Quelques remarques sur les paysages agraires byzantins (VI ème siècle-milieu XI ème siècle)

Abstract

The study of the Byzantine agricultural landscapes down to the XIth century is, given the absence of any recorded document, first of all a problem of sources ; thus we have to rely on the narrative and judicial texts and on the iconography. Inhabitation seems to be dominated by the type of grouped-population villages, sometimes perched. The village is surrounded by gardens, often planted with trees, where one even finds cereals. Then comes the zone of culture where the open-field seems the dominant feature ; there again the presence of trees is frequent. Further on one finds the cattle-breeding zone, situated at the periphery of the villages, in most cases wooded, and sometimes completed by pastures. The climate often makes irrigation necessary and on the canals small but numerous mills are working.