A Study On The Relationship Between The Roman Senate And The Emperor During The Theodosian Dynast

The political structure of the late Roman Empire changed significantly compared to the earlier empire.The power of the emperor was greatly increased and the empire became more centralized.The city of Rome was far away from transportation hubs and military locations,and the emperor’s prolonged presence there would not have facilitated the handling of all military and political affairs.Therefore,after the 4th century,the emperor’s prolonged absence from Rome became the norm.This created a great spatial distance between the Roman Senate and the emperor.Such a situation inevitably weakened the political influence of the Roman Senate on the whole empire,but the Senate could still play a role,and at certain special moments the emperor would adopt a cooperative attitude with the Senate.This paper attempts to clarify the complex relationship between the Roman Senate and the emperor in Rome during the Theodosian dynasty.With this goal in mind,the paper is divided into three chapters: Chapter 1 focuses on the political changes and political structure of the late Roman Empire,examining the reasons for the emperor’s prolonged absence from the city of Rome,which is the general context in which the paper unfolds,and then discusses the structural changes within the Roman Senate during this period.The second chapter discusses the political interaction between the Roman Senate and the emperor,examining the several ways in which the Senate produced political connections with the emperor and the core demands of the Roman senatorial nobles,and exploring the special status of the Roman city prefect during this period.The third chapter begins with an introduction to the tradition of patronage of public utilities by senators and emperors,then examines the significance of this tradition for itself,then examines the relationship between the Roman senate and emperor in both competition and cooperation in the patronage of public utilities in the city of Rome,and finally argues that the competition and cooperation between the two was an important factor in the revival of the city of Rome in the fifth century.