Prof. Dr. Konrad Vössing

Konrad Vössing focuses on "dependency and militia" in the last century of the Western Roman Empire, in three areas in particular:

1. The Roman tenant farmers (coloni) who were increasingly tied to the land and treated by the landlords as dependents. Their precarious status was nevertheless subject to a wide range of developments, and the question arises what options for action – except for the 'desertio’ – derived from the fact that the agricultural production depended upon them.
2. The power of the landlords over the coloni made it increasingly difficult for the Roman army to fill its ranks from this source. As a consequence, the emperor resorted to non-Roman fighters engaged under contract (foedus) which eventually led to the formation of the late antique 'barbarian’ gentes. These 'foederati’ were at first strongly dependent upon the Roman state, but quickly became autonomous powers – a transition which can likely be elucidated more closely through comparison with similar phenomena in other periods and cultures.
3. Additionally, the relations of dependences within these gentes must be analysed, and one must also question how these structures were transformed in contact with the political and social culture of the Late Roman Empire.

4 books, 5 edited volumes, 85 further scientific papers, 45 reviews. Ca. 20 international lectures and presentations, 10 completed and 8 ongoing doctorates as first and second supervisor, 60 M.A. theses and 20 B.A. theses as supervisor/first reviewer.

2002
Habilitation and Venia legendi in Ancient History, HHU Düsseldorf, Germany

1986–1991
Ph.D. Thesis, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

1978–1984
M.A. Studies in History, Classical Philology and Archaeology, Free University of Berlin, Germany, and Université de Bordeaux III, France

since 2005
Professor for Ancient History, University of Bonn, Germany

1984–2005
Research Associate Positions, University of Berlin, Aachen and Duesseldorf, Germany

2012
Teaching Award of the University of Bonn, Germany

2011
Prix scientifique franco-allemand Gay-Lussac-HumboldtAufklapp-Text

since 2016
together with Prof. Dr. Winfried Schmitz: Head of the DFG-Project (DFG-LIS) "Cataloging and Digitization of the Bonn Papyrus Collection for Long-Term Protection and Provision for the Internet"

since 2016
Subproject Leader of the DFG Collaborative Research Center (SFB 1167) "'Macht' and 'Herrschaft' – Premodern Configurations in a Transcultural Perspective"

since 2013
Associate member of the Graduate School (GRK 1878) "Archeology of Pre-modern Economies"

since 2012
Full member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts, Class of the Humanities

since 2011
Spokesperson (the German side) of the German-French Graduate School of the Franco-German University (Bonn – Strassburg – Berne – Brussels – Luxembourg – Liège) "Foule et intégration dans les sociétés antiques"

2009–2015
Member of the scientific advisory board of the Courant Research Center (Excellence Initiative) EDRIS, University of Göttingen: "Education and Religion: From the Early Imperial Roman Times to the Classical Period of Islam"

2007–2013
Spokesperson of the study group "Clothing and Religion" within the EU Interdisciplinary Research Project "Dress ID Clothing and Identities – New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman Empire"