Dialogus de scientia politica
10.09.2026 H13:30-19:30
11.09.2026 H09:00-12:30
10.09.2026 H13:30-19:30
11.09.2026 H09:00-12:30
Dialogus de scientia politica
Prerequisites, Forms, Contents and Impacts of a Treatise on Political Theory in Late Antiquity
REGISTRATION HERE TO PARTICIPATE 10.09.2026
REGISTRATION HERE TO PARTICIPATE 11.09.2026
Organised in collaboration with the Heidelberg University and the University of Zurich | UZH
The conference will be held in Italian and English
Based on the Dialogus de scientia politica, the planned conference will examine theoretical foundations of the Later Roman state by exploring conceptions of monarchical rule and ideals of just governance, drawing on Platonic theory and ideals of Roman constitutional thought. The conference will then focus on the possible author, the text’s intended audience and the form of the work itself. Finally, the analysis will look at the relationship between the emperor and various acceptance groups within the Roman state, i.e. the senate, the army, the citizens of Constantinople and the Church. In doing so, the conference will shed new light on a highly interesting and relevant text for the better understanding of Justinian’s I reign and political thought in the Later Roman Empire against the backdrop of ongoing scholarly endeavors.
PROGRAMME:
DAY 1
H13:30 Welcome and introduction
H13:30-15:15 Section Ia: Theoretical premises and intellectual influences
Chair: Umberto Roberto (Naples)
The Place of the Dialogus in Justinianic Political Debates
Marion Kruse (Cincinnati)
Why a philosopher-king should be bound by laws. The Justinianic Dialogue On Political Science as a synthesis of Platonic political thought
René de Nicolay (Paris)
H15:15-15:45 Break
H15:45-18:00 Section Ib: Theoretical premises and intellectual influences
Chair: Umberto Roberto (Naples)
“Watered from the Springs of Knowledge”: The (Neo)Platonic Statecraft of the Dialogus de Scientia Politica
Sonsoles Costero-Quiroga (Madrid)
Law and its context in the Dialogus de scientia politica
Sebastian Schmidt-Hofner (Tübingen)
The Dialogue’s ideas on kingship in context: Situating its political theory in the rulership discourse of late antiquity
Jan Stenger (Würzburg)
H18:15-19:15 Culture politiche in movimento: incontri tra Occidente e Oriente
Laura Mecella (Milano)
DAY 2
H09:00-12:00 Section II: The importance of public acceptance groups
Chair: Rene Pfeilschifter (Würzburg)
Concepts of senate(s), then and now
Muriel Moser (Münster)
«For those who cultivate military science» – The Dialogue on military matters
Theresia Raum (Berlin)
The relationship between church and empire in the Dialogus and in the Justinianic reality
Silvio Roggo (Frankfurt)
The Factions, the Aristocracy, and the Politics of Fear in the Dialogue on Political Science
Matthew Hassall (Liverpool)
H12:00-12:30 Final discussion
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