Abstract

This chapter explores connections between the upper Guadiana Valley, especially the cities of Mérida and Mértola, and the Byzantine world in the sixth century. By analysing archaeological evidence in conjunction with written sources, it identifies continued linkages to North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean in this period. Although the ceramic assemblages indicate that the scale of such connectivity was considerably reduced compared to previous centuries, hagiography and epigraphy both point towards the presence of well-established ‘Greek’ ecclesiastical elites at both cities in the middle decades of the sixth century who, alongside other local leaders, played a pivotal role in managing connections to outsiders, including traders who brought goods from beyond Hispania to the Guadiana basin.