Contested Monarchy : Integrating the Roman Empire in the Fourth Century AD

Abstract

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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.