The Roman Empire in Late Antiquity by Elton Hugh

Author:Elton, Hugh [Elton, Hugh]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2018-11-21T16:00:00+00:00

Further Reading

There is no reliable narrative for the whole period, though the Ecclesiastical Histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, all written in the middle of the fifth century, provide a useful start for the early part of the century. We also have substantial fragments of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius, drawing on Olympiodorus of Thebes, whose history covered 407–425. For the early period, these can be supplemented by Zosimus’ secular history, which covers the entire period in reasonable detail, drawing on Eunapius of Sardis for the period to 404 and then Olympiodorus to 410. For the middle of the fifth century, the Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius is particularly useful, drawing on the History of Priscus of Panium covering ca. 434–474, which is otherwise only available in fragments. Various chronicles in east and west also provide chronological signposts. There is much imperial legislation contained in the Codex Theodosianus to 438, with various Novellae after that. We also have the Notitia Dignitatum, a list of imperial offices dating to the early fifth century. There is also much anecdotal information contained in saints’ lives, e.g., of Porphyry of Gaza or Germanus of Auxerre, as well as a collection of lives of Syrian monks, the Historia Religiosa of Theodoret. There are increasing amounts of episcopal writings, including collections from John Chrysostom, the fascinating Bazaar of Heraclides by Nestorius, various Papal letter collections, as well as letters of Theodoret, Synesius, and Firmus of Caesarea; all these materials are highly partisan. There are versions of the proceedings of the councils of Ephesus in 431 and 449 and of Chalcedon in 451. There is a reasonable amount of court and private rhetoric, including speeches by Synesius, Merobaudes, and others. The Latin poems of Claudian and Rutilius Namatianus are informative, and some information can be gleaned from the many epigrams preserved in the Anthologia Palatina.

The complexity of this period and lack of good source material have deterred many authors from writing books about emperors, though there is no shortage of detailed studies. An excellent overview is provided by Maas, M., ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila (Cambridge, 2015). For the eastern Empire, there are good works on parts of Arcadius’ reign by Cameron, A., and Long, J., Barbarians and Politics at the Court of Arcadius (Berkeley, 1993) and Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G., Barbarians and Bishops (Oxford, 1991). On Chrysostom, see Kelly, J. N. D., Golden Mouth (London, 1995) and Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G., Ambrose and John Chrysostom: Clerics between Desert and Empire (Oxford, 2011). For Theodosius II, Millar, F., A Greek Roman Empire (Berkeley, 2006) provides an excellent introduction, as do the various essays in Kelly, C., ed., Theodosius II: Rethinking the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity (Cambridge, 2013) and Elton, H. W., “Imperial Politics at the Court of Theodosius II,” in Cain, A., and Lenski, N., eds., The Power of Religion in Late Antiquity (Aldershot, 2009), 133–142. A challenging perspective, though one rejected here, is provided by Holum, K., Theodosian Empresses (Berkeley, 1982).

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