The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach by archaeologist Gideon Avni is a valuable contribution to the history of the archaeology of the transition from the late Byzantine to Early Islamic periods (sixth through eleventh centuries) in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. Avni's book consolidates the vast body of currently available archaeological evidence to transform previous narratives of the period that appear in multiple fields of scholarly endeavor.
Based on archaeological data from excavations after 1980, Avni convincingly argues that the area's material culture reliably demonstrates that the Byzantine–Islamic transition was a slower and more gradual process than previously thought. It was not a scenario of violent conquest, one of “smoke and fire.” The conquests were thought to be violent and followed by periods of rapid decline and dramatic change. Avni points out that much of the previous historical and archaeological scholarship paints a picture of decline and change, relying...
