Uni-Tübingen

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 5th 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.