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Rituals and Focal Points in Byzantium under the Emperor Justinian I

Author

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  • Constantine Bourlakis

    (Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Athens University of Economics and Business)

Abstract

Adoption of rituals within a society results in the reinforcement or the inculcation of shared beliefs and values. Following Schelling (1960), when persons are confronted with coordination problems often seem to do surprisingly well when focal points provide to them a point of convergence for individual expectations. I argue in the present paper that Emperor Justinian I (482 CE - 565 CE) in Byzantium followed a set of carefully chosen strategic decisions essential to promote social coordination, and with the aim to convert the city of Constantinople into a strong focal point of religious rituals. Emperor Justinian I in the spirit taken initially by the founder of the City of Constantinople Emperor Constantine?s I (272 CE - 337 CE), and more or less by all of Justinian I predecessors, had to solve a coordination problem among rational players throughout the empire. The rebuilding of the third Church of St Sophia (?Hagia Sophia?) in 562 CE following the Nika revolt in 532 CE, the protection of the property rights of the Christian church including its clergy and its monasteries, alongside the exploitation of the administrative organizational structure of the Christian church that existed within the empire, and the emperor?s stance that unity of faith is a precondition for the unity of the empire, created a strong focal point of religious rituals away from the Holy Land.

Suggested Citation

  • Constantine Bourlakis, 2015. "Rituals and Focal Points in Byzantium under the Emperor Justinian I," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 3105279, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    • Handle: RePEc:sek:iacpro:3105279
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    File URL: https://iises.net/proceedings/20th-international-academic-conference-madrid/table-of-content/detail?cid=31&iid=015&rid=5279
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coyne, Christopher J. & Mathers, Rachel L., 2011. "Rituals: An economic interpretation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(1-2), pages 74-84, April.
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    3. Ekelund Jr., Robert B. & Tollison, Robert D., 2011. "Economic Origins of Roman Christianity," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226200026, January.
    4. Peter Leeson & Christopher Coyne & Peter Boettke, 2006. "Converting social conflict: Focal points and the evolution of cooperation," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 137-147, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economics of Religion; Christianity; Church; Focal Points; Rituals; Economic History;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B11 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Preclassical (Ancient, Medieval, Mercantilist, Physiocratic)
    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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