The barbarians of the fifth and sixth centuries were long thought to be races, tribes or ethnic groups who toppled the Roman Empire and racist, nationalist assumptions about the composition of the barbarian groups still permeate much scholarship on the subject. This book proposes a new view, through a case-study of the Goths of Italy between 489 and 554. It contains a detailed examination of the personal details and biographies of 379 individuals and compares their behaviour with ideological texts of the time. This inquiry suggests wholly new ways of understanding the appearance of barbarian groups and the end of the western Roman Empire, as well as proposing new models of regional and professional loyalty and group cohesion. In addition, the book proposes a complete reinterpretation of the evolution of Christian conceptions of community, and of so-called 'Germanic' Arianism.

A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy is a concise yet comprehensive cutting edge survey of the rise and fall of Italy’s first barbarian kingdom, the Ostrogothic state (ca. 489-554 CE). The volume’s 18 essays provide readers with probing syntheses of recent scholarship on key topics, from the Ostrogothic army and administration to religious diversity and ecclesiastical development, ethnicity, cultural achievements, urbanism, and the rural economy. Significantly, the volume also presents innovative studies of hitherto under-examined topics, including the Ostrogothic provinces beyond the Italian lands, gender and the Ostrogothic court, and Ostrogothic Italy’s environmental history. Featuring work by an international panel of scholars, the volume is designed for both new students and specialists in the field. Contributors are Jonathan Arnold, Shane Bjornlie, Samuel Cohen, Kate Cooper, Deborah Deliyannis, Cam Grey, Guy Halsall, Gerda Heydemann, Mark Johnson, Sean Lafferty, Natalia Lozovsky, Federico Marazzi, Christine Radtki, Kristina Sessa, Paolo Squatriti, Brian Swain, and Rita Lizzi Testa.

The first comprehensive reference work devoted exclusively to this dark, but critical, period in the history of Western civilization. In the Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe, medieval expert Michael Frassetto amasses the evidence for the defense—and prosecution—of this little-understood transition era in the history of Western civilization. Covering nearly 1,000 years of history—from the late ancient period through the first centuries of the Middle Ages—this concise but thorough reference work examines the key figures, places, events, and ideas of barbarian Europe. This title chronicles the ancient Visigoths, the rule of Benedict, and the sacking of Rome. The easy-to-access alphabetical entries and essays offer more than a mere chronicling of kings and battles and explore the social and cultural history of the era, with special attention played to the role of women.

Covering material from the time of Julius Caesar to the sack of Rome, this topically arranged reference set provides substantive entries on people, cities, government, institutions, military developments, material culture, and other topics related to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was one of the greatest and most influential forces of the ancient world, and many of its achievements endure in one form or another to this day. Because of its geographic breadth, cultural diversity, and overall complexity, it is also one of the most difficult organizations to understand. This book focuses on the Roman Empire from the time of Julius Caesar to the sack of Rome. While most references on the Roman world provide a series of alphabetically arranged entries, this work is organized in broad topical chapters on government and politics, administration, individuals, groups and organizations, places, events, military developments, and objects and artifacts. Each section provides 20 to 30 substantive entries along with an overview essay. The work also provides a selection of primary source documents and closes with a bibliography of important print and electronic resources.

A study of the nature of national sentiment in fourteenth-century England, in its political and constitutional context.

Between the fall of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century and the collapse of the east in the face of the Arab invasions in the seventh, the remarkable era of the Emperor Justinian (527-568) dominated the Mediterranean region. Famous for his conquests in Italy and North Africa, and for the creation of spectacular monuments such as the Hagia Sophia, his reign was also marked by global religious conflict within the Christian world and an outbreak of plague that some have compared to the Black Death. For many historians, Justinian is far more than an anomaly of Byzantine ambition between the eras of Attila and Muhammad; he is the causal link that binds together the two moments of Roman imperial collapse. Determined to reverse the losses Rome suffered in the fifth century, Justinian unleashed an aggressive campaign in the face of tremendous adversity, not least the plague. This book offers a fundamentally new interpretation of his conquest policy and its overall strategic effect, which has often been seen as imperial overreach, making the regime vulnerable to the Islamic takeover of its richest territories in the seventh century and thus transforming the great Roman Empire of Late Antiquity into its pale shadow of the Middle Ages. In Rome Resurgent, historian Peter Heather draws heavily upon contemporary sources, including the writings of Procopius, the principal historian of the time, while also recasting that author's narrative by bringing together new perspectives based on a wide array of additional source material. A huge body of archaeological evidence has become available for the sixth century, providing entirely new means of understanding the overall effects of Justinian's war policies. Building on his own distinguished work on the Vandals, Goths, and Persians, Heather also gives much fuller coverage to Rome's enemies than Procopius ever did. A briskly paced narrative by a master historian, Rome Resurgent promises to introduce readers to this captivating and unjustly overlooked chapter in ancient warfare.