134 Radtki
from the royal court in Ravenna. A reason for this senatorial behaviour can be
found in the fact that it opened up the possibility to exert political influence
over regions where the basis of their financial background, their own prop-
erty, was concentrated. The great extent of senatorial properties, along with
the need for a considerable number of servants to maintain them, contributed
to their importance. The size of the land the senators owned can be explained
by their social and political needs: land was the basis for funding political
careers, as seen with the family of Flavius Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius.
His sons were designated consuls continuously one after the other and Basilius
had to pay for four consular games within sixteen years. If the financial resource
of property had not been available, some less-established families would have
found it difficult to meet the conditions of a politically active life.
Given the financial profile of these great families, the Ostrogothic kings
plausibly needed their collaboration in order to ensure the stability of Italy’s
economy and administration.88 When nominating senators for certain posi-
tions, Theoderic without doubt took their economic position and importance
into consideration; likewise, senatorial political engagement was often deter-
mined by economic needs. From an overall perspective, a division of posses-
sions into two regions can be pointed out. While the established families were
mainly based in the region of Rome, the homines novi possessed estates in the
north with a focus in Liguria.89 This division into roughly northern and south-
ern enclaves of the senatorial elite was one of the main reasons for antagonism
within the order. Such friction was visible in the case of the Laurentian schism
and would be seen again in the affair regarding Boethius and Symmachus in
the early 520s.
Theoderic and the Senatorial Elite
In the early period of Theoderic’s reign the Amal king followed a policy of
promotion of members of the established families that was very similar to
Odovacer’s practices. It is likely that the senatorial elite had shifted its all-
egiences from supporting Odovacer to supporting Theoderic following his vic-
tory at the Adda in August 490, when several senators offered themselves to the
88 For examples see Arnold, Theoderic, pp. 195f.
89 This controversially discussed term should be used in the broader way suggested by
Schäfer to describe less-established families, see Schäfer, Der weströmische Senat, pp. 170f.