Ammianus Marcellinus: Roman History, Volume II, Books 20-26

by Ammianus Marcellinus, John Carew Rolfe (Translator)

Ammianus Marcellinus, ca. 325-ca. 395 CE, a Greek of Antioch, joined the army when still young and served under the governor Ursicinus and the emperor of the East Constantius II, and later under the emperor Julian, whom he admired and accompanied against the Alamanni and the Persians. He subsequently settled in Rome, where he wrote in Latin a history of the Roman empire in the period 96-378 CE, entitled "Rerum Gestarum Libri XXXI." Of these 31 books only 14-31 (353-378 CE) survive, a remarkably accurate and impartial record of his own times. Soldier though he was, he includes economic and social affairs. He was broadminded towards non-Romans and towards Christianity. We get from him clear indications of causes of the fall of the Roman empire. His style indicates that his prose was intended for recitation.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Ammianus Marcellinus is in three volumes.

Genres: History, Classics

704 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 391

About the author

Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 330 - after 391) is the preeminent historian of the Late Roman Empire, whose extant work forms the most important narrative we possess on the Fourth Century A.D. Born of genteel extraction in a Greek-speaking part of the empire, Ammianus served in the army in campaigns ranging form Gaul to Persia before settling in Rome and beginning his literary carreer. Besides shedding light on many events from the reign of Constantius to the calamitous defeat at Adrianople - including striking portraits of emperors Julian and Valentinian - his work offers as well a compelling description of Late Roman society.

Reviews

[Ian Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this second of three volumes of the Loeb edition of Ammianus’ history of Rome in 1998. Sometime towards the end of the fourth century he wrote a history of the Roman empire from 96 to 378 CE in 31 books. Books 1 to 13 are entirely lost, a pile of dust in the crypt of some monastery, I suspect. They must have been a fairly brisk canter through 250 action-packed years because what’s left (books 14 to 31) is a very detailed account of the period from 353 to 378, ending with the Battle of Adrianople when the Goths hammered the eastern Roman army.
Unlike many historians, Ammianus was not an armchair kind of bloke. While he was preparing to write his history, he travelled to many of the places mentioned in the work and he also took an active part in some of the events that he chronicles. He was born around 325 CE in Antioch, which was then in the Roman province of Syria and is now in Turkey. He served in the army for about twenty years as an officer in an elite unit called the protectores domestici. They were something of a cross between an imperial bodyguard and today’s special forces. For a long time it was thought that he was an artillery officer as he shows a detailed knowledge of siege engines, but it’s now generally believed that his schtick was military intelligence. He spent a long time on the front line. In this volume he describes Julian’s Persian expedition of 363 CE as an eye witness rather than as someone who interviewed participants later or read other people’s accounts. For example, at one point he describes watching a drunken Roman solder diving into the Euphrates and swimming to the other bank where he is cut down by a Persian patrol in full view of his mates.
Ammianus has traditionally been regarded as an impartial chronicler and interpreter of events and peoples, though recent historians have questioned this. He appears to make an effort to overcome most of his prejudices. These include a dislike of the empire’s enemies (especially Germanic peoples and the Huns), a suspicion of Christians and a marked antipathy towards eunuchs. That said, he gives a reasonably balanced ethnographic account of peoples inside and outside the empire. In this volume we have a detailed description of Egypt.
When Volume II opens Julian is sending troops to Britain to repel invasions by the Picts (from what is now Scotland) and the Scots (from what is now Ireland). While Julian is getting things under control in the West, Constantius II is making a mess of things in the East and he orders Julian to send over some of his best troops as reinforcements. The troops in question organise a mutiny and proclaim Julian emperor. Julian refuses the honour at first but eventually he accepts and begins marching east towards civil war. Constantius is always up for a bit of internecine strife but fortunately he suddenly falls ill with a fever. Before he expires, he names Julian as his successor.
Once Julian becomes emperor, Ammianus begins to put the boot in for the first time, particularly over Julian’s attacks on the Christians. This is one of those examples of Ammianus’ fair-mindedness.
Volume II also covers Julian’s Persian expedition, which covers the bulk of the volume. Ammianus gives us a very detailed account of the campaign but some things don’t add up and editors have spent centuries debating about gaps in the text where some of these mysteries must have been explained. I suppose the most fascinating issue is how Julian went from bookish philosophy student to wannabe Alexander the Great in the space of half a dozen years.
It’s no plot spoiler to say that Julian is killed during the expedition. You’d like to see it as a hero’s death but Ammianus’ account says that Julian foolishly went into combat without his breastplate and took a cavalry spear in the liver. He has emergency surgery and survives for several hours. Some modern historians estimate that he took three days to die and spent the time discussing philosophy with his surgeon.
The army top brass then elect one Jovianus as their new emperor. He is in such a hurry to get back to Constantinople and secure his new job that he makes a humiliating peace treaty with the Persians in which he agrees to hand over several strategically important cities. He also fears a potential rival who has the same name and acts decisively to remove the threat. This other Jovianus has just sat down to lunch when the new emperor’s agents arrive. They drag him from his dining table, throw him down a well in his garden and pelt him to death with rocks. Job done.
This volume ends with a fascinating account of what we would now call a tsunami. Seismologists have been able to link this to an earthquake that occurred in the eastern Mediterranean in July 365 CE.
Ammianus’ native tongue was Greek and he spoke Latin as a second language. Perhaps this is why his Latin is a bit of a challenge, though it must have been accessible in his day because he was often invited to give public readings of his history and by all accounts these were pretty popular. If you don’t want to engage with Ammianus’ weird Latin, the accompanying English translation is fine, although it’s getting a bit dated now (1930s). The introduction to Volume I is very useful and cuts through some of the bureaucratic complexities of the imperial civil service. I would recommend the Loeb editions over any alternatives that I’ve come across.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol. 2 covers the death of Constantius, and the succession and eccentric reign of Julian. Elevation of the disgraceful Jovian. Death of Jovian and elevation of Valentinian. The selection of the egregious Valens.

At the elevation of Valentinian, Ammianus states that he will from now on be careful what he says because truth can be dangerous. This is noticeable when he tells of the unsuccessful rebellion of Julian’s cousin Procopius against the greedy and sadistic Valens.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of three volumes of Ammianus Marcellinus; still not the most thrilling author, but it does have its good bits, especially his favorable biography of the emperor Julian ("the Apostate").