Theoderic and the Roman Imperial Restoration

Theoderic and the Roman Imperial Restoration
Author: Jonathan J. Arnold
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2014-02-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107729874

This book provides a new interpretation of the fall of the Roman Empire and the 'barbarian' kingdom known conventionally as Ostrogothic Italy. Relying primarily on Italian textual and material evidence, and in particular the works of Cassiodorus and Ennodius, Jonathan J. Arnold argues that contemporary Italo-Romans viewed the Ostrogothic kingdom as the Western Roman Empire and its 'barbarian' king, Theoderic (r.489/93–526), as its emperor. Investigating conceptions of Romanness, Arnold explains how the Roman past, both immediate and distant, allowed Theoderic and his Goths to find acceptance in Italy as Romans, with roles essential to the Empire's perceived recovery. Theoderic and the Roman Imperial Restoration demonstrates how Theoderic's careful attention to imperial traditions, good governance, and reconquest followed by the re-Romanization of lost imperial territories contributed to contemporary sentiments of imperial resurgence and a golden age. There was no need for Justinian to restore the Western Empire: Theoderic had already done so.

Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age

Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age
Author: Jonathan Bardill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 471
Release: 2012
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0521764238

"Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. The book explores the emperor's image as conveyed through literature, art, and architecture, and shows how Constantine reconciled the tradition of imperial divinity with his monotheistic faith. It demonstrates how the traditional themes and imagery of kingship were exploited to portray the emperor as the saviour of his people and to assimilate him to Christ. This is the first book to study simultaneously both archaeological and historical information to build a picture of the emperor's image and propaganda. It is extensively illustrated" --Provided by publisher.

Sacred Founders

Sacred Founders
Author: Diliana Angelova
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2015-09-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520284011

Diliana Angelova argues that from the time of Augustus through early Byzantium, a discourse of “sacred founders”—articulated in artwork, literature, imperial honors, and the built environment—helped legitimize the authority of the emperor and his family. The discourse coalesced around the central idea, bound to a myth of origins, that imperial men and women were sacred founders of the land, mirror images of the empire’s divine founders. When Constantine and his formidable mother Helena established a new capital for the Roman Empire, they initiated the Christian transformation of this discourse by brilliantly reformulating the founding myth. Over time, this transformation empowered imperial women, strengthened the cult of the Virgin Mary, fueled contests between church and state, and provoked an arresting synthesis of imperial and Christian art. Sacred Founders presents a bold interpretive framework that unearths deep continuities between the ancient and medieval worlds, recovers a forgotten transformation in female imperial power, and offers a striking reinterpretation of early Christian art.

Constantine the Emperor

Constantine the Emperor
Author: David Stone Potter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2015
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0190231629

An authoritative and vibrant new account of the extraordinary life of Constantine.

Constantine and the Christian Empire

Constantine and the Christian Empire
Author: Charles Odahl
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 569
Release: 2010-07-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1136961275

This biographical narrative is a detailed portrayal of the life and career of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great (273 – 337). Combining vivid narrative and historical analysis, Charles Odahl relates the rise of Constantine amid the crises of the late Roman world, his dramatic conversion to and public patronage of Christianity, and his church building programs in Rome, Jerusalem and Constantinople which transformed the pagan state of Roman antiquity into the Christian empire medieval Byzantium. The author’s comprehensive knowledge of the literary sources and his extensive research into the material remains of the period mean that this volume provides a more rounded and accurate portrait of Constantine than previously available. This revised second edition includes: An expanded and revised final chapter A new Genealogy and an expanded Chronology New illustrations Revised and updated Notes and Bibliography A landmark publication in Roman Imperial, early Christian, and Byzantine history, Constantine and the Christian Empire will remain the standard account of the subject for years to come.

The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235-395

The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235-395
Author: Mark Hebblewhite
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2016-12-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317034295

With The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235–395 Mark Hebblewhite offers the first study solely dedicated to examining the nature of the relationship between the emperor and his army in the politically and militarily volatile later Roman Empire. Bringing together a wide range of available literary, epigraphic and numismatic evidence he demonstrates that emperors of the period considered the army to be the key institution they had to mollify in order to retain power and consequently employed a range of strategies to keep the troops loyal to their cause. Key to these efforts were imperial attempts to project the emperor as a worthy general (imperator) and a generous provider of military pay and benefits. Also important were the honorific and symbolic gestures each emperor made to the army in order to convince them that they and the empire could only prosper under his rule.

Rural Settlements on Mount Carmel in Antiquity

Rural Settlements on Mount Carmel in Antiquity
Author: Shimon Dar
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2014-06-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1905739923

In the years 1983-2013, an archaeological expedition under the auspices of the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology of Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, was active on Mount Carmel, Israel.