Emperors and Usurpers in the later Roman Empire : civil war, panegyric, and the construction of legitimacy / Adrastos Omissi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Omissi, Adrastos, 1986- author.

Series:

Oxford studies in Byzantium

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rome--History--Empire, 284-476.

Rome.

Rome (Empire).

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 348 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Part I

I Usurpation, Legitimacy, and the Roman Empire p. 3

Why usurpation?: the problem of the imperial succession p. 3

'This litany of manifest usurpers and rebellious generals': why had the imperial succession become so unstable by the third century? p. 12

'The difference between a tyrant and a king is one of deeds, not of name': how was usurpation understood in the late Roman Empire? p. 21

'Let these things go unspoken': usurpation and modern research p. 34

II Usurpation, Legitimacy, and Panegyric p. 41

Known unknowns, and unknown unknowns: how to use panegyric as a source p. 47

'In which I would tell many lies': who dictated the content of panegyric? p. 54

'And would be viewed with favour by those who knew them to be such': panegyric, audience, and influence p. 59

Propaganda and power p. 66

Part II

III A House Divided Against Itself p. 71

IV 'At last Roman, at last restored to the true light of Empire': Diarchy, Tetrarchy, and the Fall of the British Empire of Carausius p. 75

Birthing the late Roman state: diarchs, tetrarchs, and a new language of power p. 76

Emperors and bandits: the British Empire under Carausius and Allectus p. 80

V Tyranny and Betrayal: Constantine, Maximian, Maxentius, and Licinius p. 103

Constantine's usurpation: Constantine, Galerius, and Maximian p. 103

The tyrannus: Maxentius and the rewards of civil war p. 116

Notable by his absence: Licinius and the rise of the Constantinian dynasty p. 142

VI Tyranny and Blood: Constantius, Constans, Magnentius, and Vetranio p. 153

Smiling for the cameras: the sons of Constantine, 337-50 p. 154

The son of the father: Constantius the tyrant-slayer p. 163

VII Usurper, Propaganda, History; The Emperor Julian p. 193

The voice of a usurper: Julian's rise to power p. 193

Bleaching the stains: Julian's sole rule p. 208

VIII Panegyric and Apology: The Accession of Jovian and the Usurpation of Procopius p. 223

The need for victory: Jovian and the demands of imperial rhetoric p. 223

The enemy inside: Valentinian, Valens, and Procopius p. 228

'He who sought rule for himself behind the cloak of a little boy': the usurpation of Valentinian II p. 250

IX Dismembering the House of Valentinian: The Usurpation of Theodosius and the War with Magnus Maximus p. 255

'And nobly he made the vote his own': the usurpation of Theodosius p. 255

Divided loyalties: the usurpation of Magnus Maximus p. 263

X Crisis and Transformation: Imperial Power in the Fifth Century p. 291.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-338) and index.

ISBN:

0198824823

9780198824824

OCLC:

1008759559