Measures of Difference: The Fourth-Century Transformation of the Roman Imperial Court

Compared to its first-to-third century antecedents, the Roman imperial court of the fourth century exhibits markedly distinctive features; certain differences may be judged cosmetic, but others suggest a transformative shift in the court as a social and administrative institution. This discussion focuses on: the applicability to the Late Roman case of an influential generalizing theory of court formation and society, and the partial anticipation of modern "court studies" discourse by Gibbon; the altered social composition and expanded size of the court's personnel, the structural complexity of its bureaucratic apparatus, and their combined transformative effects; the role of purposeful reforms and innovations as drivers of long-term change; Ammianus' perceptions of the transformed court.