Measures of Difference

The Fourth-Century Transformation of the Roman Imperial Court

Bibliographic Data

ID9306516
AuthorsRowland Smith (corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume132
Issue1
Pages125-151
Publication date2011-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe American Journal of Philology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9475 • E-ISSN: 1086-3168
PublisherJohns Hopkins University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/ajp.2011.0011
OpenAlexW2135789656
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited18

Compared to its first-to-third century antecedents, the Roman imperial court of the fourth century exhibits markedly distinctive features; certain differences may be judged cosmetic, but others suggest a transformative shift in the court as a social and administrative institution. This discussion focuses on: the applicability to the Late Roman case of an influential generalizing theory of court formation and society, and the partial anticipation of modern "court studies" discourse by Gibbon; the altered social composition and expanded size of the court's personnel, the structural complexity of its bureaucratic apparatus, and their combined transformative effects; the role of purposeful reforms and innovations as drivers of long-term change; Ammianus' perceptions of the transformed court

Anticipation (artificial intelligence · Art · Bureaucracy · Composition (language · Epistemology · Institution · Literature · Perception · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Transformative learning · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Studies and Legal History · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy