Settlement in Crusader Transjordan (1100–1189): a Historical and Archaeological Study Micaela Sinibaldi Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology Cardiff University 2014 APPENDIX 1: Specimen Layout for Declaration/Statements page to be included in Taught Master's Degree Dissertations CANDIDATE'S ID NUMBER og= |b4 CANDIDATE'S SURNAME il'f i,il'ffi#^ll?fiXTi;l,hherpreasespecirv,.t--s])Hubf CANDIDATE'S FULL FORENAMES DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concunently submiited in candidature for any degree. ';....'''.(candidate)D,t..Rq.O"1/4 STATEMENTl This dissertation is being submitted in partialfulfillmentof the requirementsforthedegree., Phb....,......(insertMA, MSc, MBA, MSpD, LLM etc, as applopriate) ,,n..9Ak-QQc{.-*\{- (candidate) 0.,. 9do7l(l STATEMENT2 This dissertation is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where othenniise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A Bibliography is appended. )Ap*tL (candidate) Dut. SlOTllA STATEMENT3 -TO BE COMPLETED WHERE THE SECOND COPYOFTHE DISSERTATION IS SUBMITTED IN AN APPROVED ELECTRONIC FORI\4AT I confirm that the electronic copy is identicalto the bound copyof the dissertation D,,. s6;loHQ STATEMENT I hereby give consent for my dissertation, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. STATEMENT 5 . BAR ON ACCESSAPPROVED Abstract The subject of Crusader-period Transjordan has still not been analyzed in depth by scholars. Nevertheless, this region, the Lordship of Crac and Montreal of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, is usually assumed to have had more or less the sole function of serving as the southeastern frontier of the kingdom, consisting essentially of a series of fortified points defending a border. This image of a series of castles in a largely deserted border area arises from several factors: the relative scarcity of textual sources available for 12th-century Transjordan, those that survive being largely focused on its military aspects; the scarcity of archaeological excavations at 12th-century sites, including the important castles of Karak and Shawbak; the fact that these two castles, being relatively well preserved, have attracted more scholarly interest than any other sites; and the lack of archaeological comparanda for the region, due to the only very recent development of interest of archaeologists in excavating medieval sites. The goal of the research exposed here is therefore to combine all available sources, including updated results from archaeological projects, in order to present a picture of settlement in Crusader Transjordan that is as complete as possible. A case study for Petra and the Jabal Shara is included in this work, since this area was intensely settled in the 12th century and currently offers new evidence from recent archaeological excavations. The conclusions from this research have provided information on the dynamics, variety and timing of settlement in the region, on the importance of the various settlements, on socio-economic aspects, and on the significance of Transjordan for the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. Finally, this study provides some archaeological tools for better identifying the 12th century in the Petra region, in particular through the more precise characterization of local ceramics and building techniques. Acknowledgements It is important for me to express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Denys Pringle for his consistent and generous professional guidance and support which have been very important both for the progress of this thesis and for my experience as a scholar; it would not have been possible to ask for a better supervision of my work. I also am particularly grateful to the American Center of Oriental Research and all their staff in Amman, in particular Barbara Porter and Christopher Tuttle, for giving me many opportunities for expanding my professional network through the years, for the continuous support to my research and for being my family during my time in Amman. My research in Jordan would not have been possible without the numerous opportunities for collaboration provided by many colleagues and the advice of many scholars and project directors. While it is impossible to acknowledge everybody, I wish to thank for their support to my research and the constant and efficient assistance all the staff of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, in particular the Directors General Fawwaz al-Khraysheh, Ziad al-Saad and Monther Jamhawi, and all the staff of the Petra Archaeological Park. I want to thank Carol Palmer and Mandy Turner (Council for British Research in the Levant), Christian Augé (Institute Français du Proche-Orient) Jutta Häser (German Protestant Institute of Archaeology) and Ian Freestone (Cardiff University) for enthusiastically supporting my research. Many project directors offered me to study material which has been of crucial importance for my research in Petra: Robin Brown (independent scholar), Stephan Schmid (Humboldt University), Patricia Bikai (American Center of Oriental Research), Susan Alcock and Christopher Tuttle (Brown University), Isabelle Sachet and Christian Augé (Institute Français du Proche-Orient), Khairieh ‘Amr and Ahmad Momani (Department of Antiquities of Jordan and Jordan Museum), Jakko Frösén, Zbigniev Fiema and Paula Kouki (Helsinki University). In addition, ceramic material from their projects in Jordan has been generously made available for study by Alan Walmsley (University of Copenhagen), Konstantinos Politis (Hellenic Society for Near Eastern i Studies), Donald Whitcomb (Oriental Institute, Chicago), Kristoffer Damgaard (University of Copenhagen), Alastair Northedge and Alessandra Peruzzetto (University of Sorbonne), Bethany Walker (University of Bonn), Burton Mc Donald (S. Francis Xavier University). Some useful professional advice came from Christina Danielli about the use of mortars in Petra. The use of libraries was greatly facilitated by the kind collaboration and advice of the library staff of the American Center of Oriental Research, the Council for British Research in the Levant, the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem and the Library of the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem. I also want to thank the staff of the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University, for their efficient work in dealing with all the developments of my research while being based very far away from Cardiff. I am fortunate that technical, practical and moral support for completing my thesis came in many different ways from many friends and colleagues including but not limited to Talal Ammarin, Mohamed Badran, Jörg Bauer, Leigh-Ann Bedal, Tali Erickson-Gini, Smadar Gabrieli, Gabriella Meloni, Ahmad Momani, Elena Ronza, Isabelle Ruben, Robert Schick, Albrecht Schmid, Edna Stern, Qais Tweissi. Important help for my surveys came consistently from my friends from Wadi Musa, Umm Sayun and Bayda, and from their detailed knowledge of the territory of the Petra region. I also want to thank my family and friends in Europe for dealing with the geographical distance during my long stay in the Middle East. The thesis research has been generously supported by many funding bodies, and this has been necessary for the successful completion of the work: the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the American Center of Oriental Research, the Council for British Research in the Levant, the Palestine Exploration Fund, Cardiff University, the Medieval Settlement Research Group, the Economic History Society, the Medieval Pottery Research Group. Each archaeological project mentioned above has also contributed in supporting the expenses of my research. ii CONTENTS List of figures vi Chapter 1. Crusader Transjordan: the current state of archaeological research 1 1.1. Introduction 1 1.2. Transjordan before the Crusader period 1 1.3. Transjordan at the time of the Crusader settlement 3 1.4. The shortcomings of previous research and the aims and methodology of the present work 7 Chapter 2. The textual sources 14 2.1. Outline of historical events 14 2.2. Conclusions: The contribution of historical sources to understanding settlement 43 Chapter 3. Settlement in Crusader Transjordan: the evidence from the archaeological sources 54 3.1. Topography and geography of Transjordan 54 3.2. Geography and extension of Transjordan in the 12th Century 55 3.3. The archaeological evidence 56 3.3.1. The area north of Wadi Zarqa 56 3.3.2. The Balqa 62 3.3.3. The Ard al-Karak 65 3.3.3.1. Karak castle and town 65 3.3.3.2. The Karak plateau 89 3.3.3.3. Conclusions 90 3.3.4. The Southern Ghawr and the Southern Jordan Valley 93 3.3.4.1. The Ghor al-Safi 93 iii 3.3.4.2. Other sites 99 3.3.4.3. Conclusions 101 3.3.5. The south and the eastern Wadi Arabah 102 Chapter 4. Petra and the Jabal al-Shara 109 4.1. Current interpretations of Crusader-period settlement in Petra and the Jabal al-Shara 109 4.2. Description of the area of Petra and the Jabal al-Shara 114 4.3. Identification of sites 116 4.4. Summary of archaeological evidence 119 4.5. Sites with no evidence of 12th century occupation 159 4.6 Discussion 167 Chapter 5. Social Aspects of Crusader-Period Transjordan: The Relationship with the Local Populations 189 5.1 The Relationship with the Christian Communities 189 5.2. The Armenian Communities in Transjordan 195 5.3. The Relationship with the Nomadic Population 198 5.4. Conclusions 202 Chapter 6. Conclusions 206 Appendix A. Pottery in 12th century Transjordan 214 1. Introduction 214 2. Pottery of the 12th Century from Petra 214 2.1. Methodology of research 214 2.2. The al-Wu‘ayra assemblage 217 2.3. Some distinctive characteristics of mid to late 12th-century handmade pottery in Petra 225 iv 2.4. Ceramics from other Petra assemblages 229 3. Pottery from other areas of Transjordan 240 4. Conclusions 248 Appendix B. Building techniques in Crusader-period Petra: a preliminary study from al-Wu‘ayra and al-Habis 263 1.