Introduction

It has been thirty years since the study of late antiquity was established as a discipline in its own right in the English-speaking world. Since then, scholars have tried to define the distinctive character of the late antique period by isolating one or another aspect of its rich and diverse fabric, often by formulating dichotomies on which to hinge their analysis. Following the lead of E. R. Dodds' Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety (1965) and of Peter Brown's seminal article on "The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity" (1971a), much of the research in the 1970s focused on the effects of the conversion of the Emperor Constantine on the religious mentality, social structure, and culture of the period. Since the 1980s, thanks to the numerous important advances made by archaeologists and historians all around the Mediterranean from France to Syria and beyond, the definition of late antiquity as an age of religious change has been complemented by a clearer vision of the period as one of economic and societal transformation--a transformation that is manifest at all levels, from changing urban settlement patterns and funerary monuments to new lifestyles and forms of literature.

In recent years, the need to extend the interpretation of late antique culture beyond the dichotomies of pagan-Christian or urban-rural has become more acute. The quest for an overarching definition of the distinctive character of the late antique period continues, fueled in large part by Peter Brown's own retrospective papers and articles in which he takes stock of the intellectual context in which he originally developed his own models and then re-examines these models in view of recent scholarship. The 1997 volume of Symbolae Osloenses, for example, devoted ninety pages to a debate on Peter Brown's vision of The World of Late Antiquity (1971b). Much work remains to be done to establish new parameters of inquiry that will result in a definition of late antiquity that not only takes into account recent advances in the field, but also synthesizes and transcends the earlier explanatory models.

In the hopes of going beyond established dichotomies and advancing current debates, Professors Claudia Rapp and Michele Salzman organized a two-day conference, held at UCLA in February 1999, on the subject of "Elites in Late Antiquity." This subject, they felt, is at the heart of the field since it focuses on the individuals and groups who, because of their elevated status, gave shape to late antique society. Yet the elite was a fluid entity. Membership could be determined by wealth, family tradition, imperial favor, and a variety of religious, cultural, and ethnic factors. By virtue of their elevated status, however measured, these people played central roles in critical areas of late antique life and culture. Thus, however elusive the term "elite" may be, it remains a significant avenue into late antique society. More than any other subject, the study of elites invites considerations of continuity and change. Moreover, it provides a point of entry into other important areas of inquiry: social and political structures, aesthetic values in art and literature, and the expression of religious sentiments.

Despite their centrality, elites and their influence have not been systematically considered in the light of recent advances in the field of late antiquity. The papers presented at the February 1999 conference were the first set of studies in the English-speaking world to address this theme in a comprehensive and interdisciplinary manner. The timeliness of this topic was underscored by the fact that the "Late Antiquity and Early Islam Workshop" that convened in Birmingham, UK, in April 1999, organized by John Haldon, was dedicated to the study of continuity and change in the elites of the later Roman empire, the Sassanian empire, and the early Islamic world.

The papers presented at the UCLA conference focused on a wide variety of topics relating to manifestations of elite culture and society, ranging from works of art to marriages among the military. Many spoke of the fluidity of the...