Dijkstra, Roald , Sanne van Poppel & Daniëlle Slootjes (eds.). 2015. East and West in the Roman Empire of the fourth century. An end to unity? Brill.
East and West in the Roman Empire of the Fourth Century examines the (dis)unity of the Roman Empire in the fourth century from different angles, in order to offer a broad perspective on the topic and avoid an overvaluation of the political division of the empire in 395.
After a methodological key-paper on the concepts of unity, the other contributors elaborate on these notions from various geo-political perspectives: the role of the army and taxation, geographical perspectives, the unity of the Church and the perception of the divisio regni of 364. Four case-studies follow, illuminating the role of concordia apostolorum, antique sports, eunuchs and the poet Prudentius on the late antique view of the Empire. Despite developments to the contrary, it appears that the Roman Empire remained (to be viewed as) a unity in all strata of society.
About the Authors:
Roald Dijkstra, Ph.D. (2014), Radboud University, is postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at that university. His thesis (Portraying Witnesses. The apostles in early Christian art and poetry) will be published in Brill’s Vigiliae Christianae Supplements Series.
Sanne van Poppel, Ph. D. (2014), Radboud University, is the Assistant Head Librarian of KU Leuven Kulak. She received her PhD from Radboud University Nijmegen (Urbs et Augustus. The City of Rome in Politics and Representations of Power during the Constantinian Dynasty (306-361)).
Daniëlle Slootjes, Ph.D. (2004), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is Assistant Professor of Ancient History at the Radboud University Nijmegen. Her research focuses on the period of Late Antiquity. She is currently working on an extensive project on urban crowd control in the Roman world.