Late Antiquity (ca. 250-650) witnessed the transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds. Christianity displaced polytheism over a wide area, offering new definitions of identity and community. The Roman Empire collapsed in Western Europe to be replaced by new "Germanic" kingdoms. In the East, Byzantium emerged, while the Persian Empire reached its apogee and collapsed. Arab armies carrying the banner of Islam reshaped the political map and brought the late antique era to a close.

This sourcebook illustrates the dramatic...

Dominated by the policies and personality of emperor Justinian I (527-565), this period of grand achievements and far-reaching failures witnessed the transformation of the Mediterranean world from Roman to Byzantine. Twenty specialists explore the most important aspects of the age--including the mechanics and theory of empire, warfare, urbanism, and economy. They also discuss the impact of the great plague, the codification of Roman law, and the many religious upheavals taking place at the time.

This book examines the age of Attila, roughly the fifth century CE, an era in which western Eurasia experienced significant geopolitical and cultural changes. The Roman Empire collapsed in western Europe, replaced by new barbarian kingdoms, but it continued in Christian Byzantine guise in the eastern Mediterranean. New states and peoples changed the face of northern Europe, while in Iran, the Sasanian Empire developed new theories of power and government. At the same time, the great Eurasian steppe became a permanent presence in the European world. This book treats Attila, the notorious king...