The conqueror's gift. Roman ethnography and the end of antiquity.
The article focuses on Michael Maas's book *The Conqueror’s Gift*, which examines the transformation of ethnographic thought in the Mediterranean world from the third to seventh centuries CE, emphasizing the impact of Christianity on Roman identity and perceptions of ethnicity. Maas argues that Chri...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Ecclesiastical History Vol. 77; no. 1; pp. 169 - 172 |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Book Review |
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Cambridge University Press
Jan2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=192420267&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 192420267 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00220469 ECC jtl: Journal of Ecclesiastical History issn: 00220469 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jan2026 vid: 77 iid: 1 pid: 15979 pub: Cambridge University Press artinfo: ui: 192420267 10.1017/S0022046925102194 ppf: 169 ppct: 3 formats: tig: atl: The conqueror's gift. Roman ethnography and the end of antiquity. aug: au: Merrington, John affil: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna su: Ethnicity Conversion (Religion) History of the Mediterranean Region Primitive & early church, ca. 30-600 Identity (Psychology) Social belonging Catholic Church Ethnology sug: subj: Ethnicity Conversion (Religion) History of the Mediterranean Region Primitive & early church, ca. 30-600 Identity (Psychology) Social belonging Catholic Church Ethnology ab: The article focuses on Michael Maas's book *The Conqueror’s Gift*, which examines the transformation of ethnographic thought in the Mediterranean world from the third to seventh centuries CE, emphasizing the impact of Christianity on Roman identity and perceptions of ethnicity. Maas argues that Christianization shifted the criteria for political and social belonging from Greco-Roman civic norms to orthodox Christian faith, introducing a teleological view that all nations were destined to join the Church. The book explores diverse sources, including ethnographies, legal codes, and theological texts, highlighting how Christian doctrine reshaped ideas about ethnicity, heresy, and the natural world. While the work breaks new ground in scope and nuance, it leaves some areas, such as gender, the cult of saints, and the post-Justinianic renegotiation of identities, less developed. Overall, Maas’s study contributes significantly to late antique historiography by bridging scholarly divides and offering a complex picture of identity formation during this period. pubtype: Review doctype: Book Review src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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