CHAPTER 4

Introduction

In this chapter Ammianus deals with one of the most momentous events in the Res Gestae, the crossing of the by tens of thousands of , which would lead up to the dramatic conclusion of his work, the disastrous defeat inicted by the invaders on the Romans at Adrianople two years later. At  rst the Romans had reacted indiferently to reports about the unrest created by the advance of the in the barbarian regions north of the Danube. Later, when they realized that this turmoil would afect Roman interests, they had allowed themselves to hope that the Gothic refugees would bring  nancial advantages and would strengthen their own armed forces (§1–4). For these reasons the emperor , who was preparing for war against the Persians in distant Antioch, gave his permission to the Thervingian Goths under Alavivus and to cross the Danube and enter the dio- cese of . Regrettably, Ammianus is silent about the precise terms under which the Goths were allowed to settle in the empire, and what promises were made to them. He only states that they would be given land for cultivation. With a mixture of sarcasm and indignation Ammi- anus reports how hordes of barbarians, destined to bring ruin to the Roman state, were actually helped by Roman o cers in the border area to enter the empire. The tragic importance of this epochal event is emphasized in Ammi- anus’ distinctive manner, viz. with a quotation from Vergil and a comparison with ancient history, namely the invasion of Greece by the Persian army under Xerxes. Ratti, 2007 suggested that Ammianus had deliberately mod- i ed the epic motif of the hero crossing the river, and in so doing deprived the quasi-heroic feat (?) of the Thervingi of any semblance of heroism, but there are no indications in the text that Ammianus had this epic motif in mind when he wrote this chapter (§5–8). Once they had arrived in Roman territory, the Goths were treated cal- lously by the Roman commanders Lupicinus and Maximus, who exploited their lack of food by asking sky-high prices and trading dogs for young men. Ammianus puts the blame for the rapidly deteriorating relations between the Goths and the Roman authorities squarely on the shoulders of the latter (§9–11). 54 commentary

When the leaders of the Greuthungian Goths, Safrax and Alatheus, also asked for their people to be admitted within the borders of the empire, the emperor refused. This induced their former king Athanaric to ee to the distant region of Caucalanda (§12–13). The last two sections of chapter four should actually be a part of the following chapter, since the opening words Per hos dies interea mark the transition to a new subject, while At vero Thervingi in chapter  ve contrasts the reception of the Thervingi with the refusal to admit the as reported in chapter four.

4.1 Itaque duce Alavivo ripas occupavere Danubii missisque oratoribus ad Valen- tem suscipi se humili prece poscebant et quiete victuros se pollicentes et datu- ros, si res lagitasset, auxilia The subject of occupavere are the Goths who had left Athanaric together with the residui mentioned in the preceding sentence. Amm. is the only source for Alavivus (PLRE I, Alavivus), who is mentioned here for the  rst time (he is referred to again in 31.4.8 and 31.5.5). Wolfram, 1988, 33 suggests that he may have been the father of Alaric (PLRE II, Alaricus 1); “outright speculation”, according to Kulikowski, 2007, 128– 129, “a theory based on nothing more than the alliteration of their names”. Note that in the present text only Alavivus is mentioned, whereas in §8 he and Fritigern are coupled (et primus cum Alavivo suscipitur Fritigernus). His name is restored from V’s vivo by Lindenbrog on the basis of this sentence. It is obvious that they acted as leaders of the Thervingi instead of Athanaric, who had been deserted by the majority of his people (31.3.8). The expression ripas or margines occupare refers elsewhere either to defensive measures taken to prevent enemies from crossing, as in Tac. Hist. 2.11.2 Spurinna ad occupandas Padi ripas praemissus and 25.6.12 adiciens hostiles manus hinc inde margines superfusi luminis occupasse, or to soldiers trying to establish a bridgehead on the other side of a river, as in 17.13.15 se commisere gurgitibus…ripas ulteriores occupare posse sperantes and 25.6.14 ripas occupavere contrarias. In the present situation the meaning can only be that the Goths stayed on the left bank of the Danube and sent their envoys from there to Valens in Antioch, where the emperor normally resided; cf. Barnes 253. Zos. 4.20.5 inverts the order of events: the Goths abandoned their lands to the Huns (ὥστε) αὐτοὶ…φεύγοντες ἐπὶ τὴν ἀντιπέρας ὄχθην διαβῆναι τοῦ ῎Ιστρου, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀνατείναντες ἱκετεύειν (cf. humili prece) δεχθῆναι παρὰ βασιλέως (‘they themselves turned to ight and crossed to the other side of the Danube. Stretching their hands towards heaven, they begged to be admitted by the emperor’). Paschoud n. 143 inter alia points to Eun. fr. 42 and 43 Müller (= 42 and 45.3 Blockley), which “conservent une part importante du texte que Zosime résume ici”. However, Eun. fr. 42