Central Places, Local Elites and International Politics: The Highlands of Granada and Byzantine-Visigothic Conflict, 550–630

Abstract

Recent research has emphasized the importance of different kinds of ‘central places’ in the articulation of power in the Iberian Peninsula across the late antique and early medieval periods. Such sites were a focus of political, social and economic activity at a local level, also serving to integrate their regions into broader systems such as the emerging Visigothic kingdom and networks of taxation and trade. This article relates central place theory to the study of the highlands of Granada in the sixth century – a period and place with minimal documentary and literary evidence – in order to understand developments in the organization and defence of the territory in the context of conflicts between Visigoths and Byzantines. Particular emphasis is placed on the control of the communications network the exploitation of the best agricultural land, mining and the likely agency of local elites.