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Failure as a Criterion for the Assessment of Emperors and Emperorship
Rene Pfeilschifter, University of Wurzburg, Germany
February 22, 2018 · 4:30 pm—6:00 pm · 010 East Pyne
Program in the Ancient World
![](https://ancientworld.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/08/John_William_Waterhouse_-_The_Favorites_of_the_Emperor_Honorius_-_1883.jpg)
All emperors must die. Preferably after a long and successful reign. But every rule has its setbacks. How often and how big can an emperor lose without being seen as a loser – and his reign as a failure? And if an individual emperor’s reign ends in (or is) a catastrophe what can we learn from this about the institution emperorship? I will analyze these questions in my talk, with examples from the first millennium AD and beyond.