Classics Theses and Dissertations

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Church Construction and Urbanism in Byzantine North Africa
(University of Oregon, 2021-04-27) Kolar, Aidan; Mazurek, Lindsey
The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the construction and re-construction of churches and their ancillary structures such as baptisteries, pilgrim accommodations, and cemeteries in Byzantine imperial rhetoric and in a select number of North African cities: Carthage, Sabratha, Lepcis Magna, and Sbeitla. in order to understand how church construction impacted these cities’ urban life and landscape in the period of Byzantine rule (534-647CE). A series of archaeological case studies focused on the aforementioned cities, in conjunction with the broad application of textual sources such as the Decrees (Novellae) of Justinian allow us to adjust some long-held assumptions about cities and churches in Byzantine North Africa. Most significantly, the changes to our case studies’ urban landscapes were driven by local interests and circumstances, not by the Byzantine emperors as Procopius’ Buildings and many archaeologists assume. Even so, most church buildings in the cities selected conform to empire-wide trends.