Assessment of soil and plant analysis laboratories in the West Asia‐North Africa Region

1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 885-894 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ryan ◽  
Sonia Garabet ◽  
Abdul Rashid ◽  
Mohamed El Gharous
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Plant Analysis ◽  
The West ◽  
Soil And Plant Analysis

The Hellenistic and Byzantine Defences of Tocra (Taucheira)

1998 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 35-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Smith ◽  
James Crow
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
Curtain Wall ◽  
South Side ◽  
Sea Wall ◽  
The City

AbstractThe fortifications of the Hellenistic and Roman city of Tocra are over 2 km long (including the sea-wall) and comprise a curtain wall up to 2 m wide flanked by 31 rectangular towers. Three main structural phases were noted in the survey carried out in 1966 by David Smith: (1) Hellenistic walls of isodomic ashlar, (2) later Hellenistic work of isodomic ashlar with bevelled edges, associated with the indented trace along the south rampart, and (3) an extensive rebuild of plain ashlar blocks including the towers and reconstruction to the East and West Gates, dateable, on the basis of Procopius, to the reign of Justinian. The general significance of the fortifications at Tocra is considered in the second part: these include the Hellenistic indented trace along the south side, later reinforced by towers in the sixth century AD. Also of wider importance was the use of an outer wall or proteichisma, and the pentagonal, pointed towers at the two main gates. Both these elements were unusual in Byzantine North Africa and they are discussed as part of the more general repertory of Byzantine fortifications. The unusual tower adjacent to the West Church is considered in the context of literary accounts. The article concludes by considering how the architecture and magnitude of the fortifications can allow a reassessment of the wider role of the city in the sixth and seventh century defences of Cyrenaica.

17. Russia, China, and the Middle East

2019 ◽  
pp. 394-414
Author(s):  
Roland Dannreuther
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Century ◽  
The West ◽  
East Russia ◽  
Twenty First Century

This chapter addresses the important relationships that are currently evolving between Russia, China, and the Middle East. Russia and China have emerged as increasingly powerful actors in the Middle East and their presence and influence in the region has grown significantly. While both states have had longstanding historical links with the region, the twenty-first-century panorama is a quite distinctive one, with new economic and geopolitical factors driving a return to Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In addition, significant Muslim populations in both countries add another dynamic to contemporary Russian and Chinese relations with MENA. The chapter then identifies the challenges this presents for the United States and the West, and how the states and peoples of the Middle East are responding to the resurgence of Russian and Chinese power in the region.

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