The World of Late Antiquity: CE 150-750 (New) (World of Art)

The World of Late Antiquity: CE 150-750 (New) (World of Art)
Author: Peter Brown
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2024-06-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0500779368

A remarkable study in social and cultural change that explains how and why the late antique world (circa 150–750CE) came to differ from "classical civilization." The first century CE was one of momentous events: the end of the Roman Empire, the rise of Christianity across Western Europe, and the disappearance of Persia from the Near East. An era in which the most deep-rooted ancient institutions disappeared, creating divergent legacies that are still present today. Renowned historian Peter Brown examines these changes and the reactions to them to show that the late antiquity was an outstanding period of new beginnings with far-reaching impacts. The result is a lucid answer to a crucial question in world history: how the exceptionally homogenous Mediterranean world of the first century CE became divided into the three mutually estranged societies of the Middle Ages: Catholic Western Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic world. Brown’s remarkable study in social and cultural transformation explains how and why the late antique world came to differ from the "classical civilization" of the Greeks and Romans. Featuring a new preface and updated with color illustrations throughout, The World of Late Antiquity demonstrates that we still have much to learn from this enduring and intriguing period of history.

Envisioning Worlds in Late Antique Art

Envisioning Worlds in Late Antique Art
Author: Anna Cecilia Olovsdotter
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2018-12-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 3110546841

It has long been an accepted assumption that the abstracted mode of visual representation that emerged in late antiquity reflected a collective shift from the outer-directed and ’material’ world-view of classical antiquity to an inner-directed, ’spiritual’ mentality informed by Christianity: the purpose of this volume is to offer a more nuanced and diverse image of the nature and meanings of abstraction and symbolism in late antique and early medieval art, beyond normative intepretation models, and from a number of different methodological and interpretative perspectives. In ten chapters, ten authors specialised in various fields of late-antique and Byzantine art explore the historiographical background of the ’spiritual’ interpretation paradigm, neuroscientific and theological dimensions of Christian visual aesthetics, meanings and motive factors behind apparently wholly abstract and aniconic compositions, symbolic motifs and schemes for visualising cosmic order and the cosmic state of Christ, and the re-use of symbolic Greco-Roman themes in Christian contexts. The result is a multi-focal image of late antique abstraction and symbolism that illuminates the heterogeneity and complexity of the phenomena and of their study.

A Globalised Visual Culture?

A Globalised Visual Culture?
Author: Fabio Guidetti
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 641
Release: 2020-07-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789254477

Late Antique artefacts, and the images they carry, attest to a highly connected visual culture from ca. 300 to 800 C.E. On the one hand, the same decorative motifs and iconographies are found across various genres of visual and material culture, irrespective of social and economic differences among their users – for instance in mosaics, architectural decoration, and luxury arts (silver plate, textiles, ivories), as well as in everyday objects such as tableware, lamps, and pilgrim vessels. On the other hand, they are also spread in geographically distant regions, mingled with local elements, far beyond the traditional borders of the classical world. At the same time, foreign motifs, especially of Germanic and Sasanian origin, are attested in Roman territories. This volume aims at investigating the reasons behind this seemingly globalised visual culture spread across the Late Antique world, both within the borders of the (former) Roman and (later) Byzantine Empire and beyond, bringing together diverse approaches characteristic of different national and disciplinary traditions. The presentation of a wide range of relevant case studies chosen from different geographical and cultural contexts exemplifies the vast scale of the phenomenon and demonstrates the benefit of addressing such a complex historical question with a combination of different theoretical approaches.

Late Antique and Medieval Art of the Mediterranean World

Late Antique and Medieval Art of the Mediterranean World
Author: Eva R. Hoffman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2009-02-09
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1405182075

Late Antique and Medieval Art of the Mediterranean World is a much-needed teaching anthology that rethinks and broadens the scope of the stale and limiting classifications used for Early Christian-Byzantine visual arts. A comprehensive anthology offering a new approach to the visual arts classified as Early Christian-Byzantine Comprised of essays from experts in the field that integrate the newer, historiographical research into 'the canon' of established scholarship Exposes the historical, geographical and cultural continuities and interactions in the visual arts of the late antique and medieval Mediterranean world Covers an extensive range of topics, including the effect that converging cultures in late antiquity had on art, the cultural identities that can be observed by looking at difference of tradition in visual art, and the variance of illuminations in holy books

Late Antiquity

Late Antiquity
Author: Glen Warren Bowersock
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 844
Release: 1999
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780674511736

In 11 in-depth essays and over 500 encyclopedia entries, a cast of experts provides fresh perspectives on an era marked by the rise of two world religions, unprecedented upheavals, and the creation of art of enduring glory. 79 illustrations, 16 in color.

The Great Empires of the Ancient World

The Great Empires of the Ancient World
Author: Thomas Harrison
Publisher: Getty Publications
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2009
Genre: Civilization, Ancient
ISBN: 9780892369874

A distinguished team of internationally renowned scholars surveys the great empires from 1600 BC to AD 500, from the ancient Mediterranean to China.

Interpreting Late Antiquity

Interpreting Late Antiquity
Author: Glen Warren Bowersock
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674005988

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.

A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity

A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity
Author: Douglas Boin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2018-03-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1119077001

2019 PROSE Award finalist in the Classics category! A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity examines the social and cultural landscape of the Late Antique Mediterranean. The text offers a picture of everyday life as it was lived in the spaces around and between two of the most memorable and towering figures of the time—Constantine and Muhammad. The author captures the period using a wide-lens, including Persian material from the mid third century through Umayyad material of the mid eighth century C.E. The book offers a rich picture of Late Antique life that is not just focused on Rome, Constantinople, or Christianity. This important resource uses nuanced terms to talk about complex issues and fills a gap in the literature by surveying major themes such as power, gender, community, cities, politics, law, art and architecture, and literary culture. The book is richly illustrated and filled with maps, lists of rulers and key events. A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity is an essential guide that: Paints a rich picture of daily life in Late Antique that is not simply centered on Rome, Constantinople, or Christianity Balances a thematic approach with rigorous attention to chronology Stresses the need for appreciating both sources and methods in the study of Late Antique history Offers a sophisticated model for investigating daily life and the complexities of individual and group identity in the rapidly changing Mediterranean world Includes useful maps, city plans, timelines, and suggestions for further reading A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity offers an examination of everyday life in the era when adherents of three of the major religions of today—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—faced each other for the first time in the same environment. Learn more about A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity’s link to current social issues in Boin’s article for the History News Network.

The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity

The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity
Author: Averil Cameron
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2015-04-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1136673059

This thoroughly revised and expanded edition of The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity, now covering the period 395-700 AD, provides both a detailed introduction to late antiquity and a direct challenge to conventional views of the end of the Roman empire. Leading scholar Averil Cameron focuses on the changes and continuities in Mediterranean society as a whole before the Arab conquests. Two new chapters survey the situation in the east after the death of Justinian and cover the Byzantine wars with Persia, religious developments in the eastern Mediterranean during the life of Muhammad, the reign of Heraclius, the Arab conquests and the establishment of the Umayyad caliphate. Using the latest in-depth archaeological evidence, this all-round historical and thematic study of the west and the eastern empire has become the standard work on the period. The new edition takes account of recent research on topics such as the barbarian ‘invasions’, periodization, and questions of decline or continuity, as well as the current interest in church councils, orthodoxy and heresy and the separation of the miaphysite church in the sixth-century east. It contains a new introductory survey of recent scholarship on the fourth century AD, and has a full bibliography and extensive notes with suggestions for further reading. The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity 395-700 AD continues to be the benchmark for publications on the history of Late Antiquity and is indispensible to anyone studying the period.