Overview

Empire of Elites investigates the self-representation of the late Roman senatorial aristocracy in epigraphic evidence to illuminate the cultural, social, and political dynamics of the Later Roman Empire. In the Roman hierarchy, the senatorial order stood above all social strata. By examining aristocratic inscriptions and materiality – supplemented by art identified as senatorial and contextualized within contemporary literature – the study situates the self-image of the empire’s highest-ranking elites within the broader context of fourth-century imperial society. Arguing that the ideological portrayals of the late antique aristocracy reflect an artistic perception of social totality in cultural form, the book moves beyond analyses of elite dominance in the imperial state to address wider cultural and social transformations as mediated through epigraphy and art. It explores how the late imperial rule transformed the role of senators in governance, drawing on archaeological, inscriptional, and textual evidence to reveal the political, social, and cultural impact of transregional senatorial officeholders. This study demonstrates how the integrated relationship between state and aristocracy shaped the administration and government of the empire, offering new insights into the interplay of power, representation, and culture in the late Roman world. This book will appeal to scholars and students of Roman political and cultural history, administrative elites, institutional evolution, and the comparative study of premodern government. It will also be of interest to specialists in Latin and Greek epigraphy and literature, as well as late antique art, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on the social imagination and cultural expression of the late Roman aristocracy.

Full Product Details

Author:   Mariana Bodnaruk
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.760kg
ISBN:  

9781032360089

ISBN 10:   1032360089
Pages:   312
Publication Date:   31 December 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Introduction Chapter 1 Imperial Aristocracy: Senators and New Hierarchies of Honors I. Quaestor, Praetor, Suffect Consul II. Religious Offices 1. Religious Activities of Senators in Their Private Non-Official Roles 2. Religious Activities of Senators in Their Public Official Roles 3. Christian Religious Offices III. Count, Patrician, Ordinary Consul Chapter 2 Urban and Regional Administration: Civilian Government I. Illustres as Imperial Proxy Presence 1. Praetorian Prefect (Praefectus Praetorio) 2. Urban Prefect (Praefectus Urbi) II. Spectabiles Between Center and Periphery 1. Proconsul (Proconsul) 2. Count of the East (Comes Orientis) 3. Augustal Prefect (Praefectus Augustalis) 4. Vicar (Vicarius) III. Clarissimi and Patterns in Office-Holding 1. Provincial Governors: Consularis, Corrector, Praeses 2. Prefect of the Annona (Praefectus Annonae) and Prefect of the Vigils (Praefectus Vigilum) 3. Curators of the City of Rome (Curatores Urbis Romae) 4. Legates of Proconsul (Legati Proconsulis) Chapter 3 Regional Administration: Military Government I. Illustres: The Ascendancy of High-Ranking Militares as a New Senatorial Elite 1. Master of Soldiers (Magister Militum) 2. Count of the Imperial Guard (Comes Domesticorum) II. Spectabiles: Middle-Tier Military Commanders As a Backbone of Hierarchy 1. Count of Military Matters (Comes Rei Militaris) 2. Duke (Dux) III. Clarissimi: Lower-Grade Military Officers As Pillars of the Ranks 1. Tribune (Tribunus) 2. Prefect (Praefectus) and Provost (Praepositus) 3. Chief Officer of the Imperial Guard (Primicerius Protectorum Domesticorum) Chapter 4 Central Administration: The Palatine Bureaucracy I. The Rise of the Roman Bureaucrats: Illustres 1. Provost of the Sacred Bedchamber (Praepositus Sacri Cubiculi) 2. Consistorian Counts (Comites Consistoriani) i. Master of Offices (Magister Officiorum) ii. Quaestor (Quaestor Sacri Palatii) iii. Count of the Sacred Largess (Comes Sacrarum Largitionum) iv. Count of the Private Domains (Comes Rerum Privatarum) II. Working in the Proximity of the Ruler: Spectabiles 1. Superintendent of the Sacred Bedchamber (Primicerius Sacri Cubiculi) and Castellan of the Sacred Palace (Castrensis Sacri Palatii) 2. Tribunes and Notaries (Tribuni et Notarii): Chief of the Notaries (Primicerius Notariorum) 3. Masters of the Record Bureaus (Magistri Scriniorum) i. Master of Memorials (Magister Memoriae) ii. Master of Correspondence and Master of Greek Correspondence (Magister Epistularum and Magister Epistularum Graecarum) iii. Master of Requests (Magister Libellorum) III. A New Bureaucratic Elite: Clarissimi 1. Counts of the Diocesan Largesses (Comites Largitionum) and Accountants (Rationales) 2. Chiefs of Office Staff of the Corps of General Agents (Principes Pfficiorum Ex Agentibus in Rebus) 3. First Deputy-Chiefs of the Record Bureaus (Proximi Scriniorum) and Master of the Schedules (Magister Dispositionum) Conclusion Bibliography

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Author Information

Mariana Bodnaruk is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of History of the University of Warsaw, Poland, and a senior researcher at the Center for Medieval Visual Cultures and Research Communication at the Art History Department of the Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia. They received a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, in 2019. Their research was published in Journal of Epigraphic Studies, Journal of Late Antiquity, Antichthon, Phoenix, and Byzantinoslavica. Their research interests include epigraphy, art history, and hagiography of the medieval East Roman Empire, gender studies, queer and trans theory, and historical materialism.

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