Population, settlement and economy in Late Roman and Byzantine Palestine (70–641 AD)

Abstract

This paper outlines the centrality of the Late Roman period in the settlement history of Palestine, and the marginal contribution of the Christian establishment to the development of the land. Settlement momentum during these periods resulted from the fact that Palestine was part of the Roman Empire. The historical trends in Palestine should be regarded as part of a broader political settlement drive that characterized the eastern parts of the Roman realm during the period under discussion. The argument that the process of expansion was unique and stemmed from Palestine's holiness in the eyes of the Christian world is unfounded.

Holocene landscape dynamics and long-term population trends in the Levant

“…The population continued growing until the end of the Byzantine period (~1300 cal. yr. BP), when it reached the highest level ever, which was then reached again only in the twentieth century (Broshi 1979;Bar 2004;Scheidel 2007, 43). The Roman hegemony of the Mediterranean integrated the farming systems of the Levant into a large economic and political superstructure that mitigated the impact of climatic hazards and stimulated the production and management of highly demanded eastern Mediterranean products such as oil and wine (Alcock 2007).…”

“…In addition, it is important to point out that the later periods (after 2500 cal. yr BP) have been excluded in the present analysis because the SPD of radiocarbon dates massively underestimates a widely agreed and widely evidenced boom in population during the Roman and Byzantine periods (Bar, 2004;Broshi, 1979;Geva, 2014). This is due to the reliance by most Roman and Byzantine archaeologists on typo-chronological schemes defined by short-lived pottery types and coins for dating rather than using radiocarbon samples.…”

“…Population started increasing in the latter half of the Hellenistic period and boomed throughout the Levant when the Roman Empire imposed its hegemony over the region (Bar, 2004;Figures 2b and 3). The population continued growing until the end of the Byzantine period (~1300 cal.…”

“…; cf. Bar, 2004;Falconer and Savage, 2009;Finkelstein, 1996Finkelstein, , 1998Greenberg, 2017). The regional archaeological records reflect these processes and events, demonstrating sharp settlement fluctuations and episodes of destruction.…”