Emperors and usurpers in the later Roman Empire : Civil War, panegyric, and the construction of legitimacy / Adrastos Omissi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Omissi, Adrastos, author.

Series:

Oxford studies in Byzantium.

Oxford studies in byzantium

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Rome.

Civil war--Rome.

Civil war.

Laudatory poetry, Latin--Rome--History and criticism.

Laudatory poetry, Latin.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 pages) : illustrations, map

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : 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 a 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:

Cover; Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire: Civil War, Panegyric, and the Construction of Legitimacy; Copyright; Dedication; Preface: sine ira et studio; Contents; List of Figures; List of Abbreviations; PRIMARY MATERIAL; SECONDARY MATERIAL; Typographical Note; Part I; 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; II: 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; III: A House Divided Against Itself

IV: 'At last Roman, at last restored to the true light of Empire: 'Diarchy, Tetrarchy, and the Fall of the British Empire of CarausiusBIRTHING THE LATE ROMAN STATE:DIARCHS, TETRARCHS, AND A NEWLANGUAGE OF POWER; EMPERORS AND BANDITS: THE BRITISH EMPIRE UNDER CARAUSIUS AND ALLECTUS; V: 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

VI: Tyranny and Blood: Constantius, Constans, Magnentius, and VetranioSMILING FOR THE CAMERAS: THE SONS OF CONSTANTINE, 337-50; THE SON OF THE FATHER: CONSTANTIUS THE TYRANT-SLAYER; VII: Usurper, Propaganda, History: The Emperor Julian; THE VOICE OF A USURPER: JULIAN'S RISE TO POWER; BLEACHING THE STAINS: JULIAN'S SOLE RULE; VIII: 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 IIIX: 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; X: Crisis and Transformation: Imperial Power in the Fifth Century; Conclusion: Those Made Tyrants by the Victory of Others; APPENDIX I: The Panegyrics; Translations; Separate editions; APPENDIX II: Quantifying Usurpation; Notes to Accompany Figure I.2; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

This edition previously issued in print: 2018.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version :

ISBN:

0-19-255827-7

0-19-186351-3

0-19-255826-9