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Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXIX
Book 29 opens with the judicial terror in Antioch following the discovery of a plot against the emperor in the East, Valens, who played an active role in hunting down and executing the culprits. The account of these internal troubles is balanced by two long chapters at the end of the book dealing with warfare in Africa and Central Europe. The general Theodosius mercilessly crushed the revolt of the Moorish prince Firmus, while the emperor in the West, Valentinian, had to deal with violent invasions of the Quadi and the Sarmatians. The two central chapters are devoted to different aspects of Valentinian’s character, his cruelty on the one hand, his diligence in reinforcing the border defenses on the other.
Notarii and exceptores
In 411 AD an ecclesiastical conference was held in Carthage under the presidency of Flavius Marcellinus, tribunus et notarius. On that occasion exceptores and notarii ecclesiastici acted as shorthand writers. Thus at this conference we meet three species of one genus at different stages of their development: a tribunus et notarius, a high imperial official who, despite his title, probably did not know how to write shorthand; exceptores, minor civil servants working in public offices who were certainly stenographers at the time and notarii ecclesiastici, ecclesiastical bureaucrats whose task at the Carthaginian conference was to assist the exceptores with their work, but who at other times were more like tribuni et notarii. With the situation in 411 AD as a starting point an attempt is made to sketch the role and significance of notarii and exceptores in the Roman Empire, from the Early Principate to circa 450 AD.
Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXVI
Continuing the series of philological and historical commentaries on Ammianus' Res Gestae this volume deals with Book 26, in which the beginning of the reign of Valentinian and Valens is described and the rise and fall of the usurper Procopius.
The Last Pagan Emperor
Flavius Claudius Julianus was the last pagan to sit on the Roman imperial throne (361-363). Born in Constantinople in 331 or 332, Julian was raised as a Christian, but apostatized, and during his short reign tried to revive paganism, which, after the conversion to Christianity of his uncle Constantine the Great early in the fourth century, began losing ground at an accelerating pace. Having become an orphan when he was still very young, Julian was taken care of by his cousin Constantius II, one of Constantine's sons, who permitted him to study rhetoric and philosophy and even made him co-emperor in 355. But the relations between Julian and Constantius were strained from the beginning, and it...
Ammianus after Julian
In Books 26–31 Ammianus Marcellinus deals with the period of the emperors Valentinian and Valens. The representatives of the new dynasty differ greatly from their predecessor Julian, both personally and in their style of government. The Empire is divided between the two rulers, and suffers increasingly from barbarian invasions. Faced with these changes, Ammianus adapts his historical method. His treatment of the events becomes less detailed and more critical. The years following on the death of Julian are painted in dark colours, as the disaster at Hadrianople casts its shadow before. The papers in this volume, on History and Historiography, Literary Composition and Crisis of Empire, were presented during the conference "Ammianus after Julian" held in 2005.
Philological and historical commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus
Continuing the series of philological and historical commentaries on Ammianus' "Res Gestae" this volume deals with Book 26, in which the beginning of the reign of Valentinian and Valens is described and the rise and fall of the usurper Procopius.
Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXXI
This is the final volume in the series of commentaries on Ammianus' Res Gestae. The last book of Ammianus Marcellinus’ Res Gestae is the most important source for a momentous event in European history: the invasion of the Goths across the Danube border into the Roman Empire and the ensuing battle of Adrianople (378 CE), in which a Roman army was annihilated and the emperor Valens lost his life. Many contemporaries were of the opinion that this defeat heralded the decline of the Empire. Ammianus is sharply critical of the way Valens and his generals handled the military situation, but holds on to his belief in the permanence of Roma Aeterna, reminding his readers of earlier crises from which the Empire had recovered and pointing to the incompetence of the barbarians in siege craft.
Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXVII
Book 27 deals with events between 365 and 370. Military operations in the western and eastern half of the Empire take up a large part of the available space. Apart from military matters Ammianus deals with internal affairs. He discusses the terms of office of four Roman urban prefects and paints a picture of Petronius Probus, the mightiest civil official of the period. The most striking part of the book contains a portrait of the emperor Valentinian. This passage forms the centre of the book, which therefore has the structure of a triptych: of the two outer parts each contains military affairs in the West and the East and reports on some notable non-military events, whilst in the central panel Valentinian takes pride of place.
Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXX
The first part of Book 30 of Ammianus Marcellinus’ Res Gestae is devoted to the military and diplomatic struggle for Armenia between Valens, emperor of the East, and king Sapor II of Persia. The Romans successfully defend their position, until they are forced to deal with the Goths who threaten to cross the Danube border. The second half of Book 30 is dominated by Valentinian I, emperor of the West. Ammianus presents a kaleidoscopic picture of this emperor alternating between admiration for his military qualities and devotion to his duty and bitter criticism of his avarice and cruelty. The account of his death forms the conclusion of Ammianus’ treatment of the history of the western half of the Empire.
Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus Set
After the diligent work of P. de Jonge, who wrote commentaries on books 14 -19 from the 1930s till the 1980s, J. den Boeft, D. den Hengst, H.C. Teitler and, starting 1995, J.W. Drijvers have steadily worked on the commentaries to the remaining books 20 - 31 of Ammianus Marcellinus' Res Gestae. Their collaborative work has received much praise in the international scholarly world. With the publication of the Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus volume XXXI, this series has been completed. The entire set is now available in print, containing 18 commentary volumes.
