Changing townscapes in north Africa from late antiquity to the Arab conquest

This book examines the complex transition of North Africa from the Late Roman period to the Arab conquest, focusing on three provinces: Zeugitana, Byzacena and Tripolitana. In particular, it considers the continuity and transformation of towns, as a result of economic, political and social changes. The period sees the wide diffusion of Christianity, the imposition of Vandal rule and Arianism, the presence of a new Empire and the Arab/Muslim takeover. It is also a period of archaeological and material transition: physically towns changed and classical structures, in particular, decayed and were reused. The evidence considered here encompasses a wide range of material, including publications from 1800 (Italian and French colonial excavations) to modern times. These data form the basis for a detailed review of archaeological evidence in this geographical area and for the analysis of the processes of evolution that characterised North African cities.