Staying Roman. Conquest and Identity in Africa and the Mediterranean, 439-700.

`Concentrating on the question of identity, on what it meant to be `Roman` in different contexts in North Africa between the 4th and 7th centuries, Jonathan Conant`s book has a unique approach. Identity is a phenomenon not easy to grasp, however, the way it is done here, combining the wider discourse as reflected in the texts with data for individual behaviour (prosopographical material for an impressive number of 1, 900 individuals underlies the study), is very worthwhile. (...) Addressing many important and long discussed questions, `Staying Roman` is a very worthwhile read not only for North Africanists, but for researchers interested in Late Antiquity, the early Byzantine period and the Early Middle Ages in general. Jonathan Conant traces cultural affiliations and underlying ideologies, using a vast amount of source material. He is able to show the longevity of the concept of `Romanness`, as well as its situational dependency. Conant argues clearly throughout the book. Every chapter sets out the important theses at the beginning, followed by careful analyses sometimes with illustrative tables of data, and regular summaries. `Staying Roman`is not only intellectually stimulating and an important contribution to the field of study of Late Antique North Africa, it is noticeably well founded and at the same time a pleasure to read.` (RALPH BOCKMANN in the Medieval Review 13.09.31).