The Civil Reform of Diocletian in the Southern Levant

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Zvi Uri Ma'oz

Abstract

Thirty four boundary stones, marking the fields of two neighboring village, dated 297 C.E., were found in southern Syria, northern Golan and Hula Valey. They are limited to a strip 15 km wide stretching from the foot of Jabal Druze to Kiryat Shmona and are absent from the rest of the Hauran and the environ of Damascus. This distribution has been hitherto fore unexplained. The article suggest that they were part of Diocletian's civil reforms specifically land reclamation in frontier zones between provinces. Other enterprises of Diocletian in the southern Levant, such as water reservoirs and the fair at Tyre are discussed, based on Rabbinic sources. The reclamation took place in a marginal zone unsuitable for cereal cultivation. However, fruit trees (olives and vines) and grazing could exploit the fields and support villages. It is also suggested the emperor built a palace at Baniyas that was partly discovered in archaeological excavations. The connection between Baniyas and Diocletian is also derived from the analysis of various Rabbinic sources.

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