Spectacle, Power & Romanness in Byzantium: The Use of Roman Heritage in the Ceremonial Practices in the Hippodrome (10th-century).

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2017-06-15
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en
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The aim of this thesis is to investigate and identify the identity of the Byzantines with regards to their Roman cultural heritage. This will be examined through the ceremonial practices presented in the Book of Ceremonies. A book composed by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos in the tenth century. The thesis will focus on the ceremonial practices in the Hippodrome in Constantinople and compare them with the ceremonial practices in the Circus Maximus in Rome. It will display the emperor’s projection of himself and his relationship with the populace and the elite in the ceremonial practices in the Hippodrome. In conclusion, this thesis argues that the ceremonies in Constantinople display a form of continuity with the ceremonial practices displayed in Rome. This is the image of the social ideal of Byzantine society displayed by the Byzantine emperor in the Book of Ceremonies.
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