Praise and scorn. Antiochene identity as represented by Libanius, emperor Julian and modern scholarship.

Abstract

The Roman empire contained not only a wealth of cities, territories and peoples within its borders through history, but also a vast array of identities. No matter how extensive the supposed impact of ‘Romanization’ across the Mediterranean and beyond, within the confines of Rome’s borders lay cultural as much as natural barriers. Different challenges were faced by inhabitants of Gaul compared to those living near the Danube, and cultural changes occurred at varying rates across the empire, if indeed they occurred along a similar path at all. Life in the city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes in Syria certainly changed over time in part by way of political shifts and religious transformation.