03 Oct 07

A new centre will bring together experts from across a range of academic disciplines and enable Oxford to develop the study of Late Antiquity. Professor Peter Brown, one of the leading historians of the period, gave the inaugural lecture of the Oxford Centre for Late Antiquity on 26 September.

The study of Late Antiquity, which covers the decline of the classical and the rise of the medieval worlds, has developed considerably over the last few years and the new Centre will develop dialogue and co-operation between the different scholarly disciplines examining the period.

Late Antiquity stretches between 250 and 750 AD - a period which witnessed massive cultural and political changes including the emergence of the world's great monotheistic religions, the fall of the Sasanian Persian Empire and the Western Roman Empire, and the transformation of the East Roman into the Christian Byzantine Empire. The legacy of this transition remains today with the evolution of the west European states and the creation of a division between the Christian and Islamic worlds.

Oxford is uniquely placed to contribute to the study of the period, with over 60 scholars across history, classics, oriental languages, archaeology and theology with specialisms covering every aspect of the period, from Coptic Egypt and Sasanian Iran, to the Celtic North.

The Centre has been made possible thanks to a generous grant from Lewis Chester, a University alumnus. The grant will support a series of lectures and bring further distinguished scholars to Oxford.

In his inaugural lecture, 'What's in a name?' Peter Brown, Philip and Beulah Rollins Professor of History at Princeton University, commented on the challenges of the field. He said: 'The sheer geographical space covered by the field, the diversity of languages needed to exploit it and the need to sink into strange religious worlds have always made the study of Late Antiquity a daunting venture.'

Dr Bryan Ward-Perkins, Chairman of the Centre Board, said: 'The political, cultural and religious changes of Late Antiquity shaped the entire history of Europe and the Near East. Oxford is unique in the breadth and depth of its research into this vital period. The newCentrewill allow us to realize the full potential of this range of expertise.'