Late Antiquity and rhetoric, especially of the Second Sophistic, have been two burgeoning fields of research within Classics and Ancient History over the last few decades. As one of the most talented, prolific and well-conserved rhetoricians of Late Antiquity, Libanius (ad 314–393) is a crucial author for any scholar studying either of these fields. Nevertheless, Libanius does not figure prominently in publications on rhetoric or Late Antiquity. Studies on rhetoric tend to present Libanius as the ‘last of the Mohicans’ – if at all, for most studies of imperial rhetoric stop at around ad 250. Studies on Late Antiquity, on the other hand, almost invariably refer to Libanius, but in most cases merely in order to back up prosopographical data, document specific facts, or provide parallel passages for other sources. Several decades ago, the works of Libanius lay, in fact, at the basis of some of the most important and influential studies in the field, such as Jones’ magisterial The Later Roman Empire 284–602, Liebeschuetz’s still standard Antioch: City and Imperial Administration in the Later Roman Empire, and the first volume of the indispensable Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE), edited by Jones, Martindale and Morris. These studies, like many others, quarry Libanius’ letters and orations as one of their main sources of information on the later Roman Empire. But whilst several works of Libanius are thus often used or mentioned, the author and his oeuvre themselves largely remain at the margins of broader scholarly interest.