Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire
Civil War, Panegyric, and the Construction of Legitimacy
Series: Oxford Studies in Byzantium;
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Product details:
- Publisher OUP Oxford
- Date of Publication 17 July 2018
- ISBN 9780198824824
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages370 pages
- Size 238x163x26 mm
- Weight 688 g
- Language English
- Illustrations 6 black-and-white figures 0
Categories
Short description:
Civil war and usurpation were endemic to the later Roman Empire, with no fewer than 37 men claiming imperial power between 284 and 395 AD. This volume constructs the first comprehensive history of civil war in this period through the ways in which successive dynasties manipulated history to legitimate themselves and to discredit their predecessors.
MoreLong description:
One of the great maxims of history is that it is written by the victors, and nowhere does this find greater support than in the later Roman Empire. Between 284 and 395 AD, no fewer than 37 men claimed imperial power, though today we recognize barely half of these men as 'legitimate' rulers and more than two thirds died at their subjects' hands. Once established in power, a new ruler needed to publicly legitimate himself and to discredit his predecessor: overt criticism of the new regime became high treason, with historians supressing their accounts for fear of reprisals and the very names of defeated emperors chiselled from public inscriptions and deleted from official records. In a period of such chaos, how can we ever hope to record in any fair or objective way the history of the Roman state?
Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire is the first history of civil war in the later Roman Empire to be written in English and aims to address this question by focusing on the various ways in which successive imperial dynasties attempted to legitimate themselves and to counter the threat of almost perpetual internal challenge to their rule. Panegyric in particular emerges as a crucial tool for understanding the rapidly changing political world of the third and fourth centuries, providing direct evidence of how, in the wake of civil wars, emperors attempted to publish their legitimacy and to delegitimize their enemies. The ceremony and oratory surrounding imperial courts too was of great significance: used aggressively to dramatize and constantly recall the events of recent civil wars, the narratives produced by the court in this context also went on to have enormous influence on the messages and narratives found within contemporary historical texts. In its exploration of the ways in which successive imperial courts sought to communicate with their subjects, this volume offers a thoroughly original reworking of late Roman domestic politics, and demonstrates not only how history could be erased, rewritten, and repurposed, but also how civil war, and indeed usurpation, became endemic to the later Empire.
The book aims to grapple with the question of how imperial legitimacy was constructed in the late Roman world, using the genre of panegyric as the primary lens through which to shed light on the issue. The result is an illuminating study which will be required reading for anyone wanting to understand the political dynamics of the period and the role of panegyric in it.
Table of Contents:
Frontmatter
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
Typographical Note
PART I
Usurpation, Legitimacy, and the Roman Empire
Why usurpation?: the problem of the imperial succession
'This litany of manifest usurpers and rebellious generals': why had the imperial succession become so unstable by the third century?
'The difference between a tyrant and a king is one of deeds, not of name': how was usurpation understood in the late Roman Empire?
'Let these things go unspoken': usurpation and modern research
Usurpation, Legitimacy, and Panegyric
Known unknowns, and unknown unknowns: how to use panegyric as a source
'In which I would tell many lies': who dictated the content of panegyric?
'And would be viewed with favour by those who knew them to be such': panegyric, audience, and influence
Propaganda and power
PART II
A House Divided Against Itself
'At last Roman, at last restored to the true light of Empire': Dyarchy, Tetrarchy, and the Fall of the British Empire of Carausius
Birthing the late Roman state: dyarchs, tetrarchs, and a new language of power
Emperors and bandits: the British Empire under Carausius and Allectus
Tyranny and Betrayal: Constantine, Maximian, Maxentius, and Licinius
Constantine's usurpation: Constantine, Galerius, and Maximian
The tyrannus: Maxentius and the rewards of civil war
Notable by his absence: Licinius and the rise of the Constantinian dynasty
Tyranny and Blood: Constantius, Constans, Magnentius, and Vetranio
Smiling for the cameras: the sons of Constantine, 337-50
The son of the father: Constantius the tyrant-slayer
Usurper, Propaganda, History: The Emperor Julian
The voice of a usurper: Julian's rise to power
Bleaching the stains: Julian's sole rule
Panegyric and Apology: The Accession of Jovian and the Usurpation of Procopius
The need for victory: Jovian and the demands of imperial rhetoric
The enemy inside: Valentinian, Valens, and Procopius
'He who sought rule for himself behind the cloak of a little boy': the usurpation of Valentinian II
Dismembering the House of Valentinian: The Usurpation of Theodosius and the War with Magnus Maximus
'And nobly he made the vote his own': the usurpation of Theodosius
Divided loyalties: the usurpation of Magnus Maximus
Crisis and Transformation: Imperial Power in the Fifth Century
Conclusion: Those Made Tyrants by the Victory of Others
Appendix I: The Panegyrics
Appendix II: Quantifying Usurpation: Notes to Accompany Figure I.2
Endmatter
Bibliography
Index
