Settlement and Urbanization in Early Islamic Palestine, 7th-11th Centuries: Texts and Archaeology Contrasted

318 Pages·2022·9.592 MB·English

by  Hagit Nol

Settlement and Urbanization
in Early Islamic Palestine,
7th-11th Centuries
This volume follows the changes that occurred in central Palestine during
the longue durée between the 7th to the 11th centuries. That region offers a
unique micro-history of the Islamicate world, providing the opportunity for
intensive archaeological research and rich primary sources.
Through a careful comparison between the archaeological records and
the textual evidence, a new history of Palestine and the Islamicate world
emerges – one that is different than that woven from Arabic geographies
and chronicles alone. The book highlights the importance of using a vari-
ety of sources when possible and examining each type of source in its own
context. The volume spans ancient technologies and daily life, ancient agri-
culture, and the perception of place by ancient authors. It also explores the
shift of settlements and harbors in central Palestine, as well as the gradual
development of a new metropolis, al-Ramla.
Settlement and Urbanization in Early Islamic Palestine will be of particu-
lar interest to students and scholars of the history of Islam or the history of
Palestine, or anyone working more generally in the methodology of histori-
cal research and integrating texts and archaeology.
Hagit Nol is a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the Université libre de
Bruxelles, Belgium, where she studies the distribution of early mosques. She
is interested in early Islam, in economic and social history, and in the diffu-
sion of knowledge and ideas. When she has time, she reads novels or watches
Scandinavian TV series. In between, she raises two teenagers.
Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East
Series editor: Greg Fisher, University of California Santa Barbara, USA
Advisory Board of Associate Editors: Ra’anan Boustan, University of
C alifornia, Los Angeles, USA; Zeba Crook Carleton University, Canada;
Elizabeth DePalma Digeser, University of California at Santa Barbara,
USA; Matthew Gibbs, University of Winnipeg, Canada; John Lee, Univer-
sity of California at Santa Barbara, USA; Harry Munt, University of York,
UK; Richard Payne, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, USA; Lucy
Wadeson, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; Philip Wood, Aga Khan
University, London, UK; Alan Lenzi, University of the Pacifc, USA.
Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East provides a global forum for
works addressing the history and culture of the Ancient Near East, span-
ning a broad period from the foundation of civilization in the region until
the end of the Abbasid period. The series includes research monographs,
edited works, collections developed from conferences and workshops, and
volumes suitable for the university classroom.
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Erica Ferg
A Story of YHWH
Cultural Translation and Subversive Reception in Israelite History
Shawn W. Flynn
Migration and Colonialism in Late Second Millennium BCE Levant and its
Environs
The Making of a New World
Pekka Pitkänen
Geography, Religion, and Sainthood in the Eastern Mediterranean
Erica Ferg
Settlement and Urbanization in Early Islamic Palestine, 7th-11th Centuries
Texts and Archaeology Contrasted
Hagit Nol
https://www.routledge.com/classicalstudies/series/HISTANE
Settlement and Urbanization
in Early Islamic Palestine,
7th-11th Centuries
Texts and Archaeology Contrasted
Hagit Nol
First published 2022
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Hagit Nol
The right of Hagit Nol to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Nol, Hagit, author.
Title: Settlement and urbanization in early Islamic Palestine (7th-
11th centuries) : texts and archaeology contrasted / Hagit Nol.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. |
Series: Studies in the history of the ancient Near East | Includes
bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2021051502 (print) | LCCN 2021051503 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032008721 (hbk) | ISBN 9781032008738 (pbk) | ISBN
9781003176169 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Urban archaeology–Palestine. | Palestine—
History—638-1917. | Palestine—Antiquities. | Ramlah
(Israel)—Antiquities. | Islamic antiquities—Palestine. | Human
settlements—Palestine.
Classification: LCC DS111 .N57 2022 (print) | LCC DS111 (ebook) |
DDC 956.94/03—dc23/eng/20220111
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051502
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051503
ISBN: 978-1-032-00872-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-00873-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-17616-9 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003176169
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
To my family

Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xiii
Acknowledgments xv
1 Introduction 1
2 Settlement during early Islam: history and historiography 17
3 The Research Area 48
4 The Big Data 89
5 Technologies and daily life 133
6 Settlement patterns through archaeological evidence 183
7 Settlement patterns through texts 243
8 Conclusions 282
Index 291

Figures
2.1 An aerial image of qanāts near Maʿan, Jordan 28
2.2 An aerial image of Qaṣr al-Kharrāna and evidence for its
agriculture 28
3.1 Geomorphological map of the research area 49
3.2 Excavated and surveyed nodes in the research area 51
3.3 An index of clusters and sites in the research area 52
3.4 Map of the Yarqon sites 54
3.5 Sites of the coast 56
3.6 Sites around Azor 58
3.7 Sites around Ramla 59
3.8 Nodes inside Ramla 60
3.9 Sites around Rehovot 62
3.10 The Gedera cluster 64
3.11 The research area on the Madaba Map 65
4.1 Clay objects 92
4.2 Bone fgurines (‘Coptic dolls’) 94
4.3 A bone fgurine from Azor 94
4.4 A lollipop-shaped object from Ramat Gan 95
4.5 Big-built fre installation from Na’an 99
4.6 Medium-lined fre installation from Tel Yavne 100
4.7 Small-lined Fire installation and two jars from Bet Dagan 102
4.8 Open container complexes 104
4.9 Open container complex type 4 from Ganne Tal 104
4.10 Open container complex type 5 from Na’an 105
4.11 Open container complex type 6 from Mazliah 106
4.12 Subterranean installations 108
4.13 Internal view of a barrel-shaped vault installation from Ramla 109
4.14 Inscription incised on plaster, after restoration, the Pool of
the Arches 114
4.15 Equivalents of the Pool of the Arches according to their date 116
4.16 Spatial distribution of three architectural elements in Ramla 118
4.17 Relation of fagstone pavements to portable artefacts in Ramla 118
4.18 Spatial distribution of bell-shaped pits and sunken jars in Ramla 119