Using recent archaeological findings, Gideon Avni addresses the transformation of local societies in Palestine and Jordan between the 6th and 11th centuries AD, arguing that the Byzantine-Islamic transition was a much slower and gradual process than previously thought.
Using a comprehensive evaluation of recent archaeological findings, Avni addresses the transformation of local societies in Palestine and Jordan between the sixth and eleventh centuries AD. Arguing that these archaeological findings provide a reliable, though complex, picture, Avni illustrates how the Byzantine-Islamic transition was a much slower and gradual process than previously thought, and that it involved regional variability, different types of populations, and diverse settlement patterns. Based on the results of hundreds of excavations, including Avni's own surveys and excavations in the Negev, Beth Guvrin, Jerusalem, and Ramla, the volume reconstructs patterns of continuity and change in settlements during this turbulent period, evaluating the process of change in a dynamic multicultural society and showing that the coming of Islam had no direct effect on settlement patterns and material culture of the local population. The change in settlement, stemming from internal processes rather than from external political powers, culminated gradually during the Early Islamic period. However, the process of Islamization was slow, and by the eve of the Crusader period Christianity still had an overwhelming majority in Palestine and Jordan.
The discovery by Bedouin of ancient scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947 led to scholastic and popular excitement that continues to the present day. This volume will assist text scholars and archaeologists alike, as well as readers from other disciplines, and the interested public, in approaching a better understanding of the ancient texts of Qumran and the site where these texts were found.
Using recent archaeological findings, Avni addresses the transformation of local societies in Palestine and Jordan between the sixth and eleventh centuries AD, arguing that the Byzantine-Islamic transition was a much slower and gradual process than previously thought.
The discovery by Bedouin of ancient scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947 led to scholastic and popular excitement that continues to the present day. This volume will assist text scholars and archaeologists alike, as well as readers from other disciplines, and the interested public, in approaching a better understanding of the ancient texts of Qumran and the site where these texts were found.
The northern borders of China - known as the Northern zone - were a key area of interaction between sedentary and nomadic people during the late second and early first millennium BCE. During this period the region's unique economy, socio-political systems, local cultures and identities took shape. 'Prehistoric Societies on the Northern Frontiers of China' analyses the archaeological record to examine the changes that took place in Northern China in the first millennium. Drawing on field work in the Chifeng area of Inner Mongolia, the book explores dramatic changes in the construction of identities alongside more gradual changes in subsistence strategies and political organization. The book is unique in integrating the archaeological data and historical records of this period with anthropological theory to examine the role of identity construction and the use of symbol in the shaping of East Asian society.
Examining the crucial problems confronting present-day livestock breeders, principally Bedouin and Jews in Israel, but also pastoral nomads in neighboring Middle Eastern countries, Let Shepherding Endure proposes new ways for these governments to enhance and sustain the long-term future development of shepherding communities. Adopting a broad historical and anthropological perspective on the topic, and assessing various pastoral relief programs, Kressel proposes an alternative program whereby the region's states would promote a brand of pastoralism that preserves rangeland herding while keeping in step with the contemporary cultural and political context. This truly visionary set of recommendations would have several dividends, especially for the Bedouin: their cultural legacy, in danger of obsolescence, would be preserved while at the same time enhancing both their pastoral skills and ability to secure a livelihood from herding.
Israeli constitutional law is a sphere of many contradictions and traditions. Growing out of British law absorbed by the legal system of Mandate Palestine, Israeli constitutional law has followed the path of constitutional law based on unwritten constitutional principles. This book evaluates the development of the Israeli constitution from an unwritten British-style body of law to the declaration of the Basic Laws as the de facto Israeli constitution by the supreme court and on through the present day. The book is divided into a chronological history, devoted to a description of the process of establishing a constitution; and a thematic one, devoted to the review and evaluation of major constitutional issues that are also the subject of discussion and research in other countries, with emphasis on the unique characteristics of the Israeli case.
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