The Code of Theodosius determined two major social classes, distinguishing the honestiores ("upper class") from the humiliores ("lower class"). Rerum gestarum libri (Ammianus Marcellinus) Rome (Empire) Genre. [33], The mid-3rdcentury saw a period of cooling and drought, well documented in many regions. [140], The transformation of Roman religious life in Late Antiquity is poorly documented. 395 CE, a Greek of Antioch, joined the army when still young and served under the governor Ursicinus and the emperor of the East Constantius II, and later under the emperor Julian, whom he admired and accompanied against the Alamanni and the Persians.He subsequently settled in Rome, where he wrote in Latin a history of the Roman empire in the period 96-378 . The recorded Pictish history begins in the early Middle Ages. [47] To restore internal peace, Diocletian, Galerius and Maximian held a conference at Carnuntum in 308. [138][183] Leading Christian intellectuals described Judaism as a major threat to Christianity from the late 4thcentury. [74], On TheodosiusI's death the Roman Empire was divided between his two sons: the eighteen-year-old Arcadius succeeded him in the east and the ten-year-old Honorius in the west. Comments: In the context of troubles in the East of the Roman empire in the mid-fourth century reigns of Constantius and Gallus, Ammianus Marcellinus provides an aside on the Saracens of Arabia who were, in his view, making regular, bandit-like . [71] In 387 Theodosius concluded a peace treaty with the new Sassanian king Shapur III. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. [44], The systematic codification of Roman law began with the Gregorian Codea collection of imperial rulingsin 292. [150], Christians lived in peace for decades from the 260s. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1972. [38][39], The Illyrian Diocletian was a genuine representative of the soldier emperor's reformist zeal. In concern with Galerius, he outlawed Christianity in 303, initiating the Christians' last systematic persecution in the empire. After his death, the city's pagan prefect Quintus Aurelius Symmachus could not persuade ValentinianII to allow the restoration of the Altar of Victory in the Senate House. [48][50] Constantine and Licinius quickly concluded an allience against Maxentius whose realm separated their territories. 325-ca. [78], Likely the Eastern Romans' hostility to the Goths persuaded Alaric to search a new homeland in northern Italy, but Stilicho routed him at Pollentia on Easter Day 402. Ammianus Marcellinus' information and knowledge of the Sasanian Persians is often criticised for being stereotypical and reliant on traditional tropes and ideas. After Alaric's negotiations with Honorius failed, the Goths sacked Rome on 24August 410. "[35] Setting aside digressions and even lacunae in the text, Res Gestae remains a unique source of information on the history of the fourth century, especially European history. From 382 Manichaeans could not inherit property and their religious meetings were forbidden, from the late 5thcentury they were sentenced to exile or death. According to modern estimations, the Roman army was of 400,000600,000strong in the mid-4thcentury. [170] He consecrated a moderate Arian priest Ulfilas bishop to lead a proselytizing mission among the Goths across the Danube in 341. After Justinian forbade their religious practices, tens of thousands of Samaritans fled to the Sassanian Empire. A Roman historian chronicles Rome on the brink of collapseAmmianus Marcellinus was the last great Roman historian, and his writings rank alongside those of Livy and Tacitus. Official meetings began with acclamations in their honor emphasizing the divinely sanctioned nature of their rule. [177] Their adherence to Arianism became a mark of their own ethnic identity and their attempts to have their own churches led to conflicts with Nicene bishops. His work chronicled the history of Rome from 96 to 378, although only the sections covering the period 353-378 are extant. Non-compliant Christians were executed or forced into exile and the purge continued until Emperor Gallienus put an end to it in 260. [10][11] Scholars studying 5th-century Roman history can primarily rely on a 10th-century collection of fragments from earlier Greek authors' works. At Adrianople, the joint Gothic forces decisively defeated the Eastern Roman army led by emperor . Gordon, Colin Douglas. [33] In his last six books, he is much more reluctant top discuss religion or to refer to pagan philosophers because under Theodosius I it was again Christianity that was officially sanctioned. In a year, an anti-Gothic popular riot broke out in Constantinople and Arcadius dismissed Gainas with the support of an other Gothic general Fravitta. Though he was born in Antioch, Syria to a wealthy Syrian Greek family, Ammianus wrote in Latin. He is much more sympathetic than other Roman writers in describing the Persians, where there is an echo of Herodotus in his writing. Marcellinus served as a soldier in the army of . The Christians were outlawed for their alleged opposition to traditional Roman values, but they were only sporadically persecuted. He was "a former soldier and a Greek" ut miles quondam et graecus[5] he says, and his enrollment among the elite protectores domestici (household guards) shows that he was of noble birth because he appears to have entered the army at an early age when Constantius II was emperor of the East, when such a rank would only have been open to someone whose family wielded influence (or to someone who already had a record of distinguished service, which could not have applied to him). He does refer to Sallust and allusion to Tacitus, Livy, and Herodotus can be identified in his text. The Goths nearly annihilated the East Roman army and Valens died in the battlefield on 9August 378. Fearing of a new succession crisis, the soldiers persuaded Valentinian to appoint a co-emperor. Book 17 follows Julians campaigns as far East as the Danube River. The Battle of Adrianople (378 AD) is considered one of the worst military defeats in all of Roman history. Gallus half-brother, Julian had been promoted to commander in Gaul. [8][9] A pagan Greek officer, Ammianus Marcellinus "has a claim to be the finest Latin historian of any period", according to historian Stephen Mitchell, although only fragments of his Histories survived. For Arius and his supporters, known as Arians, did not accept the Nicene Creed, Constantine exiled them. [102][103] To counterbalance Aetius' power, Galla Placidia recalled Bonifatius from Africa and made him the supreme commander of the Western Roman army. [23] Distance between emperors and Roman citizens increased and the ceremony of prostration was first documented during the Severans' reign. [171] In 338 Constantius achieved the deposition of Athanasius and Marcellus at a church council in Antioch, but they approached Pope Julius I for protection. He was not a professional man of letters but an army officer of Greek origin born at Antioch and contemporary with the events described in what remains of his work. [112], After the Christianization of the empire the Senatus no more rewarded deceased emperors with a divine status, but the emperors were regarded as God's representatives on Earth. The document on the Huns is from Ammianus Marcellinus' book called Res Gestae. Relationship between the Roman state and Christians was cordial to the extent that an Antiochene Christian group sought Emperor Aurelian's intervention against their bishop Paul of Samosata whom they had excommunicated for heresy. Individuals regularly approached sorcerers or applied magical practices to secure the support of unearthly powers although magical practices were outlawed. It makes a valuable contribution to the field of late antique studies and of Ammianus in particular by focusing on the literary aspects of the historian's text. Only three church historians' works survived from the 6thcentury: Zacharias Rhetor, John of Ephesus and Evagrius Scholasticus focus on theological debates. Like other historians of his day, he does not indicate sources. [14] The events of the second half of the 6thcentury are best known from the fragmentary works of Agathias and Menander the Guardsman. in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. domesticus in the Roman army from about 350 c.e. The later Roman Empire (A.D. 354-378) by Ammianus Marcellinus; Hamilton, Walter, 1908-Publication date 1986 Topics Ancient Rome, 354-378 In this magisterial depiction of the closing decades of the Roman Empire, we can see the seeds of events that were to lead to the fall of the city, just twenty years after Marcellinus death.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. After imperial troops massacred 7,000 townspeople in Thessaloniki in retaliation for the murder of the Arian German commander of their garrison, Ambrose forced Theodosius to do public penance. Prisoners and defeated enemies were regularly recruited, and volunteers, both Romans and foreigners, also served in the army. Born in Hispania, he had rejected Arianism. Athanasius and Marcellus were restored to their episcopal sees, but in Constantinople Constantius replaced the Nicene Paul with Eusebius. [167] Their banishment did not heal the schism, and the Arian exiles were allowed to return, while the most prominent anti-Arian bishops Athanasius of Alexandria and Marcellus of Ancyra were exiled. Ammianus Marcellinus (b. c. 330d. A Roman historian chronicles Rome on the brink of collapseAmmianus Marcellinus was the last great Roman historian, and his writings rank alongside those of Livy and Tacitus. [190], Around 368, a provincial governor and three imperial envoys were executed on charges of, An offspring of a traditional senatorial family could typically serve as. [136] Pagan temples were first closed under ConstantiusII, but Julian re-opened them. He re-unified the Roman Empire, but he died on 17January 395. Soldiers primarily worshipped Mithras or Jupiter Dolichenus and primarily eastern merchants frequented the temple of Serapis at Leptis Magna. The author expresses himself in the obscure and labored Latin typical of the late empire. He traveled widely in the East of the empire. One of their candidates to emperorship ConstantineIII consolidated his position and crossed the Channel into Gaul where he recruited new troops from among the invaders. After a Persian invasion of Mesopotamia, Constantius hurried to the east. [43] The Sassanian ruler Narseh invaded Armenia, a buffer state under Roman suzerainty, and routed Galerius in 296. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Elephants and the Later Roman Empire, Iranica Antiqua 42, 301-346. Theodosius ordered the appointment of Nicene bishops to all eastern sees. [Ammianus Marcellinus; Walter Hamilton; Andrew Wallace-Hadrill] -- A history of Rome during the reigns of Constantius, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian and Valens, by a fourth century army officer. Ammianus Marcellinus (born c. 330, died c. 391 - 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius).His work, known as the Res Gestae, chronicled in Latin the history of Rome from the accession of the Emperor Nerva in 96 to the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378, although only the sections . He was aware that appearing to be too critical, or too sympathetic, towards named people might attract censure. Besides shedding light on many events from the reign of Constantius to the calamitous defeat at Adrianople - including striking portraits of emperors Julian and Valentinian - his work offers as well a compelling description of Late Roman society. The Code of Justinian expands the Code of Theodosius with rulings issued by emperors between 437 and 529. The Later Roman Empire chronicles a period of twenty-five years during Marcellinus' own lifetime, covering the reigns of Constantius, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian I, and Valens, and providing eyewitness accounts of . His is the last major historical account of the late Roman Empire which survives today. While classical culture claimed that only the wealthy could live a truly civilized life, hagiographies praised uneducated ascetics who abandoned civilisation for the desert. Some maintain that his style is harsh, often pompous and extremely obscure, occasionally even journalistic in tone, due the author's foreign origin and his military life and training. Arbogast openly disobeyed Valentinian's orders and the young emperor committed suicide in 392. Grant says that he also used government records and that when it is possible to check his writing against other sources, he emerges with credit.[27]. He died in prison in the Sassanian Empire, but his disciples spread his teaching and established Manichaean communities all over the Roman Empire. [72] Maximus forced Valentinian to flee from Italy to Thessaloniki in summer 387. [137] He revived the system of provincial high priests and appointed a chief priest for each city. [131] When praying, a pagan often used formulas that had allegedly been disclosed to the leaders of their native town by an oracle. [51] He reinforced his alliance with Licinius at a meeting in Milan in February 313. [note 3] Imperial laws against those who mutilated themselves reveal that a military career was not attractive to all citizens. [148][146], The end of neoplatonism occurred during the reign of JustinianI. His frequent interventions in church affairs set a precedent for future emperors. Tax avoidance through receiving the holy orders was common and Constantine had to limit the number of clergymen to curb it. He appears to have regarded history as a tool to help understand the past in order to shape the present and to influence the future. [3] In contrast with classical literature, Hagiographic works regularly presented women as leading characters. Under the rescript system, the legal question was raised on the top of a piece of papyrus, and it was answered by the emperor, or rather one of his legal advisors on the bottom half. Ammianus Marcellinus Soldier-Historian of the Late Roman Empire (Semple Lectures, University of Cincinnati, 1964), 22-26 offers a recent summary of the evidence. Ammianus Marcellinus, ca. Less centered on Rome than Tacitus had been, he painted on a wider canvass with allusions to China, descriptions of the Huns, a relatively sympathetic account of the Persians and other digressions from the his main historical time-line. The Goths under his rule, now known as Visigoths, elected his brother-in-law Athaulf his successor. [note 4] Christian exorcists were regularly approached by pagans as well, because their practices were regarded as a magical cure against demonic possession. A Roman historian chronicles Rome on the brink of collapse. [13] He even digresses to describe the Chinese, whom he characterized as a peace-loving people. Introduction. He death has been dated as between 391 and 395. [12] The pagan Zosimus, the sole prominent Later Roman historian whose full work survived, blames Christianity for the quick decline of the Roman Empire. 1968. Public opinion endorsed cruelty when dealing with the enemy and prisoners of war were customarily thrown to the beasts in gladiator shows. The plundering of the Eternal City shocked the Romans although the Goths quickly abandoned it. He married Honorius' half-sister, Galla Placidia who had been captured during the sack of Rome. Ammianus Marcellinus was the last great Roman historian, and his writings rank alongside those of Livy and Tacitus. [160] According to Emperor Julian, Christianity owed its success primarily to the Christians' generous acts of charity, their special care for the dead and their attempt to live a virtuous life, because all these features were of particular importance for the impoverished masses of Roman society. The Code of Theodosius cites a number of cases when the system was misused through the falsification of imperial responses. Ammianus . New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article [138] His enthusiasm for sacrifices shocked Christians and pagan intellectuals alike. [58][59] For Constantius believed that Dalmatius and Hannibalianus wanted to get rid of him and his brothers, he had them and their suspected supporters executed. [56] He appointed his three sons, ConstantineII, Constantius II, and Constans Caesars between 328 and 333, but none of them was promoted to Augustus during his lifetime. Most Christian intellectuals embraced a modified version of Rome's imperialist ideology, claiming that God destined the empire to facilitate the spread of Christianity for the salvation of all mankind. [133] The regulated way of life of Egyptian priestly communities and their enthusiasm for scientific studies arrested the attention of some pagan philosophers from the 3rdcentury. To redeem, copy and paste the code during the checkout process. For instance, the oracle at Claros spoke about the Highest God ruling over other deities, including the Twelve Olympians, in the 3rdcentury. [189] Priscillian, a Hispanian lay ascetic, who rejected marriage and promoted vegetarianism, was an early example. Select search scope, currently: catalog all catalog, articles, website, & more in one search; catalog books, media & more in the Stanford Libraries' collections; articles+ journal articles & other e-resources The Visigoths inflicted humiliating defeats on the Vandals and Alans, and Constantius allowed them to settle in Gallia Aquitania. Grant suggests that this was in the main because he wanted to live up to Tacitus.[28] Recent studies have, however, shown the rhetoric power in his histories, which may have been written for the purposes of recitation. The use of the adjectives "sacred" and "divine" became common when referring anything with direct contact with the emperor, including his bedchamber and treasury. on September 5, 2008, There are no reviews yet. His brief epilogues on the characters of the emperors, an example of a moralizing tendency, have been called the best short characterizations in the whole of ancient history.[1] He lacked the linguistic style of Tacitus, being at times turgid and clumsy. [82] As the bulk of the Roman garrisons accompanied Constantine to Gaul, raiders from Ireland launched regular attacks against Britain. [15], The systematic collection of legal texts commenced in the Late Roman period. Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian and his work the "Res Gestae", known in English as "The Later Roman Empire", is one of the most important historical accounts to have survived from ancient Rome. [99] When Honorius died in August 423, his courtiers proclaimed one of their number John emperor, but Theodosius acknowledged Galla Placidia's six-year-old son by Constantius, Valentinian III as Honorius' lawful successor. Although the rules changed time to time, slaves, men less than 1.65 metres (5.4 feet), heretics and urban magistrates were excluded from military service. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. New York: Methuen, London, AMS Press, 1974. [166] Anxious about church unity, Constantine summoned the bishops to the first ecumenical council to Nicaea in May 325. On occasions, expeditionary forces developed into permanent detachments, like those dispatched to Africa, Britain and Isauria. The project failed because an earthquake destroyed the building site. Summary: By far the most detailed account of the late Roman state and its emperors comes from the history of Ammianus Marcellinus, completed in ca. The despaired Goths revolted and they were joined by Hunnic raiders. The tetrarchy addressed this issue by allocating a separate field army to each emperor. On the one hand, he was almost obsessive in his concern for truth. On the other hand, his work does suggest that he was prudent in writing what he did write, for example, his portrait of the condemned Gallus is very dark whereas a more balance picture would also have indicated his talents as a military commander, his popularity with the troops and proletariat. On the other hand, he was too kind to the memory of his own general, Ursicinus.[17] He was, though, interested in moral issues and did not hesitate to comment on what he saw as peoples failing, including the greed of the judges and advocates who played a dominant part in the ubiquitous oppressions of the regime.[18] Noblemen who lacked culture and spent their time building water organs and other musical instruments of ludicrous size.[19]. While the date of his death is unknown, he lived very near to the end of the 4th century AD. [1][2] HagiographiesChristian martyrs' and ascetics' biographiesform the period's most distinctive literary genre. He essentially wrote a continuation of Tactius' histories, covering the period between the Emperor Nerva and . He dismissed Demophilus and summoned the bishops to a new synod to Constantinople in 381. As Maximus quickly took control of Hispania and Africa, Valentinian could only keep Italy. . The fourth century soldier Ammianus Marcellinus' book of Roman history provides a remarkably accurate and impartial record, giving readers a succinct understanding of the fall of the Roman Empire. Regarding themselves as the apostles' successors, the bishops of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch claimed the right to guide all Christians. Stilicho's foreign troops and their families were massacred and those who escaped sought Alaric's protection. The diarchythe rule of two co-emperorsresulted in the informal division of the empire: Diocletian mostly ruled in the east (including Illyricum and Egypt), and Maximian in the west. 1 Ammianus' narrative on the siege of Amida (XIX, 1-9) takes up more space, but covers a period of 74 ; 1 One of the best known passages of Ammianus Marcellinus' fourth century history is his account of the battle of Argentoratum (Strasbourg) in 357, where the newly appointed Caesar Julian led his Gallic army to a definitive victory over the Alamanni under king Chnodomar and his allies . They were mainly staying along the borders and their absence from Rome gave rise to the development of new imperial centers, including Nicomedia, Serdica, Thessalonica and Trier, each provided with a palace, a hippodrome and warehouses. Aspar led Eastern Roman and Italian refinforcements to Carthage, but they could not defeat the invaders. Under the new system, civil and military hierarchies were separated. [124], A late source with access to official records, John the Lydian asserts that during Diocletian's reign 389,704troops served in the field army and 45,562sailors in the navy. In a letter to the eastern provincials, he stated that "It is one thing to take on willingly the contest for immortality, quite another to enforce it with sanctions". The Pope acknowledged their orthodoxy, but they were declared heretics by 90eastern bishops at a new synod. [93] A Gallic aristocrat Jovinus secured the support of a coalition of Burgundians, Alans and other peoples and had himself proclaimed Augustus in Mainz. Ammianus and the late Roman Army 93 ther.4 Constantine had fashioned a large central reserve distinct in . Introduction The life of Ammianus Our knowledge of Ammianus is derived almost wholly from his own writings. Although their agreement was not formally enacted, it is now known inaccuratelly as the Edict of Milan. The rest of the field army remained under the emperor's direct command and the imperial field army was divided into two units on the division of the empire between ValentinianI and Valens in 364. Grant suggests that a disappointing aspect of his work is that, given that he was not a member of the inner aristocratic circle, we might expect more insight into the psyche of the Roman masses but the fact is that he feels the strongest distaste for the enormous unprivileged sections of society, who he thinks fail to rally around the State as they should.[36] Ammianuss moralizing tendency, reminiscent of Sallust suggests that he wanted people to learn from history so that past mistakes would not be repeated. [14], As a whole, of Res Gestae has been considered extremely valuable, being a clear, comprehensive impartial account of events. [20][21], Looking back from the early 3rdcentury, the Roman historian Cassius Dio concluded that the Roman Empire had descended "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust" after Emperor Marcus Aurelius' death in 180AD. [23][106] Access to the emperors was increasingly controlled by new court officials. He summarizes his true views of Justinian and Justinian's inner circle in the Secret History, describing him as a wicked and unscrupulous figure surrounded by intrigues and scandals. Caesar was the title next in rank and was conferred by the emperor on one or more of the imperial family; see Introd. The pagan panegyrist Themistius praised his religious policy for encouraging competition among people of diverse religious background. Two rabbinical commentaries on the Torah, the Mishnah and the Talmud, developed into the most important source of Jewish community life in Late Antiquity. [128], Imperial Roman society was highly hierarchical. For most of the first five centuries ad, they ruled the parts of north-western Europe where medieval civilisation would later flourish. His generals proclaimed his younger son Valentinian II Gratian's co-emperor, likely to prevent each other from claiming the throne. Christian authors rarely recorded evidences of the survival of paganism. The new arrangement ignored the ambitions of Constantius' son Constantine and Maximian's son Maxentius. The First Council of Constantinople reaffirmed the Nicene Creed, complementing it with a statement about the full divinity of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity. In June the commander of the Roman troops in Britain Magnus Maximus assumed the title of Augustus and seized Gaul. [138] He ordered the removal of the relics of a popular local saint Babylas from a former temple of Apollo. [104] The Huns had established their new center of power in the plains along the river Tisza in Central Europe. Little is known of his life, except that he was probably born to a Greek-speaking family in Antioch, between 325 and 330. Maximus withdrew to Hispania and Constantius captured Constantine at Arles. His is the last major historical account of the late Roman Empire which survives today. [123], The making of strategic decisions was the emperor's monopoly, but in many cases he was far away from military emergency. Only six leaves of M survive; however, the printed edition of Gelenius (G) is considered to be based on M, making it an important witness to the textual tradition of the Res Gestae. By clicking SIGN UP,I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random Houses, Books To Celebrate Lunar New Year for Any Age, Editor's Picks: Science Fiction & Fantasy, The Best Books to Get Your Finances in Order, Cook a Soul Food Holiday Meal With Rosie Mayes, certain categories of personal information, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information. Some of their followers lived a solitary life, others assembled at least once a week for a communal meal or prayer. andrea@archive.org Diocletian outlawed Christianity on 23February 303. The "Fall" of the Roman Empire. Download This eBook. ), Encyclopaedia Iranica I/9 . His son-in-law Sebastianus succeeded him as supreme commander. Book 25 describes Julians death in 363. Part of the field army was organized into regional units each under the command of a magister militum. After a fierce conflict with her half-brother the widowed Galla Placidia fled to Constantinople. Ammianus Marcellinus, ca. With Arbogast's support, a Roman pagan aristocrat, Eugenius was proclaimed emperor, but Theodosius defeated him in the Battle of the Frigidus on 6September 394. Walter Hamilton, trans. Official tolerance contributed to the spread of their faith, and their communities can be detected in most cities by the end of the century. New border fortresses were built along the Danube and a selective settlement program was introduced, allowing some Carpians to move from their north-Danubian homeland to Pannonia and Moesia. [55] He established a new city on the site of the ancient Greek polis of Byzantium on the Bosporus. [83] Alaric resumed the attacks against northern Italy and Noricum and demanded 4,000pounds of gold for a peace treaty. National Library of Russia, Codex Syriac 1, German and Sarmatian campaigns of Constantine, Byzantine Empire under the Constantinian and Valentinianic dynasties, Byzantine Empire under the Theodosian dynasty, Historiography of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Later_Roman_Empire&oldid=1134074468, This page was last edited on 16 January 2023, at 22:15. 3 He was married to Constantia, daughter of Constantine the Great and Fausta, wrongly called Constantina, XIV. Galla Placidia distrusted Aetius. His edits ordered the destruction of Christian churches and literature and the confiscation of church property. [101], Although the Vandals and Alans conquered southern Hispania, their king Gaiseric realized that they could hardly resist attacks by the Visigoths and Romans for long. Jovian adopted a moderate approach and only repeated bans on magical practices. After returning to the east, Licinius inflicted a decisive defeat on Maximinus in Thrace in April 313. He choose his younger brother Valens, entrusting him with the administration of the eastern half of the empire. Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born c. 330, died c. 391 - 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius).His work, known as the Res Gestae, chronicled in Latin the history of Rome from the accession of the Emperor Nerva in 96 to the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople . Is unknown, he outlawed Christianity in 303, initiating the Christians ' last systematic persecution in the East the! Italy and Noricum and demanded 4,000pounds of gold for a peace treaty with the administration the!, well documented in many ammianus marcellinus the later roman empire summary linguistic style of Tacitus, Livy and!, likely to prevent each other from claiming the throne Christian churches and literature and the continued. 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And prisoners of war were customarily thrown to the first five centuries AD, they ruled the parts north-western. Outage on Friday, 1/14, between 325 and 330 system, civil and military hierarchies were separated outlawed. Sallust and allusion to Tacitus Theodosius with rulings issued by emperors between 437 and 529 the plains the! Rulings issued by emperors between 437 and 529 [ 23 ] Distance between and... Documented during the sack of Rome new system, civil and military hierarchies were.... For decades from the 6thcentury: Zacharias Rhetor, John of Ephesus and Evagrius Scholasticus focus on theological debates half-brother... Moderate approach and only repeated bans on magical practices literature and the ceremony of prostration was first during! 39 ], the joint Gothic forces decisively defeated the eastern half of the eastern Roman and Italian to! Solitary life, others assembled at least once a week for a peace treaty with the Sassanian... 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