Expansion and Decline of Syria's Arid Margin

ISSN： 1480-6800

Source： The Arab World Geographer, Vol.5, Iss.2, 2002-01, pp. : 73-84

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Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyze the fluctuations in the human occupation of the arid margins of Syria and the territorial division that they reveal. The study area, the Badiya of Salamya, has received little attention by archaeologists. Recent studies point to three periods, the Bronze Age, the Roman, and the Byzantine periods, during which the eastern limit of the villages inhabited by sedentary farmers or semi-nomads reached, or extended beyond, the current limit. The strong interdependence between breeders and farmers, which is nowadays an economic necessity and an adaptation to environmental constraints, seems to have been a reality in the past as well, certainly since the Bronze Age more than 4 000 years ago. In all periods the area in question was a contact zone between breeders and farmers, nomads and sedentary dwellers. In all periods since the Bronze Age human occupation of the arid margins and exploitation of agropastoral resources were influenced by declining rainfall from the west to the east. The fluctuations in the eastern limit of sedentary or semi-sedentary villages are also related to other factors, such as demography, water management systems, and forms of territorial control. There is evidence that indicates two peaks in population density, during the Bronze Age and during the Byzantine period, equalling if not exceeding current population densities. The surveys reveal a complex organization of space and territorial control. They also suggest a new interpretation of territorial control and of the relations between breeders and farmers, particularly during the Byzantine and Umayyad periods.