The Rhetoric of Power in Late Antiquity ─ Religion and Politics in Byzantium, Europe and the Early Islamic World

Late Antiquity, the period of transition from the crisis of the Roman Empire in the third century to the Middle Ages, was once considered only in terms of the 'decline' from classical standards. More recent classical scholarship, however, strives to consider this period on its own terms. Taking the reign of Constantine the Great as its starting point, this new book examines the unique intersection of religion, culture and politics in early Byzantium and the surrounding Islamic societies. Expert scholars in the field come together to examine ancient rhetorical texts to explore the ways in which late antique authors drew upon classical traditions, presenting Roman and post-Roman religious and political institutions in order to establish a desired image of a 'new era'.

The book provides new insights into how the post-Roman Germanic West, Byzantine East and Muslim South appropriated and transformed the political, intellectual and cultural legacy inherited from the late Roman Empire and its borderlands. It examines a number of key aspects of this legacy: images of political and religious authority, the function of Roman tradition in the emergent societies, civic elites in Byzantium, and challenges to sacred texts and rites in the late empire. Using contemporary critical approaches as well as sophisticated analytical techniques, the authors offer new insights and perspectives on topics ranging from the Thessalonika uprising in 390 CE to the hagiographical rhetoric of the emergent Muslim empires.

A multi-pronged investigation crossing over several academic disciplines, the books draws exciting new conclusions about the subtle interactions between religion and rhetoric, and their enduring influence on the world of Late Antiquity. The Rhetoric of Power in Late Antiquity is an important new contribution for students and scholars of Ancient History, Classics, Reception Studies and Religion.

Elizabeth DePalma Digeser is Associate Professor of Roman History and Late Antiquity at the University of California, Santa Barbara She is the author of The Making of a Christian Empire: Lactantius and Rome (Ithaca, 2000). She has published research in The Journal of Early Christian Studies, The Journal of Roman Studies, Classical Philology, The Journal of Theological Studies and Hermes.

Robert M. Frakes is Professor of History at Clarion University. He is the author of Contra Potentium Iniurias: The Defensor Civitatis and Late Roman Justice (Munich, 2001) and articles.

Justin Stephens is in his second year as an Assistant Professor of History at Metropolitan State College of Denver, where he teaches courses in both Ancient Greece and Rome. His research explores the relationship between the Christian Church and the Roman Empire in the fourth and early fifth centuries.

Elizabeth DePalma Digeser is Associate Professor of Roman History and Late Antiquity at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is the author of The Making of a Christian Empire: Lactantius and Rome (Ithaca, 2000). She has published research in The Journal of Early Christian Studies, The Journal of Roman Studies, Classical Philology, The Journal of Theological Studies and Hermes.
Robert M. Frakes is Professor of History at Clarion University. He is the author of Contra Potentium Iniurias: The Defensor Civitatis and Late Roman Justice (Munich, 2001) and articles in scholarly journals such as Byzantion, Classical Journal, Harvard Theological Review, Historia, and Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fur Rechtsgeschichte (Romanistische Abteilung).
Justin Stephens is in his second year as an Assistant Professor of History at Metropolitan State College of Denver, where he teaches courses in both Ancient Greece and Rome. His research explores the relationship between the Christian Church and the Roman Empire in the fourth and early fifth centuries.