Project E01: Ordo renascens – Threat und re-ordering in the Roman Senate: Roman aristocracy under challenge in the 5th century C.E.

Abstract

Project E01 studies how the Roman Senate aristocracy succeeded in checking the multiple threats posed by the 5^th century collapse of the Western Empire – threats not only to the economic and intellectual foundations of this imperial elite, but also to the sources of its political and social power. The project pursues a broad-based approach receptive to the various re-orderings undergone by this elite – in its socio-economic power base, its self-image and worldview, its cultural practices and representation strategies. The objective is a comprehensive picture of continuities but also of changes arising from this process of re-ordering, during which the aristocracy was placed on a new footing.