New Article by Dr Byron Waldron Accepted in “Studies in Late Antiquity”

We are proud to announce that Dr Byron Waldron, post-doctoral researcher in our ERC project Group Minds in Ancient Narrative, has had his article officially accepted for publication in the journal Studies in Late Antiquity. The article is titled:

“The Dyarchy, the Tetrarchy, and Group Minds”

This achievement marks another milestone in the strong productivity of our research team, demonstrating the breadth and originality of scholarship emerging from the project.

In this article, Dr Waldron explores how the Roman regimes of the Dyarchy (Diocletian and Maximian) and the Tetrarchy (the college of four emperors) can be understood through the lens of group minds theory. He shows that ancient representations of co-rule—whether in coins, monuments, panegyrics, or legislation—frequently depicted the emperors as sharing a single will, mind, or intention. From images of rulers embracing to panegyrics describing them as ruling “with one mind,” Dr Waldron demonstrates that contemporaries interpreted these imperial colleges as more than a collection of individuals: they were presented as cognitively and emotionally unified agents.

This interdisciplinary approach—bridging cognitive theory with Late Antique political culture—offers a fresh perspective on how Romans understood power-sharing and stability after the turbulence of the third century. It argues that the fusion of imperial personalities, their shared intentionality, and the ascription of collective agency were central to conveying the strength and unity of the empire.

We are convinced that this article represents an important contribution to both the study of Late Antiquity and the wider field of collective cognition. It provides a new framework for appreciating how ancient societies conceived of leadership, authority, and collective responsibility.

Stay tuned—we will share the official link to the published article as soon as it becomes available.