A Companion to Late Antiquity (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) [Hardcover]

Philip Rousseau (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1405119802 | ISBN-13: 978-1405119801 | Publication Date: March 10, 2009 | Edition: 1

An accessible and authoritative overview capturing the vitality and diversity of scholarship that exists on the transformative time period known as late antiquity.

• Provides an essential overview of current scholarship on late antiquity – from between the accession of Diocletian in AD 284 and the end of Roman rule in the Mediterranean
• Comprises 39 essays from some of the world's foremost scholars of the era
• Presents this once-neglected period as an age of powerful transformation that shaped the modern world
• Emphasizes the central importance of religion and its connection with economic, social, and political life

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is not a work of reference in the traditional sense: Rousseau compares it to a journey in the company of enthusiastic experts guiding the reader through their favourite areas. By including many younger contributors, and others in mid-career, enthusiasm, and a sense of the excitement of the (as yet) unexplored, are guaranteed…the Companion maintains a generally high level of expertise and informed analysis throughout: the contributors have been well chosen. Production and editing are excellent, and there is an intelligently constructed index…researchers and specialists cannot afford to neglect this richly rewarding book.” (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, February, 2010)

"This is a feast of a volume, but it ‘consolidates n academic field in its own right' (p. 12) rather than opening new horizons. That was Peter Brown's achievement." (Journal of Ecclesiastical History, April 2010)

"This companion digests the latest research, and is a worthwhile addition to any reference library."(CHOICE, 2009)

"Academics and researchers in any of the fields it covers will find this a valuable vade mecum to scholarly debate in both their own and peripheral subjects; undergraduates may use it selectively to enrich or clarify particular areas of study." (Reference Reviews, January 2010)

From the Back Cover

The essays collected in this authoritative Companion capture the vitality and diversity of scholarship that exists on the transformative time period known as late antiquity.

For the last generation, late antiquity – the time between the accession of Diocletian in AD 284 and the end of Roman rule in the Mediterranean – has come to be regarded as one of the most dynamic periods of ancient history. Once seen as a time of decline and fall, late antiquity is now viewed as an era of powerful transformation, in which the peoples and institutions that profoundly influenced the modern world took shape.

In providing a useful overview of current scholarship on late antiquity, the essays emphasize the central importance of religion in this period. Theology and belief are situated in historical context as the book highlights the interconnectedness of religious life with economic, social, and political realms.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 736 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405119802
• ISBN-13: 978-1405119801
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 1.7 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,142,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars latest views on Byzantium, March 26, 2009

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W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Companion to Late Antiquity (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) (Hardcover)

Our knowledge of the so-called Late Antiquity continues to improve, as more archeological findings are excavated, and as more analysis is done of existing documents and other artifacts. This book is an extensive summation of numerous aspects of how that period is currently understood.

Concerning Byzantium, the span is some thousand years from the fall of Rome to that of Constantinople. Part of the book's focus is on how views of Byzantium changed over the centuries. Including, and not incidentally, how in their thousand years, the Byzantines saw themselves. Hence, there is evocation of various Byzantine historians and how they perceived their empire.

Mixed in with all this are studies of other peoples around the Mediterranean. Including Egypt, Syria, Persia and Greece itself. There is also an awareness of a shift from a Romanocentric view, based on the Roman Empire, and the Hellenistic view that asserted itself more prominently in Byzantium.