Preliminary Material /Pauline Allen and Elizabeth Jeffreys -- Introduction /Pauline Allen and Elizabeth Jeffreys -- Inheriting the Fifth Century: Who Bequeathed What? /Philip Rousseau -- Writing the Reign of Justinian: Malalas versus Theophanes /Roger Scott -- Procopius and the Samaritans /Katherine Adshead -- Bury, Malalas and the Nika Riot /Michael Jeffreys -- The Chronicle of John Malalas, Book I: A Commentary /Elizabeth Jeffreys -- The Use of Pagan Mythology in the Christian Empire with Particular Reference to the Dionysiaca of Nonnus /Wolfgang Liebeschuetz -- Notes of Christian Epigrams in Book One of the Greek Anthology /Barry Baldwin -- The Reading of Paul the Silentiary /Ian Martlew -- Early Monasticism and Ps. Denys /Daniel Callam -- Impact of St Sabas: The Legacy of Palestinian Monasticism /Kathleen Hay -- Aspects of Spiritual Direction: The Palestinian Tradition /John Chryssavgis -- Junillus Africanus' Instituta Regularia Divinae Legis in its Justinianic Context /Michael Maas -- The Silence of the Sources: The Sixth Century and East-Syrian 'Antiochene ' Exegesis /Corrie Molenberg -- Severus of Antioch and the Homily: The End of the Beginning? /Pauline Allen -- The Sixth Century: A Turning-Point for Byzantine Homiletics? /Mary Cunningham -- Through the Tunnel with Leontius of Jerusalem: The Sixth-Century Transformation of Theology /Patrick Gray -- Christ's Image versus Christology: Thoughts on the Justinianic Era as Threshold of an Epoch /Karl-Heinz Uthemann -- Sixth-Century Art and Architecture in 'Old Rome ': End or Beginning? /Joan Barclay Lloyd -- Sixth-Century Ravenna from the Perspective of Abbot Agnellus /Ann Moffatt -- Forming and Transforming Proto-Byzantine Urban Public Space /Michael Milojević -- Byzantium, Planet Earth and the Solar System /Paul Farquharson -- Climatic Change in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries? /Johannes Koder -- General Index /Pauline Allen and Elizabeth Jeffreys -- Contributors /Pauline Allen and Elizabeth Jeffreys.

Originally published by Duckworth and the University of California Press, Procopius is now available for the first time in paperback. Professor Cameron emphasises the essential unity of Procopius' three works and, starting from the `minor' ones, demonstrates their intimate connection with the Wars. Procopius' writings are seen to comprise a subtle whole; only if they are understood in this way can their historical value be properly appreciated. The result is a new evaluation of Procopius which will be central to any future history of the sixth century.

In The Long Sixth Century in Eastern Europe, Florin Curta offers a social and economic history of East Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe during the 6th and 7th centuries.

In his assessment of the transformation of the Roman World Henri Pirenne assigned little significance to the sixth century, seeing it primarily as a period of continuity. In this volume twelve scholars assess the period in the light of new evidence and new perspectives. The result is an infinitely complex picture, covering Scandinavia and Central Europe as well as the western Mediterranean, in which continuity and change exist side by side.

This book introduces the Age of Justinian, the last Roman century and the first flowering of Byzantine culture. Dominated by the policies and personality of emperor Justinian I (527–565), this period of grand achievements and far-reaching failures witnessed the transformation of the Mediterranean world. In this volume, twenty specialists explore the most important aspects of the age including the mechanics and theory of empire, warfare, urbanism, and economy. It also discusses the impact of the great plague, the codification of Roman law, and the many religious upheavals taking place at the time. Consideration is given to imperial relations with the papacy, northern barbarians, the Persians, and other eastern peoples, shedding new light on a dramatic and highly significant historical period.

Byzantine chronicles have traditionally been regarded as a somewhat inferior form of Byzantine history writing, especially in comparison with 'classicizing' historians. The aim of many of these papers is both to rescue the reputation of the Byzantine chroniclers, especially Malalas and Theophanes, and also to provide some examples of how these two chroniclers in particular can be exploited usefully both to reveal aspects of the past itself, notably of the period of Justinian, and also of how the Byzantines interpreted their own past, which included on occasions rewriting that past to suit altered contemporary needs. For the period of Justinian in particular, proper attention to aspects of the humble Byzantine chronicle can also help achieve a better understanding of the period than that provided by the classicizing Procopius with his emphasis on war and conquest. By considering more general aspects of the place of history-writing in Byzantine culture, the papers also help explain why history remained such an important aspect of Byzantine culture.

The Ostrogoths appropriated the remnants of the Roman empire in Italy, Spain, southern Gaul and the north-west Balkans. In this title, studies illuminate the evolution of medieval Europe from Roman civilisation moderated by Germanic outsiders.

The Church at Worship is a new series of documentary case studies of specific worshiping communities from around the world and throughout Christian history. In this second volume, Tasting Heaven on Earth, Walter Ray provides vivid descriptions of Constantinople, its history, its people, and its worship practices, which set the stage for a rich selection of primary documents that present readers with a vibrant snapshot of Byzantine Christianity in the sixth century. Some of the primary materials included here: Photos of mosaics, liturgical vessels, icons, and manuscripts Drawings, diagrams, descriptions, and photographs of Hagia Sophia Firsthand accounts of worship by Maximus the Confessor, Eutychius, and Procopius Liturgical prayers and a reconstruction of the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil

Asia Minor is considered to have been a fairly prosperous region in Late Antiquity. It was rarely disturbed by external invasions and remained largely untouched by the continuous Roman-Persian conflict until very late in the period, was apparently well connected to the flourishing Mediterranean economy and, as the region closest to Constantinople, is assumed to have played an important part in the provisioning of the imperial capital and the imperial armies. When exactly this prosperity came to an end – the late sixth century, the early, middle or even later seventh century – remains a matter of debate. Likewise, the impact of factors such as the dust veil event of 536, the impact of the bubonic plague that made its first appearance in AD 541/542, the costs and consequences of Justinian’s wars, the Persian attacks of the early seventh century and, eventually the Arab incursions of around the middle of the seventh century, remains controversial. The more general living conditions in both cities and countryside have long been neglected. The majority of the population, however, did not live in urban but in rural contexts. Yet the countryside only found its proper place in regional overviews in the last two decades, thanks to an increasing number of regional surveys in combination with a more refined pottery chronology. Our growing understanding of networks of villages and hamlets is very likely to influence the appreciation of the last decades of Late Antiquity drastically. Indeed, it would seem that the sixth century in particular is characterized not only by a ruralization of cities, but also by the extension and flourishing of villages in Asia Minor, the Roman Near East, and Egypt. This volume's series of themes include the physical development of large and small settlements, their financial situation, and the proportion of public and private investment. Imperial, provincial, and local initiatives in city and countryside are compared and the main motivations examined, including civic or personal pride, military incentives, and religious stimuli. The evidence presented will be used to form opinions on the impact of the plague on living circumstances in the sixth century and to evaluate the significance of the Justinianic period.