Figures
1.1 Winter (December to February) mean climate in the Byzantine lands 1951–2016. Data stem from monthly CRU 4.01 with 0.5° × 0.5° spatial resolution (Harris et al. 2014, “Updated high-resolution grids of monthly climatic observations – the CRU TS3.10 Dataset”) 29
1.2 Summer (June to August) mean climate in the Byzantine lands 1951–2016. Data stem from monthly CRU 4.01 with 0.5° × 0.5° spatial resolution (Harris et al. 2014, “Updated high-resolution grids of monthly climatic observations – the CRU TS3.10 Dataset”) 31
1.3 Examples of documentary and natural proxies for palaeo climate and environmental research in the Mediterranean (Bradley et al. 1995) 32
1.4 Schematic diagram of the general methodology used to reconstruct past climates, including surface temperature reconstructions (From NRC, “Surface temperature reconstructions for the past 2,000 years”) 34
1.5 Natural and documentary records resolving hydroclimate or temperature across the central and eastern Mediterranean, divided by proxy type that cover the full or a large part of the Byzantine period 43
1.6 Tree ring proxies together with documentary evidence and spatial distribution of proxy records used in the 2150 years summer temperature reconstructions for the central and eastern Mediterranean 48
1.7 Spatial Spearman correlation between detrended winter temperature around Constantinople and other areas across the central and eastern Mediterranean for the period 1951–2010 51
1.8 As Figure 1.7 but for decadal means covering the period 1901–2010 51
2.1 Microscope photographs of pollen grains of wheat (Triticum/Avena) and amaranth (Amaranthaceae) 62
2.2 Age-depth model for Lake Abant in NW Turkey (polynomial regression) 67
2.3 Pollen profile of Lake Pergusa in Central Sicily, with different groups of pollen taxa, depth, estimated age, and radiocarbon dates 70
2.4 Pollen sites in Anatolia that provide information on the course of the late antique–early medieval transition in agriculture 74
2.5 Aggregated trends in cereals’ share of total vegetation structure (cerealia-type pollen, in %) in four major regions of the Byznatine world 76
3.1 Alikianos, skeleton 040. Massive concentration of calculus on the mandibular teeth 90
3.2 Alikianos, skeleton 057. Detail of cribra orbitalia 91
3.3 Alikianos, skeleton 011. Manifestation of scorbutic lesions in the form of dense hypervascularity on the endocranial of the frontal bone (a mixture of active and healed bone plaques, suggestive of a reaction to chronic hemorrhage) 93
4.1 Geographical distribution of epidemic outbreaks from AD 300 to 1453 (plague, dysentery, diphtheria, smallpox, unknown microbial origin) 130
5.1 Arithmetical mean of the main domestic mammal percentages (sheep/goat, cattle, and pig) in the regions of the Empire in comparison to Anthony King’s results for the Roman Period (King, “Diet”) 145
5.2 Arithmetical mean of identified bird family percentages in faunal materials from different regions, with the exception of the domestic chicken 150
5.3 Arithmetic mean of game percentages in different regions of the Byzantine Empire. In the north, a high share of deer; in the south, more bovids 151
5.4 Attribution of fish families found in Byzantine faunal materials to different water bodies 156
5.5 Small mammal finds on the North Plateau of Caričin Grad 158
6.1 SCE s and their effects 166
7.1 Ravenna, Arian Baptistery, dome mosaic: Baptism of Christ in the river Jordan 187
7.2 Thessaloniki, Hosios David, apse mosaic: Christ in Glory with river deity below 188
7.3 Umm al-Rasas, Church of St. Stephen, nave pavement, detail: iconoclastic erasures 192
7.4 Madaba, Church of the Apostles, nave pavement, detail: personification of the sea 195
7.5 Darmstadt, Landesmuseum, ivory box: personification of wealth with Adam and Eve laboring and grieving 198
8.1 Map showing the course of the long-distance aqueduct channels 205
8.2 Map showing the revised course of the low-level Hadrianic channel and the Valens channel 215
8.3 Map showing the distribution of 210 Byzantine period cisterns in Constantinople, the line of the two main channels and the approximate boundaries of the city’s regions 217
9.1 Map of cities and sites mentioned in the chapter 228
10.1 Settlement patterns in the territory of ancient Sagalassos 252
10.2 a. Sagalassos seen from its southern entrance, b. the Bereket basin, c. Gravgaz marsh, d. fortified hilltop settlement KAA08, e./g. pattern burnished sherd (Early Byzantine Dark Age), f. Middle Byzantine pottery, h. press weight (Roman), i. monumental (funerary) architecture (Roman) 260
11.1 Physical relief of Çankırı-Çorum region 280
11.2 Simplified geology map of the Çankırı-Çorum Basin and surrounding region 281
11.3 Precipitation and temperature data for Çorum (average for 1930–2000) 284
11.4 Summary percentage pollen diagram for Abant 289
11.5 Summary percentage pollen diagram for Yeniçağa 290
11.6 Summary percentage pollen diagram for Kaz 291
11.7 Summary percentage pollen diagram for Lâdik 292
11.8 Summary percentage pollen diagram for Çöl 294
11.9 Nar Gölü (Cappadocia) & Tecer Gölü (Sivas) – a climate proxy for Avkat (after Kuzucuoğlu et al. 2011; Jones et al. 2006; England et al. 2008) 297
12.1 Map of selected localities mentioned in the chapter (J. Preiser-Kapeller, OEAW, 2021; base map: GoogleEarth) 309
12.2 Modern-day monthly average temperature (degree Celsius) and precipitation (mm) in the city of Van (J. Preiser-Kapeller, OEAW, 2021) 310
12.3 Map of irrigation installations in the region of the city of Van (J. Preiser-Kapeller, OEAW, 2021; base map: GoogleEarth) 312
12.4 Number of documented major construction works in the regions around Lake Van (Turkey) between the 6th and 16th centuries 318
12.5 Map of the area around the Arcruni residences of Ostan and Ałtʿamar (J. Preiser-Kapeller, OEAW, 2021; base map: GoogleEarth) 323
12.6 Depiction of King Gagik Arcruni (904/908–943 CE) on the Church of the Holy Cross on the island of Ałtamar in Lake Van 325
12.7 Reconstruction of average humidity conditions in the Lake Van area based on oxygen isotope data 332
12.8 Reconstruction of average humidity and temperature conditions in the Lake Van area 333
13.1 Topographical and bathymetric map of the Aegean Sea area. Copyright Eric Gaba (Sting – fr:Sting) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons from Wikimedia Commons: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aegean_Sea_map_bathymetry-fr.jpg) 348
13.2 Simplified map of the present-day geodynamic structure of the Hellenic Arc, showing the modern Aegean volcanic arc developed behind the Hellenic trench, the Peloponnese – Crete island arc and the Cretan back-arc basin 349
13.3 Satellite Image of the Aegean Sea Region 350
13.4 The active faults of the broader Aegean region on 2018.04.05 355
13.5 Ephesos deltaic area. J. Preiser-Kapeller, “Harbours and Maritime Networks as Complex Adaptive Systems – a Thematic Introduction”, in: J. Preiser-Kapeller & F. Daim (eds.), Harbours and Maritime Networks as Complex Adaptive Systems, RGZM Tagungen 23 (Mainz), 6: Fig. 3 359
15.1 Average summer temperatures in Western and Central Europe AD 500–1500, (in comparison with the average AD 1960–1990) reconstructed on the basis of tree rings 409
15.2 Map of selected climate patterns influencing weather dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean: NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation), NCP (North Sea–Caspian Pattern), SH (Siberian High), ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation), MLSH (Mid-Latitude Subtropical High-Pressure Systems); in red, territorial extent of the Byzantine Empire in AD c.1045 (J. Preiser-Kapeller, OEAW, 2022) 410
15.3 Map of selected cities and towns and proxy data sites mentioned in the chapter (J. Preiser-Kapeller, OEAW, 2022) 417
15.4 Cerealia pollen data indices for three regions in Asia Minor, AD 300–1200 418
15.5 Cerealia pollen data indices for two regions in Greece, AD 300–1600 419
15.6 Kuna Ba cave (Northern Iraq) oxygen isotopes record, AD 400–1500 433
15.7 Sofular Cave (northwestern Turkey) speleothem carbon isotopes record, AD 300–1600 437
15.8 Lake Nar (central Turkey) oxygen isotopes record, AD 500–1500 473
15.9 Reconstructed May/June precipitation in mm for the northern Aegean region based on tree rings, AD 1100–1500, 30-year average and long-term trend 474
16.1 Localities mentioned in the chapter 493
16.2 Pollen Variations: KIND4 (Sea of Galilee). Data for select pollen taxa from Baruch, “Late Holocene Vegetational History.” Dates have been recalibrated as described above (note 23). See also Table 16.1 503
Tables
1.1 Proxy records and reconstructions of past climate conditions available for the Byzantine lands 44
2.1 Dates used for the calculation of Lake Abant age-depth model 66
2.2 Exemplary pollen data from Lake Abant, NW Turkey. Only the percentages of selected plants are reported 69
4.1 Comparison between the symptoms of the three Plague Pandemics 111
4.2 Chronological intervals of epidemic aggregations (AD 541–750/51) 121
10.1 An overview of the main changes in vegetation, climate, and settlement patterns, placed along a temporal axis 263
10.2 Byzantine sites in the territory of Sagalassos 258
16.1 Recalibrated dates for KIND4, using a cubic spline with 68 per cent certainty 504