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Late Antiquity

The Late Antique World

Late Antiquity is a period of Eurasian, Mediterranean and Near Eastern history conventionally placed between the third and seventh centuries CE, developed by historians as an alternative to treating the end of the Western Roman Empire as a sharp break between a classical golden age and a medieval dark age. It covers the political transformation of the Roman world, the Christianization of the Mediterranean, and the rise of Islam in the seventh century, and it overlaps substantially with the conventional end of Classical Antiquity and the start of the Post-Classical and Medieval Period. Its exact geographical and chronological scope remains a matter of debate among contemporary scholars, and it is best understood as a rival periodization of the same centuries rather than a settled period with fixed dates of its own.

Facts
Disputed
Start Year
200 1
Conventionally placed in the third century CE; the exact starting point is disputed and depends on which region and which historian's framework is used.
End Year
700 1
Conventionally closed in the seventh century CE; the exact geographical and chronological scope remains a live scholarly debate.
Geographic Scope
Eurasian, Mediterranean and Near Eastern history, covering the same broad territory as the late Roman and early Byzantine and Islamic worlds. 1
Late Antiquity
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Includes

Belisarius, Historical Figures

General historical classification: Belisarius's Byzantine military career under Justinian I (6th century reconquest of North Africa and Italy) falls within Late Antiquity.

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

The Asuka Period, Eras

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

The Funan Period, Eras

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

The Kofun Period, Eras

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

Placed in its broad period by the atlas SubLabel and dated range

Preceded By

Classical Antiquity, Eras

Sequence of periods following the standard historical periodization

Held Differently

Classical Antiquity, Eras

Why this is disputed. Late Antiquity offers a rival periodization of the same centuries rather than accepting Classical Antiquity's conventional 476 CE close.

Source Wikipedia
The Migration Period, Eras

Why this is disputed. Overlapping periodization: the same population movements that end the Western Roman Empire are described by Late Antiquity as continuity and by the Migration Period as rupture.

Source Wikipedia
The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, Eras

Why this is disputed. Late Antiquity offers a rival periodization of the same centuries rather than accepting a sharp 476 CE break into the medieval period.

Source Wikipedia

Succeeded By

Sequence of periods following the standard historical periodization

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia
  • Late antiquity, Chronological range
    Late antiquity is a period of Eurasian, Mediterranean, and Near Eastern history.
  • Related To: Classical Antiquity, Late antiquity, Chronological range, vs Classical Antiquity
    the exact geographical and chronological scope of late antiquity remains a matter of debate among contemporary scholars.
  • Related To: The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, Late antiquity, Chronological range, vs Post-Classical Period
    Late antiquity is a period of Eurasian, Mediterranean, and Near Eastern history conventionally placed between the third and seventh centuries CE.
  • Related To: The Migration Period, Migration Period, relation to Late Antiquity
    a period in European history and late antiquity marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
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