Land and Power in the Later Roman World

Land and landownership underpinned the socio-economic fabric of the late Roman world. Land played a defining role in the working of the state and secular elites, providing their revenue and assuring their power over substantial parts of the rural population. The consolidation of the Christian Church as a large landowner was central to the establishment of Christianity as a major social and economic player in this period, as well as a basis for the religious authority of its leaders.

Rights associated with land and control over it were a catalyst for the development of legal principles and fiscal practices that remained influential for centuries. Understanding the close connection between land and power is thus essential, and doing so has prompted scholarly debates in various disciplines, from social and economic history to archaeology and Roman law.

As part of the project Land and Loyalty: the Politics of Land in the Late Roman World, directed by Professor Sebastian Schmidt-Hofner (Tübingen) and Professor Carlos Machado (St Andrews), the conference aims to re-examine the links between land and power in the late Roman world in their legal, socio-economic and material dimensions. By bringing together scholars from different disciplines and academic traditions, the session will survey recent academic developments and hope to establish a comprehensive, interdisciplinary framework for understanding land ownership in the period between 300 and 600 CE.

We are particularly interested in the following questions:

• How was land and its ownership conceptualised in legal and moral terms, and how did this change at a time when the very sources of law were redefined?
• What were the impacts of political and demographic changes on the sociology of landownership?
• How was land managed and exploited, and how did changes to this landscape of property impact wider late antique populations?

Confirmed speakers include Paul Du Plessis, Pierfrancesco Porena, Simona Tarozzi and John Weisweiler.

The conference will take place in Tübingen, Germany. The conference language will be English. Travel and accommodation for speakers will be covered. The papers presented at the conference will be considered for inclusion in an edited volume that aims to map the state of the art in this field.

We are particularly keen on papers by early career scholars working on related topics.

Please submit proposals of around 200 words, together with a one-page CV and an academic weblink if available, to Dr Giordana Franceschini at [email protected] by Sunday 11 January 2026.