The Roman Empire traditionally presented itself as the centre of the world, a view sustained by ancient education and conveyed in imperial literature. Historiography in particular tended to be written from an empire-centred perspective. In Late Antiquity, however, that attitude was challenged by the fragmentation of the empire. This book explores how a post-imperial representation of space emerges in the historiography of that period. Minds adapted slowly, long ignoring Constantinople as the new capital and still finding counter-worlds at the edges of the world. Even in Christian literature, often thought of as introducing a new conception of space, the empire continued to influence geographies. Political changes and theological ideas, however, helped to imagine a transferral of empire away from Rome and to substitute ecclesiastical for imperial space. By the end of Late Antiquity, Rome was just one of many centres of the world.
- Provides the first book on the representation of space in late ancient historiography
- Explores how the 'fall of Rome' and the fragmentation of its empire changed historians' understanding of the world
- Includes case studies drawn from Greek, Latin, Syriac and Armenian histories
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Reviews & endorsements
'… the contributions are first-rate essays, sure to benefit any student who reads them … Overall, this is a worthwhile collection.' J. A. S. Evans, Choice
'Without a doubt, each study in this volume presents a piece of fine scholarship in itself, even though some certainly carry more weight or offer more food for thought than the others. In that regard, this is a welcome collection.' Hrvoje Gračanin, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
'… these individual yet (loosely) related studies offer us different approaches and methodologies to explore a rich and diverse number of texts and authors, some familiar and some less well-known, and to raise questions and to illuminate another aspect of the late antique world.' Fiona K. Haarer, Histos
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Product details
- Date Published: August 2019
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781108481281
- length: 226 pages
- dimensions: 235 x 159 x 15 mm
- weight: 0.48kg
- contains: 2 b/w illus. 1 table
- availability: In stock
Table of Contents
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction: from imperial to post-imperial space in Late Ancient historiography Peter Van Nuffelen
1. Constantinople's belated hegemony Anthony Kaldellis
2. Beside the rim of the ocean: the edges of the world in fifth- and sixth- century historiography Peter Van Nuffelen
3. Armenian space in Late Antiquity Tim Greenwood
4. Narrative and space in Christian chronography: John of Biclaro on East, West, and orthodoxy Mark Humphries
5. The Roman Empire in John of Ephesus' Church history: being Roman, writing Syriac Hartmut Leppin
6. Changing geographies: West Syrian ecclesiastical historiography, AD 700–850 Philip Wood
7. Where is Syriac Pilgrimage literature in Late Antiquity? Exploring the absence of a genre Scott Johnson
Bibliography
Index.
Look Inside
Editor
Peter Van Nuffelen, Universiteit Gent, Belgium
Peter Van Nuffelen is Professor of Ancient History at Universiteit Gent, Belgium, where he leads an ERC-funded team on late ancient historiography. His recent publications include Rethinking the Gods: Philosophical Readings of Religion in the Post-Hellenistic Period (Cambridge, 2011), Orosius and the Rhetoric of History (2012), and Penser la tolérance durant l'Antiquité tardive (2018).
Contributors
Peter Van Nuffelen, Anthony Kaldellis, Tim Greenwood, Mark Humphries, Hartmut Leppin, Philip Wood, Scott Johnson