For a conference that will be held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 13 to 15 November 2025, we are inviting abstracts for papers on government involvement and concern for population well-being in later Antiquity (3rd-6th century AD). Selected papers from the conference will be collected in an edited volume on the conference theme.
Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)
Clifford Ando (Chicago), Philip Bosman (Stellenbosch), Ernst Conradie (Western Cape), Elsemieke Daalder (Muenster), Carlos Machado (St-Andrews), Nadia Marais (Stellenbosch), Bronwen Neil (Macquarie), Alan Ross (Ohio State), Chiara Thumiger (Kiel), Lieve Van Hoof (Ghent), Ursula Westwood (Stellenbosch), Matthijs Zoeter (Ghent).
Pagan as well as Christian authors in Antiquity recognized the important role of the government in ensuring the well-being of its population. Cicero famously stated:
“When the best men rule the state, the citizens must necessarily enjoy the greatest happiness, being freed from all cares and worries” (Rep. 1.34.52).
Similarly, Augustine asked in his City of God:
“Is it reasonable, is it sensible to boast of the extent and grandeur of empire, when you cannot show that men lived in happiness, as they passed their lives amid the horrors of war, amid the shedding of men’s blood – whether the blood of enemies or fellow-citizens – under the shadow of fear and amid the terror of ruthless ambition?” (4.3).
While the areas of responsive governance and individual happiness have attracted considerable scholarly attention, the role of the Roman government in population well-being remains underexplored.
This conference aims to address this gap by bringing together papers that examine the state’s (actual and imagined) role in ensuring economic, physical, mental, social, and environmental well-being in the later Roman Empire. We invite contributions on two key themes:
For more information or to submit an abstract (approximately 300 words), please contact
Matthijs Zoeter at matthijs.zoeter@ugent.be by February 28, 2025.