Redefining the Roman imperial élite in the fourth century AD

Through an examination of changing patterns in the conferral of the consulship, the senior and eponymous annual magistracy of the Roman state, this paper outlines the process by which the old imperial social order linked to the cursus honorum of the city of Rome was eclipsed by a new hierarchy of offices linked directly to the imperial court. In contrast to previous scholarship, the analysis is not focused on plotting changes in the social composition of the political élite or the advancement of adherents of one religion or another but rather on examining how, in the early fourth century, the priorities determining relative political status within the select group of those awarded the consulship changed. More importantly, it examines the implications of this transformation for our understanding of the structure of the late Roman state

Roman consuls, imperial politics, and Egyptian papyri: the consulates of 325 and 344 CE

This study re-evaluates the evidence for the consuls in two years when consular proclamations were revoked for unspecified reasons. Thanks to work done in recent decades to index and analyze the evidence for Roman consuls from Diocletian onward, it now is much easier to gain an overview of contemporary understanding of the identity of the consuls of each year. The ever-growing body of epigraphic and, above all, papyrological documentation helps to put flesh on the bare bones of the names preserved in the consular lists of the manuscript tradition. These documentary sources have the virtue of representing a contemporary perspective that is largely free from retrospective editorial manipulation. To appreciate fully the significance of the evidence of the consular formulae employed in late Roman Egypt, it needs to be assessed within the wider context of the use of consular dating both within Egypt in earlier periods and elsewhere

Latin onomastics: (E.) Caffarelli, (P.) Poccetti (edd.) L'onomastica di Roma. Ventotto secoli di nomi. Atti del Convegno, Roma, 19–21 aprile 2007. (Quaderni Italiani di RION 2.) Pp. x + 527, figs, ills, maps. Rome: Societá Editrice Romana, 2009. Paper, €35. No ISBN.

Review of E. Caffarelli & P. Poccetti (edd.), L'onomastica di Roma. Ventotto secoli di nomi (QuIRIOn 2; Rome, 2009

(Review of) Lorena Atzeri, Gesta senatus Romani de Theodosiano publicando: il codice teodosiano e la sua diffusione ufficiale in occidente

Review of L. Atzeri, Gesta senatus Romani de Theodosiano publicando: il codice teodosiano e la sua diffusione ufficiale in occidente (Berlin, 2008

LAWYER-QUAESTORS: T. Honoré: Law in the Crisis of Empire 379–455 AD. The Theodosian Dynasty and its Quaestors. Pp. xii + 320, 2 discs. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. Cased, £45. ISBN: 0-19-826078-4.

Review of A.M. Honoré, Law in the Crisis of Empire 379-455 AD. The Theodosian Dynasty and its Quaestors (Oxford, 1998

What's in a name? A survey of Roman onomastic practice from c. 700 BC to AD 700

Perusal of over a thousand years of the fasti of the Romans' eponymous magistracy is sufficient to demonstrate that Roman onomastic practice did not stand still. Why, then, is there a tendency to see the system of three names (tria nomina, i.e. praenomen, nomen gentilicium, and cognomen) as the perfection and culmination of the Roman naming system rather than as a transitory stage in an evolutionary process? The simple answer is probably that usage of the tria nomina happens to be typical of the best documented class in one of the best documented, and certainly most studied, eras of Roman history — the late Republic and early Empire. This perspective tends to pervade discussion of post-classical developments, the basic outline of which is clear from a glancing comparison of the Prosopographia Imperii Romani, which catalogues eminent persons of the first to third centuries A.D., with the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, covering the fourth to seventh. The difference in their very organizational structure betrays the change since, while the entries in PIR are classified alphabetically by nomen, those of PLRE are arranged by last name, usually cognomen. The major problem requiring explanation is why the nomen gentilicium, the central element of the classical tria nomina, should have been displaced by the cognomen as the one most consistently attested element

Late Antiquity

Late antique epigraphy differs in several respects from that of the High Empire, reflecting the changed political, economic, and cultural circumstances. This chapter focuses on the epigraphic habit of that fluctuating portion of the late antique world that remained Roman. Despite the emergence of inscriptions in additional languages, such as Syriac and Coptic, Latin and Greek retained their hegemony as the two main epigraphic languages of the Roman world. The establishment of an imperial court, with its attendant bureaucratic and military retinue, in major centres of the Greek East from the last decades of the third century coincided with a new flowering of Latin inscriptions in the region

Adapting primary care for new migrants: a formative assessment

Background: Immigration rates have increased recently in the UK. Migrant patients may have particular needs that are inadequately met by existing primary care provision. In the absence of national guidance, local adaptations are emerging in response to these new demands. Aim: To formatively assess the primary care services offered to new migrants and the ways in which practitioners and practices are adapting to meet need. Design & setting: Online survey and case studies of current practice across primary care in the UK. Case studies were selected from mainstream and specialist general practice as well as primary care provision in the third sector. Method: Non-probability sample survey of primary care practitioners (n = 70) with descriptive statistical analysis. Qualitative case studies (n = 8) selected purposively; in-depth exploration of organisational and practitioner adaptations to services. Analysis is structured around the principles of equitable care. Results: Survey results indicated that practitioners focused on working with communities and external agencies and adapting processes of, for example, screening, vaccination, and health checks. Lack of funding was cited most frequently as a barrier to service development (n = 51; 73%). Case studies highlighted the prominence partnership working and of an organisational and practitioner focus on equitable care. Adaptations centred on addressing wider social determinants, trauma, and violence, and additional individual needs; and on delivering culturally-competent care. Conclusion: Despite significant resource constraints, some primary care services are adapting to the needs of new migrants. Many adapted approaches can be characterised as equity-oriented