ABSTRACT
Arab-Byzantine and post-reform Islamic coins found in Cyprus can clearly reflect the directions, rhythms, and flow of trade between Islamic and Byzantine territories, as McCormick established for the whole eastern Mediterranean. Architecture and buildings are the last piece of evidence on which rely to draw the picture of Cyprus in the transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages. Archaeology of Late Antique and early medieval Cyprus has primarily given pride of place to religious buildings. In Metcalf's words: The major contribution that coin finds can make to our understanding of Byzantine Cyprus is through establishing historical trends in the quantities of coins accidently lost. By viewing Cyprus as a de-urbanized and rural province, the traditional scholarly approach has also justified the lack of information about local conditions in the Christian and Islamic sources.
