Late Roman Britain through the eyes of Ammianus Marcellinus

Late Roman Britain through the eyes of Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, whose Res Gestae is the last full-scale narrative and analytical history after the classical manner in Latin,1 was a participant in and observer of many of the major events in the Roman empire of the mid to late fourth century. As a soldier, and in particular as a member of the elite corps of protedores domestici ('household guards'), he was personally involved in the stirring events and campaigns of his own day, and was able to mix with high ranking officials and even emperors, in particular Julian, for w h o m he felt a special admiration.2 His work, as we have it is based largely on eyewitness accounts and personal interviews (15.1.1), though he also used written sources, particularly, though not exclusively, in his digressions (and no doubt for the non-contemporary sections of his work, now lost to us). A Greek from an influential family in Antioch, it is believed, Ammianus was b o m ca 330 and by 353 had joined the staff of Constantius II's general Ursicinus (14.9.1), under w h o m he took part in the removal of the usurper Silvanus in Gaul and in the Persian campaign which climaxed in the siege of Amida, of which he has left a vivid eyewitness account. After Ursicinus' disgrace Ammianus' may have left the army, to rejoin subsequentiy for Julian's ill-fated attack on Persia and Jovian's sunender and retreat. Under the Pannonian emperors Valentinian and Valens, Ammianus spent some time in the East, and some time travelling extensively—to Egypt, Greece and Thrace, and the Pontic regions, about which he gives eyewitness information.3 By the time he reached Rome, probably in the early 380s, he bad not merely prepared himself for writing his history as a participant and a traveller, but may well have had the work planned and partly drafted, in the hope of attracting a Roman patron. H e evidently lived in R o m e for some years, from at least the 1 The edition referred to here is that of John C. Rolfe, 3 vols., Loeb Classical Library, London, rev. edn 1950-52, repr. 1963-64, giving book, chapter, and line number; translations are m y own. For a useful published translation see Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire (A.D. 353-378), trans. Walter Hamilton with an Introduction by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Harmondsworth, 1986. The most recent, and comprehensive, account of Ammianus in his literary and historical setting, is found in John Matthews, The Roman Empire ofAmmianus, London, 1989. 2 The events in which Ammianus was involved are conveniently listed by Andrew Wallace-Haddrill, The Later Roman Empire, pp. 15-16; see also N. J. Austin, 'Autobiography and History: Some Later Roman Historians and their Veracity', in History and Historians in Late Antiquity, ed. Brian Croke and Alanna M. Emmett, Sydney, 1983, pp. 54-57. 3 Egypt 22.15.1; Greece 26.10.19; Pontus 22.8.1. For a fuller discussion see Matthews, The Roman Empire of Ammianus, pp. 8-17. P A R E R G O N ns 10.2, December 1992 120 A. Nobbs mid 380s until the publication of his work in the early 390s and, presumably, his death. These circumstances and experiences would well have suited Ammianus to be a keen observer of the late Roman world. He comments freely on military policy (e.g. 25.9.8), the role of the emperor (e.g. 29.2.18), and problems of the frontiers and provinces and not so freely, perhaps, on the religious changes culminating in the reign of Theodosius I, in whose time Ammianus completed his work.4 The extant part of the work (beginning at book 14) takes us in a detailed nanative from the events of 353, with the defeat of Magnentius in the west by Constantius II, to those of 378, with the death of Valens in battle against the Goths outside Hadrianople. There is a considerable emphasis on the traditional events (res gestae) of Roman history, namely the deeds of emperors and the battles fought throughout the...