, L. and Kloner, A., “An Eighth Century Monastery Near Jerusalem”, Liber Annus 50 (1990), pp. 313–320Google Scholar; S. Gibson, “Ras et-Tawil: A Byzantine Monastery North of Jerusalem”, Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Society (1985–86), pp. 69–73.

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117 R. Avner “The Recovery of the Kathisma Church and its Influence on Octagonal Buildings”, in Bottini, Di Segni and Chrupcala, One Land – Many Cultures, pp. 173–186. Idem, “The Kathisma: a Christian and Muslim Pilgrimage Site”. ARAM 18–19 (2006–7), pp. 541–557.

118 Pottery assemblages from excavations in Jerusalem have a major role in refining this chronological picture. See particularly the contribution of J. Magness's in her Jerusalem Ceramic Chronology, Circa 200–800 c.e. (Sheffield, 1993).

119 Milik, T., “La topographie de Jerusalem vers la fin de l'epoque Byzantine”, Melanges de l'universite Saint Joseph 37 (1960–61), pp. 125–89Google Scholar.

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122 Ibid, p. 4. and See Liebeschuetz, Decline and Fall, pp. 295–310; Ward-Perkins, B., “Specialized Production and Exchange”, in Cameron, A., Ward-Perkins, B. and Whitby, M. (eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History XIV – Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, A.D. 425–600. (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 346–391Google Scholar; Whittow, M., “Decline and Fall? Studying Long-Term Change in the East”, in Lavan, L. and Bowden, W. (eds.), Theory and Practice in Late Antique Archaeology (Leiden, 2003). pp. 404–423Google Scholar.

123 See for example Von Grunebaum, The Structure of the Muslim Town; Alsayyad, Cities and Caliphs, pp. 14–22 for a summary of traditional ideas.

124 Kennedy, From Polis to Madina, p. 16.

125 The same planning concepts applied for the Abbasid large cities of Sammara and Baghdad, which revealed precise orthogonal planning patterns. See: Northedge, A., Historical Topography of Samarra (London, 2006)Google Scholar. Lassner, J., The Middle East Remembered: Forged Identities, Competing Narratives, contested Spaces. (Ann Arbor, 2000), pp. 153–179CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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127 Ibid.

128 Tsafrir and Foerster, From Scytopolis to Baisān, p. 116.

129 Idem, Urbanism in Scythopolis, p. 141.

130 Ibid.

131 Kennedy, From Polis to Madina, pp. 21–22.

132 Ibid, p. 26. and see: Bulliet, R. W., The Camel and the Wheel (Cambridge, Mass., 1975)Google Scholar.

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136 Kennedy, From Polis to Madina, p. 18.

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140 Avni, G., “The Byzantine – Islamic Transition in the Negev: An Archaeological Perspective”, in Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 35 (2009)Google Scholar, Idem, “Archaeology and the Early Islamic Conquests of Palestine – Three Regional Case Studies”. In. C. Robin and J. Schahciatte (eds.), L'orient a la veille de l'Islam, (forthcoming).

141 This pattern was suggested for other regions of the Mediterranean. See: Whittow, Decline and Fall? pp. 414–417 and references therein.

142 The reasons of the settlement collapse before the coming of the Crusaders in 1099 are beyond the scope of this paper and deserve a comprehensive study.

143 In the framework of a comprehensive study on the settlements of Palestine in the early Islamic period, which is currently under preparation by the author, a corpus of sites in which clear evidence of Byzantine Islamic continuity was found will be provided. It includes about 65 small towns and large villages, c. 110 rural sites, and about 25 churches and monasteries. For previous works see: Schick, Christian Communities.

144 Avni, G., Nomads, Farmers and Town-Dwellers – Pastoralists-Sedentist Interaction in the Negev Highlands, Sixth-Eighth Centuries CE. (Jerusalem, 1996)Google Scholar.

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146 And see: Laurence, R., “Modern Ideology and the Creation of Ancient Town Planning”, European Review of History 1 (1994), pp. 9–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar on the adoption and creation of the Roman town planning concept by the modern town planners in the early twentieth century.