TRANS-REGIONAL ELITE

Trans-Regional Elites in the Later Roman Empire

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The growing level of political and economic integration is leading to the emergence of pan-European managerial, administrative and (increasingly) educational élites. From a historical perspective, the importance of supra-regional institutions is a rare phenomenon. Before the onset of modernity, the Roman Empire was the only political formation which united much of the European continent under the umbrella of a unified and centralised administrative framework. Here, in the late third and early fourth centuries, a centralised, hierarchical and salaried bureaucracy developed. For the first time, aristocrats from throughout Europe and the Mediterranean world were joined in one unified and hierarchically-structured institution. This project explores the social and cultural effects of the formation of a new supra-regional bureaucracy. It looks at the impact of the new imperial institutions on the ways in which their members conducted their lives, and in which they conceived of their place in the world. This project breaks new ground by looking at the ways in which the social and geographical mobility created by the late-antique shifts in governmental structure was experienced by those who participated in it. Drawing on recent research in social anthropology and in the comparative study of empires, it looks at the ways in which both participants and observers negotiated the disruptions caused by translocation into different social and geographical environments. The outgoing phase will be spent with Clifford Ando at the University of Chicago, the leading theorist on Roman government. The return phase will spent at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, one of the foremost European centres for the comparative study of pre-modern states. The project will enable researcher John Weisweiler to transfer new methodologies on trans-regional political formations to the European Research Area. And it will enable him to acquire specialist skills vital for his later research career.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A look into the social and cultural effects of the Roman Empire gives way to a better understanding of the modern elite in Europe.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Europe in the last two decades has seen the formation of transnational elites in the educational, managerial and administrative realms. Understanding the impact of this development requires going back to the time of the Roman Empire. It was in the late third and fourth centuries that a new governing class was created which brought together aristocrats from all across the Mediterranean World.

The 'Trans-regional elites in the later Roman Empire' (TRANS-REGIONAL ELITE) project examined the significance of this development. Key areas of focus were how the formation of a trans-regional elite reshaped the ways in which its members lived and viewed their place in the world.

What was discovered in the course of the project is that the increase in public institutions did not create conflict between the state and the aristocrats. Instead, it helped to form a new self-understanding. Roman aristocrats increasingly saw themselves as a global and unified aristocracy. Superiority was based on moral excellence and loyalty to the Roman Empire.

Research results were presented to the scholarly public via two books and five peer-reviewed articles. One book addresses the social and cultural effects of the creation of a new trans-regional governing class in the later Roman Empire. The other examines trans-regional elites in ancient Eurasia from a comparative perspective.

Beyond academic benefits, the project led to the creation of new research collaborations between Europe and the United States.