ABSTRACT

The nature of the conflict and the contacts which developed between the Muslim Caliphate and the Christian Byzantine empire after the middle of the seventh century has been the subject of many studies. The hellenistic and Roman city had never been a centre of production. Commerical and industrial centres certainly existed, but they were comparatively few in number and were even then entirely dependent upon their hinterlands for their basic needs. Significant also is the role of the gold coinage in the machinery of the state. Coin was issued entirely to serve the purposes of this administrative state structure, to oil its own internal activities. For the moment, then, it will be sufficient to stress the original role of the city or town in the east Roman world. Cities existed before the Roman state, which came, however, to depend upon them as administrative centres.