Professor Foss has been a leading figure in pointing out to Byzantinists the necessity of taking archaeological evidence into account when making any historical reconstruction. These studies have as their purpose, in large part, such an evaluation of the archaeological data, including the evidence of coin finds, weighing it against and combining it with the information gathered from written sources. They demonstrate the vital importance of such material for some of the central issues of Byzantine history, notably the question to what extent did towns and cities, the centres of civilised life in the classical world, perpetuate this into the Byzantine period. As Foss shows, the physical record makes it plain that the structures inherited from Roman times fell into decay, and that the land took on a new medieval aspect of fortresses and villages. The first articles in this volume deal specifically with this transformation in the Byzantine heartlands of Asia Minor, and attribute a key role to the destructive Persian invasions of the 7th century. The following pieces, based extensively on the results of survey work, explore how the patterns of settlement evolved in particular areas, from the Roman up into the Turkish periods.

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.

Professor Foss has been a leading figure in pointing out to Byzantinists the necessity of taking archaeological evidence into account when making any historical reconstruction. These studies have as their purpose, in large part, such an evaluation of the archaeological data, including the evidence of coin finds, weighing it against and combining it with the information gathered from written sources. They demonstrate the vital importance of such material for some of the central issues of Byzantine history, notably the question to what extent did towns and cities, the centres of civilised life in the classical world, perpetuate this into the Byzantine period. As Foss shows, the physical record makes it plain that the structures inherited from Roman times fell into decay, and that the land took on a new medieval aspect of fortresses and villages. The first articles in this volume deal specifically with this transformation in the Byzantine heartlands of Asia Minor, and attribute a key role to the destructive Persian invasions of the 7th century. The following pieces, based extensively on the results of survey work, explore how the patterns of settlement evolved in particular areas, from the Roman up into the Turkish periods.

These essays deal with the history and archaeology of Byzantine Asia Minor from the 4th to the 14th century. They include regional surveys of the southwest (Lycia and Pamphylia) and discussions of specific sites and monuments elsewhere. These include many fortifications which have never been analysed or integrated into the archaeological or historical record of Byzantium. The work puts all kinds of surviving remains into the context of history, to show that the archaeological record is essential for recreating and understanding the nature and development of the Byzantine empire.

Life and Death in Asia Minor combines contributions in both archaeology and bioarchaeology in Asia Minor in the period ca. 200 BC – AD 1300 for the first time. The archaeology topics are wide-ranging including death and territory, death and landscape perception, death and urban transformations from pagan to Christian topography, changing tomb typologies, funerary costs, family organization, funerary rights, rituals and practices among pagans, Jews, and Christians, inhumation and Early Byzantine cremations and use and reuse of tombs. The bioarchaeology chapters use DNA, isotope and osteological analyses to discuss, both among children and adults, questions such as demography and death rates, pathology and nutrition, body actions, genetics, osteobiography, and mobility patterns and diet. The areas covered in Asia Minor include the sites of Hierapolis, Laodikeia, Aphrodisias, Tlos, Ephesos, Priene, Kyme, Pergamon, Amorion, Gordion, Boğazkale, and Arslantepe. The theoretical and methodological approaches used make it highly relevant for people working in other geographical areas and time periods. Many of the articles could be used as case studies in teaching at schools and universities. An important objective of the publication has been to see how the different types of results emerging from archaeological and natural science studies respectively could be integrated with each other and pose new questions on ancient societies, which were far more complex than historical and social studies of the past often manage to transmit.

This revised and expanded edition of the widely-praised A History of Byzantium covers the time of Constantine the Great in AD 306 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Expands treatment of the middle and later Byzantine periods, incorporating new archaeological evidence Includes additional maps and photographs, and a newly annotated, updated bibliography Incorporates a new section on web resources for Byzantium studies Demonstrates that Byzantium was important in its own right but also served as a bridge between East and West and ancient and modern society Situates Byzantium in its broader historical context with a new comparative timeline and textboxes

This book deals with one of the key moments in the history of Byzantium and Europe and , namely the transitional period between Antiquity and Middle Ages, a topic which gains particularattention among scholars from multiple fields: historians, archaeologists and philologists.