Originating in a panel at the 2016 Celtic Conference in Classics, this meticulously crafted volume attempts to chart the changes and continuities that took place in the Roman imperial court from the Principate well into Late Antiquity. Drawing on earlier contributions to the field of court studies such as those of Norbert Elias and Jeroen Duindam, it seeks to distinguish between short-term changes and long-term developments through a focus on three main areas: ritual and spatial dynamics, individuals and communities, and the politics of access. Ultimately, the volume demonstrates that the changes that happened were by no means linear, with context-specific adaptations occurring throughout the empire's existence. Continuities also existed, particularly the politics of access and intimacy, though the way such politics played out of course differed depending on time, place and the reigning emperor. The primary difference between the court of the Principate and the later empire is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the increased role of Christianity. But a central idea that pervades the volume is the idea of the Roman court principally and consistently being viewed more as a social community than a physical space, with this broad community being made up of its own individual communities and influence-groups centred on the emperor. The argument is that the emperor both influenced, and was influenced by, the court community in a symbiotic relationship.

The volume takes a case study approach, with chapters discussing material from the reign of Augustus to that of Justinian (and slightly beyond). The case studies either focus on the development of court features over time, or provide studies of specific periods, individuals and officeholders. There is a weighting towards the late antique, with only one chapter (1) focusing primarily on a reign from the Principate and seven (3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) examining the later period. That said, the six chapters discussing long-term phenomena (2, 5, 6, 12, 13, 14) provide ample coverage of the first- to third-century c.e. court, and the late ancient chapters are hardly presented without acknowledgement of what came before.

The volume is bookended by contributions from the editors, firstly introducing the aims and themes and then, in ch. 14, summarising the developments and continuities in the court, while also usefully providing global historical context and parallels with other court systems. The chapters focusing on the long-term development of court features cover imperial guardsmen and ceremonial (Rollinger); the idea of the court as an ‘emotional community’ (Kelly); the role of jurists (Harries); perspectives on imperial accessibility (Icks); and audiences with the emperor (Davenport). The eight remaining contributions rooted in specific periods, events, and places discuss daily interactions in the reign of Antoninus Pius (Michels); cities and palaces during the Tetrarchy (Davenport and Jaeschke); how the late Roman court dealt with the death of an emperor (Becker); regime building in the fourth century (Feeney); the role of magistri militum in the fifth (McEvoy); late Roman imperial women (Busch); Athanasius (and the role of bishops) at the court of Constans (Schulz); and court dynamics and negotiations during the Nestorian Controversy (Slootjes). The volume therefore covers a great deal of ground. A range of individual groups (guards, jurists, generals, women and bishops) and their roles are considered, as are the physical environment, individual interactions, court events and the mechanics of personal relationships and access-politics. Though not the primary subject of a specific chapter, ritual and ceremony are discussed at length in many of them. The breadth of the subjects tied together by the editors certainly gives the volume a comprehensive feel. Though the contributions are undoubtedly highly specialised, each provides useful context for the less well-acquainted, while ch. 14's summative analysis would be especially useful to scholars studying monarchical courts more generally.

As stated, the volume views these areas and their developments through the overarching idea that the court was primarily a social phenomenon. In many respects, the emperors are shown to set the tone for the nature of this community. It is demonstrated that they were able to manipulate the social landscape of the court community directly through official appointments, while their personal behaviour and temperament could even impact the court as an ‘emotional community’. The nature of the court community also changed as the ideal of imperial civilitas gave way to a more deliberately autocratic style of rule over time. From Antoninus’ deliberately modest daily interactions with his courtiers, we move to emperors who are distanced through an increasingly ritualised ceremonial. This impacted their relationship with their courtiers whose roles within the community changed, with guardsmen being used to display overt military might and jurists being utilised as imperial ‘mouthpieces’. Developments in the court's built environment added to this distance, as did the long periods of the fourth century when peripatetic emperors were often far from traditional elites. The rise of Christianity added a new dynamic to the court community, with the influence of bishops and the role of the emperor as mediator in Church affairs coming to the fore. Yet while official roles and the nature of emperor–courtier interactions changed, the fundamental centrality of the politics of access remained constant, as did many of the ideals surrounding it. Another consistent element of the courtly landscape was the fact that the relationship between emperor and courtier was never just a one-way street. Courtiers could influence the dynamics of succession, play the game of access-politics for their own ends and, in the case of imperial women and magistri militum, form public partnerships with the emperor. They, just as much as the emperor, contributed to the construction of ideals and could criticise the ruler for failing to live up to them. By viewing the court through this lens, arguing for a symbiotic relationship between emperor and courtier, the volume grants the possibility for agency to both.

Some readers may wish for greater coverage of the court in the Principate, although as I have suggested already the volume certainly provides ample treatment. And though they are indeed mentioned (in chs 1, 5, 10, 11, 12), the similar roles of court freedmen in the Principate and eunuchs in Late Antiquity might also have deserved greater comment or focus. Ultimately, however, the comprehensiveness of this volume makes it an invaluable reference point for any scholar of the Roman imperial court or those interested in the field of aulic studies more broadly. At a macro level, it provides a clear survey of how the court changed (or did not) over five centuries. Yet it crucially also presents a compelling analysis of how emperor and court functioned as a community. This presentation of the imperial court as primarily a social phenomenon not only furthers our understanding, but, as clearly demonstrated by the ancient evidence presented throughout the volume, brings us in line with how the Romans envisaged it themselves.