The Christian Art of Byzantine Syria

A comprehensively illustrated book about the beautifully preserved buildings and carvings of the legendary Dead Cities.

The thriving Byzantine Empire produced a particularly fine standard of art and architecture between the 4th and 7th centuries. Many well-preserved examples of this rich archaeological history can be found in Syria. In particular, the legendary Dead Cities of northern Syria were largely unexplored until recently and this book provides a fascinating insight into the once-thriving towns, including their markets, houses, halls, bath-houses, churches, temples and tombs. This book contains a comprehensive set of photographs and reconstructions showing the variety of buildings and relics which have been discovered, including ornamented churches and liturgical instruments, baptisteries, monasteries and pilgrimage sites. It also includes a chapter on the sites of pagan worship from the same period, and concludes with an examination of the influence of Byzantine art on Islamic and European art, and the eventual decline of the population of the Syrian limestone massifs.