Tuesday 27th April at 7.30 p.m. (on Zoom)

Dr Rebecca Usherwood (Trinity College Dublin)

How to retire (if you’re a Roman emperor)

On the 1st May 305, Diocletian and Maximian, who had ruled the Roman Empire together for twenty years, abdicated. This was an action without precedent in Roman history, and a radical departure from an emperor’s normal career trajectory. This lecture considers both this event and its aftermath in comparison to recent abdication events, such as Beatrix of the Netherlands and Pope Benedict XVI. How can such a transition be explained to public? What issues might the continued existence of abdicated rulers cause to their successors, and the stability of the state in more general?

Booking Link: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/cai-dublin-branch-lecture-dr-rebecca-usherwood-27th-april-730-pm-tickets-149400532013

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