The Historians of Late Antiquity

333 Pages·2002·0.92 MB·English

by  David Rohrbacher

THE HISTORIANS OF
LATE ANTIQUITY
The fourth and fifth centuries AD were an era of religious conflict,
political change, and military struggle. The responses of
contemporary historians to these turbulent times reflect their diverse
backgrounds—they were both Christian and pagan, writing in
Greek and Latin, and documenting church and state.
This volume is the first accessible survey of the lives and works of
these historians. Chapters 1–12 explore the structure, style, purpose,
and nature of their writings. Chapters 13–19 compare and contrast
the information they provide, and the views they express, on topics
central to the period. These range from historiography, government,
and religion to barbarian invasions, and the controversial emperors
Julian ‘The Apostate’ and Theodosius I.
This much-needed introductory work is an invaluable guide and
reference tool for the study of late antiquity.
David Rohrbacher is Assistant Professor of Classics at New College
of Florida, Sarasota, Florida.

THE HISTORIANS
OF LATE
ANTIQUITY
David Rohrbacher
London and New York
First published 2002
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.
© 2002 David Rohrbacher
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-45875-3 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-76699-7 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-20458-5 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-20459-3 (pbk)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
1 Ammianus Marcellinus 14
2 Aurelius Victor 42
3 Eutropius 49
4 Festus 59
5 Eunapius 64
6 Olympiodorus 73
7 Priscus 82
8 Rufinus 93
9 Socrates 108
10 Sozomen 117
11 Theodoret 126
12 Orosius 135
13 Historiography 150
v
CONTENTS
14 Government 163
15 The Roman past 179
16 Religion 188
17 Barbarians 207
18 The emperor Julian (the Apostate) 237
19 The emperor Theodosius I (the Great) 274
Bibliography 289
Index 307
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people aided me in the writing of this book. I thank Richard
Stoneman and Catherine Bousfield at Routledge for their patience.
The completion of the manuscript was aided by a grant from the
Division of Sponsored Research at the University of South Florida.
Thanks are also due to Holly Barone, Ed Foster, and the staff at
interlibrary loan at New College of Florida and the University of
South Florida, the Department of Classics and Ancient History at
the University of Durham, Anne Ankers and the staff at Hatfield
College, my colleagues in the Department of Classics at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the staff at interlibrary loan
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, my colleagues and
students at New College of Florida, Michael Clater and the staff of
the library at Clearwater Christian College, Katherine Maynard,
Leo Allen, Jared and Casey Wilson, Julie Hayward, Donn D’Alessio,
and my mother and father. This book, like so many other things,
suffers from the absence of the discriminating eye of my father-in-
law, Paul Latowsky, who passed away during its preparation.
I owe an incalculable debt to my wife, Anne, who edited the
manuscript and suffered with me through its creation. I dedicate this
book to her, with thanks and love.

vii
ABBREVIATIONS
Amm. Ammianus of Marcellinus
Aug. Augustine of Hippo
cod. codex (book)
Cod. Th. Codex Theodosianus (Theodosian Code)
comm. ad Ezech. Commentarium ad Ezechiel (Commentary on
the book of Ezechiel)
comm. ad Zach. Commentarium ad Zacbariam (Commentary on the
book of Zachariah)
dem. evang. Demonstratio Evangelica (The Proof of the Gospel)
ep. epistula (letter)
Eun. Eunapius
Eus. Eusebius of Caesarea
Eut. Eutropius
Fest. Festus
fr. fragmentum (fragment)
HE Historia Ecclesiastica (Church History)
hist. relig. Historia Religiosa (History of the Monks)
ILS H.Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae
Jer. Jerome
KG Kaisergeschichte
Jul. Julian
or. oratio (oration)
pref. preface
Ruf. Rufinus
scr. orig. const. T.Preger, Scriptores Originum Constantinopolitianarum
Soc. Socrates
Soz. Sozomen
Sym. Symmachus
Theod. Theodoret
Vell. Pat. Velleius Paterculus
Vic. Aurelius Victor
vir. ill. De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men)
Zos. Zosimus

viii
INTRODUCTION
Interest in late antiquity has increased dramatically in recent
decades, and the profusion of scholarly work on the subject shows
no sign of abating. The scope of “late antiquity” itself has
undergone an expansion both chronologically and geographically.
Events as early as the second and as late as the tenth centuries have
been described as “late antique,” as have events in the histories of
Iran, Africa, and Arabia. This book takes a comparatively restricted
view of the term “late antique,” treating only what seems still to be
the core of the late antiquity, the fourth and fifth centuries in the
Roman empire. During these two centuries, the empire became
Christian, and the political unity of the Mediterranean was
sundered by the end of imperial rule over the western provinces.
(Useful modern introductions to the period include Jones 1964,
1966; Brown 1971; Cameron 1993a, 1993b; Bowersock et al.
1999.)
Scholarly interpretations of the transformations which took place
during late antiquity have been altered by the continual
accumulation of new sources of information, such as new
archaeological exploration and analysis. Just as important as the
new data, however, have been changes in attitude and perspective.
What had once been seen only as a melancholy time of “Decline and
Fall” is now more likely to be celebrated for its new and innovative
approaches to religion, art, and culture. Modern judgements on late
antiquity are certain to be influenced by modern sentiments about
Christianity, empire, and multiculturalism. This study seeks not to
pass new judgement on this complex period, but to better illuminate
how it was perceived by those living and writing at the time.
1