Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World

Bowersock, G. W; Brown, Peter; Grabar, Oleg

ISBN 10: 0674511735 / ISBN 13: 9780674511736

Published by Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass, 1999

About this Item

Large quarto color illus jacket (black spine); xiii, 780 pages: illustrations (some illustrations); 27 cm. Bibliographical references and index. Series: Harvard University Press Reference Library. "In eleven in-depth essays and over 500 encyclopedia entries, an international cast of experts provides essential information and fresh perspectives on the history and culture of an era 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." "By extending the commonly accepted chronological and territorial boundaries of the period - to encompass Roman, Byzantine, Sassanian, and early Islamic cultures, from the middle of the third century to the end of the eighth - this guide makes new connections and permits revealing comparisons."--Jacket. Contents: Remaking the past /; Averil Cameron --; Sacred landscapes /; B?atrice Caseau --; Philosophical tradition and the self /; Henry Chadwick --; Religious communities /; Garth Fowden --; Barbarians and ethnicity /; Patrick J. Geary --; War and violence /; Brent D. Shaw --; Empire building /; Christopher Kelly --; Christian triumph and controversy /; Richard Lim --; Islam /; Hugh Kennedy --; The good life /; Henry Maguire --; Habitat /; Yizhar Hirschfeld --; Alphabetical guide. Classical dictionaries. Greek World -- history Roman World -- history Antiquit?s gr?co-romaines -- Dictionnaires anglais. General world history; history of great parts of the world, peoples, civilizations: general. Classical dictionaries. Cultuurgeschiedenis. Sociale geschiedenis. Civilization, Ancient -- Encyclopedias. Classical dictionaries. Classical dictionaries. (v) Dictionaries. Reference works. Textbooks (form) Encyclopedias (form) Reference works. Empire byzantin -- Dictionnaires -- Jusqu'? 527. Europe -- Dictionnaires -- 392-814. Empire islamique -- Dictionnaires -- 661-750. Rome -- Dictionnaires -- 284-476 (Bas-Empire. About near fine(-) in near fine(-) to very good(+) lightly edge-worn jacket now hosued in archival mylar. Light scholalry pencil marginalia (mostly lines) to first few pages. in fine dust-jacket.

Seller Inventory # 92747

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World
• Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674511735
• ISBN 13: 9780674511736
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good(+)
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

The first book of its kind, this richly informative and comprehensive guide to the world of late antiquity offers the latest scholarship to the researcher along with great reading pleasure to the browser. In eleven comprehensive essays and in over 500 encyclopedic entries, an international cast of experts provides essential information and fresh perspectives on the history and culture of an era 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.

By extending the commonly accepted chronological and territorial boundaries of the period--to encompass Roman, Byzantine, Sassanian, and early Islamic cultures, from the middle of the third century to the end of the eighth--this guide makes new connections and permits revealing comparisons. Consult the article on "Angels" and discover their meaning in Islamic as well as classical and Judeo-Christian traditions. Refer to "Children," "Concubinage," and "Divorce" for a fascinating interweaving of information on the family. Read the essay on "Barbarians and Ethnicity" and see how a topic as current as the construction of identity played out in earlier times, from the Greeks and Romans to the Turks, Huns, and Saxons. Turn to "Empire Building" to learn how the empire of Constantine was supported by architecture and ceremony.

Or follow your own path through the broad range of entries on politics, manufacturing and commerce, the arts, philosophy, religion, geography, ethnicity, and domestic life. Each entry introduces readers to another facet of the postclassical world: historic figures and places, institutions, burial customs, food, money, public life, and amusements. A splendid selection of illustrations enhances the portrait.

The intriguing era of late antiquity emerges completely and clearly, viewed in a new light, in a guide that will be relished by scholars and general readers alike.

About the Authors

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.