Barbarians and Bishops: Army, Church, and State in the Age of Arcadius and Chrysostom (review)

The focus of this major contribution of the "transformation of society in Late Antiquity" is "Demilitarization and Christianization" (1). Professor Liebeschuetz, of the University of Nottingham, covers some well-known terrain, to be sure, but he does so with a meticulous review of the extant sources and the very large body of scholarship. The result is a lucid exposition of the complicated scene involving the Eastern and Western halves of the Late Roman Empire, or better now, the world of Late Antiquity with the powerful and dynamic new elements: the Barbarians and Christianity.

With careful and nearly exhaustive documentation utilizing the extant printed sources and expanding body of scholarship, Liebeschuetz describes his theme in three parts which include twenty-three chapters, plus a particularly useful mise au point—his "Conclusion: The Historians' Post-Mortem." There are two appendices, a 24-page Bibliography and an adequate index. Finally a collection of plates illustrating the appendix on "Arcadius' Column" concludes the volume, which is presented according to the traditional standards of the Oxford University/ Clarendon Press. The bibliography, pp. 279-303, is devoted entirely to secondary studies, and it demonstrates Liebeschuetz' command of the complex body of scholarly studies devoted to Late Antiquity which range over Late Roman imperial government, and the increasingly defined institution of the Church in the Western-Roman Latin Catholic half of the Empire and the Eastern-Roman Greek-Orthodox half of the Empire, plus the Germanic-Barbarian factor within both the secular and religious history of this era.

I have a few reservations concerning the bibliographical materials which abound in the detailed footnotes as well as the formal list at the end of the volume. Since assessment of the historians and chronicles for the events and personalities included in this study is a noteworthy feature of Liebescheutz' analysis, I am surprised at the omission of Glenn F. Chesnut, The First Christian Histories. Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret, and Evagrius, 2nd ed. rev. and enlarged (Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 1986). In several instances, items listed in the bibliography are not factored into the documentation adequately in my judgment, e.g. Jay Bregman, Synesius of Cyrene. Philosopher-Bishop and Raymond Van Dam, Leadership and Community in Late Antique Gaul.

In "Part I: An Army of Mercenaries and Its Problems," the author concisely reviews the military history of the fourth-century empire by describing the role of the "Barbarian Officers and Generals" and then the military and demographic realities which necessitated the expanded effort at recruiting the Barbarians. The status of the Barbarians in the Roman military establishment, especially after the disaster at Adrianople, is then evaluated both from the Imperial and the Barbarian points of view; this brings Alaric and the Goths into clear view. Liebeschuetz provides a most informative description and explanation of the role of Alaric and the "Visigoths" in the historical development of both halves of the empire.

With "Part II: The Eastern Government and Its Army," Liebeschuetz addresses one of his major themes, the "Demilitarization" of the eastern half of the Empire. The conclusion he reaches is the triumph of the civilian over the military element at Constantinople, climaxing with what he describes as the "Arcadian Establishment, AD 392-412." There are many keen insights in these several chapters. Here and elsewhere, this study is enriched by the author's skillful use of prosopography and by his equally skillful and nuanced handling of secular and religious history. The intertwining of profane and sacred developments has been a concern of historians at least since Gibbon, of course, a topic I shall return to below when considering Liebeschuetz' "Conclusion," but here I must underscore his masterful elucidation of the complexities of his subject.

In the concluding section, "Chrysostom and the Politicians," Liebeschuetz continues his superb exposition: complicated religious issues and theological disputes as well as secular and personality factors are discussed with sensitivity and a sense of cool...