In this interview, David Rockwell discusses his research into the lobbying practices of bankers and other lenders that aimed to influence imperial law-making affecting the economic life of sixth-century Byzantium. He looks at the history of economics and corruption of the period from his unique perspective as a former senior finance and capital markets lawyer in today’s global trading hubs. To listen to the podcast please click here.
This podcast is part of the New Faces, New Ideas series in which Ph.D students in the Department of Medieval Studies talk about their current research and future ambitions.
David Rockwell is an advanced PhD student at the CEU Medieval Studies Department. After more than a quarter-century of legal practice with a leading international law firm, David has at last fulfilled a long-delayed dream of returning to the academy to pursue graduate studies in history. His research focus is on the economic and social history of late antiquity (fourth to sixth century CE), the use of economic models in historiography, the history of regulation of trade and the economy, Byzantine historiography, the emperor Julian, ancient and medieval laws of warfare, and the so-called “barbarian” law codes. David’s dissertation addresses the intersection of banking and corruption in law-making in Justinian’s Constantinople.
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