SIGNED BY AUTHOR WITH DEDICATION in Hebrew to Yoram Tsafrir (1938-2015), an eminent Israeli archaeologist who was Professor Emeritus of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and was considered the foremost authority on the Byzantine period in the Holy Land. His writings on the influence on ancient synagogues, demography of Palestine in the Byzantine period, mosaics at Horvat Berachot, as well as excavations at Beit She`an and at Rehoboth (in the Negev), have contributed much to the advancement of our knowledge of the Roman and Byzantine periods in the Near East. This RARE comprehensive monograph on the transformation of local societies in Palestine and Jordan between the 6th and 11th centuries is based on hundreds archaeological excavations, as well as the author`s own surveys and excavations in the Negev, Beth Guvrin, Jerusalem, and Ramla. The author Dr. Gideon Avni (PhD - 1997) is the Head of the Archaeological Division in the Israel Antiquities Authority and a lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Contains many b&w illustrations and an extensive bibliography, appendices and index. 240x160mm. XVI+424 pages. Dark-blue cloth Hardcover with illustrated dust-jacket. Gilt lettering on spine. Jacket rubbed. Jacket edges/corners wrinkled. Spine edges bumped. Pencil underlining by the previous owner (Yoram Tsafrir) on few pages. [SUMMARY]: This extremely rare and valuable monograph on the Byzantine-Islamic transition in the Holy Land is in good condition.