Industry and Industrialism in the Late Antique and Early Islamic Near East

Industry and Industrialism in the Late Antique and Early Islamic Near East

Editor: Fred M. Donner 

 

This volume examines forms of economic production in the late antique and medieval Islamic Near East that qualify as “industrial” in some sense—in particular because of their scale, the involvement of specialized stages of production, and capitalization beyond the means of the average household. The book’s essays draw on literary, documentary, and archaeological evidence to examine labor specialization and economic growth, the relationship between industry and state authority, transformation in agriculture and agricultural products, the organization of sugar and indigo production, the structure of copper mining and metallurgical enterprises, and the economic conditions that promoted or constrained industrial development. Collectively, the essays enrich our understanding of the nature and presence of industry in the Near East in this period and confirm the region’s economic vitality. 

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East 7

Chicago: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, 2026

ISBN 978-1-61491-155-5

Pp. xxv + 209, 40 figures, 6 tables, index

Paperback, 7 × 10 inches

 

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Abbreviations
List of Conference Participants
Introduction. Fred M. Donner

1. Identifying Root Causes of Economic Development in the Middle East: Structural Change, Division of Labor, and Smithian Growth Theory. Maya Shatzmiller
2. State Control and Industry in the Medieval East Roman Empire: Myths and Realities. John Haldon
3. Parthian and Middle Persian Textual Evidence for Production, Industries, and Commerce. Jamsheed K. Choksy
4. From Wine and Oil to Flax and Cotton: Patterns of Change in the Agricultural Industries of Palestine in the Early Islamic Period. Gideon Avni
5. The Industrialization of Agriculture during the Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Periods in Southern Palaestina Tertia / Bilād al-Shām, with an Emphasis on Indigo and Sugar Production in Zoara/Zughar (Ghor as-Safi, Jordan). Konstantinos D. Politis
6. The Early Islamic (Eighth- to Tenth-Century) Copper Industry in Southern Wādī ʿAraba. Ian W. N. Jones
7. When Birds Fall Out of the Sky: A Study of the Industrial Phenomenon in Late Antique Arabia. Jérémie Schiettecatte

Index