Rome: After Empire (Europe 400—800 AD)

Since Gibbon’s publication of "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", discourse on the later Roman Empire, and the era that followed, has been dominated by narratives of deterioration and decay. Yet while the western Roman empire ceased to exist as a political entity after the late fifth century, new successor kingdoms emerged in its place with their own understanding of the Roman legacy. This was also the period which saw the emergence of Christianity as a state religion, prompting major new ecclesiastical building projects, the foundation of new communities, and the rise of charismatic religious figures. This examination of Late Antiquity reveals a vibrant, innovative confluence of political, literary, and artistic cultures.