The idea of the city in late antiquity
a study in resilience
- ISBN: 9781009527071
- Editorial: Cambridge University Press
- Fecha de la edición: 2025
- Lugar de la edición: Cambridge . Reino Unido
- Encuadernación: Cartoné
- Medidas: 24 cm
- Nº Pág.: 456
- Idiomas: Inglés
The city was one of the central and defining features of the world of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean. Challenging the idea that the ancient city 'declined and fell', Andrew Wallace-Hadrill argues that memories of the past enabled cities to adapt and remain relevant in the changing post-Roman world. In the new kingdoms in Italy, France and Spain cities remained a key part of the structure of control, while to contemporary authors, such as Cassiodorus in Ostrogothic Italy, Gregory of Tours in Merovingian Gaul, and Isidore in Visigothic Spain, they remained as crucial as in antiquity. The archaeological evidence of New Cities founded in this period, from Constantinople to Reccopolis in Spain, also shows the deep influence of past models. This timely and exhilarating book reveals the adaptability of cities and the endurance of the Greek and Roman world.
The end of the ancient city?
In praise of the city
The city in question
The city revived? Cassiodorus and Ostrogothic Italy
The city embattled: Procopius and Justinian's Byzantine world
The city and its records: the Ravenna papyri
The city of Bishops: Gregory of Tours and Merovingian Gaul
The grammar of the city: Isidore and Visigothic Spain
The fabric of the city: the idea embodied
Conclusion: Decline and resilience
