Archaeobotanical Research on Istanbul’s Rural and Central Areas in the Byzantine Period

Abstract

Öz: In the Byzantine Empire, agricultural activities were one of main element of economic, political andsocial organisation. The key social and economic elements of the period with a rigid hierarchicalstructure were organised around the use of agricultural land. Especially thousands of monasterysettlements in rural areas of Europe and Anatolia in the Middle Ages became important agriculturalproduction centers of the Byzantine Empire. Historical sources such as the Geoponika, on the otherhand, underline the importance of gardening activities in Constantinople, the capital of the empire.As known, archaeobotanical studies related to the period are limited, and historical sources aremainly used when the agricultural economy is described. This study attempts to look at the agricultural economy of Byzantine Constantinople and its hinterland. It is based on a selected numberof archaeological investigations, on archaeobotanical data from the excavations and on historicalsources. In particular, the role of rural (Küçükyalı or monastery of Satyros and Aydos Castle) andsurrounding urban settlements (Beşiktaş) in the agricultural economy of Constantinople is analysedthrough archaeobotanical studies. The data obtained indicated an agricultural activity based on basicfood products (cereals and legumes) in rural areas and on horticultural production in the surroundingurban areas of the empire