A Series of Unfortunate Events: The end of classical urbanism in southwestern Asia Minor in the early seventh century AD

This article revisits the "Foss thesis", which attributes the decline of classical urbanism in Asia Minor to Persian invasions during the early seventh century. It examines the relevant archaeological evidence from older and recent excavations in cities such as Aphrodisias, Sardis, Stratonikeia, Tripolis, Hierapolis, Laodikeia, and Ephesos. The article discusses methodological challenges in dating and interpreting destruction layers and disentangling the effects of Persian invasions, Arab raids later in the seventh century, and the impact of events like earthquakes. The evidence broadly confirms the main outlines of the Foss thesis, but adjusts the chronology, but points to violent destruction of several sites during a Persian invasion in AD 617 (not 615 or 616 as Foss had thought), followed closely by earthquakes that further devastated urban centres. The combination of these factors led to the irreversible decline of monumental urban architecture in the area. The research provides a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between war, natural disasters, and urban transformation in late antiquity.