ABSTRACT
Since the emperor was an absolute monarch, on whose signature every act of government depended, the central administrative offices had to be in constant attendance upon him wherever he might be. The capital of the empire was the emperor’s residence for the time being, and in the fourth century, when the emperors were continually on the move, conducting wars and supervising the defence of the frontiers, the central government, the comitatus, was a migratory body. Constantius II and Valens spent much time at Antioch, the western emperors were often at Trier in Gaul or Sirmium in Pannonia; when in Italy they usually stayed at Milan, but rarely visited Rome. From the end of the fourth century, when the emperors ceased to conduct campaigns in person, the administration became more static. The western emperors normally resided at Ravenna and the eastern at Constantinople.
