在阿拉伯大征服前，北非的农业和人口较汪达尔人来之前有多大退步？

我就根据你书里面划的重点一点点答吧。

1. 关于五世纪的 的黎波里塔尼亚和拜占凯纳

首先是的黎波里塔尼亚，的黎波里塔尼亚的衰退要早于五世纪汪达尔人的入侵，在365年的克里特大地震后，的黎波里塔尼亚沿岸最大的城市Leptis Magna被海啸整个毁灭。435年汪达尔人侵占该地区之后，这种衰退势头一直持续。

关于拜占凯纳，在Africa Proconsularis以南的Byzancana地区，一直都是帝国与柏柏尔人之间的缓冲地带。相比于北部沿海地区的地中海气候以及相对肥沃的土地而言，南部的环境更贴近沙漠，土壤相对贫瘠，再加上柏柏尔/阿玛齐格人的游牧业传统，随着四世纪后半叶的动荡不安使得该地区柏柏尔人的影响加深，半游牧业的增长的说法是合理的。

2. 关于穆斯林来到的黎波里塔尼亚以及阿非利加的情况

请参见 阿非利加大区 和 论拜占庭北非的经济贸易与其的终结

而根据一些数据，650年马格里布地区的人口，至多不会超过250万人。

3. 关于北非是否是边缘地区

是的，北非和意大利是帝国再征服的产物，但是查士丁尼的瘟疫之后，以帝国的国力来维持如此巨大的领土，无疑是困难的，作为边区的意大利和阿非利加对于君士坦丁堡的中央政府而言无疑是鞭长莫及，590年莫里斯皇帝就于现实情况不得不将意大利和阿非利加地区再次永久性军事合一化，设置总督Exarch总领军政以对抗周边的大敌，即伦巴第人和柏柏尔人。

不过帝国真的不在乎吗？如果真的不在乎，为什么650年开始阿非利加地区一直和阿拉伯人保持拉锯状态呢？当然了有可能会有人说，阿拉伯人的文献里面说的都是柏柏尔人的领袖库塞拉和卡希娜，哪来的帝国军队？帝国在695年迦太基沦陷的时候，即使是篡位登基对外采取绥靖态度的莱昂提奥斯也派出了约安尼斯倾尽国力将Hasan ibn Numan压制在凯鲁万以东，当然哈桑之后援兵到了，四万多人，阿非利加覆灭毫无办法，毕竟希拉克略打完对波斯人的决战，阿非利加总督手头的兵力至多就不超过一万人了。整个7世纪里，帝国哪里都缺乏兵力，与其说是所谓漠不关心，不如说是分身乏术。

4. 关于北非的制造业和贸易

北非的制造业和贸易不曾在汪达尔入侵之后衰落

在论拜占庭北非的经济贸易与其的终结中是如此说的：

“与迦太基的奴隶贸易使从法兰克/西哥特从阿非利加的货物进口达成了一个贸易额的平衡。高卢地区从阿非利加进口了大量的橄榄油，以及从更远的东部那边运输过来的葡萄酒，莎草纸和香料，而运至北非的北方商船上则装满了奴隶”

“和平仍然在持续，帝国的北非仍繁荣昌盛，并且为了能够生产出口的货物继续购买劳动力。迦太基的海上贸易即使在东向的贸易消失后仍在继续，直到七世纪末期，来自非洲的货物仍能出现在意大利和高卢地区”

至少就于698/711年帝国北非彻底沦丧之前，北非的贸易仍然是繁盛的，而在阿拉伯人竭泽而渔式的劫掠之后，北非的对外贸易和制造业产生了断崖式的下跌。

至于制陶，该文是这么说明的：

“在帝国统治之下，北非拥有地中海地区最大的庄园，同时是帝国主要的农产品和其余手工制品的输出地，这种传统一直维持到7世纪。从克里米亚到不列颠，人们发现大量拜占庭时期的非洲陶器，虽然他们的大小被推测仅用于装载葡萄酒，橄榄油和谷物。647年格里高利在苏菲图拉被击败后，北非的地主们仍能够支付给阿拉伯人200-250万苏勒德斯金币，虽然当时说这笔钱是作为对罗马人的一笔高额的惩罚金，但之后很快被一步步提高了，这证明了阿非利加地区的富庶繁荣，而这史料是我们能最晚得知的北非的大地主及其财产的拥有量。”

至少制陶业在阿拉伯人打破这种拉锯的格局之前是没有衰落的。

不过200-250万的罚金着实是高，根据以微观眼光看东罗马 的说法，帝国的人均年收入是6诺米斯马/苏勒德斯，每年人均为帝国贡献5%的薪金即0.3苏勒德斯，那么如果根据这个算法，如果这是一笔五年期的罚金的话，公元650年的帝国北非（马格里布）的人口大致在130-170万之间。如果以650年北非总督格纳迪乌斯承诺给阿拉伯人的33万苏勒德斯的年贡的话，帝国的北非人口是怎么都不会低于100万人的，因为他还要上缴税收给君士坦斯二世的帝国中央政府，再加上给予地方柏柏尔酋长的礼金以及北非总督府内部的支出的话，帝国人口在200-250万之间是合理的。

5. 关于聚落与城市

“在杰尔巴岛，6世纪城镇数量的减少可能也与城镇的集中化有关。集村聚落——“村社（villages）”一般建在新地址或旧庄园的基础上，而像庄园和农场等其他类型的居住区，甚至也有Meninx那样的城镇就都被逐步遗弃了。Elizabeth Fentress认为6-7世纪集合定居点的出现反映了一种平等公社的现象，它们是由小团体而非富有的地主所主导自治的。6世纪凯赛林（Kasserine）的集村聚落的大量出现是以庄园与小农场的荒弃为代价的。相反的是，在突尼斯北部，古罗马时代延续下来的小农场伴随大城市(Carthage，Dougga，Segermes)的情况在7世纪仍然存在，这可能反映了大地产经济在当地的影响。因此到7世纪时，的黎波里塔尼亚和突尼斯中部主要由设防的集村聚落组成；突尼斯北部则和以前一样，大小农场、村庄与城镇并存。”

人口集中化这个趋势不光在北非出现，在小亚细亚的西部（原Diocese of Asiana下的士麦那和以弗所）和希腊半岛沿海地区（塞萨洛尼基），西西里（叙拉古）也有出现，六世纪时的帝国城市已然拥有了中世纪城市的雏形，当然查士丁尼瘟疫的余波反复爆发，这个趋势被迫停滞。乡村地区则是因为阿拉伯人的常规性的劫掠行为，农民们会聚集在有防御工事的堡垒周边。

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