| Description |
1 online resource (xiv, 347 pages) : illustrations, map |
| Series |
Oxford classical monographs |
|
Oxford classical monographs.
|
| Contents |
Introduction -- 1. Predecessors -- PART I: Marcellinus and Dalmatia -- 2. The Background and the sources -- 3. The origins and career of Marcellinus -- 4. The Identity of Marcellinus: can Procopius and the other sources be reconciled? -- PART II: Aegidius, Syagrius, and the Kingdom of Soissons -- 5. The background and the sources -- 6. The career of Aegidius -- 7. Syagrius and the kingdom of Soissons -- 8. A survey of the material evidence for Northern Gaul -- 9. Traces of the kingdom of Soissons in the Merovingian Period -- 10. The military forces of Aegidius and Syagrius -- 11. Alternative models for Northern Gaul in the late fifth century -- PART III: Ricimer, Gundobad, Orestes, and Odovacer in Italy -- 12. The background and the sources -- 13. Ricimer's early career and the reigns of Avitus and Majorian -- 14. Ricimer and the reigns of Libius Severus, Anthemius, and Olybrius -- 15. Assessments of Ricimer -- 16. Gundobad, Orestes, and Odovacer -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Naval power in the fifth century |
| Summary |
This book reconstructs the careers of some of the men who shaped (and were shaped by) the last quarter century of the Western Empire. The difficult sources for this period have been analysed (and translated as necessary) to produce a chronological account, and relevant archaeological and numismatic evidence has been utilised. An overview of earlier warlords, including Aetius, is followed by three studies of individual warlords and the regions they dominated. The first covers Dalmatia and Marcellinus, its ruler during the 450s and 460s. A major theme is the question of Marcellinus' western or eastern affiliations: using an often-ignored Greek source, this book suggests a new interpretation. The second part is concerned with the Gallic general Aegidius and his son Syagrius, who ruled in northern Gaul, probably from Soissons. This extends to AD 486 (well after the fall of the Western Empire). The problem of the existence or non-existence of a ‘kingdom of Soissons’ is discussed, introducing evidence from the Merovingian period, and a solution put forward. This section also looks at how the political situation in northern Gaul might throw light on contemporary post-Roman Britain. The third study is of the barbarian patrician Ricimer, defender of Italy, and his successors (the Burgundian prince Gundobad and Orestes, a former employee of Attila) down to the coup of 476 by which Odovacer became the first barbarian king of Italy. This includes discussion of the character and motivation of Ricimer, particularly in relation to the emperors he promoted and destroyed, and of how historians' assessments of him have changed over time |
| Notes |
"Written as a result of research undertaken for a D. Phil. thesis at the University of Oxford from 1992 to 1996." |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 312-333) and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Generals -- Rome -- Biography
|
|
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Historical.
|
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HISTORY -- Ancient.
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Generals
|
|
Veldheren.
|
| SUBJECT |
Rome -- History -- Empire, 284-476.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85115160
|
| Subject |
Rome (Empire)
|
| Genre/Form |
Biographies
|
|
History
|
|
Biographies.
|
|
Biographies.
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| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9780191530913 |
|
0191530913 |
|
9780191719233 |
|
0191719234 |
|
