Late antiquity

Quick Facts: Who was Late antiquity?

Subject:

Late antiquity

Known for:

A transformative era spanning the decline of Rome to the rise of major world religions.

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Late antiquity is a time period between classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The exact start and end dates are debatable. Late antiquity represents a cultural sphere covering much of the Mediterranean world, including parts of Europe and the Near East. As an approximate guide, the period can be thought of as spanning "c. 250–750". Late antiquity was an era of massive political and religious transformation.

Career & Major Achievements

As a time of significant cultural innovation and transformation, it produced a large body of late antique literature, art, and public architecture like the Hagia Sophia. Religiously, it marked the origins or ascendance of the three major monotheistic religions: Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Islam, as well as the period when both the Bible and the Quran were canonised. Politically, it marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire (the last Persian empire of antiquity), as well as the beginning of the Arab conquests and the formation of the Rashidun Caliphate. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Empire became a militarized and Christianized society. The term Spätantike, literally "late antiquity", has been used by German-speaking historians since its popularisation by Alois Riegl in the early 20th century.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

It was given currency in English partly by the writings of Peter Brown, whose book The World of Late Antiquity (1971) revised the Gibbon view of a stale and ossified Classical culture, in favour of a vibrant time of renewals and beginnings, and whose The Making of Late Antiquity offered a new paradigm of understanding the changes in Western culture of the time in order to confront Sir Richard Southern's The Making of the Middle Ages. The continuities between the later Roman Empire, as it was reorganized by Diocletian (r. 284–305), and the Early Middle Ages are stressed by writers who wish to emphasize that the seeds of medieval culture were already developing in the Christianised empire, and that they continued to do so in the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire at least until the coming of Islam. Concurrently, some migrating Germanic tribes such as the Ostrogoths and Visigoths saw themselves as perpetuating the "Roman" tradition. While the usage "Late Antiquity" suggests that the social and cultural priorities of classical antiquity endured throughout Europe into the Middle Ages, the usage of "Early Middle Ages" or "Early Byzantine" emphasises a break with the classical past, and the term "Migration Period" tends to de-emphasize the disruptions in the former Western Roman Empire caused by the creation of Germanic kingdoms within its borders beginning with the foedus with the Goths in Aquitania in 418.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1971: 1971 Milestone — It was given currency in English partly by the writings of Peter Brown, whose book The World of Late Antiquity (1971) revised the Gibbon view of a stale and ossified Classical culture, in favour of a vibrant time of renewals and beginnings, and whose The Making of Late Antiquity offered a new paradigm of understanding the changes in Western culture of the time in order to confront Sir Richard Southern's The Making of the Middle Ages.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Late antiquity

True or False: “The term 'Dark Ages' was universally accepted by historians until the 20th century to describe this period.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): This term has mostly been abandoned as a name for an epoch, being replaced by 'Late Antiquity'.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri — Historical peer (Died in 1971) (1971): Pioneering Egyptian jurist, celebrated for authoring the revised Civil Code of 1948.
• Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — Historical peer (Born in 1971) (1971): Iraqi militant leader and founder of the Islamic State (IS)
• Late Bronze Age collapse — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: A period of widespread societal collapse across the Eastern Mediterranean (c. 13th–12th century BC).
• Late modern period — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: A vast historical epoch spanning from the French Revolution to the present day.
• Laura Bassi — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Pioneering Italian physicist, first woman with a science doctorate.
• Laura Chinchilla — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Costa Rican political scientist and politician, first woman President of Costa Rica.

Frequently Asked Questions about Late antiquity