URBAN CHANGE AND THE LATE ANTIQUE COUNTRYSIDEthe mid-sixth century is also open to dispute, but there is enough evidence to
show that by the late sixth century at the latest, many – probably most – cit-
ies were experiencing fundamental changes; these changes had come earlier,
and were felt more severely, in parts of the west. Nevertheless cities were not
in a simple state of ‘decline’. The old structures were not being broken down
by movements from below; rather, the changes came about from a combina-
tion of factors, including changes in administration and state investment, the
pressures of invasion and insecurity, and the growing diversion of resources
to the church, with corresponding social changes. The proliferation of large
churches in urban centres was a conspicuous feature, especially in the sixth
century, but every village also had its small church, and the growing number
of large and imposing monasteries and pilgrimage centres had a major social
and economic impact on their setting. Some areas, such as the Judaean desert,
saw the growth of a whole network of large and small such establishments,
while powerful monastic leaders such as Cyril of Scythopolis under Justinian
could play an important role in infl uencing affairs even in Constantinople.^84
Towns and countryside alike had profoundly changed, and both looked and
felt different.