Ebook: Pagans and Christians in late antique Rome: conflict, competition, and coexistence in the fourth century

This book sheds new light on the religious and consequently social changes
taking place in late antique Rome. The essays in this volume argue that the
once-dominant notion of pagan–Christian religious confl ict cannot fully explain
the texts and artifacts, as well as the social, religious, and political realities of
late antique Rome. Together, the chapters demonstrate that the fourth-century
city was a more fl uid, vibrant, and complex place than was previously thought.
Competition between diverse groups in Roman society – be it pagans with
Christians, Christians with Christians, or pagans with pagans – did create tensions
and hostility, but it also allowed for coexistence and reduced the likelihood
of overt violent, physical confl ict. Competition and coexistence, along
with confl ict, emerge as still central paradigms for those who seek to understand
the transformations of Rome from the age of Constantine through the early
fi fth century.

Michele Renee Salzman is Professor of Ancient History at the University of
California, Riverside. She is the author of numerous articles and books on late
antiquity and recently published The Letters of Symmachus: Book 1 (including a
translation with Michael Roberts, 2011).

Marianne Sághy is Associate Professor in the Medieval Studies Department at
Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. She has published several
books and articles in Hungarian, English and French on Damasus of Rome and
on late antique hagiography.

Rita Lizzi Testa is Professor of Roman History at the Università di Perugia
(Italy), a member of the International Advisory Board of “CUA Studies in
Early Christianity,” and of the Advisory Board for the NAPS-Christianity in
Late Antiquity Series. She is author of several books, numerous articles, and
editor of many volumes.