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IMC 2012: Sessions

Session 830: Rules of Violence, IV: The (Organised, Staged, or Predictable) Violent Death of the Individual in Late Antiquity

Tuesday 10 July 2012, 16.30-18.00

Organiser:Cora Dietl, Institut für Germanistik, Justus-Liebig-Universität, Gießen
Moderator/Chair:Cora Dietl, Institut für Germanistik, Justus-Liebig-Universität, Gießen
Paper 830-aMurder in the Palace: Violent Eliminations of Political Opponents in Late Antiquity
(Language: English)
Guido M. Berndt, Lehrstuhl für Alte Geschichte, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Military History, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 830-bBeasts, Burning, and Beheading: Show Executions in Late Antiquity
(Language: English)
Ralph Mathisen, Department of History, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Paper 830-cMilitary Careers and Their Violent Ends in the 5th and 6th Centuries
(Language: English)
Roland Steinacher, Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien
Abstract

The very end of violence, the death of the individual, often does not occur occasionally, but is either planned or staged or it is at least predictable, i.e. it follows a set of rules. Those, however, aren't universal, but subject to cultural settings. The papers of this session analyse different cases of the violent destruction of marked individuals (political opponents, criminals, military leaders and heroes) in Late Antiquity. Two of the major questions of the papers concern the function of openly displayed violence and the relationship between fortuna, justice and politics.