Social clustering in 5th-c. Constantinople: the evidence of the Notitia

Abstract

Clustering of residents of similar social status, ethnic or religious identity, or geographical origin into distinct areas of a city is a “common, but by no means universal, attribute of urban neighborhoods”. Different cities within a single culture and era exhibit diversity in the occurrence and nature of clustering: “there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ pattern of clustering within, say, Medieval cities or Islamic cities”.The existence and nature of clustering in Roman cities have rarely been the object of systematic study, and most contributions have focused on textual evidence for clustering in the city of Rome. A recent consideration of Rome under the Principate findsno evidence for strong clustering along social lines. The evidence points rather to the reverse: social mixing, at all levels.Similarly, a study of the neighborhoods of Augustan Rome observes that,although areas of the city might develop reputations as more or less desirable, ancient Rome was not generally segregated by class. Apartment buildings for poorer residents existed alongside the houses of more affluent residents in almost every quarter of the city.