Tag: Roman Empire

Sidequest 11 – Jeremy Swist on Late Antiquity

Dr. Jeremy Swist, a professor at Grand Valley State University, stopped by to discuss the historical period of time known as “Late Antiquity“. This is an era of time I know very, very little about, so I enjoyed the introduction to what is a fascinating area of study. It turns out that this is an evolving field that covers a period of transition for the Roman Empire from generally 200 CE to 700 CE (the precise time is open for debate). As the focus moves away from the Italian Peninsula, the Roman state evolved and changed. This set the stage, to some extent, for the next era of the Empire. I’m sure this is somewhat of an oversimplification, but it’s how I conceptualize it my mind.

During the interview, we discuss philosophy, how Late Antiquity as a concept came to be, what Late Antiquity means and the arbitrary nature of classifying historical periods. Dividing up history into specific areas of time naturally creates problems and creates incomplete or misleading narratives which includes terms like “Classical Antiquity”. Late Antiquity breathes life into what was previously thought of as a period of decline and reexamines this period. We also discuss the evolution of religious practices that a saw move towards Christianity from “Paganism” that occurred during this era. And, hey, there’s some new tribal / social / ethnic groups that arrive during Late Antiquity. There’s a lot to unpack here, folks.

Your reading assignments include The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown, A Companion to Late Antiquity and Anthony Kaldellis’ The New Roman Empire (one of these authors may be a guest in an upcoming episode).

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Classical Antiquity Sidequest 2 – Belisarius and the Byzantines

Our second sidequest takes us to the “Byzantine” Empire and the attempt by Justinian to restore the Empire to its lost glory. Dr. David Parnell, professor at Indiana University NW and author of Belisarius & Antonia, stops by to discuss one of Late Antiquity’s greatest generals, Belisarius. During our almost hour-long interview, we discuss how we got saddled with the term “Byzantine Empire”, Belisarius’ career and the times in which he lived. Turns out his wife, Antonina, was a pretty big deal in her own right. I hope my wife doesn’t read this and remind me how important a wife can be.

We also discuss Procopius, the famed historian of the Jusitinian era. He wrote two important texts which serve as major sources in understanding that historical era. The first one is History of the Wars and the second one is The Secret History. We cover those texts and get into theories about how the later came to be. And, hey, we also talk about the Epic History project on Belisarius which Dr. Parnell was involved in.

Having just finished Dr. Parnell’s book, I would strongly recommend that you pick up a copy. If you want to read more of his works, you can find them here:

https://iun.academia.edu/DavidParnell

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Parnell-2

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, on Reddit, or on Instagram.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.