Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world: generally from the end of the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century (c. Periodization is the attempt to categorize or divide Time into discrete named blocks Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Crisis of the Third Century (or "Military Anarchy" or "Imperial Crisis" was the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 284) to the Islamic conquests and the re-organization of the Byzantine Empire under Heraclius. The initial Arab Muslim conquests (632–732 (فتح Fatah, literally opening, also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East

The Roman Empire underwent considerable social, cultural and organizational change starting with reign of Diocletian, who began the custom of splitting the Empire into Eastern and Western halves ruled by multiple emperors. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ( ca. December 22 244 The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes December 22 as his birthdate The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285 the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Beginning with Constantine the Great the Empire was Christianized, and a new capital founded at Constantinople. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Migrations of Germanic tribes disrupted Roman rule from the late fourth century onwards, prompting the eventual collapse of the Empire in the West in 476, replaced by the so-called barbarian kingdoms. The Migration Period, also called Barbarian Invasions, or sometimes Völkerwanderung ( German for "wandering of peoples" is the English name The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini / Common era) was that Century The Decline of the Roman Empire, leading to the Fall of the Roman Empire, or the Fall of Rome, was the end of the Western Roman Empire. Germanic monarchy, also called barbarian monarchy, was a monarchical systemof government which was predominant among the Germanic tribes of Late Antiquity The resultant cultural fusion of Greco-Roman, Germanic and Christian traditions formed the cultural foundations of Western Europe. Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe '

Terminology

The term Spätantike, literally "late antiquity", has been used by German historians since its popularization by Alois Riegl in the early twentieth century. Alois Riegl ( 14 January 1858 in Linz - 17 June 1905 in Vienna) was an Austrian Art historian, and ^[1] It was given currency in English partly by the writings of Peter Brown, whose survey The World of Late Antiquity (1971) revised the post-Gibbon view of a stale and ossified Classical culture, in favour of a vibrant time of renewals and beginnings, and whose The Making of Late Antiquity offered a new paradigm of understanding the changes in Western culture of the time in order to confront Sir Richard Southern's The Making of the Middle Ages. Peter Robert Lamont Brown (born 1935 was born in Dublin, Ireland, to a Protestant family Edward Gibbon ( April 27, 1737 January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. Sir Richard William Southern (1912-2001 was a notable English medieval Historian, based at the University of Oxford. ^[2]

The continuities between imperial Rome, as it was reorganized by Diocletian (r. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ( ca. December 22 244 The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes December 22 as his birthdate 284-305), and the Early Middle Ages are stressed by writers who wish to emphasize that the seeds of medieval culture were already developing in the Christianized empire, and that they continued to do so in the Eastern, or "Byzantine" Empire. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity This article is about the city See also Byzantine Empire. Byzantium ( Greek: Βυζάντιον Latin: la BYZANTIVM Concurrently, some migrating Germanic tribes such as the Ostrogoths and Visigoths saw themselves as perpetuating the "Roman" tradition. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic The Ostrogoths (Ostrogothi or Austrogothi were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe that played a major role in the political events of the late The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East While the usage "Late Antiquity" suggests that the social and cultural priorities of Classical Antiquity endured throughout Europe into the Middle Ages, the usage of "Early Middle Ages" emphasizes a break with the classical past, and the term "Migrations Period" de-emphasizes the disruptions in the former Western Empire caused by the creation of Germanic kingdoms within her borders. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean The Migration Period, also called Barbarian Invasions, or sometimes Völkerwanderung ( German for "wandering of peoples" is the English name ^[3]

Religion

If there was one important transformation in Late Antiquity, it was the formation and evolution of the Abrahamic religions: Christianity, rabbinic Judaism, and eventually Islam; the latter marking a decisive end to Late Antiquity wherever it reached. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism ( Hebrew: " Yehadut Rabanit " - יהדות רבנית is the mainstream religious system of post- diaspora For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

A milestone in the rise of Christianity was the conversion of Emperor Constantine the Great (r. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine 306-337) in 312, as related by his panegyrist Eusebius of Caesarea, although the sincerity of his conversion is debated. Events By Place Roman Empire October 28 — Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine I defeats Maxentius and Persecutions See also Persecution of Christians The first recorded significant persecution of Christians at the hands of the authorities of the Roman Empire Constantine legalized the religion through the Edict of Toleration in 313, jointly issued with his rival in the East, Licinius (r. For other Romans of this name see Licinius (gens. Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c 308-324). By the late 4th century, Emperor Theodosius the Great had made Christianity the state religion, thereby transforming the Classical Roman world, which Peter Brown characterized as, "rustling with the presence of many divine spirits" (Brown, Authority and the Sacred).

Constantine I was a key player in many important events in Church History, as he convened and attended the first ecumenical council of bishops at Nicaea in 325, subsidized the building of churches and sanctuaries such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and involved himself in questions such as the timing of Christ's resurrection and its relation to the Passover (see Eusebius of Caesarea, Vita Constantini 3. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine 5-6, 4. 47).

The birth of Christian monasticism in the deserts of Egypt in 3rd century, which initially operated outside the episcopal authority of the Church, would become so successful that by the 8th century it penetrated the Church and became the primary Christian rule within. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms Monks (men and Nuns (women Monasticism was not the only new Christian movement to appear in Late Antiquity, although it had perhaps the greatest influence. Other movements notable for their unconventional practices include the Grazers, holy men who ate only grass and chained themselves up like barnyard animals; the Holy Fool movement, in which acting like a fool was considered more divine than folly; and the Stylites movement, where one practitioner lived atop a 50-foot pole for 40-years. Foolishness for Christ refers to behavior motivated by real or assumed craziness to serve a religious purpose of Christianity Stylites (from Greek stylos, "pillar" or Pillar-Saints are a type of Christian Ascetic who in the early days of the

Islam appeared in the 7th century and spurred Arab peoples to invade both the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanian Empire of Persia, destroying the latter. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. ^[4] See also Pirenne Thesis. Henri Pirenne ( December 23 1862, Verviers - October 25 1935, Uccle) was a leading Belgian historian

Late Antiquity marks the decline of Roman state religion, circumscribed in degrees by edicts likely inspired by Christian advisors such as Eusebius to 4th century emperors, and a period of dynamic religious experimentation and spirituality with many syncretic sects, some formed centuries earlier, such as Gnosticism or Neoplatonism and the Chaldaean oracles, some novel, such as hermeticism. Ancient Roman religion encompasses the collection of Beliefs and Rituals practised in Ancient Rome in the form of Cult practices Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by The Chaldean Oracles have survived as fragmentary texts from the 2nd century AD and consist mainly of Hellenistic commentary on a single mystery-poem (which may have been compilations Hermetica is a category of popular Late Antique literature purporting to contain secret wisdom and generally attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, "thrice-great

Many of the new religions relied on the emergence of the parchment codex (bound book) over the papyrus volumen (scroll), the former allowing for quicker access to key materials and easier portability than the fragile scroll, thus fueling the rise of synoptic exegesis, papyrology. Parchment is a thin material made from Calfskin, Sheepskin or goatskin. Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus Exegesis (from the Greek 'to lead out' involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a Holy Papyrology is the study of ancient literature correspondence legal archives etc

Laity vs clerical

Within the recently legitimized Christian community of the 4th century, a division could be more distinctly seen between the laity and an increasingly celibate male leadership. In religious organizations the laity comprises all persons who are not Clergy. Celibacy refers to the lack of participation in Sexual intercourse. ^[5] These men presented themselves as removed from the traditional Roman motivations of public and private life marked by pride, ambition and kinship solidarity, and differing from the married pagan leadership. Unlike later strictures on priestly celibacy, celibacy in Late Antique Christianity sometimes took the form of abstinence from sexual relations after marriage, and it came to be the expected norm for urban clergy. Clerical celibacy is the practice in various religious traditions, in which Clergy, Monastics and those (of either sex in religious orders adopt a Celibate and detached, the upper clergy became an elite equal in prestige to urban notables, the potentes or dynatoi (Brown (1987) p. 270).

The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius, 1883: John William Waterhouse expresses the sense of moral decadence that coloured the 19th century historical view of the 5th century. John William Waterhouse ( April 6, 1849 &ndash February 10, 1917) was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter most

Political transformation

The Late Antique period also saw a wholesale transformation of the political and social basis of life in and around the Roman Empire. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial

The Roman citizen elite in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, under the pressure of taxation and the ruinous cost of presenting spectacular public entertainments in the traditional cursus honorum, had found under the Antonines that security could only be obtained by combining their established roles in the local town with new ones as servants and representatives of a distant Emperor and his traveling court. The cursus honorum ( Latin: "course of honors" or "honors race" was the sequential order of Public offices held by aspiring This page is on the Roman imperial dynasty for Catholic clergy of the same name see Anthonians The Antonines most often referred to were two successive After Constantine (re-)centralized the government in his new capital of Constantinople (dedicated in 330), the Late Antique upper classes were divided among those who had access to the far-away centralized administration (in concert with the great landowners), and those who did not—though they were well-born and thoroughly educated, a classical education and the election by the Senate to magistracies was no longer the path to success. Latifundia are pieces of property covering tremendous areas The latifundia (Latin lātifundium; lātus, "spacious" + fundus, "farm estate" Room at the top of Late Antique society was more bureaucratic and involved increasingly intricate channels of access to the emperor: the plain toga that had identified all members of the Republican senatorial class was replaced with the silk, court vestments and jewellery associated with Byzantine imperial iconography. ^[6] Also indicative of the times is the fact that the imperial cabinet of advisors came to be known as the consistorium, or those who would stand in courtly attendance upon their seated emperor, as distinct from the informal set of friends and advisors surrounding Augustus. Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was

Cities

Concurrently, the continuity of the eastern Roman empire at Constantinople meant that the turning-point for the Greek East came later, as the Eastern, or Byzantine, Roman Empire centered around the Balkans and Asia Minor. The Greek East is a phrase used to define the territories of the Greek -speaking Orthodox peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, centered around the Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black In Europe there was also a general decline in urban populations. Rome went from a population of 800,000 in the beginning of the period to a population of 30,000 by the end of the period. A similar though less marked decline in urban population occurred in Constantinople. As a whole, the period of late antiquity was accompanied by an overall population decline in Western Europe, and a reversion to more of a subsistence economy. Markets disappeared, and there was a reversion to a greater degree of local production and consumption, rather than webs of commerce and specialized production. ^[7]

Public building

In the cities the strained economies of Roman over-expansion arrested growth. New public building in Late Antiquity came directly or indirectly from the emperors and their representatives, and the privileged supplies of grain and oil, available only to the citizen class, needy or not, was unbroken until the 5th century. But the elite appeared less often in the forums; they withdrew in the cities to an opulent domus but more frequently to the private luxuries of the villa. A domus was the form of house that wealthy and some Middle class families owned in Ancient Rome and could be found in almost all the major cities of the A villa was originally an Upper-class Country house, though since its origins in Roman times the idea and function of a villa has evolved considerably The basilica, which often functioned as a law court or for imperial reception of foreign dignitaries, now functioned in the 4th century as a substitute for the stoas and public basilicas associated with forums and traditional outdoor public life. The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa) was originally used to describe a Roman In one of the many forms of the Christian basilica, the bishop took the chair in the apse reserved in secular structures for the magistrate—or the Emperor himself— as the representative here and now of Christ Pantocrator, the Ruler of All, his characteristic Late Antique icon. Meaning The most common translation of Pantocrator is "Almighty" or "All-powerful An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. These ecclesiatical basilicas (e. g. S. Giovanni in Laterano, St. Peter's) were themselves outdone by Justinian's Hagia Sophia, a staggering display of later Roman/Byzantine power and architectural taste. Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya Αγία Σοφία " Holy Wisdom " Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former patriarchal Basilica, later Not to say that the former Western Empire had no grandeur in buildings: witness the mausoleum and Arian baptistry in Ravenna built by King Theoderic. Ravenna is a City and Comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

Sculpture and art

Main articles: Medieval art and Byzantine art

Roman art during Late Antiquity served as a monumental transition from classical idealized realism introduced by the Greeks to the more iconic, stylized art of the Middle Ages. Medieval art covers a vast scope of time and place over 1000 years of Art history in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 4th century until the Fall of Constantinople Realism is a visual art style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see Unlike classical art, Late Antique art does not emphasize the beauty and movement of the body, but rather, hints at the spiritual reality behind its subjects. Additionally, mirroring the rise of Christianity and the collapse of the western Roman Empire, painting and freestanding sculpture gradually fell from favor in the artistic community. Replacing them were greater interests in mosaics, architecture, and relief sculpture.

As the Soldier Emperors such as Maximinus Thrax (r. Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus (c 173&ndash238 also known as Maximinus Thrax (i 235-8) emerged from the provinces in the 3rd century, they brought with them their own regional influences and artistic tastes. For example, artists jettisoned the classical portrayal of the human body for one that was more rigid and frontal. This is markedly evident in the combined porphyry portraits of the four Roman tetrarchs. Porphyry is a variety of Igneous rock consisting of large-grained Crystals such as Feldspar or Quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained Tetrarchy ( Greek: "leadership of four " can be applied to any system of government where power is divided between four individuals With these stubby figures clutching each other and their swords, all individualism, naturalism, the verism or hyperrealism of Roman portraiture, and Greek idealism diminish. Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting In Western civilization, Idealism is the philosophy which maintains that the Ultimate nature of reality is ideal or based upon ideas values essences The so-called In nearly all artistic media, simpler shapes were adopted and once natural designs were abstracted. Additionally hierarchy of scale overtook the preeminence of perspective and other classical models for representing spatial organization.

The Tetrarchs, a porphyry sculpture sacked from a Byzantine palace in 1204, Treasury of St. Marks, Venice.

Nearly all of these more abstracted conventions could be observed in the glittering mosaics of the era. Although the pebble mosaics had been used for centuries in Asia Minor, a new technique employing tesserae rose as the method of choice by Christians. "Abaciscus" redirects here For the Geometer moth Genus, see Abaciscus (moth. The glazed surfaces of the tesserae sparkled in the light and illuminated the basilica churches. Unlike their fresco predecessors, much more emphasis was placed on demonstrating a symbolic fact rather than on rendering a realistic scene. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or As time progressed during the late antique period, art become more concerned with biblical themes and influenced by interactions of Christianity with the Roman state. Within this Christian subcategory of Roman art, dramatic changes were also taking place. Jesus Christ had been more commonly depicted as a suffering servant, teacher or as the “Good Shepherd,” resembling the traditional iconography of Hermes. Now, Jesus was increasingly given Roman elite status, and shrouded in purple robes like the emperors with orb and scepter in hand.

As for luxury arts, manuscript illumination on vellum and parchment emerged in the late sixth century as a display of beauty and spiritual authority in gilded text. Also, ivory carvings were greatly desired by Roman generals (for illustrating their victories in processions) and the Church (usually for creating religious imagery on diptyches and triptyches). A diptych (pronounced "dip-tick" dip'tik (or US: 'dɪp A triptych (pronounced "trip-tick" trip'tik (or US: 'tɹʷɪp

• Arch of Constantine
• Spolia

Literature

In the field of literature, Late Antiquity is known for the declining use of classical Greek and Latin, and the rise of literary cultures in Syriac, Armenian, Arabic, Coptic, vulgar Latin and, eventually, Romance dialects. The Arch of Constantine (Italian Arco di Costantino is a Triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. Spolia ( Latin, 'spoils' is a modern art-historical term used to describe the re-use of earlier building material or decorative sculpture on new monuments See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Coptic or Coptic Egyptian ( MetRemenkīmi) is the final stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of It also marks a shift in literary style, with a preference for encyclopedic works in a dense and allusive style, consisting of summaries of earlier works (anthologies, epitomes) often dressed up in elaborate allegorical garb (e. g. De Nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae (The Marriage of Mercury and Philology) of Martianus Capella, and the De Arithmetica, De Musica, and Consolatio Philosophiae of Boethius—both later key works in Medieval education). "Martianus" redirects here For the beetle Genus, see Martianus (beetle. Consolation of Philosophy ( Consolatio Philosophiae) is a philosophical work by Boethius, written in about the year AD 524. Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480&ndash524 or 525 was a Christian philosopher of the 6th century The fourth and fifth centuries also saw an explosion of Christian literature, of which Greek writers such as Eusebius of Caesarea, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom, and Latin writers as Ambrose of Milan, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo are only among the most renowned representatives. Christian literature is writing that deals with Christian themes and incorporates the Christian World view. Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (c 330 – January 1, 379) (Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας Latin Gregory of Nazianzus (329 – January 25 389) (also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen) was a 4th-century Archbishop This article refers to the Christian saint For other uses of the name see Chrysostomos. Saint Ambrose (c 338 &ndash 4 April 397) was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the fourth century Jerome (c 347 – September 30, 420) ( Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος

Poetry

Greek poets of the late antique period included Antoninus Liberalis, Quintus Smyrnaeus, Nonnus, Romanus the Melodist and Paul the Silentiary. Antoninus Liberalis was an Ancient Greek Grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300. Quintus Smyrnaeus (or Quintus of Smyrna, also known as Kointos of Smyrna) ( Κόιντος Σμυρναίος) was a Greek epic Theophanes Nonnus was a Byzantine physician For the saint of this name see Saint Nonnus. "Romanos" redirects here See Romanus for the Latin form of the same name or Romanos Spain for the municipality in Spain Paul the Silentiary, also known as Paulus Silentiarius (d Constantinople, 575-580 AD was an officer in the imperial household of the Byzantine emperor Justinian

Latin poets included Paulinus of Nola, Claudian, Rutilius Namatianus, Sidonius Apollinaris and Arator. Saint Paulinus of Nola or Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus ( Bordeaux, ca Claudian (lat Claudius Claudianus) was a court Poet to the Emperor Honorius and Stilicho. Rutilius Claudius Namatianus (fl 5th century) was a Roman Poet, notable as the author of a Latin poem De Reditu Suo, in Elegiac For the Franco-Irish saint see Sidonius of Saint-Saëns. Gaius Sollius (Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius or Saint Sidonius Apollinaris Arator was a Sixth century Christian Poet from Liguria in northwestern Italy.

See also

• Byzantine Empire
• Decline of the Roman Empire
• Early Middle Ages
• Migration Period
• Roman-Persian Wars
• Roman relations with the Parthians and Sassanids

Notes

References

• Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity: from Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad (AD 150-750), (London: Thames and Hudson) 1989, ISBN 0-393-95803-5
• Peter Brown, 1987. The Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries Bryan Ward-Perkins is an archaeologist and historian of the later Roman Empire and early Middle Ages, with a particular focus on the transitional period between those Peter Robert Lamont Brown (born 1935 was born in Dublin, Ireland, to a Protestant family "The World of Late Antiquity Ad 150-750" in A History of Private Life: 1. from Pagan Antiquity to Byzantium, Paul Veyne, editor, ISBN 0-393-95803-5
• Peter Brown, Authority and the Sacred : Aspects of the Christianisation of the Roman World, Routledge, 1997, ISBN 0-521-59557-6
• Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity 200-1000 AD, Blackwell, 2003, ISBN 0-631-22138-7
• Averil Cameron, The Later Roman Empire: Ad 284-430, Harvard University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-674-51194-8
• Averil Cameron, The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity Ad 395-600 (Routledge History of the Ancient World), 1993, ISBN 0-415-01421-2
• Averil Cameron et al. Dame Averil Millicent Cameron, DBE, FBA (born February 8, 1940) is Warden of Keble College Oxford, Professor of Late Antique and (editors), The Cambridge Ancient History, vols. 12-14, Cambridge 1997ff.
• John Curran, Pagan City and Christian Capital: Rome in the Fourth Century, Clarendon Press: Oxford, 2000.
• Peter Dinzelbacher / Werner Heinz: Europa in der Spätantike. Primus, Darmstadt 2007.
• Tomas Hägg (ed. ) "SO Debate: The World of Late Antiquity revisited," in Symbolae Osloenses (72), 1997.
• A. H. M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 284-602; a social, economic and administrative survey, vols. I, II, University of Oklahoma Press, 1964.
• Fred Kleiner, Christin Mamiya, & Richard Tansey, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 11th edition, Harcourt Publishers, New York, 2001, pp. 292-323.
• Bertrand Lancon, Rome in Late Antiquity : AD 313 - 604, Routledge, 2001.
• Lee, A. D. , Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity: a Sourcebook, Routledge: New York, 2000.
• Noel Lenski (ed. ), The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge University Press, 2006.
• Sam N. C. Lieu and Dominic Montserrat (eds. ), From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views, A Source History, Routledge: New York, 1996.
• Maas, Michael, The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
• Ramsay MacMullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire A. D. 100–400. New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1984.
• Stephen Mitchell, A history of the Later Roman Empire. AD 284-641, Blackwell, London 2006.
• Barbara Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages, 2nd edition, Broadview Press, New York, 2004, p. 30-39.
• Rostovtzeff, Michael Ivanovitch, (rev. P. Fraser), The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1979.

External links

• New Advent — The Fathers of the Church, a Catholic website with English translations by J. -P. Migne of the Early Fathers of the Church.
• ORB Encyclopedia's section on Late Antiquity in the Mediterranean from ORB
• Overview of Late Antiquity, from ORB
• Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics, a collaborative forum of Princeton and Stanford to make the latest scholarship on the field available in advance of final publication.
• The End of the Classical World, source documents from the Internet Medieval Sourcebook
• Worlds of Late Antiquity, from the University of Pennsylvania