Introduction

The late Roman Empire, spanning roughly the 4th to 7th centuries, witnessed dramatic transformations. This era saw the rise of Christianity, economic booms, and political fragmentation, ultimately leading to the rise of Islam and the dawn of the Medieval world.

About Late antiquity

• ‘Late antiquity’ is the term now used to describe the final, fascinating period in the evolution and break-up of the Roman Empire and refers broadly to the fourth to seventh centuries. 
• The fourth century itself was one of considerable ferment, both cultural and economic.
• At the cultural level, the period saw momentous developments in religious life, with the emperor Constantine deciding to make Christianity the official religion, and with the rise of Islam in the seventh century. 
• But there were equally important changes in the structure of the state that began with the emperor Diocletian (284-305), and it may be best to start with these.

Diocletian’s Retrenchment and Constantine’s Transformations

Diocletian’s Strategic Reforms: Overexpansion had led Diocletian to ‘cut back’ by abandoning territories with little strategic or economic value. 

• Diocletian also fortified the frontiers, reorganised provincial boundaries, and separated civilians from military functions, granting greater autonomy to the military commanders (duces), who now became a more powerful group.

• Constantine’s Monetary Reforms: Constantine consolidated some of these changes and added others of his own. 
  • His chief innovations were in the monetary sphere, where he introduced a new denomination, the solidus, a coin of 4½ gm of pure gold that would in fact outlast the Roman Empire itself. Solidi were minted on a very large scale and their circulation ran into millions. 
  • Constantinople: The other area of innovation was the creation of a second capital at Constantinople (at the site of modern Istanbul in Turkey, and previously called Byzantium), surrounded on three sides by the sea.
    • As the new capital required a new senate, the fourth century was a period of rapid expansion of the governing classes. 
• Economic Flourish in the Fourth Century: Monetary stability and an expanding population stimulated economic growth, and the archaeological record shows considerable investment in rural establishments, including industrial installations like oil presses and glass factories, in newer technologies such as screw presses and multiple water-mills, and in a revival of the long-distance trade with the East.

Urban Prosperity and Cultural Developments

Era of Ruling Elites: Ruling elites were wealthier and more powerful than ever before, as seen in Egypt where papyri reveal a relatively affluent society generating vast incomes in gold.

• All of this carried over into strong urban prosperity that was marked by new forms of architecture and an exaggerated sense of luxury.

• Egypt’s Golden Records: In Egypt, hundreds of papyri survive from these later centuries and they show us a relatively affluent society where money was in extensive use and rural estates generated vast incomes in gold. 
  • Example: Egypt contributed taxes of over 2 1⁄2 million solidi a year in the reign of Justinian in the sixth century. 
• Social Stage for Cultural Developments: Large parts of the Near Eastern countryside were more developed and densely settled in the fifth and sixth centuries than they would be even in the twentieth century which set the social background for the cultural developments of this period.

Religious and Cultural Transformations

Polytheistic Pantheon: The classical world of Greece and Rome embraced polytheistic religious traditions with diverse cults worshipping Roman/Italian gods like Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, and Mars, along with various Greek and eastern deities in temples and sanctuaries across the empire. 

• Judaism: Another significant tradition displayed diversity within its communities in late antiquity. 
• Christianization of the Empire: It was a gradual and intricate process in the fourth and fifth centuries.
• Religious Shifts in the Fourth Century: Polytheism persisted, particularly in the western provinces, leading Christian bishops to confront these beliefs more fervently than the Christian laity did. 
  • Religious boundaries were fluid in the fourth century, but efforts by powerful bishops to enforce rigid beliefs later solidified these distinctions.

Political Fragmentation and Rise of Medieval Kingdoms

Contrasting Trajectories in the Post-Roman World: The East experienced general prosperity with a growing population until the sixth century, despite the plague in 540S CE. 

• In contrast, the West underwent political fragmentation as Germanic groups established post-Roman kingdoms notably the Visigoths in Spain (destroyed by Arabs in 711-720), the Franks in Gaul (c.511-687), and the Lombards in Italy (568-774), signaling the onset of a medieval world. 

• Justinian’s Eastern Triumphs and Italian Challenges: In the East, where the empire remained united, Justinian’s reign marked a pinnacle of prosperity and imperial ambition. 
  • Justinian recaptured Africa from the Vandals in 533 CE but devastated Italy (recovered from the Ostrogoths), paving the way for the Lombard invasion. 
• Sasanian Resurgence: By the early seventh century, conflict with Iran resumed, and the Sasanians launched a wholesale invasion of major eastern provinces, including Egypt. 
• Byzantium’s Reclamation and Southern Challenge: Byzantium, as the Roman Empire was increasingly known, recovered these provinces in the 620s CE but faced a final major blow from the south-east.

Rise of Islam and Arab Conquests

Expansion of Islam: It is regarded as “the greatest political revolution in the history of the ancient world,” commenced around 642 CE, a decade after Prophet Muhammad’s death.

• Arab Conquests: Islam’s expansion from Arabia, starting in the seventh century, led to the fall of eastern Roman and Sasanian empires to the Arabs.
  • Arab conquests rapidly overtook large portions of the Eastern Roman and Sasanian empires. 
• The conquests, originating from the subjugation of Arab tribes by the emerging Islamic state within Arabia and the Syrian desert, eventually expanded to encompass regions as distant as Spain, Sind, and Central Asia. 
• The Crucial Role of Arabian Peninsula Unification: The unification of the Arabian peninsula and its tribes played a pivotal role in driving the territorial expansion of Islam.

Chronology of Key Events and Rulers in the Roman and Near Eastern World

Conclusion

The fall of the Roman Empire in the West paved the way for the emergence of new kingdoms. Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as Byzantium, faced challenges from the Sasanians and the rise of Islam, altering the political landscape of the Near East.