Readings in Late Antiquity. A sourcebook

529 Pages·2010·6.51 MB·English

by  Michael Maas

READINGS IN LATE ANTIQUITY
“Thisisawonderfulanthology.Clear,accessible,andvividlyengaging,itpresents
thepanoplyofLateAntiquelifefromeasttowest,fromcitytovillage,fromthe
powerfultothehumble,fromtranscendenthopestoordinaryburdens–aworldto
explore,relish,andponder.”
SusanAshbrookHarvey,BrownUniversity
“Unusuallycomprehensiveandenterprisinginitsselections,thissourcebookwill
giveanentirenewgenerationachoiceandachallenge.”
PeterBrown,PrincetonUniversity
LateAntiquity(c.250–650)witnessedthetransitionfromClassicalAntiquitytothe
MiddleAgesintheMediterraneanandNearEasternworlds.Christianitydisplaced
polytheismoverawidearea,offeringnewdefinitionsofidentityandcommunity.The
Roman Empire collapsed in western Europe to be replaced by new Germanic
kingdoms. In the East, Byzantium emerged, while the Persian Empire reached its
apogeeandcollapsed.ArabarmiescarryingthebannerofIslamreshapedthepolitical
mapandbroughttheLateAntiqueeratoaclose.
This sourcebook illustrates the dramatic political, social and religious trans-
formationsofLateAntiquitythroughthewordsofthemenandwomenwhoexperi-
encedthem.DrawingfromGreek,Latin,Syriac,Hebrew,Coptic,Persian,Arabic,and
Armenian sources, the carefully chosen passages illuminate the lives of emperors,
abbesses, aristocrats, slaves, children, barbarian chieftains, and saints. The Roman
Empireiskeptatthecentreofthediscussion,withchaptersdevotedtoitsgovernment,
cities, army, law, medicine, domestic life, philosophy, and its Jewish population.
Further chapters deal with the peoples who surrounded the Roman state: Persians,
Huns,northernbarbarians,andthefollowersofIslam.
This revised and updated second edition provides an expanded view of Late
Antiquity with a new chapter on domestic life, as well extra material throughout,
includingpassagesthatappearforthefirsttimeinEnglishtranslation. Readingsin
LateAntiquityistheonlysourcebookthatcoverssuchawiderangeoftopicsoverthe
fullbreadthoftheLateAntiqueperiod.
MichaelMaasisProfessorofHistoryandClassicalStudiesatRiceUniversity,USA,
whereheteachesancienthistory.HisresearchfocusesonLateAntiquity.Hismost
recent books are The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (2005) and
ExegesisintheEarlyByzantineMediterranean(2003).
ROUTLEDGESOURCEBOOKSFOR
THEANCIENTWORLD
READINGSINLATEANTIQUITY
Secondedition
MichaelMaas
GREEKANDROMANEDUCATION
MarkJoyal,J.C.YardleyandIainMcDougall
THEREPUBLICANROMANARMY
MichaelM.Sage
THESTORYOFATHENS
PhillipHarding
ROMANSOCIALHISTORY
TimParkinandArthurPomeroy
DEATHINANCIENTROME
ValerieHope
ANCIENTROME
MatthewDillonandLyndaGarland
SEXUALITYINGREEKANDROMANLITERATURE
MargueriteJohnsonandTerryRyan
ATHENIANPOLITICALORATORY
DavidPhillips
POMPEII
AlisonE.CooleyandM.G.L.Cooley
GREEKSCIENCEOFTHEHELLENISTICERA
GeorgiaIrby-MassieandPaulKeyser

WOMENANDLAWINTHEROMANEMPIRE
JudithEvansGrubbs
WARFAREINANCIENTGREECE
MichaelM.Sage
READINGSINLATEANTIQUITY
MichaelMaas
THEGOVERNMENTOFTHEROMANEMPIRE
BarbaraLevick
PAGANSANDCHRISTIANSINLATEANTIQUITY
A.D.Lee
ANCIENTGREECE
Secondedition
MatthewDillonandLyndaGarland
ANCIENTGREEKLAWS
IliasArnaoutoglou

TRIALSFROMCLASSICALATHENS
ChristopherCarey
GREEKANDROMANTECHNOLOGY
JohnHumphrey,JohnOlesonandAndrewSherwood
ROMANITALY388BC–AD200
KathrynLomas
THEROMANARMY31BC–AD337
BrianCampbell
THEROMANHOUSEHOLD
JaneF.GardnerandThomasWiedemann
ATHENIANPOLITICS
G.R.Stanton
GREEKANDROMANSLAVERY
ThomasWiedemann
FORTHCOMING:
ANCIENTGREECE
Thirdedition
MatthewDillonandLyndaGarland
ANCIENTCITYOFROME
ChristopherSmith,J.C.N.Coulston,HazelDodge
WOMENOFTHEANCIENTNEAREAST
MarkChavalas
GREEKRELIGION
EmmaStaffordandKarenStears

READINGS IN
LATE ANTIQUITY
A Sourcebook
Second edition
Michael Maas
Firstpublished2000
byRoutledge
Reprinted2003
Thissecondeditionpublished2010by

Routledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada
byRoutledge
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RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2000,2010MichaelMaas
TherightofMichaelMaastobeidentifiedastheAuthorofthisWork
hasbeenassertedbyhiminaccordancewiththeCopyright,Designsand
PatentsAct1988
TypesetinTimesNewRomanby
Keystroke,Tettenhall,Wolverhampton
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproduced
orutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,
nowknownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,
orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissionin
writingfromthepublishers.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationData
Maas,Michael,1951–
Readingsinlateantiquity:asourcebook/MichaelMaas.
p.cm.
“SimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanada”–T.p.verso.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindexes.
1.Rome–History–Empire,284–476–Sources.2.ByzantineEmpire–Civilization–To
527–Sources.3.ByzantineEmpire–Civilization–527–1081–Sources.I.Title.
DG78.M222009
937′.06–dc22
2009042117
ISBN10:0–415–47336–5(hbk)
ISBN10:0–415–47337–3(pbk)
ISBN13978–0–415–47336–1(hbk)
ISBN13978–0–415–47337–8(pbk)
CONTENTS
Mapsxliii
Introductiontothefirsteditio n lxiii
Introductiontothesecondeditio n lxvii
Acknowledgmentslxix
Chronologylxxi
LateAntiquerulerslxxv
Permissionslxxxiii
1 TheRomanEmpire:rulerandadministration1
2 Cities37
3 TheRomanarmy78
4 Christianity110
5 Polytheism174
6 Jews201
7 Women224
8 Domesticlife240
9 Law285
10Medicine297
11Philosophy311
12SasanianPersia327
13Invadersandsuccessorstates345
14 SteppepeoplesandSlavs371
15 Islam387
Appendix:LateAntiquityonthe Web408
Indexofancientsources410
Index416
vii
EXTENDED CONTENTS
AlistofpassagesnewtothesecondeditionmaybefoundontheRoutledge
website: http://www.routledge.com/books/Readings-in-Late-Antiquity-isbn
9780415473378
1 TheRomanEmpire:rulerandadministr ation 1
1.1 Introduction1
1.2 Theemperorandtheimperialoffi ce 2
1.2.1Theemperorcomestotown2
AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, HISTORY 16.10.5–10
AMMIANUSMARCELLINUS,HISTORY22.2.3–5
1.2.2Imperialacclamations3
THEODOSIAN CODE, “MINUTES OF THE SENATE,” 5
1.2.3Courtritual5
CYRILOFSCYTHOPOLIS,LIFEOFSABAS71
1.2.4Cautiousadviceforanall-powerfu lmonarch5
AGAPETUS, EXPOSITION 1, 2, 30, 35, 37
1.2.5Theemperor’sroleinwarandpeac e6
SYNESIUS OF CYRENE, ON KINGSHIP 16
1.2.6Rulercult7
GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, ORATION 4.80
1.2.7Theemperorastheembodiment oflaw7
THEMISTIUS, ORATION 19 (227D, 228A)
1.2.8TheChristianemperorlooksto heaven8
EUSEBIUS, LIFE OF CONSTANTINE 4.15
1.2.9Theimageoftheemperor8
THEOPHILUS, A HOMILY ON THE VIRGIN
1.2.10Theimperialrighttointerfereinc hurchaffairs9
OSSIUS OF CORDOBA, LETTER TO CONSTANTIUS II,
QUOTED BY ATHANASIUS, HISTORY OF THE ARIANS 44, 6–8
viii
EXTENDED CONTENTS
1.2.11Theemperoraspriest–Justinian’sview9
JUSTINIAN, NOVEL 6 (MARCH 6, 535)
1.2.12ChallengingJustinian’sinterferenc einchurchaffairs10
FACUNDUS OF HERMIONE, IN DEFENSE OF THE THREE
CHAPTERS 12.3
1.2.13Theemperorasthesourceofinst ability10
PROCOPIUS, SECRET HISTORY 3.1 AND 5.1
1.3 Imperialadministration11

1.3.1Diocletian’sreforms11
LACTANTIUS, ON THE DEATH OF THE PERSECUTORS 7.1–8
1.3.2Anableemperorreliesonhisadvisorycouncil12
AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, HISTORY 15.5.12–14
1.3.3Atopofficial’sclosetiestothemona rch 13
CASSIODORUS, DOCUMENTS 6.5
1.3.4Ahierarchyofadministratorssupervisedb ytheemperor14
THEODOSIAN CODE 1.15.1
1.3.5Entrancerequirementsforthebureaucracy15
THEODOSIAN CODE 7.2.1
1.3.6Thehonorofservingtheemperor15
THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY 16.48
1.3.7Bishopsintheimperialadminist ration15
JUSTINIAN, EDICT 1, PREFACE
1.3.8Accesstotheemperorforallcitizens16
THEODOSIAN CODE 1.5.1
1.3.9Anewaristocracyofservice17
BASIL OF CAESAREA, LETTER 299
1.3.10Corruptionandsufferingintheprovinces 17
JOHN LYDUS, ON THE MAGISTRACIES OF THE ROMAN
STATE 3.59
1.3.11ApictureoftheRomanEmpire18
EUMENIUS, FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE SCHOOLS .20–.21
1.3.12TheconditionanduseofRomanroad s 19
THEODOSIAN CODE 15.3.4
ix