Mariana Bodnaruk – författare

Empire of Elites investigates the self-representation of the late Roman senatorial aristocracy in epigraphic evidence to illuminate the cultural, social, and political dynamics of the Later Roman Empire. In the Roman hierarchy, the senatorial order stood above all social strata. By examining aristocratic inscriptions and materiality – supplemented by art identified as senatorial and contextualized within contemporary literature – the study situates the self-image of the empire’s highest-ranking elites within the broader context of fourth-century imperial society.Arguing that the ideological portrayals of the late antique aristocracy reflect an artistic perception of social totality in cultural form, the book moves beyond analyses of elite dominance in the imperial state to address wider cultural and social transformations as mediated through epigraphy and art. It explores how the late imperial rule transformed the role of senators in governance, drawing on archaeological, inscriptional, and textual evidence to reveal the political, social, and cultural impact of transregional senatorial officeholders. This study demonstrates how the integrated relationship between state and aristocracy shaped the administration and government of the empire, offering new insights into the interplay of power, representation, and culture in the late Roman world.This book will appeal to scholars and students of Roman political and cultural history, administrative elites, institutional evolution, and the comparative study of premodern government. It will also be of interest to specialists in Latin and Greek epigraphy and literature, as well as late antique art, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on the social imagination and cultural expression of the late Roman aristocracy.

This anthology foregrounds the complex interplay of artistic production, material conditions, and political conjuncture in East Roman Empire and the wider Orthodox Commonwealth. While art-historical research has long been shaped by the “visual” and “spatial” turns, this volume insists that a decisive advance lies in engaging the “material turn” through a perspective that grounds artworks in their historically specific material conditions rather than as autonomous agents. By interrogating how artworks emerge within historically specific material realities, this book situates epigraphy, image, and monument within the lived economies, institutions, and belief systems of the medieval East Roman world.The collection’s four sections map the many sites where matter and meaning intersect. Part I probes inscribed monuments in their urban settings, attending to staging, accessibility, and reception. Part II examines the construction of imperial, aristocratic, and ecclesiastical representation across diverse media. Part III turns to portrayals of imperial, lay, and churchwomen, exploring how gendered agency was mediated in sacred and secular spheres. Part IV expands the horizon to Armenia, Georgia, and Northern Mesopotamia, reframing center-periphery narratives through a transregional lens. An epilogue synthesizes these inquiries, showing how current approaches in art history theorize materiality.Aimed at scholars of Byzantine art, epigraphy, material culture, and interdisciplinary cultural studies, this volume also speaks to historians of late antiquity, medievalists, and specialists in visual studies. It offers fresh methodological insight, rigorous case studies, and a comparative reach that redefines how we understand the material and ideological contexts of art in the medieval Eastern Mediterranean.

Empire of Elites investigates the self-representation of the late Roman senatorial aristocracy in epigraphic evidence to illuminate the cultural, social, and political dynamics of the Later Roman Empire. In the Roman hierarchy, the senatorial order stood above all social strata. By examining aristocratic inscriptions and materiality - supplemented by art identified as senatorial and contextualized within contemporary literature - the study situates the self-image of the empire's highest-ranking elites within the broader context of fourth-century imperial society.Arguing that the ideological portrayals of the late antique aristocracy reflect an artistic perception of social totality in cultural form, the book moves beyond analyses of elite dominance in the imperial state to address wider cultural and social transformations as mediated through epigraphy and art. It explores how the late imperial rule transformed the role of senators in governance, drawing on archaeological, inscriptional, and textual evidence to reveal the political, social, and cultural impact of transregional senatorial officeholders. This study demonstrates how the integrated relationship between state and aristocracy shaped the administration and government of the empire, offering new insights into the interplay of power, representation, and culture in the late Roman world.This book will appeal to scholars and students of Roman political and cultural history, administrative elites, institutional evolution, and the comparative study of premodern government. It will also be of interest to specialists in Latin and Greek epigraphy and literature, as well as late antique art, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on the social imagination and cultural expression of the late Roman aristocracy.

Empire of Elites investigates the self-representation of the late Roman senatorial aristocracy in epigraphic evidence to illuminate the cultural, social, and political dynamics of the Later Roman Empire. In the Roman hierarchy, the senatorial order stood above all social strata. By examining aristocratic inscriptions and materiality - supplemented by art identified as senatorial and contextualized within contemporary literature - the study situates the self-image of the empire's highest-ranking elites within the broader context of fourth-century imperial society.Arguing that the ideological portrayals of the late antique aristocracy reflect an artistic perception of social totality in cultural form, the book moves beyond analyses of elite dominance in the imperial state to address wider cultural and social transformations as mediated through epigraphy and art. It explores how the late imperial rule transformed the role of senators in governance, drawing on archaeological, inscriptional, and textual evidence to reveal the political, social, and cultural impact of transregional senatorial officeholders. This study demonstrates how the integrated relationship between state and aristocracy shaped the administration and government of the empire, offering new insights into the interplay of power, representation, and culture in the late Roman world.This book will appeal to scholars and students of Roman political and cultural history, administrative elites, institutional evolution, and the comparative study of premodern government. It will also be of interest to specialists in Latin and Greek epigraphy and literature, as well as late antique art, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on the social imagination and cultural expression of the late Roman aristocracy.

This anthology foregrounds the complex interplay of artistic production, material conditions, and political conjuncture in East Roman Empire and the wider Orthodox Commonwealth. While art-historical research has long been shaped by the "e;visual"e; and "e;spatial"e; turns, this volume insists that a decisive advance lies in engaging the "e;material turn"e; through a perspective that grounds artworks in their historically specific material conditions rather than as autonomous agents. By interrogating how artworks emerge within historically specific material realities, this book situates epigraphy, image, and monument within the lived economies, institutions, and belief systems of the medieval East Roman world.The collection's four sections map the many sites where matter and meaning intersect. Part I probes inscribed monuments in their urban settings, attending to staging, accessibility, and reception. Part II examines the construction of imperial, aristocratic, and ecclesiastical representation across diverse media. Part III turns to portrayals of imperial, lay, and churchwomen, exploring how gendered agency was mediated in sacred and secular spheres. Part IV expands the horizon to Armenia, Georgia, and Northern Mesopotamia, reframing center-periphery narratives through a transregional lens. An epilogue synthesizes these inquiries, showing how current approaches in art history theorize materiality.Aimed at scholars of Byzantine art, epigraphy, material culture, and interdisciplinary cultural studies, this volume also speaks to historians of late antiquity, medievalists, and specialists in visual studies. It offers fresh methodological insight, rigorous case studies, and a comparative reach that redefines how we understand the material and ideological contexts of art in the medieval Eastern Mediterranean.