Interpreting Late Antiquity: Essays on the Postclassical World

by G. W. Bowersock, Peter Brown, Oleg Grabar, Averil Cameron, Béatrice Caseau

Overview

The era of late antiquity—from the middle of the third century to the end of the eighth—was marked by the rise of two world religions, unprecedented political upheavals that remade the map of the known world, and the creation of art of enduring glory. In these eleven in-depth essays, drawn from the award-winning reference work Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World, an international cast of experts provides essential information and fresh perspectives on this period's culture and history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674005983
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2001
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.88(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

G. W. Bowersock is Professor Emeritus of Ancient History at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

Peter Brown is Philip and Beulah Rollins Professor of History, Emeritus, at Princeton University.

Oleg Grabar was Professor Emeritus of Islamic Art and Architecture at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.

Professor Dame Averil Cameron was formerly the Warden of Keble College Oxford and the holder of a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford.

Christopher Kelly is University Reader in Ancient History, and Fellow and Director of Studies at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

Henry Maguire is a former Director of Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks and Professor of Art History at Johns Hopkins University.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Maps

Remaking the Past, by Averil Cameron

Sacred Landscapes, by Béatrice Caseau

Philosophical Tradition and the Self, by Henry Chadwick

Varieties of Religious Community, by Garth Fowden

Barbarians and Ethnicity, by Patrick J. Geary

War and Violence, by Brent D. Shaw

Empire Building, by Christopher Kelly

Christian Triumph and Controversy, by Richard Lim

Islam, by Hugh Kennedy

The Good Life, by Henry Maguire

Habitat, by Yizhar Hirschfeld

Abbreviations

Contributors

Index

Editorial Reviews

Instead of relegating the late antiquity to the Gibbonian category of "Decline and Fall," the authors contributing to the present volume successfully attempt to consider this period in its own terms and without preconceived notions or value judgments, that is, as a time of monumental change, destruction, and reconstruction...This collection of essays truly brings to life the world of late antiquity in multiple fashions. The authors look both at East and West, they compare and contrast the role of Christianity and the role of the pagan religions. Their investigations rely not only on historical data, but also draw from recent research in archeology, art history, anthropology, and theology...All authors demonstrate a solid familiarity with most recent, especially international research.

Studi Medievali - Albrecht Classen

Instead of relegating the late antiquity to the Gibbonian category of "Decline and Fall," the authors contributing to the present volume successfully attempt to consider this period in its own terms and without preconceived notions or value judgments, that is, as a time of monumental change, destruction, and reconstruction...This collection of essays truly brings to life the world of late antiquity in multiple fashions. The authors look both at East and West, they compare and contrast the role of Christianity and the role of the pagan religions. Their investigations rely not only on historical data, but also draw from recent research in archeology, art history, anthropology, and theology...All authors demonstrate a solid familiarity with most recent, especially international research.
— Albrecht Classen

Studi Medievali