An integrated collection of essays examining the politics, social networks, law, historiography, and literature of the later Roman world. The volume treats three central themes: the first section looks at political and social developments across the period and argues that, in spite of the stress placed upon traditional social structures, many elements of Roman life remained only slightly changed. The second section focuses upon biographical texts and shows how late-antique authors adapted traditional modes of discourse to new conditions. The final section explores the first years of the reign of Theodosius I and shows how he built upon historical foundations while unfurling new methods for utilising, presenting, and commemorating imperial power. These papers analyse specific events and local developments to highlight examples of both change and continuity in the Roman world from 284–450.
A wide-ranging survey of the history of the Roman Empire—from its establishment to decline and beyond Empire of the Romans, from Julius Caesar to Justinian provides a sweeping historical survey of the Roman empire. Uncommonly expansive in its chronological scope, this unique two-volume text explores the time period encompassing Julius Caesar’s death in 44 BCE to the end of Justinian’s reign six centuries later. Internationally-recognized author and scholar of Roman history John Matthews balances broad historical narrative with discussions of important occurrences in their thematic contexts. This integrative approach helps readers learn the timeline of events, understand their significance, and consider their historical sources. Defining the time period in a clear, yet not overly restrictive manner, the text reflects contemporary trends in the study of social, cultural, and literary themes. Chapters examine key points in the development of the Roman Empire, including the establishment of empire under Augustus, Pax Romana and the Antonine Age, the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine, and the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Discussions of the Justinianic Age, the emergence of Byzantium, and the post-Roman West help readers understand the later Roman world and its impact on the subsequent history of Europe. Written to be used as standalone resource or in conjunction with its companion Volume II: Selective Anthology, this innovative textbook: Combines accessible narrative exposition with thorough examination of historical source material Provides well-rounded coverage of Roman economy, society, law, and literary and philosophical culture Offers content taken from the author’s respected Roman Empire survey courses at Yale and Oxford University Includes illustrations, maps and plans, and chapter-by-chapter bibliographical essays Empire of the Romans, from Julius Caesar to Justinian is a valuable text for survey courses in Roman history as well as general readers interested in the 600 year time frame of the empire.
Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great, ruled the Roman Empire between 337 and 361 CE. Constantius’ reign is characterised by a series of political and cultural upheavals and is rightly viewed as a time of significant change in the history of the fourth century. Constantius initially shared power with his brothers, Constantine II and Constans, but this arrangement lasted a short period of time before Constantine II was killed in a contest over authority by Constans. Further threats to the stability of the empire arose with the usurpation of the ambitious Roman general Magnentius between 350 and 353, and additional episodes of imperial instability occurred as Constantius’ relations with his junior Caesars, Gallus and Julian, deteriorated, the latter to the point where civil war would have been on the cards once again if Constantius had not died on 3 November 361. This book examines the dynastic, political and cultural impact of Constantius' reign as a member of the Constantinian family on the later empire, first as a joint ruler with his brothers and then as sole Augustus. The chapters investigate the involvement of Constantius in the imperial, administrative, legal, religious and cultural life of the Roman Empire in the fourth century. Constantius’ handling of various threats to Roman hegemony such as the ambitions of the neighbouring Sasanian Empire, and his relationships with Gallus and with Julian are explored. The book’s analysis is guided by the epigraphic, iconographic, literary and legal evidence of the Roman and Byzantine periods but it is not a conventional imperial ‘biography’. Rather, it examines the figure of Constantius in light of the numerous historiographical issues surrounding his memorialisation in the historical and literary sources, for instance as ‘Arian’ tyrant or as internecine murderer. The over-arching aim is to investigate power in the post-Constantine period, and the way in which imperial and episcopal networks related to one another with the ambition of participating in the exercise of power. The Reign of Constantius II will appeal to those interested in the Later Roman Empire, the Constantinian imperial family, Roman-Sasanian relations, and the role of religion in shaping imperial dynamics with Christianity.
Empresses-in-Waiting comprises case studies of late antique empresses, female members of imperial dynasties, and female members of the highest nobility of the late Roman empire, ranging from the fourth to the seventh centuries AD. Situated in the context of the broader developments of scholarship on late antique and byzantine empresses, this volume explores the political agency, religious authority, and influence of imperial and near-imperial women within the Late Roman imperial court, which is understood as a complex spatial, social, and cultural system, the centre of patronage networks, and an arena for elite competition. The studies explore female performance and representation in literary and visual media as well as in court ceremonial, and discuss the opportunities and constraints of female power within a male dominated court environment and the broader realms of imperial activity. By focusing on imperial women, the volume not only addresses questions of gendered rhetoric and agency but throws into relief general dynamics in the exercise of imperial power during a period in which the classical Mediterranean world at large, as well as the Roman monarchy, underwent crucial transformations.
Over the course of the fourth century, Christianity rose from a religion actively persecuted by the authority of the Roman empire to become the religion of state—a feat largely credited to Constantine the Great. Constantine succeeded in propelling this minority religion to imperial status using the traditional tools of governance, yet his proclamation of his new religious orientation was by no means unambiguous. His coins and inscriptions, public monuments, and pronouncements sent unmistakable signals to his non-Christian subjects that he was willing not only to accept their beliefs about the nature of the divine but also to incorporate traditional forms of religious expression into his own self-presentation. In Constantine and the Cities, Noel Lenski attempts to reconcile these apparent contradictions by examining the dialogic nature of Constantine's power and how his rule was built in the space between his ambitions for the empire and his subjects' efforts to further their own understandings of religious truth. Focusing on cities and the texts and images produced by their citizens for and about the emperor, Constantine and the Cities uncovers the interplay of signals between ruler and subject, mapping out the terrain within which Constantine nudged his subjects in the direction of conversion. Reading inscriptions, coins, legal texts, letters, orations, and histories, Lenski demonstrates how Constantine and his subjects used the instruments of government in a struggle for authority over the religion of the empire.
This volume presents a comprehensive survey of Emperor Constantine and his times. It examines political history, religion, social and economic history, art, and foreign relations as well as the intimate interplay between emperor and empire.
This book offers a reconstruction and interpretation of banishment in the final era of a unified Roman Empire, 284-476 CE. Author Daniel Washburn argues that exile was both a penalty and a symbol. In its sources, this work employs evidence from legal as well as literary materials to forge a complete picture of exile. To harvest all possible information from the period, it considers elements from the arenas of the early church and the Roman Empire. Methodologically, it situates ancient Christianity within the Roman world, while remaining sensitive to the distinct views and roles held by late antique bishops. While banishment played a major role in the history of the Later Empire, no work of scholarship has treated it as a topic in its own right.
"Late Ancient Knowing explores how people in late antiquity went about knowing their world and how this knowing shaped late ancient lives. Each essay is dedicated to a single concept--'Animal,' 'Demon,' 'Countryside,' 'Christianization,' 'God'--studying the ways in which individuals and societies in this period created and interacted with visible and invisible realities. Rather than narrating late ancient history based on facts defensible in modern historical terms, these essays attempt to create histories based on what are now considered late ancient fictions, the now-discarded paradigms of late ancient thought"--Provided by publisher.
