Contested Monarchy
Integrating the Roman Empire in the Fourth Century AD
Published on 15. January 2015
Book
Hardback
552 pages
978-0-19-976899-8 (ISBN)
Description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.
This volume aims to reappraise the wide-ranging and lasting transformation of the Roman monarchy between the Principate and Late Antiquity. The book takes as its focus the period from Diocletian to Theodosius I (284-395) and thus on a major developmental phase in the history of the Roman Empire. During this period, the stability of monarchical rule depended heavily on the emperor's mobility, on collegial or dynastic rule, and on the military resolution of internal political crises. At the same time, profound religious changes modified the premises of political interaction and symbolic communication between the emperor and his subjects, and administrative and military readjustments changed the institutional foundations of the Roman monarchy. This volume concentrates on the measures taken by Roman emperors of this period to cope with the changing framework of their rule. The collection will examine monarchy along three distinct yet intertwined fields: Administering the Empire, Performing the Monarchy, and Balancing Religious Change. Each field possesses its own historiography and methodology, and accordingly has usually been treated separately. This volume's multifaceted approach builds on recent trends to examine imperial rule in a more integrated fashion. A brief introductory article to each thematic section provides an overview of the major developments in the field, thereby providing a coherent framework for the contributions. Including new work from a wide range of European and American scholars, both established and junior, Contested Monarchy promises to provide a fresh survey of the role of the Roman monarch in a period of significant and enduring change.
This volume aims to reappraise the wide-ranging and lasting transformation of the Roman monarchy between the Principate and Late Antiquity. The book takes as its focus the period from Diocletian to Theodosius I (284-395) and thus on a major developmental phase in the history of the Roman Empire. During this period, the stability of monarchical rule depended heavily on the emperor's mobility, on collegial or dynastic rule, and on the military resolution of internal political crises. At the same time, profound religious changes modified the premises of political interaction and symbolic communication between the emperor and his subjects, and administrative and military readjustments changed the institutional foundations of the Roman monarchy. This volume concentrates on the measures taken by Roman emperors of this period to cope with the changing framework of their rule. The collection will examine monarchy along three distinct yet intertwined fields: Administering the Empire, Performing the Monarchy, and Balancing Religious Change. Each field possesses its own historiography and methodology, and accordingly has usually been treated separately. This volume's multifaceted approach builds on recent trends to examine imperial rule in a more integrated fashion. A brief introductory article to each thematic section provides an overview of the major developments in the field, thereby providing a coherent framework for the contributions. Including new work from a wide range of European and American scholars, both established and junior, Contested Monarchy promises to provide a fresh survey of the role of the Roman monarch in a period of significant and enduring change.
Reviews / Votes
This exceptionally valuable book offers multiple perspectives on the development of the institutional, ideological and religious aspects of the Roman empire's first Christian century. Breaking away from traditional divisions according to dynasty or religion, we see how the Roman state developed new answers to the central question of its own legitimacy. Eschewing simplistic generalizations, the diverse contributions offer multiple perspectives on the way the Roman system of government interacted with its subjects. Wienand has performed an invaluable service by facilitating a wide ranging encounter among scholarly styles to promote a well-articulated discussion of significant themes in the governance of the Roman Empire, illuminating not only the period under consideration, but earlier and later periods as well. * David Potter, University of Michigan * It is a pleasure to be asked to review a book for which one has such unreserved praise. Contested Monarchy is an enormously valuable volume without a weak link in its chain of articles. It is a must have for any scholar working on late Roman political, social, or religious history and for the library of any university that offers courses on the fourth century. * Adrastos Omissi, Sehepunkte * An inspiring volume ... this is a fine collection of articles articulating the contested Roman imperial rule of late antiquity. Everybody interested in the late Roman empire will profit from it. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review * This is a book that deepens our sense of the complexity, and unexpectedness, of the late Roman Empire. It is a landmark. * Alexander Skinner, Journal of Roman Studies *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
26 maps and illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
1091 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-976899-8 (9780199768998)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2014
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€61.99
Available for download
Person
Dr. Johannes Wienand is Assistant Professor of Ancient History and Classics at Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf, Germany.
Content
List of Abbreviations ; Contributors ; Map of the Roman Empire in the Fourth Century ; Introduction ; 1. The Cloak of Power: Dressing and Undressing the King ; Johannes Wienand ; Part One Administering the Empire ; 2. Domesticating the Senatorial Elite: Universal Monarchy and Imperial Aristocracy in the Fourth Century AD ; John Weisweiler ; 3. The Inflation of Rank and Privilege: Regulating Precedence in the Fourth Century AD ; John Noel Dillon ; 4. Ostentatious Legislation: Law and Dynastic Change, AD 364-365 ; Sebastian Schmidt-Hofner ; 5. Emperors and Generals in the Fourth Century ; Doug Lee ; 6. Gaul and the Roman Emperors of the Fourth Century ; Joachim Szidat ; 7. Regional Dynasties and Imperial Court ; Michael Kulikowski ; Part Two Performing the Monarchy ; 8. Emperors, Usurpers, and the City of Rome: Performing Power from Diocletian to Theodosius ; Mark Humphries ; 9. O tandem felix civili, Roma, victoria! Civil War Triumphs From Honorius to Constantine and Back ; Johannes Wienand ; 10. Coping with the Tyrant's Faction: Civil War Amnesties and Christian Discourses in the Fourth Century AD ; Hartmut Leppin ; 11. Pliny and Pacatus: Past and Present in Imperial Panegyric ; Christopher Kelly ; 12. Born to be Emperor: The Principle of Succession and the Roman Monarchy ; Henning Borm ; 13. Performing Justice: The Penal Code of Constantine the Great ; Christian Reitzenstein-Ronning ; Part Three Balancing Religious Change ; 14. Speaking of Power: Christian Redefinition of the Imperial Role in the Fourth Century ; Harold Drake ; 15. Constantine, Rome, and the Christians ; Bruno Bleckmann ; 16. Constantine and the Tyche of Constantinople ; Noel Lenski ; 17. A Vain Quest for Unity: Creeds and Political (Dis)Integration in the Reign of Constantius II ; Steffen Diefenbach ; 18. The Challenge of Religious Violence: Imperial Ideology and Policy in the Fourth Century ; Johannes Hahn ; 19. Christian Faith, Ancient Writers and Daily Life: The Impact of Christianity at the End of the Fourth Century ; Rita Lizzi Testa ; Epilogue ; 20. The Empire's Golden Shade: Icons of Sovereignty in an Age of Transition ; Johannes Wienand ; Bibliography ; General Index ; Index Locorum