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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Friends of Classics and Ancient History,</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">We are delighted to invite you to the fourth presentation of Semester 2, 2025 in our Classics and Ancient History research seminar series.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">September 8th (Monday, 12.15pm UTC+10) V. Gordon Childe Boardroom, Madsen Building Level 2.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Zoom link: <a href="https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/83159864939">https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/83159864939</a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Mark Hebblewhite (Australian Catholic University)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">The Emperor Licinius: Christian Persecutor or rightly suspicious?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Abstract: <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Emperor Licinius (308-324) is one of the most misunderstood figures of Late Antiquity. Suffering from a hostile source tradition regarding his role in key military, administrative and political changes of the age, Licinius’ contributions
are routinely minimised while his interactions with the Christian community are often magnified and distorted. This paper will seek to better understand Licinius’ treatment of Christians while Augustus. First, it will seek to understand Licinius’ own religious
beliefs before assessing what role he played in ending the ‘Great Persecution’ of Diocletian and Galerius. Finally, it will examine claims made by Christian writers that late in his reign Licinius brutally persecuted Christians throughout the East in order
to understand whether their accounts reflect historical reality or simply twist events to echo the propaganda of the Constantinian dynasty.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Biography: <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mark Hebblewhite completed his PhD at Macquarie University in 2012 and has published widely on the ideology and politics of the later Roman Empire, with particular reference to the role of the army. He is currently working on a biography
of the emperor Licinius and is an affiliate researcher at the Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best, Ben</p>
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