The Last Roman Emperor and the Mahdi in Apocalyptic Literature of the 7th and 8th centuries

There have been numerous separate studies on the Last Roman Emperor and the Mahdi; however, the relationship between the two literary figures has not been examined. Both appear in the literature during the seventh century and continue to play prominent roles within the religious and para-religious texts. They also are portrayed as righteous restorers of religious order, defeat enemies, and set up temporal kingdoms that eventually usher in the Second Coming of Christ. My aim in this project is to highlight and analyze these two figures in order to offer further insight into the apocalyptic literature of the Near East.