ABSTRACT
A reference framework is required in order to locate events in time and space. With some contractions and omissions, Figure 1.1 shows the conventional divisions for the classical and medieval periods. Even before the birth of the idea of nationality, it is quite acceptable to refer to specific countries, such as Greece and Italy, whose boundaries are well defined. It is also usual to refer to areas in which there is felt to have been some degree of cultural unity — for example, the Roman Empire and Islam. Sometimes space and time are embraced by one image: the Roman Empire can mean either the first four centuries of our era or the area under Roman dominion. Used with care, these concepts have value for some historical purposes, but they can be very misleading. In the first place, we have to bear in mind the shifting of frontiers; in ad 750, for example, the Iberian peninsula was predominantly Muslim while Asia Minor was Christian — by 1450 the reverse was the case. Also, and this can be more serious, the conventional divisions are associated most closely with political and military realities, and often have little bearing on intellectual or social activities. When we think of Roman literature, the names of Tacitus, Virgil and Horace come to our minds, but in the richer, more populous East the languages were Greek, Syriac, Coptic and Aramaic. Most of the literary and scientific writings, in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, were in the first two of these languages. There can be no doubt, however, that the Roman period has distinctive features that justify its special place in history. The Romans were pre-eminent in the fields of organisation, administration, public works and domestic comfort. Their standards were not equalled in these respects until the nineteenth century.
