Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXVI (Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellin) (v. 26)

387 Pages·2008·5.49 MB·English

by  J. Den Boeft

Philological and Historical Commentary on
Ammianus Marcellinus XXVI

Philological and Historical
Commentary on Ammianus
Marcellinus XXVI
By
J. den Boeft, J.W. Drijvers,
D. den Hengst and H.C. Teitler
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2008
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CONTENTS
Preface ................................. vii
Introduction ........................... ix
Anoteonchronology ................. xv
Legenda ................................ xxvii
CommentaryonChapter1 ........... 1
CommentaryonChapter2 ........... 37
CommentaryonChapter3 ........... 59
CommentaryonChapter4 ........... 75
CommentaryonChapter5 ........... 93
CommentaryonChapter6 ........... 125
CommentaryonChapter7 ........... 177
CommentaryonChapter8 ........... 213
CommentaryonChapter9 ........... 241
CommentaryonChapter10 ......... 263
Bibliography ........................... 307
Indices ................................. 327

PREFACE
OntheoccasionofthepublicationofourcommentaryonBook25
of the Res Gestae, the last of the ‘Julianic’ books, we organized an
internationalconferenceon‘AmmianusafterJulian’.Wehopethat
the papers of this conference, which were recently published, will
provetobeinterestingforallscholarswhoareengagedinthestudy
of Late Antiquity. To us the conference brought fresh inspiration
at the start of our work on the last hexad of the books in which
AmmianusdescribesthereignofthePannonianemperors.Wenow
presentthecommentaryonthefirstofthese‘post-Julianic’books,in
whichtheauthor’sgloomyinterpretationoftheentireperiodmakes
itselfalreadyclearlyfelt.
Thanks are due to friends and colleagues who have helped us
withtheiradvice,toInesvandeWetering,whocorrectedourEnglish,
and to the Fondation Hardt at Vandoeuvres (CH), where two of us
enjoyedaperiodofpeacefulstudy.ThepublishinghouseKoninklijke
BrillN.V.preparedthepublicationofthisvolumewithprofessional
care.
J.denBoeft
J.W.Drijvers
D.denHengst
H.C.Teitler

INTRODUCTION
Book 26 of the Res Gestae is the first of the hexad which deals with
the rule of the Pannonian emperors Valentinian and Valens. The
precedingsixbooks,inwhichtheemperorJulianwastheprotagonist,
covered a period of four years, from the pronunciamiento in Paris
to the death of Julian’s successor Jovian. The contents of Books
26–31 cover a much longer period, from Valentinian’s designation
as Augustus until the aftermath of the disaster at Adrianople, more
thanfourteenyears.Thisimpliesaconsiderabledifferenceindesign.
More than before the historian will concentrate on highlights and
leave out petty details. However, this does not imply the absence of
all minutiae or anecdotes. On the contrary, if such details illustrate
whattheauthorfindssignificantforhisaccount,hedoesnoteschew
them. For instance, in Book 26 he reports a pithy remark of a
member of the consistorium in chapter 2, and he dwells on the
beggarly ‘incognito’ appearance of the usurper in spe Procopius in
chapter6.
Another characteristic of the hexad is Ammianus’ authorial
presence. In the earlier books his presence was at times quite
manifest, but as an eyewitness or a participant rather than as a
historian. The Persian siege of Amida and the hazardous escape
of the young officer in Book 19, and Julian’s Persian expedition
are the most conspicuous examples. The last explicit mention of
his personal presence occurs at the end of Book 25, when during
their retreat from Persia Jovian and his men reached Antioch, and
it may well be that this was, in fact, the last time Ammianus was on
thespot.InBooks26–31theauthorregularlyaddshistoriographical
notes and, above all, outspoken moral judgments to his reports.
Right at the start of Book26 one is confronted by a specimen of
the former type. The author lectures his readers on the essence of
historiographyandchidestheminadvanceforanysillyexpectations
theymightentertain.Manyhaveassumedthattheopeningsections
justreferredtomeanthattheauthor’sdecisiontodescribetheperiod
ofValentinianandValenswasanafterthought,butthisisimprobable.
It is more likely that a description of this period was essential for
Ammianus’project,becauseitwouldprovideaclearcontrastwiththe
briefruleofJulian.Inthiscasethesectionsinquestionunequivocally
express that, precisely by carrying on his history according to plan