In Central Syria, the Byzantine period (4th-7th cent.) coincided with a strong expansion of sedentary settlements eastward. The means of the agricultural development of these new territories will be discussed through the example of two geographical areas, barely 30 km apart. In each of them, settlement patterns (villages, hamlets, farmsteads, monasteries) and distribution are to be scrutinized in connection with the agricultural potential of soils. The areas studied here show up specific land use systems resulting from two different subsistence strategies: on one hand, food-producing agriculture, olive-growing geared toward a local market as well as complementary animal husbandry and, on the other hand, a close association between extensive cereal cultivation and cattleraising, the latter involving in some cases a specialization towards meat production and trade.