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Managing division & scandal in the late antique Imperial family By late antiquity, the imperial family was a well-established function of Roman politics. They allowed for imperial continuity through dynastic succession, were responsible for the patronage of important buildings, and were important political figures in their own right. Above all they were seen as a family united in their role as the accepted rulers of the Roman state. As such, they had to appear to be unified on the matters of state, including religious disputes, court intrigue and even personal matters. Using the fourth and fifth centuries CE as a case study, this talk discusses the times when the imperial family was faced with internal division and personal scandal. It will look at examples of affairs, religious disputes and attempted coups-d'état in order to investigate how the imperial family, and the Roman state itself, responded to trouble so close to home. In doing so, this talk will also explore the nature of the imperial family as a political unit, and what implications this holds for our understanding of Roman politics as a whole.
Dr Euan Croman is a late antique historian, postdoctoral researcher and part-time lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast. His research focuses on the imperial ideology and the imperial family during late antiquity, with an eye towards ceremonies, spectacle, and interactions between the imperial elite and the broader public. Having recently graduated from his PhD programme at Queen’s in July 2026, he is currently adapting his thesis, titled ‘Late Antique Ceremony and the Image of the Imperial Family’, into a monograph. He has also presented his research on ceremonies, emperors and empresses at conferences in Canada, Ireland and the UK.
This is a free event and everyone interested is welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.
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27 University Square, Belfast BT7 1NN, 27 University Square, Belfast, BT7 1, United Kingdom
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