Overview

This book accounts for the tumultuous period of the fifth to eleventh centuries from the Fall of Rome and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire through the breakup of the Eastern Roman Empire and loss of pan-Mediterranean rule, until the Turks arrived and seized Anatolia. The volume is divided into a dozen syntheses that each addresses an issue of intrigue for the archaeology of Anatolia, and two dozen case studies on single sites that exemplify its richness. Anatolia was the only major part of the Roman Empire that did not fall in late antiquity; it remained steadfast under Roman rule through the eleventh century. Its personal history stands to elucidate both the emphatic impact of Roman administration in the wake of pan-Mediterranean collapse. Thanks to Byzantine archaeology, we now know that urban decline did not set in before the fifth century, after Anatolia had already be thoroughly Christianized in the course of the fourth century; we know now that urban decline, as it occurred from the fifth century onwards, was paired with rural prosperity, and an increase in the number, size, and quality of rural settlements and in rural population; that this ruralization was halted during the seventh to ninth centuries, when Anatolia was invaded first by the Persians, and then by the Arabs -- and the population appears to have sought shelter behind new urban fortifications and in large cathedrals. Further, it elucidates that once the Arab threat had ended in the ninth century, this ruralization set in once more, and most cities seem to have been abandoned or reduced to villages during the ensuing time of seeming tranquility, whilst the countryside experienced renewed prosperity; that this trend was reversed yet again, when the Seljuk Turks appeared on the scene in the eleventh century, devastated the countryside and led to a revival and refortification of the former cities. This dynamic historical thread, traced across its extremes through the lens of Byzantine archaeology, speaks not only to the torrid narrative of Byzantine Anatolia, but to the enigmatic medievalization.

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9780190610463

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Reviews

The book is well and thoughtfully illustrated, and its extensive bibliography will give easy access to wider literature on the complex urban and social transformations of the eastern half of the Byzantine Empire in the early and middle periods, allowing for more comparative study with other parts of the Mediterranean basin at this time. This reviewer wishes that the editor had decided on a larger, more inclusive definition of Byzantium and Byzantine, but his interest in the transformation from the Roman to the Byzantine and in monumental architecture, informed the chronological and geographical parameters and the contributors he chose. --Scott Redford, Bryn Mawr Classical Review Let us hope that Turkish archaeological teams can find the resources and expertise to pursue further the various exciting post-Roman agendas laid out in this exemplary and highly readable volume. --Peter Thonemann, Cambridge Archaeological Journal The editor's intent to bring together in one place the archaeological evidence for the Byzantine Empire pre-Battle of Manzikert was a good one. And ... Niewohner has succeeded. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and up. --D.A. Slane, CHOICE It is an omnibus resource on Byzantine Anatolia, which is exceptionally useful as previous studies on the period are scattered throughout edited volumes, journals, and excavation reports.[1] For a scholar of the Mediterranean who is relatively new to the study of Byzantine Anatolia (such as myself), this book provides a concise overview of archaeological topics of general interest. However, the most notable feature of the book is that it contains the first English presentations of foreign research; for example, the majority of the data found in the chapter on human remains (Chapter 4, F. Arzu Demirel) derive from Turkish publications. Furthermore, the book is well-illustrated, with clear, informative site and architectural plans, vivid color photographs, and detailed computer-generated reconstructions. Overall, this volume is a must-have resource for anyone working on material from Byzantine Anatolia. --Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, CJ-Online Let us hope that Turkish archaeological teams can find the resources and expertise to pursue further the various exciting post-Roman agendas laid out in this exemplary and highly readable volume. --Peter Thonemann, Cambridge Archaeological Journal The editor's intent to bring together in one place the archaeological evidence for the Byzantine Empire pre-Battle of Manzikert was a good one. And ... Niewohner has succeeded. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and up. --D.A. Slane, CHOICE It is an omnibus resource on Byzantine Anatolia, which is exceptionally useful as previous studies on the period are scattered throughout edited volumes, journals, and excavation reports.[1] For a scholar of the Mediterranean who is relatively new to the study of Byzantine Anatolia (such as myself), this book provides a concise overview of archaeological topics of general interest. However, the most notable feature of the book is that it contains the first English presentations of foreign research; for example, the majority of the data found in the chapter on human remains (Chapter 4, F. Arzu Demirel) derive from Turkish publications. Furthermore, the book is well-illustrated, with clear, informative site and architectural plans, vivid color photographs, and detailed computer-generated reconstructions. Overall, this volume is a must-have resource for anyone working on material from Byzantine Anatolia. --Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, CJ-Online The editor's intent to bring together in one place the archaeological evidence for the Byzantine Empire pre-Battle of Manzikert was a good one. And ... Niewohner has succeeded. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and up. --D.A. Slane, CHOICE It is an omnibus resource on Byzantine Anatolia, which is exceptionally useful as previous studies on the period are scattered throughout edited volumes, journals, and excavation reports.[1] For a scholar of the Mediterranean who is relatively new to the study of Byzantine Anatolia (such as myself), this book provides a concise overview of archaeological topics of general interest. However, the most notable feature of the book is that it contains the first English presentations of foreign research; for example, the majority of the data found in the chapter on human remains (Chapter 4, F. Arzu Demirel) derive from Turkish publications. Furthermore, the book is well-illustrated, with clear, informative site and architectural plans, vivid color photographs, and detailed computer-generated reconstructions. Overall, this volume is a must-have resource for anyone working on material from Byzantine Anatolia. --Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, CJ-Online It is an omnibus resource on Byzantine Anatolia, which is exceptionally useful as previous studies on the period are scattered throughout edited volumes, journals, and excavation reports.[1] For a scholar of the Mediterranean who is relatively new to the study of Byzantine Anatolia (such as myself), this book provides a concise overview of archaeological topics of general interest. However, the most notable feature of the book is that it contains the first English presentations of foreign research; for example, the majority of the data found in the chapter on human remains (Chapter 4, F. Arzu Demirel) derive from Turkish publications. Furthermore, the book is well-illustrated, with clear, informative site and architectural plans, vivid color photographs, and detailed computer-generated reconstructions. Overall, this volume is a must-have resource for anyone working on material from Byzantine Anatolia. --Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, CJ-Online

Overall, this is an invaluable contribution to the history of Anatolia and Byzantine archaeology. The book is written with an eye towards nonspecialists,therefore unusual terms are followedby a full explanation and complex phenomenaare described in a clear and concise way. Yet, the experienced archaeologist working in Asia Minoror adjacent regions will find this book an equally invaluable companion. The chapters are written by authoritative scholars * Emanuele E. Intagliata, Journal of Greek Archaeology * It is an omnibus resource on Byzantine Anatolia, which is exceptionally useful as previous studies on the period are scattered throughout edited volumes, journals, and excavation reports. [1] For a scholar of the Mediterranean who is relatively new to the study of Byzantine Anatolia (such as myself), this book provides a concise overview of archaeological topics of general interest. However, the most notable feature of the book is that it contains the first English presentations of foreign research; for example, the majority of the data found in the chapter on human remains (Chapter 4, F. Arzu Demirel) derive from Turkish publications. Furthermore, the book is well-illustrated, with clear, informative site and architectural plans, vivid color photographs, and detailed computer-generated reconstructions. Overall, this volume is a must-have resource for anyone working on material from Byzantine Anatolia. * Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, CJ-Online * The book is well and thoughtfully illustrated, and its extensive bibliography will give easy access to wider literature on the complex urban and social transformations of the eastern half of the Byzantine Empire in the early and middle periods, allowing for more comparative study with other parts of the Mediterranean basin at this time. This reviewer wishes that the editor had decided on a larger, more inclusive definition of Byzantium and Byzantine, but his interest in the transformation from the Roman to the Byzantine and in monumental architecture, informed the chronological and geographical parameters and the contributors he chose. * Scott Redford, Bryn Mawr Classical Review * What a delightful and much-needed book! ... Archaeology in Anatolia is key to understanding the survival and transformation of Byzantium over almost a thousand years and is thus of interest to all scholars of the medieval Mediterranean and Black Sea ... Philipp Niewoehner and his many colleagues are to be heartily congratulated for providing so much fundamental information that should help to set new and exciting research agendas. * Paul Arthur, Medieval Archaeology * This book shows archaeology at its best, laying before us accounts of all the major cities and then drawing conclusions... This is a book that rewrites history in a way hitherto only known to the few scholars. * Andrew Selkirk, Current World Archaeology Issue.88 * This volume gives an excellent sense of current trends of thought in Late Roman and Early Byzantine archaeology... an exemplary and highly readable volume. * Peter Thonemann (Wadham College, Oxford), Antiquity Publications * Let us hope that Turkish archaeological teams can find the resources and expertise to pursue further the various exciting post-Roman agendas laid out in this exemplary and highly readable volume * Peter Thonemann, Cambridge Archaeological Journal *

It is an omnibus resource on Byzantine Anatolia, which is exceptionally useful as previous studies on the period are scattered throughout edited volumes, journals, and excavation reports.[1] For a scholar of the Mediterranean who is relatively new to the study of Byzantine Anatolia (such as myself), this book provides a concise overview of archaeological topics of general interest. However, the most notable feature of the book is that it contains the first English presentations of foreign research; for example, the majority of the data found in the chapter on human remains (Chapter 4, F. Arzu Demirel) derive from Turkish publications. Furthermore, the book is well-illustrated, with clear, informative site and architectural plans, vivid color photographs, and detailed computer-generated reconstructions. Overall, this volume is a must-have resource for anyone working on material from Byzantine Anatolia. --Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, CJ-Online

Author Information

Dr. Philipp Niewöhner is an archaeologist and teacher who has worked in Turkey for twenty years, directed surveys of the Byzantine pilgrimage site at Germia in central Anatolia and excavations at Miletus on the west coast of Asia Minor, and taught at Freiburg, Heidelberg, Göttingen, Oxford, and Skopje. He is the author and co-editor of several works; this is his first in English.

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