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The Shields of the Empire: Eastern Roman Military Elites during the Reigns of the Emperors Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I - ebook
The Shields of the Empire: Eastern Roman Military Elites during the Reigns of the Emperors Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I - ebook
When the emperor Valentinian III murdered the general Flavius Aetius, it has been observed that he had ‘cut his right hand with his left’, and the story of the fall of the ‘last Roman’ has been put in the greater context of the subsequent dissolution of the Roman Empire in the West. However, a similar deed committed by the emperor Leo in the East in 471, when he ordered the killing of the general Aspar, certainly did not gain such a legendary status. The underappreciated story of the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire in the turmoil of the fifth century is however no less dramatic, and the role that powerful military leaders played in those events was certainly paramount.
This publication aims to reconstruct the involvement of the Eastern Roman military elite in various matters of the state on the wider background of political history marked by the reigns of the emperors Theodosius II (408-450), Marcian (450-457), and Leo I (457-474). On its pages, the author presents the history of the numerous wars in which the Empire found itself entangled in during that uneasy time, as well as the periods of conflict and cooperation between the generals and the emperors. The focus is not only on the military elite as a group, but also on outstanding individuals, such as generals Plintha, Flavius Zeno, Aspar or Zeno-Tarasikodissa, the aforementioned emperors and their civilian advisors. The result is a comprehensive study and a novel interpretation of the nearly seven decades of turmoil that, contrary to what happened in the West, curiously did not result in the collapse of the Eastern Roman state; perhaps, as the author argues, in no small part due to those military leaders, who were serving and protecting it.
Spis treści
Introduction
Chapter I. The Military in the Fifth Century
Who Constitutes ‘Military Elites’?
An Overview of the Sources
The Roman Army
The Foederati
Commanding the Roman Army
The Prerogatives of Magistri Militum
Sources of Power and Influence
Chapter II. The Military Elite during the Reign of Theodosius II
The Regime of Anthemius
The Fall of Anthemius and the New Regime of Pulcheria
The War with Persia
The Campaign against the Usurper John
The First Vandal Expedition
Plintha and the Huns in the Twenties and the Thirties
The Second Vandal Expedition (441)
The Developments in the East
The War against the Huns of 441–442
The Road to the Next War
The War of 447: A Conflict Shrouded in Mystery
The Course of the War
The Peace of 447
The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back: The Conflict over the Hunnic Question
The Curious Case of Berichus
The Developments of 448–450
Conclusion
Chapter III. The Military Elite during the Reign of Marcian
The Perception of Marcian by his Contemporaries and in the Scholarship
Accession to the Throne…
… and Its Presentation
The Month of Power Struggle
Aspar’s Right Hand Man
All Marcian’s Men
The Wars of Marcian
The War of 452
The Conclusion of the Hunnic Problem
The Northern Border and the Career of Procopius Anthemius
The Problem of the Vandals
The Eastern Policy of Marcian
The Arab Raids
The Blemmyes and Nobades
The Expeditions to Lazica
The Soldier Emperor
The Emperor of the Soldiers
The Puzzling Last Years of Marcian’s Reign
Conclusion
Chapter IV. The Military Elite during the Reign of Leo I
The Question of Succession
The Role of Aspar in the Succession
A Dangerous Precedent
Leo, the comes et tribunus Mattiariorum
The Influence of Aspar
Leo’s Own Ambitions
The Ostrogoths and Marcellinus of Dalmatia
Timothy Ailuros and the Religious Unrest in Alexandria
463: the Birth of Leo’s Dynastic Ambitions?
Behind Every Great Man… The Role of Verina
The Turn to the West
The Arrival of Tarasikodissa and the Situation in the East
The Conflict between the Goths and the Sciri
The War with Dengizich
Aspar’s Opposition
The Expedition of Basiliscus
The Aftermath of the Defeat
The Campaign of Heraclius and Marsus
The Revolt of Anagastes
Aspar’s Return to Power
Leo the Butcher
A Pyrrhic Victory
Conclusion
Conclusion
Ethnicity: Solidarity and Division
Kinship and Family Matters
Faith and Religious Policy
The Question of Identity: Becoming Byzantine?
Closing Thoughts
Appendix 1
The Question of the Illyrian Command
Tenures of Magistri Militum
Appendix 2
List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Secondary Literature
Index of People
Index of Ethnic and Geographic Names
Abstract
Maps
| Kategoria: | Military |
| Język: | Angielski |
| Zabezpieczenie: |
Watermark
|
| ISBN: | 978-83-8331-095-4 |
| Rozmiar pliku: | 5,6 MB |
