Late Antiquity is a period that has only recently gained attention in Turkey. This presentation will focus on where this period stands between Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and provide a brief overview of the similarities and differences among these periods. An important factor in this case is the diversity of languages and primary texts. The first part will discuss the languages used in written and historical sources from this period. The variety of historical sources will also be covered with examples. The second part will focus on Syriac sources and the period during and just after the rule of Justinian the Great when John of Ephesus (or Amida) lived. The life of this important historian will be highlighted since his work was the main source for the presenter’s doctoral thesis. The presentation will provide an assessment of narratives on Roman-Persian cultural and religious rivalry based on events that took place in Constantinople, Western Anatolia and other centers in the Eastern Mediterranean. It will conclude with a discussion of the lives of two saints from Eastern Anatolia as attested in John’s works, Lives of the Eastern Saints and Ecclesiastical History.

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