Routes and communications in late Roman and Byzantine Anatolia (ca. 4th-9th centuries a.d.)

Date

2020

Author

Kaya, Tülin

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This study presents a framework to evaluate the impacts of administrative/political and economic structures of the late Roman and Byzantine period on the use of routes and status of cities in Asia Minor. The studies that looked at the dynamics of the era between the 4th-9th centuries argued the state of urbanism, via both literary and archaeological sources, and suggested ‘decline’, ‘transformation’ and ‘continuity’ or ‘discontinuity’ of the classical city. The period considered was dominated by military and political circumstances that influenced both the use of routes and urbanization dynamics. By combining the historical evidence gathered from textual studies and archaeological data collected from excavation reports, the thesis aims to discuss how and in which ways these changes were influential on the use of routes and hence the status of urban centres located along these routes between the fourth and ninth centuries. The discussion is illustrated in reference to two main diagonal routes between Constantinople and the Cilician Gates, which used by the Roman armies, pilgrims, and Arab raiders. The main cities known archaeologically and textually along these routes are used to draw a picture of Anatolia and thus to evaluate the nature of change in the urban status of Roman cities..

Subject Keywords

Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Empire Civilization., Routes, Communications, Urbanization, Change, Late Roman and Byzantine Anatolia.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12625514/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/46158

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis