Child Emperor Rule in the Late Roman West, AD 367-455In this book, McEvoy explodes the myth that the remarkable phenomenon of the late Roman child-emperor reflected mere dynastic sentiment or historical accident. Tracing the course of the frequently tumultuous, but nevertheless lengthy, reigns of young western emperors in the years AD 367-455, she looks at the way in which the sophistication of the Roman system made their accessions and survival possible. The book highlights how these reigns allowed for individual generals to dominate the Roman state and in what manner the crucial role of Christianity, together with the vested interests of various factions within the imperial elite, contributed to a transformation of the imperial image - enabling and facilitating the adaptation of existing imperial ideology to portray boys as young as six as viable rulers. It also analyses the struggles which ensued upon a child-emperor reaching adulthood and seeking to take up functions which had long been delegated during his childhood. Through the phenomenon of child-emperor rule, McEvoy demonstrates the major changes taking place in the nature of the imperial office in late antiquity, which had significant long-term impacts upon the way the Roman state came to be ruled and, in turn, the nature of rulership in the early medieval and Byzantine worlds to follow. |
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accession active adulthood Aetius Africa Alaric Ambrose Ambrose’s Ammianus appointment Arcadius aristocrats army Augustus Ausonius barbarian bishop boy-emperor Caesar Cameron campaign ceremonial child child-emperor Christian church claim Claudian co-Augustus Constantine III Constantinople Constantius consul consulship court death dynastic eastern Errington 2006 father fourth century function Galla Placidia Gaul Gratian Gratian and Valentinian Heather Honorius Hunnic Hydatius Ibid III’s Illyricum imperial office issued Italy Jones late Roman laws legislation legitimacy Lenski magister militum Magnus Maximus Marcellinus comes marriage Matthews McLynn Menander Merobaudes Milan military NVal O’Flynn Olympiodorus Olympius Oost oration Orosius pagan panegyric partnership Philostorgius PLRE political position praetorian prefect presented Priscus Ravenna regime reign religious role Rome rule ruler senate senatorial Socrates sources Sozomen Stilicho suggests surviving Symmachus Themistius Theodosius II Theodosius II’s throne usurper Valens Valentinian II Valentinian II’s Vandals victory Visigoths western emperor western government young emperor youthful Zosimus