Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.9
3.2
Journals
Land
Special Issues
Builders of the Middle Landscape: The Role of Urban Elites...
share announcement

Builders of the Middle Landscape: The Role of Urban Elites in the Construction of Rural Landscapes Between Antiquity and the Renaissance

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Planning and Landscape Architecture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1795

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Joan Negre

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici B, Bellaterra, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
Interests: al-Andalus archaeology; early Islamic architecture; Islamic history; settlement patterns; spatial analysis in archaeology
Dr. Julio Navarro Palazón

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Archaeology and Architecture of the City, Escuela de Estudios Árabes (CSIC), Cuesta del Chapiz, 22, 18010 Granada, Spain
Interests: western Islamic architecture and archaeology; Andalusi archaeology; Sharq al-Andalus; Mardanishi architecture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The impact of urban elites on the configuration of rural landscapes dependent on cities has varied throughout history, contingent on the social and economic context of each period. For instance, during episodes of urban development, marked by demographic growth and commercial prosperity, these elite groups witnessed an amplified capacity to exert influence over rural regions, leading to their transformation and the expansion of cultivated areas. In order to achieve those goals, large-scale hydraulic infrastructures were usually constructed to supply water to new areas of production and recreation, integrated into costly architectural prestige programmes. When considered collectively, these projects were intended to symbolically reflect the power of the aforementioned classes. This scenario can be clearly observed in ancient villas, medieval almunias, and certain types of palatial estates in Renaissance Europe, which serve as clear examples of the influence of large landowners in the redesign of these agrarian spaces.

The objective of this monograph is to examine the transformations that have occurred in the rural landscapes surrounding or depending on major Mediterranean cities between antiquity and the modern era. In particular, it focuses on the impact of urban elites on these changes. To this end, original papers are invited that address the construction of these new landscapes through the infrastructures and architectural works that were promoted there, the expansion of their cultivated spaces, or the introduction and acclimatisation of new plant species.

Dr. Joan Negre
Dr. Julio Navarro Palazón
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antiquity
  • middle ages
  • renaissance
  • villa
  • almunia
  • periurban
  • rural landscape
  • urban elites

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

32 pages, 28925 KB  
Article
Rethinking Agrarian Expansion in Al-Andalus (12th–13th Centuries): Some Notes on Peasant Agency, Elite Investment, and Social Tensions
by Pedro Jiménez-Castillo
Land 2026, 15(5), 804; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15050804 (registering DOI) - 9 May 2026
Viewed by 102
Abstract
This article reassesses agrarian expansion in al-Andalus between the tenth and twelfth centuries within the broader context of medieval economic growth in the western Mediterranean. It challenges the idea of a uniform “Islamic Green Revolution” by combining archaeological, archaeobotanical, landscape, and textual evidence [...] Read more.
This article reassesses agrarian expansion in al-Andalus between the tenth and twelfth centuries within the broader context of medieval economic growth in the western Mediterranean. It challenges the idea of a uniform “Islamic Green Revolution” by combining archaeological, archaeobotanical, landscape, and textual evidence to examine three key aspects: the uneven chronology of agrarian change, the social actors involved, and the consequences of commercialization and fiscal intensification. The study shows that agrarian transformation was gradual and not driven by a single group. Peasant communities played a central role in cultivating drylands, managing small-scale irrigation, and developing local exchange networks that strengthened regional markets. Meanwhile, state institutions and urban elites promoted large irrigation systems, invested in market-oriented estates, and integrated rural production into fiscal and commercial structures. These processes stimulated economic growth and increased productivity but also led to land concentration, dispossession, and rising social tensions. By emphasizing the interaction between peasant agency, elite investment, and extractive political systems, the article argues for an integrated interpretation that links growth, inequality, and conflict, offering a more nuanced understanding of Andalusi agrarian landscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Builders of the Middle Landscape: The Role of Urban Elites in the Construction of Rural Landscapes Between Antiquity and the Renaissance)
25 pages, 12847 KB  
Article
A Look Back at the Irrigated Areas of the Medieval Town of Tāmdult (Morocco)
by Patrice Cressier and Ricardo González-Villaescusa
Land 2026, 15(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15010069 - 30 Dec 2025
Viewed by 901
Abstract
From the 9th century onwards, Tāmdult was one of the three major caravan ports in the Western Maghreb, alongside Sijilmāssa and Nūl Lamṭa. By the mid-20th century, the remains of dwellings, metallurgical production sites and fortifications had been located a few kilometres south [...] Read more.
From the 9th century onwards, Tāmdult was one of the three major caravan ports in the Western Maghreb, alongside Sijilmāssa and Nūl Lamṭa. By the mid-20th century, the remains of dwellings, metallurgical production sites and fortifications had been located a few kilometres south of the present-day oasis of Aqqa, which is irrigated by the resurgence of the wadi of the same name. In 1999, our research, which was based on field surveys and aerial photographs, revealed exceptionally well-preserved traces of a large-scale agricultural system and an irrigation canal network adjacent to the ruins. This completed the picture of this pre-Saharan oasis. An initial study was published in 2011. However, the question of the chronological relationship between the two oases, Tāmdult and Aqqa, remained unresolved. Processing recent satellite images (Airbus © 2023) of these two oases and creating a WebGIS interface now enables us to refine and correct our observations from 1999. This new data largely confirms our initial proposals, such as the joint development of an urban settlement and an agricultural area with an irrigation network. Furthermore, these new images show the branching structure of the various water distribution channels, the regularity of the agricultural land parcels and the existence of interstitial rural settlements. They thus reveal a hierarchy in this distribution that was perhaps insufficiently explored in our initial publication. Given the limited historical sources available, we can now make more informed arguments regarding the possibility of the two oases coexisting over time. We can also propose initial hypotheses about the main reasons for the abandonment of one of the oases and discuss the identity of their founders, which could be local tribal groups and/or branches of the Idrisid dynasty. The central issue of the dossier to which our contribution is addressed—‘The Role of Urban Elites in the Construction of Rural Landscape’—is adapted here to the specific characteristics of the pre-Saharan context in terms of both climate and settlement structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Builders of the Middle Landscape: The Role of Urban Elites in the Construction of Rural Landscapes Between Antiquity and the Renaissance)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop