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The Roman Empire in its early centuries was a world of cities, dominated by landowning elites and conforming to a common pattern in their institutions, buildings and culture. What became of the cities after the crisis of the third century, and later when the Empire collapsed under outside pressure? In this volume archaeologists and historians bring together their two disciplines in addressing this complex question. In the introductory chapter the problem is disucssed as a whole, while the remaining chapters focus on particular aspects and regions. The classical city has often been portrayed as in decline everywhere by the fourth century. This book shows that this picture is too simple - that in some regions, such as Africa, old customs were still vigorous while elsewhere, for example in Britain, urban life disappeared and the cities survived only as fortresses, if at all. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the Christianization of the Empire on the cities. Many Roman towns survived through mediaeval times and up to the present day. The last two chapters examine the continuities between antiquity and the Middle Ages in the physical fabric and ideology of two very different cultures. This book should be of interest to those in the field of the classics.