View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library An Assessment of the Notitia Dignitatum as a Historical Source for the Late Roman Bureaucracy A thesis submitted by: Ruth O’Hara For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supervisor: Dr Michael Williams Head of Department: Dr. Kieran McGroarty Department of Ancient Classics National University of Ireland, Maynooth, October 2013 Contents Abstract 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3 1.2 Approaching the Notitia Dignitatum ................................................................. 5 1.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 10 2. The Notitia Dignitatum: Nature and Reception .................................................... 11 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 11 2.2 The nature of the Notitia Dignitatum .............................................................. 11 2.2.1 The nature of the text .................................................................................. 13 2.3 Dating ................................................................................................................ 17 2.3.1 The manuscript tradition of the Notitia Dignitatum ................................... 30 2.4 Modern approaches to the Notitia Dignitatum ............................................... 35 2.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 44 3. The Reality of Court Politics (i) The Civil Administration ................................. 46 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 46 3.2 The functioning of the late Roman imperial court ........................................ 48 3.2.1 Court reform: the impact of the third century ............................................ 49 3.2.2 Appointment to and promotion within the court ......................................... 52 3.3 The consistorium ............................................................................................... 60 3.3.1 Membership................................................................................................. 61 3.3.2 The function of the consistorium ................................................................. 64 3.3.3 The consistorium in the fifth century .......................................................... 69 3.4 The comitatus .................................................................................................... 72 3.4.1 The evolution of the membership and function of the comitatus ................ 72 3.4.2 The role of the comitatus in the fifth century .............................................. 75 3.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 79 4. The Reality of Court Politics (ii) The Praetorian Prefect ................................... 81 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 81 4.2 The praetorian prefecture in the Notitia Dignitatum .................................... 83 4.2.1 The development of the praetorian prefecture down to the fourth century 86 4.2.2 The officia of the praetorian prefects in the Notitia Dignitatum ................ 89 4.3 The practice of politics: the praetorian prefect in the fourth century ........ 95 4.4 Rufinus and the praetorian prefecture......................................................... 100 4.5 The praetorian prefect in the fifth century .................................................. 106 4.5.1 The situation in the west ........................................................................... 106 4.5.2 The situation in the east ............................................................................ 111 4.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 114 5. The Reality of Court Politics (iii) The Magister Officiorum .............................. 116 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 116 5.2 The magister officiorum in the Notitia Dignitatum ...................................... 118 5.2.1 The magister officiorum and the sacra scrinia ......................................... 120 5.2.2 Ceremony, communication and diplomacy ............................................... 125 5.2.3 Military matters ........................................................................................ 136 5.2.4 The officium of the magister officiorum .................................................... 143 1 5.3 The reality of court politics: the magister officiorum in the fourth and fifth centuries ..................................................................................................................... 145 5.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 153 6. The Outsiders: Eunuchs, Empresses and Bishops ............................................. 155 6.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 155 6.2 Eunuch cubicularii ......................................................................................... 156 6.2.1 Eunuch cubicularii in the Notitia Dignitatum .......................................... 157 6.2.2 Beyond the Notitia Dignitatum: eunuch cubicularii in the fourth and fifth centuries .................................................................................................................. 161 6.2.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 166 6.3 Empresses ........................................................................................................ 167 6.3.1 The perception of power: empresses in our ancient sources .................... 168 6.3.2 The empress and court politics ................................................................. 172 6.3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 177 6.4 Bishops and the imperial court ..................................................................... 178 6.4.1 Constantine and the bishops ..................................................................... 182 6.4.2 Ambrose of Milan ...................................................................................... 188 6.4.3 Bishops and the court in the fifth century ................................................. 192 6.4.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 196 6.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 196 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 199 7.1 The Notitia Dignitatum as a historical source .............................................. 199 7.2 The purpose of the Notitia Dignitatum ......................................................... 202 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 210 Ancient texts .............................................................................................................. 210 Modern authors ......................................................................................................... 229 2 Abstract The Notitia Dignitatum is regarded as one of the most important sources for the administrative hierarchy, both civil and military, of the later Roman empire. However, due to numerous difficulties associated with the text, few large-scale studies have looked at this document as a whole. The aim of this thesis, therefore, is to provide a comprehensive examination of the Notitia Dignitatum as a historical source for the late Roman bureaucracy. I argue that the Notitia Dignitatum presents a misleadingly static picture of what was a dynamic imperial court system. In particular, I suggest that the inherent – and perhaps inevitable – limitations of this source arise from its narrow focus on the holders of the highest civilian and military offices and its often circumscribed account of their duties. I argue that we need to use additional evidence in order to gain a more rounded picture of the bureaucracy. Therefore, I look at such senior posts as the praetorian prefect or magister officiorum and their ability to accumulate responsibilities often far beyond those duties ascribed to them in the Notitia Dignitatum. More than this, I maintain that official office was not a reliable guide to actual influence. This is particularly evident in the power exercised by some eunuch cubicularii and the status accorded to certain groups left out of the Notitia Dignitatum, not least imperial women and Christian bishops. In this way, I make evident the limitations of the Notitia Dignitatum as a historical source when it