@article{(Syria-Palestine):11350,
      recid = {11350},
      author = {Morriss, Veronica},
      title = {The Islamic Maritime Frontier: Trade and Transformation  along the Coast of Bilād al-Shām (Syria-Palestine) during  the Early Islamic Period},
      publisher = {University of Chicago},
      school = {Ph.D.},
      address = {2024-03},
      pages = {287},
      abstract = {The Arab conquest of Syria-Palestine in the seventh  century CE transformed the coast of Bilād al-Shām (Greater  Syria) into a maritime frontier, impacting patterns of  trade and ending Byzantine control over the sea routes of  the eastern Mediterranean. The nature of this  transformation has been much debated and clouded by  outdated paradigms like the Pirenne Thesis, as well biased  histories, and problematic archaeological data. The  predominant and persistent narrative along the  Syro-Palestinian coast has been one of economic decline,  contraction, and regional abandonment.

In counterpoint to  these perspectives, this dissertation seeks to provide a  more nuanced and multi-faceted understanding of the  maritime frontier of Bilād al-Shām during the  Byzantine-Islamic transition (the seventh and eighth  centuries CE). This study applies frontier theory to  reassess the available archaeological and literary evidence  to reveal the complex social, political, economic, and  environmental processes that comprised the maritime  frontier. It builds the case that despite periods of  conflict, the maritime frontier was a dynamic zone of  connection between the two empires. Rather than a region in  decline, it was a region in transition, marked by dramatic  population shifts, new economic opportunities and avenues  of exchange, and the rapid development of maritime  infrastructure. },
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/11350},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.11350},
}