The Economy of the Later Roman Province of Third Palestine

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction

Geography, settlements, and administration of Third Palestine

Interpreting the ancient economy

The traditional debate: ‘primitive’ or ‘modern’

The rise of neoliberal interpretations of the ancient economy

Market or bazaar economy?

Chapter 2: ‘Between the desert and the sown’: Agriculture and pastoralism in Third Palestine

Agriculture

The pastoralists of Third Palestine

Conclusion

Chapter 3: Urban economy, manufacturing, and resources

The urban economy

Industry: Ceramic production

Industry: Copper mining and smelting

Conclusion

Chapter 4: Regional exchange

Ceramic analysis of trade routes

Gaza amphora (LR4)

Palestinian Bag Jar (LR 5)

Egyptian amphorae

Aila amphora

Maritime animal products in Third Palestine

The date trade

One caravan’s records

Conclusion

Appendix 1: Amphorae descriptions

Gaza amphorae (LR 4)

Bag jars (LR 5)

Egyptian amphorae (LR 7)

Aila amphorae

Chapter 5: International exchange with the Red Sea and Mecca

Red Sea trade

Brief historical outline of Red Sea trade

Aila

Iotabe

Meccan trade

Nature of trade: Origins and caravans

Commodities

Conclusion: The economic implications of international trade on Third Palestine

Chapter 6: Monasticism, pilgrimage, and the economy

Monasticism in Third Palestine

Transportation and infrastructure

Supplying the Sinai monasteries

Conclusion

Chapter 7: Conclusion

A primitive or modern economy in Third Palestine… or something else?

Bibliography

About the Author

Walter D. Ward is Professor and Chair of the History Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the author of two books, Mirage of the Saracen: Christians and Nomads in the Sinai Peninsula in Late Antiquity (2014) and Near Eastern Cities from Alexander to the Successors of Muhammad (2019), and the editor of The Socio-economic History and Material Culture of the Roman and Byzantine Near East: Essays in Honor of S. Thomas Parker (2017).