Aristocrats, Imperial Institutions, and the Topography of Power

This chapter analyses the ways in which the series of administrative reforms aimed at increasing imperial control over Rome between the late third and early fourth centuries led to an unprecedented involvement of members of the senatorial aristocracy in the life of the city and its inhabitants. By focusing on two main issues, the creation of the new urban prefecture as main administrative and judicial department in the city and the reorganization of the annona, the imperial service of food distributions, the chapter examines the reconfiguration of the political and administrative map of the city, and how this process consolidated the hold of the local elite over its fellow citizens.

Festivals, Ceremonies, and the Commemoration of Power

This chapter analyses the ways in which members of the roman elite used festivals and public celebrations as a form of advertising their social and political standing. Analysing senatorial involvement in imperial festivals like adventus and anniversaries and in the celebration of appointments to public office, it considers how public celebrations advertised individual political achievement and participation in the city’s ruling class. The statue monuments that immortalized these feats were also used as tools for expressing personal identity and social distinction. Finally, the chapter analyses the performance of private celebrations in the public sphere, such as baptism and especially the role of funerals and funerary monuments in the commemoration of aristocratic dominance in the city-space.

Introduction

Scholars have traditionally approached the history of Rome in late antiquity as a metaphor for the fate of the empire and the ancient world, focusing on the distancing of the imperial court or on the growing importance of the Christian church. However, as this introduction argues, it is by focusing on the Roman aristocracy and its relationship with the city and its spaces that we can form a comprehensive understanding of the physical and historical developments that redefined Rome during this period. After providing a brief overview of the developments that shaped the city and its elite, between the end of the third and the beginning of the sixth century, the introduction discusses the nature of the evidence available, as well as the approach adopted in the book.

The Redefinition of Religious Life

This chapter examines how the religious transformation that redefined Rome’s identify and social life were incorporated into the socio-political and cultural strategies of the Roman aristocracy. It analyses the involvement of members of the city elite in religious life and institutions, as pagan priests, imperial officials, and private patrons. As the chapter shows, during this period male and female aristocrats played an assertive role in religious life, sponsoring cults, buildings, supporting Christian factions, and promoting their own beliefs and values. Rather than looking at the traditional divide between pagans and Christians, the chapter considers different religious traditions together, analysing them as a crucial element in the relationship between powerful Romans, their city, and their fellow citizens.

Aristocratic Power and Politics in the Domestic Sphere

This chapter analyses the impact of aristocratic houses in the definition of late antique Rome’s political topography. Focusing on concrete examples, it examines the physical impact of houses on their surrounding environment, as well as how elite dwellings cannibalized resources of the city like water and building materials, representing a new urbanistic order. It analyses the political activities that took place in domestic spaces, including meetings and decisions, and how emperors and authorities tried to assert their control over other elements within Roman society. As the chapter argues, houses were a symbol and a crucial tool in aristocratic ambitions as well as in their relationship with other groups in Roman society.

Senatorial Houses as Centres of Power

Aristocratic houses played an important part in Roman society. They were symbols of aristocratic power, mobilizing architecture and decoration to express social standing and family history. At the same time, domestic spaces were the arena where aristocrats built their power bases, greeting friends and clients on a daily basis. This chapter analyses the importance of houses in aristocratic strategies and political life, consider how these spaces contributed to define aristocratic standing and clout in late antique Rome. By examining domestic rituals such as the morning salutatio and invitations for dinners and other social gatherings, it will show how these spaces could perform a crucial function in late antique city life.

Emperors and Senators in the Roman Forum

The Roman Forum occupied a central place in the city of Rome. Crowded with monuments, civic buildings, and temples, the forum was a symbol of imperial power and culture, serving as stage for imperial celebrations and as a seat for the Senate. During the late antique period, this area continued to attract the attention of imperial visitors, local politicians, and the Roman people. This chapter analyses the series of physical transformations that redefined the area from the reign of Diocletian onwards, charting its transformation from an symbol of empire into an area dominated by structures associated with the presence of the Senate in the city. The redefinition of the forum involved the performance of rituals and festivals in the area, progressively associated with the local elite.

Building Late Antique Rome

This chapter examines the role played by member of the Roman aristocracy in the physical evolution of late antique Rome. Acting as representatives of the imperial government, aristocrats were directly responsible for the decision of when and what to build, advertising their social standing and political clout; as private builders, they sponsored projects that celebrated their families and prestige. The chapter examines the factors involved in the choice of building projects, as well as the social and economic opportunities offered by the intricate late antique system of funding building works, supplying building material for new projects, and the organization of the work force.

Conclusion

This chapter brings together the different strands that make up the argument of the book. As emperors distanced themselves from the city, reorganizing the administration and the services that regulated life in late antique Rome, Roman aristocrats began to play a growing role in the life of the city, redefining its spaces and institutions. The city became a central element in the social and political strategies of the Roman elite: its spaces and the buildings that gave shape to it, the festivals and ceremonies that animated it, and the hierarchies and instruments of control that defined it were progressively appropriated. These developments took place at a time of dramatic changes in the empire, and late antique Rome was as a result a more provincial and smaller city than in previous centuries. Aristocratic dominance did not prevent the rise of new elements in Roman society, bringing with it the elements that would contribute to the development of a new, Christian Rome, under the leadership of the Church and its bishop.