The Two Great Powers in Late Antiquity

THIS PAPER presents some provisional conclusions reached by an outsider who has made a number of forays into the history of the Sasanian empire, Rome&s;s great eastern rival in late antiquity. Much of the expertise which ideally should underlie such a paper - knowledge of Pahlavi and Arabic, archaeological training, and wide-ranging travels over Iran which alone can give the historian of institutions, policy-making and policy-outcomes a real understanding of his subject - is lacking in this case. All that the outsider can claim in compensation for these grave defects are the advantages which come from a position of detachment, a willingness to question received opinion within the field and attention to the general rather than the particular. If positive contributions can be made by a Byzantinist who reaches back into the late Roman period, they will come from fresh scrutiny of those Roman (and Armenian) texts which throw light on Sasanian institutions and from an appreciation of the performance of the Sasanian empire in foreign affairs, principally (because of the bias of the surviving evidence) in its relations with the east Roman empire

Ancient history · Late Antiquity · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Philosophy

• The New Cambridge History of Islam

  Open Access•Michael Cook, Chase F Robinson•The new Cambridge history of Islam•2010

  Añadir item

• The family in the late Roman world

  Open Access•Andrea Giardina•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Warfare and the state

  Open Access•A D Lee•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Specialized production and exchange

  Open Access•Bryan Ward-Perkins, Bryan Ward‐Perkins•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Government and administration

  Open Access•S J B Barnish, Sam Barnish et al.•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• War and Society

  Open Access•A T Fear, Andrew Fear•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Battle

  Open Access•Catherine M Gilliver•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Military forces

  Open Access•Hugh Elton•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Warfare and the state

  Open Access•Dominic Rathbone, Richard Alston•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Administration and politics in the cities of the fifth to the mid seventh century

  Open Access•J H W G Liebeschuetz•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• War

  Open Access•Michael Whitby•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Emperor and court

  Open Access•Michael Mccormick•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Land, labour and settlement

  Open Access•Bryan Ward-Perkins, Bryan Ward‐Perkins•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Roman Warfare with Sasanian Persia

  A D Lee•The Oxford handbook of warfare in…•2013

  Añadir item

• The army, c. 420–602

  Open Access•Michael Whitby•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• War and Society

  Open Access•Colin Adams•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• The late Sasanian Near East

  Open Access•Josef Wiesehöfer•The new Cambridge history of Islam•2010

  Añadir item

• Law in the western kingdoms between the fifth and the seventh century

  Open Access•T M Charles-Edwards, Т Μ Charles-Edwards•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Conclusion

  Open Access•Chase F Robinson•The new Cambridge history of Islam•2010

  Añadir item

• Battle

  Open Access•Philip Rance•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• International relations

  Open Access•Murray Humphries, Mark Humphries•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Armies and society in the later Roman world

  Open Access•Michael Whitby•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• War

  Open Access•Adrián Goldsworthy•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• International relations

  Open Access•Harry Sidebottom•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• Monasticism

  Open Access•Philip Rousseau•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Education in the Roman empire

  Open Access•Robert Browning•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Modern approaches to early Islamic history

  Open Access•Fred M Donner•The new Cambridge history of Islam•2010

  Añadir item

• ‘Römisch-germanische Grenzpolitik’

  Alexander Sarantis•Geistes- sozial- und kulturwissensc…•2025

  Añadir item

• The End of the Roman Empire

  Open Access•Henning Börm•The End of Empires•2022

  Añadir item

• The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare

  Open Access•Philip A G Sabin, Philip Sabin et al.•The Cambridge History of Greek…•1920

  Añadir item

• The Cambridge Ancient History

  Open Access•Peter Heather, John B Bury et al.•The Cambridge Ancient History•2001

  Añadir item

• Canal Mounds as Archives for Human-Environment Interactions in the South Caucasus during Late Antiquity

  Open Access•Lisa Snape, Lisa M Snape et al.•Journal of Field Archaeology•2025

  Añadir item