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Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXVI

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Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXVI 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 This book is printed on acid-free paper. A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978 90 04 16212 9 Copyright 2008 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in aretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS Preface ................................. vii Introduction ........................... ix A noteonchronology ................. xv Legenda ................................ xxvii Commentary on Chapter 1 ........... 1 Commentary on Chapter 2 ........... 37 Commentary on Chapter 3 ........... 59 Commentary on Chapter 4 ........... 75 Commentary on Chapter 5 ........... 93 Commentary on Chapter 6 ........... 125 Commentary on Chapter 7 ........... 177 Commentary on Chapter 8 ........... 213 Commentary on Chapter 9 ........... 241 Commentary on Chapter 10 ......... 263 Bibliography ........................... 307 Indices ................................. 327 PREFACE On the occasion of the publication of our commentary on Book 25 of the Res Gestae, the last of the ‘Julianic’ books, we organized an international conference on ‘Ammianus after Julian’. We hope that the papers of this conference, which were recently published, will prove to be interesting for all scholars who are engaged in the study 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 Ammianus describes the reign of the Pannonian emperors. We now present the commentary on the first of these ‘post-Julianic’ books, in which the author’s gloomy interpretation of the entire period makes itself already clearly felt. Thanks are due to friends and colleagues who have helped us with their advice, to Ines van de Wetering, who corrected our English, and to the Fondation Hardt at Vandoeuvres (CH), where two of us enjoyed a period of peaceful study. The publishing house Koninklijke Brill N.V. prepared the publication of this volume with professional care. J. den Boeft J.W. Drijvers D. den Hengst 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 preceding six books, in which the emperor Julian was the protagonist, 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 than fourteen years. This implies a considerable difference in design. 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 what the author finds significant for his account, he does not eschew 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 chapter 6. 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 the spot. In Books 26–31 the author regularly adds historiographical notes and, above all, outspoken moral judgments to his reports. RightatthestartofBook26 one is confronted by a specimen of the former type. The author lectures his readers on the essence of historiography and chides them in advance for any silly expectations they might entertain. Many have assumed that the opening sections just referred to mean that the author’s decision to describe the period of Valentinian and Valens was an afterthought, but this is improbable. It is more likely that a description of this period was essential for Ammianus’ project, because it would provide a clear contrast with the brief rule of Julian. In this case the sections in question unequivocally express that, precisely by carrying on his history according to plan x introduction he was taking the risk that this would turn out to be a wasted effort because of the lack of discerning readers. In any case, Julian is not forgotten in the third extant hexad of the Res Gestae. His name occurs ten times in Book 26, admittedly in a number of cases in a purely factual sense, for instance when some official is said to have been appointed by him, but there are also examples of Julian’s friends becoming the victims of the new regime. Moreover, the general quality and conduct of the central characters compare unfavourably with all that Julian stood for. The first part of the book describes the start of the new reign. As was the case after Julian’s death, the civil and military authorities were confronted with the sudden need to find a successor to Jovian, who haddiedunexpectedlyon17 February 364. They unanimously chose Valentinian, whom they obviously regarded as a capable ruler, even accepting a risky interval of ten days before the candidate, who was on duty in Ancyra, arrived in Nicaea for the inaugural ceremony. Right at the beginning of his reign Valentinian makes two momentous decisions: he appoints his younger brother Valens as his co-ruler with the full title of Augustus, and subsequently he divides the empire into an eastern and a western part, assuming responsibility for the latter part himself. Remarkably, the historian does not mention Valentinian’s considerations which led to this decision nor does he offer any comment himself. Instead, he focuses on the immediate dangers facing the new emperors. Valentinian had to go to Gaul in order to lead military actions against Alamannic invasions. After his arrival, he received the alarming news of a usurper’s coup in Constantinople. However, precise details were lacking. He had no idea of the situation of his brother, nor of the seriousness of the matter. In a panic reaction he decided to travel immediately to the East to take matters in hand, but his staff convinced him that the campaigns in Gaul absolutely required his presence there. From a narrative point of view the structure of Ammianus’ account is excellent. The first time Procopius’ usurpation is men- tioned coincides with the anxious uncertainty of the western ruler. This will stir the reader’s curiosity. Postponing the account of the campaigns against the Alamans to Book 27, Ammianus spends the rest of Book 26 on an episodic description of the affair, of which the very first stage, up to and including the usurpation scene itself, emphasizes its farcical aspects; the author revels in a satirical sketch of the immediate sequel of events, but then he realizes that the reader will have difficulty believing that such a ridiculous start sub- sequently grew to such dangerous proportions. He therefore tries introduction xi to counter such scepticism with a number of historical precedents. Procopius soon succeeded in strenghthening his position, by taking some shrewd measures, but also helped by a few lucky coincidences, such as the presence of the widow of Constantius II and her small daughter, which even persuaded him to pretend that he was a relative of that emperor. He was able to gather enough military forces and profited from the general discontent with the harsh regime of Valens and his men. Some notable successes in Bithynia were a further asset to his enterprise. There was one serious flaw: the absence of truly competent military leaders of the highest rank. The few generals who seemed to have chosen his side let him down when he needed them most. Nevertheless, not all would have been lost, if Procopius had shown more determination and used the opportunities which were there for the taking. His hesitation, which was partly the result of financial problems, caused his downfall and execution. In a brief tailpiece one of his subordinates took his place, but he soon met with thesameend. Ammianus’ description of the entire coup leaves much to be desired. It consists of a series of vivid individual episodes, such as the remarkable scene in which Procopius on the battlefield itself persuaded his opponents’ soldiers to refrain from fighting and to join forces against the Pannonians, the successful siege of the strategic port of Cyzicus and Valens’ hazardous escape from a tricky situation, but the overall strategies are less than clear, and the military actions and battles are merely touched upon, so that the reader is even kept in the dark about the number of massive clashes on the battlefields. As to the chronology of the events: if Ammianus’ account had been the only source for Procopius’ usurpation, our only knowledge would be that it started at some moment before 1 November 365 and ended during the spring of 366.
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