Revolving without Revolution
Violence, Civil War, and Political Change in Rome’s unregulated Monarchy, from the first century BC to the fifth AD
by dr. Adrastos Omissi
Revolving without Revolution
Violence, Civil War, and Political Change in Rome’s unregulated Monarchy, from the first century BC to the fifth AD
by dr. Adrastos Omissi
Violence, Civil War, and Political Change in Rome’s unregulated Monarchy, from the first century BC to the fifth AD
by dr. Adrastos Omissi
This lecture takes a long look at Roman imperial power across the period in which the Roman Empire dominated the Mediterranean basin, exploring how imperial power was created, how it was transferred from emperor to emperor, and examining why the Roman Empire was so prone to military uprising and civil war. It was the fate of an overwhelming majority of Roman emperors to be murdered by their subjects, and of the twenty-nine decades between the year 190 AD and the year 480 (the year in which the last man claiming the title of Roman emperor in the West died), only two passed unmarked by civil war. This lecture explores the reasons for this seeming chaos, its consequences for the operation of Roman government and political life, and the measures taken by the Roman state to adapt to these conditions, which served to shape the whole nature of imperial government.
Adrastos Omissi is the Lecturer in Latin Literature at the University of Glasgow, UK. His work explores civil conflict, political culture, and the role of collective memory in the Late Roman world. He is the author of Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire (2018) and co-editor, with Alan Ross (Ohio State University) of Imperial Panegyric from Diocletian to Honorius (2020).
Adrastos Omissi is the Lecturer in Latin Literature at the University of Glasgow, UK. His work explores civil conflict, political culture, and the role of collective memory in the Late Roman world. He is the author of Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire (2018) and co-editor, with Alan Ross (Ohio State University) of Imperial Panegyric from Diocletian to Honorius (2020).
