Whatever happened in Southern Levant in the Byzantine period?

Autorin

• Paula Kouki
  • website
  • academia.edu
  • researchgate.net
  • pakouki [at] gmail.com

Institution

History and Archaeology, University of Helsinki

Abstract

The Byzantine period witnessed a considerable change in the settlement and land use of the arid areas of southern Levant. Particularly in the Negev, but on a more modest scale also in southern Jordan, environmentally marginal areas were taken under cultivation by means of runoff farming and irrigation systems. Nevertheless, in southern Jordan in particular this expansion appears short-lived, with 6th century settlements apparently abandoned again in the 7th century. Various explanations, generally tending towards political and economic conditions, have been offered for the phenomenon, but they generally fail to adequately address what enabled the “flowering of the desert”. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss possible scenarios, particularly in the light of mounting evidence for climatic instability during the 5th century and its consequences.