The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila [Paperback]

This book considers the great cultural and geopolitical changes in western Eurasia in the fifth century CE.This book considers the great cultural and geopolitical changes in western Eurasia in the fifth century CE. It focuses on the Roman Empire, but it also examines the changes taking place in northern Europe, in Iran under the Sasanian Empire, and on the great Eurasian steppe. Attila is presented as a contributor to and a symbol of these transformations.This book considers the great cultural and geopolitical changes in western Eurasia in the fifth century CE. It focuses on the Roman Empire, but it also examines the changes taking place in northern Europe, in Iran under the Sasanian Empire, and on the great Eurasian steppe. Attila is presented as a contributor to and a symbol of these transformations.This book examines the age of Attila, roughly the fifth century CE, an era in which western Eurasia experienced significant geopolitical and cultural changes. The Roman Empire collapsed in western Europe, replaced by new barbarian kingdoms, but it continued in Christian Byzantine guise in the eastern Mediterranean. New states and peoples changed the face of northern Europe, while in Iran, the Sasanian Empire developed new theories of power and government. At the same time, the great Eurasian steppe became a permanent presence in the European world. This book treats Attila, the notorious king of the Huns, as both an agent of change and a symbol of the wreck of the old world order.Part I. The Roman Empire: 1. Reversals of fortune: an overview of the age of Attila Michael Maas; 2. Government and mechanisms of control, east and west Geoffrey Greatrex; 3. Urban and rural economies in the age of Attila Peter Sarris; 4. Mediterranean cities in the fifth century: elites, Christianizing, and the barbarian influx Kenneth G. Holum; 5. Big cities and the dynamics of the Mediterranean during the fifth century Raymond Van Dam; 6. Dynasty and aristocracy in the fifth century Brian l£J