Introduction

The last centuries of the Roman Empire have been the subject not only of research in many sectors. In the last decade, a historiographic reflexion on Late Antiquity has begun, which today has expanded enormously, going beyond the confines of Europe to gradually embrace almost all historiographic cultures around the world. Yet the questions are far from having been definitively answered, so that the book does offer the different perspectives of some of the best researchers on Late Antiquity. In the Introduction R. Lizzi Testa clarifies the terms of the discussion in question, reminding that in the inaugural lecture of the “Settimana di studio sull’Alto medioevo” held in Spoleto in 1997 (‘The Perception of Crisis’, in Morfologie sociali e culturali in Europa fra Tarda Antichità e Alto Medioevo ( 3-9 Aprile 1997), CISAM XLV, Spoleto 1998, I, 9-31 e 33), Averil Cameron said that historians would have increasing difficulty to talk about their theme, if first a clear chronological watershed were not identified. Her concern was that historians of Late Antiquity could see their subject dissolve. Almost simultaneously Professor Andrea Giardina, in a now famous essay (‘Esplosione di Tardoantico’, Studi Storici 40, 1 (1999), 157-180), brought into the open some important misgivings, producing a huge debate, which shook the general perception of Late Antiquity. The debate is still open, and the contributions of this book produce a new evaluation of what we know on Late Antiquity focusing on two general themes: 1. The definition of epoch and, with respect to Late Antiquity, the possibility of reaching that definition through periodization, or with different methodological approaches. 2. The conceptual validity of the alternative between change and transition, examining the functionality of the paradigm of transformation for cultural, religious and social history, and the applicability of the same paradigm both to the investigation of political and legislative structures, and of the economic and administrative institutions of Late Roman Empire