"The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity is the first comprehensive reference book covering every aspect of history, culture, religion, and life in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East (including the Persian Empire and Central Asia) between the mid-3rd and the mid-8th centuries AD. This broad and multi-disciplinary text consists of over 5,000 entries written by nearly 500 contributors and provides succinct and pertinent information on a range of subject areas--from political, military, social, and economic history to religion, art, science, and literature, among many other topics."--