In the year 533, Emperor Justinian wished to rebuild Constantinople, Theodora wished to rebuild her reputation, and Maxentius wished to rebuild his life. Three people, three destinies, one story. At the same moment, the legendary city of Carthage is moving against the empire. Six hundred years after it was first destroyed by the Romans, Justinian proclaims: "We must destroy Carthage once more!"

The year 535. Maxentius and Ofellus travel to the imperial provinces. From Italy, the Gothic sect of the Black Swans is plotting the empire's downfall. Is the eternal war between the Romans and the barbarians about to be rekindled? Maxentius, Empress Theodora's spy, knows well that even thousands of leagues from Constantinople, her shadow looms, ready to shake up history...

Prosopography definition: "a study that identifies and relates a group of persons or characters within a particular historical or literary context"--Http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prosopography.

Shifting Genres in Late Antiquity examines the transformations that took place in a wide range of genres, both literary and non-literary, in this dynamic period. The Christianisation of the Roman empire and the successor kingdoms had a profound impact on the evolution of Greek and Roman literature, and many aspects of this are discussed in this volume - the composition of church history, the collection of papal letters, heresiology, homiletics and apologetic. Contributors discuss authors such as John Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, Cassiodorus, Jerome, Liberatus of Carthage, Victor of Vita, and Epiphanius of Salamis as well as the Collectio Avellana. Secular literature too, however, underwent important changes, notably in Constantinople in the sixth century. Several chapters accordingly reassess the work of Procopius of Caesarea and literature of this period; attention is also given to the evolution of the chronicle genre. Technical writing, such as military manuals and legal texts, are the focus of other chapters; further genres considered include monody, epigraphy and epistolography. Changes in visual representation are also considered in chapters devoted to diptychs, monuments and coins. A common theme that emerges from the chapters is the flexibility and adaptability of genres in the period: late antique authors, whether orators or historians, were not slavish followers of their classical predecessors. They were capable of engaging with their models, adapting them to their own purposes, and producing work that deserves to be considered on its own merits. It is necessary to examine their texts and genres closely to grasp what they set out to do; on occasion, attention must also be paid to the transmission of these texts. The volume as a whole represents a significant contribution to the reassessment of late antique culture in general.

The Roman Imperial Court in the Principate and Late Antiquity examines the Roman imperial court as a social and political institution in both the Principate and Late Antiquity. By analysing these two periods, which are usually treated separately in studies of the Roman court, it considers continuities, changes, and connections in the six hundred years between the reigns of Augustus and Justinian. Thirteen case studies are presented. Some take a thematic approach, analysing specific aspects such as the appointment of jurists, the role of guard units, or stories told about the court, over several centuries. Others concentrate on specific periods, individuals, or office holders, like the role of women and generals in the fifth century AD, while paying attention to their wider historical significance. The volume concludes with a chapter placing the evolution of the Roman imperial court in comparative perspective using insights from scholarship on other Eurasian monarchical courts. It shows that the long-term transformation of the Roman imperial court did not follow a straightforward and linear course, but came about as the result of negotiation, experimentation, and adaptation.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1859.

This fourth volume contains a comprehensive listing of the Roman coinage of the period AD 284337 together with background information on the history of each reign and the principal characteristic of its coinage. The catalogue is organized primarily by ruler with the issues then subdivided by denomination and by reverse legend and type.