In this collection leading international authorities analyse the structures and economic functions of non-agrarian centres between ca. 500 and 1000 A.D. - their trade, their surrounding settlements, and the agricultural and cultural milieux. The thirty-one papers presented at an international conference held in Bad Homburg focus on recent archaeological discoveries in Central Europe (Vol. 1), as well as on those from southeastern Europe to Asia Minor (Vol. 2).

History of the Byzantine Empire.

Introduction: Goldilocks in Byzantium 1. The Challenge: A Framework for Collapse 2. Beliefs, Narratives, and the Moral Universe 3. Identities, Divisions, and Solidarities 4. Elites and Interests 5. Regional Variation and Resistance 6. Some Environmental Factors 7. Organization, Cohesion, and Survival A Conclusion.

The Byzantine Dark Ages explores current debates about the sudden transformation of the Byzantine Empire in the wake of environmental, social and political changes. Those studying the Byzantine Empire, the successor to the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean, have long recognized that the mid-7th century CE ushered in sweeping variations in the way of life of many inhabitants of the Mediterranean world, with evidence of the decline of the size and economic prosperity of cities, a sharp fall in expressions of literary culture, the collapse in trade networks, and economic and political instability. Michael J. Decker looks at the material evidence for the 7th to 9th centuries, lays out the current academic discourse about its interpretation, and suggests new ways of thinking about this crucial era. Important to readers interested in understanding how and why complex societies and imperial systems undergo and adapt to stresses, this clearly written, accessible work will also challenge students of archaeology and history to think in new ways when comprehending the construction of the past.

Following the fall of Rome in 476 CE, the entire dynamic of Europe underwent a complete shift in power and culture. The Dark Ages was an interesting period of about six centuries, and during it, Europe was still trying to figure out what it was and how it would survive the chaos that followed the fall of Rome.

Late Antique Responses to the Arab Conquests is a showcase of new discoveries in an exciting and rapidly developing field: the study of the transition from Late Antiquity to Early Islam. The Arab conquests are shown to have changed both the Arabian conquerors and the conquered.

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