(Re)Mapping the Empire

Civil War, Imperial Elites, and Mental Geographies in the Fourth Century

Civil war has shapeturyd the course of civilizations throughout time, and studying the multifaceted phenomenon offers invaluable insights into the profound impact that the collapse and reconstruction of political orders had on ancient societies. Yet our understanding of how factionalization, conflict escalation, and reintegration transformed the ancient world remains limited. This also concerns our understanding of how civil wars in polities of extensive geographical extent, such as the Roman Empire, affected the mobilities and mental geographies of the elites. Based on four extensive case studies from the fourth century CE, I will trace the effects of territorial changes in the late antique configuration of power on the mobilities and the mental geographies of the imperial elites. Addressing the events of 324, 353, 361, and 388, the focus lies on power-political shifts of considerable scope that had far-reaching consequences for the geographical setup of the apparatus imperii and thus also affected the social, cultural, and ideological integration of the imperial elites: (1) In 324, Constantine attained sole rule with his victory over Licinius and took control also over the eastern parts of the empire; (2) in 353, Constantius II defeated Magnentius and took control also over the western domains; (3) with the death of Constantius II in 361, Julian emerged as the new sole ruler and gained control over the eastern parts of the empire; (4) the victory over Magnus Maximus in 388 gave Theodosius I also control over the western parts of the empire. Based on preliminary work, it appears that the impact of civil war on how the imperial elites framed their relation to the relocating power centers and on how they reconceptualized the ways the monarchy overarched the geographically extensive empire played an essential role in the transformation of Roman concepts of rule between the principate and late antiquity. These effects overlapped with other factors, such as the Christianization of the Roman monarchy. Towards the end of the fourth century, the developments were also connected to structural changes that eventually brought about a new capital-based monarchy and an increasingly intensive administrative separation of the Eastern and Western Roman empires.