Pars melior humani generis. The aristocratic families of Rome in Late Antiquity (379-455 CE)

Abstract

The symbolical and physical authority formation of the senatorial aristocratic families of Rome - under the Theodosian dynasty (379-455 CE) is explored in this thesis. It aims to move beyond the institutional history of the Senate and the political court by focussing on the social dymanics between the families and the emperor. Central to the argument is a corpus of statuary honorary inscriptions, which are analysed for their references to genealogy and ancestry and their insight into the proximity of the senatorial aristocracy to the distant imperial court, especially under the reign of Valentinian III.