Ruling the Later Roman Empire (Revealing Antiquity)
Publisher: Belknap Press
Published: November 29, 2004
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 352
ISBN-13: 9780674015647
Subjects: European history: BCE to c 500 CE; To 527; History - General History; Elite (Social sciences); History; Rome; History: World; Ancient Rome; Ancient - Rome; History / Ancient / Rome; Byzantine Empire; Europe - Italy; 284-476; Officials and employees; Politics and government
Description: "The book opens with a view of its times through the eyes of a high-ranking official in sixth-century Constantinople, John Lydus. His On the Magistracies of the Roman State, the only memoir of its kind to come down to us, gives an impassioned and revealing account of his career and the system in which he worked. Kelly draws a wealth of insight from this singular memoir and goes on to trace the operation of power and influence, exposing how these might be successfully deployed or skillfully diverted by those wishing either to avoid government regulation or to subvert it for their own ends. Ruling the Later Roman Empire presents a fascinating procession of officials, emperors, and local power brokers, winners and losers, mapping their experiences, their conflicting loyalties, their successes, and their failures."--Jacket.