Written by Bertrand Lançon, Rome in Late Antiquity:Everyday Life and Urban Change, AD 312-609 (New York: Routledge, 2000) provides a fine general overview of the life and culture of Rome during this pivotal phase in her development. At 162 pages, this book is highly accessible to the general reader and provides an excellent overview of the time period.

The book is divided into four parts. Part I, Maestas Quirini, provides a description of the City and its history leading up to the period under discussion, describing its gradual transformation, invasion and recovery and urban administration. Part II, Plebs Patresque, delves into the lives and trades of the inhabitants, from the clarissimi to the tradesman. Part III, Religio describes some of the later cults and gradual abandonment of the traditional religion, though there is not enough room in this work to fully do the subject justice. Part IV, Saeculum, or Worldly Concerns, is by far the largest section, describing some of the food riots, dress and social customs, burial practices, transformation of the calendar, festivals and entertainment, education and culture, and the flowering of Christianity.

Lançon places the momentous transformation from Pagan to Christian Rome into context in a highly readable fashion, and brings the period to vivid life.

I recommend that anyone who is curious about the life and culture of the time period to purchase a copy. Used paperbacks are available on Amazon for under $14.