The Later Roman Empire: A.D. 354-378

Even the most confirmed buffs of ancient or medieval history generally take a while to get around to reading Ammianus. Part of the problem may be that his history falls into the transition period between the ancient and medieval worlds, and thus lies outside the principal sphere of interest for dedicated students of either period. Another problem is that of the the four Roman emperors who dominate this history - Constantius II, Julian, Valentinian I and Valens - only the second is a particularly sympathetic character. No matter. This history covers a fascinating epoch - the hinge between the ancient and medieval worlds - and it is full of both intriguing details and unforgettably vivid set pieces, many of which are derived from the author's own personal experience. Ammianus Marcellinus was an emblematic figure of these transitional times - a Greek army officer who wrote his history in Latin; a man of the east, born in Antioch, who spent most of his military career facing the Persians along the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, but who finished his life as a man of letters in Rome itself; and a pagan who viewed the rise of Christianity with detached objectivity. The quarter century covered by the surviving books of his history - the years 354 to 378 A.D. - begins with the Roman Empire in its late antique heyday. The Empire is still the greatest military power of its time, but is wasting its strength in massive civil wars. At the beginning of Ammianus's narrative, the Empire's main external enemy is still Persia, but his history covers the critical years in which the Roman frontier defenses in the west first began to show signs of cracking under the pressure of the German tribes east of the Rhine. His history recounts the final years of the competent, but superstitious and insecure, emperor Constantius II, the last surviving son of Constantine the Great; the rise in the west of Julian ("the Apostate"), who succeeds his cousin Constantius in 361 and launches two quixotic and ill-starred enterprises -- his attempt to restore paganism as the official faith of the Empire and a massive invasion of Persia that ends with his own death; and the beginning of the divided rule of the Empire under the two brothers Valentinian I and Valens. Ammianus's history closes on a night of blood and fire with the appalling Roman defeat by the Visigoths and Ostrogoths on the plains of Thrace near Adrianople - a portentous event that would lead, in less than a third of a century, to the fall of Rome itself. For the first ten years covered by his history, Ammianus was serving as an intelligence officer on the general staff of the Roman Army of the East. He was an interesting personality: a military man with an intellectually curious and wide-ranging mind; an unsentimental realist about human nature, but intensely loyal to those he respected; and a man who could pay appropriate tribute to those whom politics or international rivalries made his enemies. These

Ammianus Marcellinus handles the vicissitudes of the later Roman Empire with an eloquence and timeless lore that matches that of his predecessors Livy, Suetonius, and Tacitus. He is not unfamiliar to those who study the ancient world of late antiquity because of the priceless information he provides and the fact that he is one of the few to actually encounter and document facts as they occurred either through personal experience or by the testimonies of his contemporaries. Ammianus was a Greek by descent yet born in Syria, and later became somewhat of an influence in the Roman military. His account of the incursions with the barbarians and persians is very detailed, elaborate, and laced with irony - traits that the great historians were all accustomed to. Ammianus' treatment of the Caesar's: Gallus, Constantius, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian, and Valen's is fair and nearly free from partialty - there is speculation as to whether or not he came in contact with any of the Caesar's. He was a pagan and of course an admirer of the pagan Emperor Julian - this left an impression upon the great historian Edward Gibbon whose prose and sentiments complement Ammianus' in so many fashions. Ammianus never penetrates into the intestinal matters of ecclesiastical affairs, but only mentions Christianity a few times, and this is practically free from bias. Overall as a source to gain a better understanding of the later Roman world with its valiant emperors, frequent internal disasters, military prowess and defeat, and decaying social strata in general, Ammianus Marcellinus' history is the most reliable...the value of this history must not be underestimated.

There are very few Western accounts that cover the final decades of the Roman Empire, but Ammianus Marcellinus provides modern-day readers with a gem from the late 4th Century AD. Marcellinus, an ethnic Greek who served as a staff officer in the Roman army, attempted to pick up where Tacitus left off in writing a comprehensive history of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, only the sections of his work that covers the years 354-378 AD has survived. However, even the remaining account provides vibrant insight into the declining years of the Roman Empire. .... Marcellinus vividly describes the bitter realities of unlimited warfare to the death. He also participated in Julian's campaigns in Germany and the invasion of Persia in 363. Marcellinus' account is not for the faint of heart and it is readily apparent that his world was a very violent place, between foreign wars and civil strife. In typical passages, an unruly general in Germany is "butchered with repeated sword thrusts," while after a Roman victory over the German tribes the author notes a "discolored river, foaming with barbarian blood." Rome punishes barbarian aggression with Vietnam-style search & destroy missions in Germany, where Marcellinus notes that a typical raid entails "firing the frail homes in which they [Germans] sheltered, putting a host of people to the sword, enjoying the spectacle of numbers falling and others begging for mercy…" War against the Persians is even more brutal, where Marcellinus notes in one case where "we burned a lofty temple which crowned the citadel, and killed a few women whom we found there." Later, he calls a 'glorious achievement' whereby "a great and populous city was destroyed by the strength of Roman arms and reduced to dust and ruins. Inside the Roman Empire, Marcellinus notes the frequent trials and witch-hunts, which result in seemingly arbitrary executions. The cruelty of some Roman city magistrates is highlighted by their brutal dispensation of drumhead justice; for example, "when there was nothing of Diogenes left to torture he was burnt alive." Although Marcellinus is a conservative and appears to favor Pagan traditionalism, he waffles on the subject of religion. In one passage he claims that the "eternal providence of God was on our side" then later refers to "the goddess who controls the fortunes of the Roman world." Since Marcellinus served under both Pagan and Christian commanders, he probably courted both viewpoints. On the subject of government, Marcellinus does hold with the fairly modern view that, "sovereign power is nothing if it does not care for the welfare of others and it is the task of a good ruler to keep his power in check." The Emperor Julian, who only ruled briefly in 361-363 AD is clearly the hero of Marcellinus' account. Julian was a successful military leader against the Germans and initially against the Persians, which probably gave an officer such as Marcellinus much to admire. However the author

Ammianus has been called the greatest literary figure between Tacitus and Dante. Someone else has remarked that if he had written in a pure classical Latin, he would be regarded as the greatest historian of antiquity. Certainly he deserves to be much better known than he is.The scope of this work is astonishing, and it stands out like a blazing lighthouse in the midst of the growing literary darkness of the fourth and fifth centuries. Here is the story of the dying struggles of paganism against an increasingly materialistic church, Julian's quixotic career, and the triumph of the Goths at Adrianople, all vividly told by an eyewitness. If you have an interest in Late Antiquity, this is an essential text.By the way, I for one don't consider the Loeb translation superior. Though it's more complete, it does contain some glaring errors.

Altough the integral text is not presented here, the translation is a welcome revision of the (now) old Loeb edition. Furthermore, it is a single volume, which is a lot more convenient than the three Loeb volumes. The Introduction by Wallace-Hadrill is also very illuminating concerning many aspects of Ammianus Marcellinus, and any serious student should read it at least once. Finally, one only need to say that this edition has been suggested by famous names as John Matthews (The Roman Empire of Ammianus) and Averil Cameron (The Later Roman Empire) to show his seriousness.