A Social and Cultural History of Late Antiquity

by Douglas Boin

  More experienced readers will probably notice the absence of footnotes or endnotes. These were not possible so as to fulfill the mission of the series: providing a book addressed to the curious, not the connoisseur. And yet, because this book would never have been possible without the scholarly endeavor of others, I have tried my best to show throughout the text who, how, and why the work of my peers has thrown new light on those hidden corners of Late Antiquity which were once dark and dusty. Other resources, from trusted books on specific subjects to provocative new takes on big historical questions, are listed at the end of every chapter. I hope that readers of every background will appreciate how accomplished and diverse these contributors are: male and female; gay and straight; scholars of many faiths or no faith. Perhaps the next generation will push these boundaries of scholarly diversity even more so that the discipline of Late Antiquity can remain a place proud of its camaraderie and collegiality. A more simple hope is that this book introduces readers to many of the scholars who have been working tirelessly – in libraries, museums, and at archaeological sites – to bring Late Antiquity back to life. It was an honor and a privilege to have had the chance to learn so immeasurably from their books and articles.

  The following list of abbreviations is suggestive, not comprehensive.

  AE

  L’Année épigraphique [The Year of Inscriptions] Collects and categorizes new inscriptions related to the Roman world (Paris, 1888–present). It is available online through many research libraries. A useful database for searching Latin inscriptions is the Epigraphic Databank Heidelberg, housed at the University of Heidelberg, Germany (uni‐heidelberg.de).

  ANF

  Ante‐Nicene Fathers, edited by A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886). Nine volumes of translated Greek and Latin texts that date before 325 CE. Available at newadvent.com, edited and revised by K. Knight. A good first step for students interested in reading these ancient sources.

  CIL

  Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum [Collection of Latin Inscriptions]. Organized by region, then sub‐organized chronologically and topically, these over‐sized print publications are vital to know but not easy for a beginning student to use; all of the editorial descriptions, in addition to the texts, are written in Latin. A good companion resource is the Epigraphic Database, Heidelberg, available online.

  CIMRM

  Corpus Inscriptionum et Monumentorum Religionis Mithriacae [The Collection of Inscriptions and Monuments Related to the Study of Mithras], two volumes of material edited by M. J. Vermaseren (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1956–1960).

  Duke Papyri

  The study of papyri is a field that offers innumerable resources for historians, but papyrology can be an intimidating maze for beginning students and non‐specialists to navigate. The Checklist of Greek, Latin, Demotic and Coptic Papyri, Ostraca [ceramic fragments with writing] and Tablets, at Duke University, is an important searchable guide.

  EBW

  Egypt in the Byzantine World, 300–700, edited by R. Bagnall (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). An essential collection of essays covering a part of the Roman world which, due to language specialities, the amount of papyrological evidence, and the challenges of conducting archaeological field research, is not often integrated into studies of the later empire.

  EI

  Encyclopaedia Iranica, a comprehensive resource comprising fifteen volumes dedicated to the study of Iranian culture in the Middle East and Central and South Asia (London, 1982–present). Some entries are now available online, open access, at iranicaonline.org.

  LAA

  Late Antique Archaeology, an annual publication (Leiden: Brill, 2003–) available in print and online through many research libraries. Each volume is a curated collection of essays on topics with significant archaeological or material culture components. Each volume also features extensive lists of related books and resources.

  LAGuide

  Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press), edited by G. W. Bowersock, Peter Brown, and Oleg Grabar. This book, divided into two parts, is a collection of essays followed by short encyclopedia entries on the Late Antique world. The mix of presentations gives readers an overview that is both broad and deep.

  LCL

  Loeb Classical Library, a collection of Greek and Latin sources in translation, published by Harvard University Press; available as a digital resource through many research libraries.

  MGH

  The Historical Records of “Germany” [Monumenta Germaniae Historica]. Although not limited to the history of Germany, this monumental collection (Berlin: Weidmann, 1892–) includes many documents relevant to Late Antiquity. It can be consulted and searched online at mgh.de.

  NPNF

  Nicene and Post‐Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889). Translated texts from the period of Christian history post‐325 CE, available at newadvent.com, edited and revised by K. Knight.

  NRSV

  New Revised Standard Version of the “Bible.” One of the most scholarly translations of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures with Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical books. Academic, or scholarly, translations of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures are important because they include texts which some denominations do not consider sacred. The text of 2 Maccabees, for example, is not in the Hebrew Bible or the Protestant Christian one.

  OEAGR

  Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by M. Gagarin (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). Available in print but also online in many research libraries, this encyclopedia gives more in‐depth entries than the standard classical dictionaries and is useful for checking dates, reading biographies, and surveying historical topics.

  OHLA

  The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity, edited by Scott Johnson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012). One of the most recent collections of essays on this field and one of the most geographically expansive, it contains thirty‐nine individually authored chapters which can provide a good starting point for students interested in digging deeper.

  Orbis

  “Orbis: The Stanford Geospatial Network of the Roman World” is an online platform for calculating travel distances and costs in the Roman Empire, based on seasonal and financial factors.

  PLRE

  Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: A.D. 395–527, three volumes [= Collected study of individuals and their family names from the later Roman period]. Edited by A. H. M. Jones, J. Martindale, J. Morris, E. Thompson, A. Cameron, and P. Grierson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971–1992).

  THH

  Translated Texts for Historians series (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press). A useful and ever‐expanding series of translated texts relevant to Late Antiquity. A good English translation of the late fifth‐century or early sixth‐century CE Greek historian Zosimus is here.

  ZPE

  Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik [Journal for the Study of Papyrus and Inscriptions]. This journal specializes in publishing the first editions of newly discovered papyrus texts and inscriptions. It is indexed in the online research database JSTOR.

  Timeline

  The historical people who are the actors in this book lived on three continents, over more than five hundred years, with shifting degrees of knowledge about each other, depending on the currents of their age. Some built extraordinary monuments that still stand or fashioned ideas that still resonate; the lives of others have been covered by dust. Although this timeline has been placed in the front matter to conform with the series, it is also intended, for readers, as a brief “roll of the credits” so that the names and dates of those who played a starring role here can quickly be identified.

  c.165 BCE A Jewish thinker, adopting the name of Daniel, articulates his view of world history structured as a sequence of four hostile
empires

  164 BCE The Jewish community celebrates a victory over the Hellenistic kings and re‐dedicates the Temple in Jerusalem (Hanukkah)

  c.4 BCE–c.28 CE Jesus is born and is executed by Roman government

  c.50–60 Paul, a Hellenistic Jew who believes Jesus is the Messiah, travels and writes

  70 A Roman army obliterates the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem

  c.110 Ignatius of Antioch tries to convince followers of Jesus in Asia Minor that they should leave their Jewish rituals behind by acting “openly Christian”

  212 Caracalla announces Roman citizenship for all free people throughout the empire

  226 A family in Persia, the Sasanians, establishes a dynasty that will govern for nearly four centuries

  249 Decius calls for everyone throughout the Roman Empire to participate in a sacrifice

  239–272 Sapur I begins to grow the imperial profile of Sasanian Persia

  260 The Roman Emperor Valerian is captured by a Sasanian army

  267–274 Empress Zenobia claims power as Augusta in Roman Syria

  294 Diocletian institutes a Rule of Four

  303 Diocletian, despite having a Christian wife and daughter, institutes a legal policy targeting and punishing Rome’s Christian community

  309 A new Sapur, Sapur II, takes control of Persia; his reign will last seventy years

  311 Emperor Galerius, a non‐Christian, legalizes Christianity; after his death the same year, widespread legal uncertainty descends on the Christians of the Roman Empire

  313 A meeting at Milan between Constantine and Licinius legalizes Christianity for a second time

  324 Constantine removes Licinius from power

  330 The city of Constantinople is dedicated

  346 A local woman, Aurelia Ataris, is attacked and kidnapped in Roman Egypt; she files a petition with the authorities for justice

  378 A Gothic army kills the Roman Emperor Valens on the battlefield at Adrianople, outside Constantinople

  379 Theodosius begins his radically transformational rule of the Roman Empire

  391–392 Christian extremists attack and destroy Alexandria’s Temple of Serapis

  392–394 A Roman civil war is fought with Christians on both sides

  410 A Gothic leader, Alaric, attacks the city of Rome

  415 Christian extremists murder Hypatia, a scholar and philosopher in Alexandria

  408 Stilicho – of Vandal heritage but an official of Rome – is executed by the Roman government

  417 Rutilius Namatianus begins his journey home

  430 Augustine, the bishop of Hippo, in North Africa, dies; his theological fame begins to spread beyond North Africa

  438 Emperor Theodosius II rejoices at the completion of a new Roman law code, named in his honor, the Theodosian Law Code

  429–439 Vandals establish a government in post‐Roman North Africa

  476 The city of Rome disappears from its own empire

  493 A man of Gothic heritage, Theoderic, a Christian “East Goth” (Ostrogoth), is appointed King of Rome

  527 Justinian, looking over a withered Roman Empire, begins his rule

  534–535 Justinian recaptures North Africa and then portions of Italy

  537 Two clever architects, Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus, celebrate the successful completion of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

  c.540 Plague ravages the pre‐modern world; it reaches Constantinople

  c.545–550 Cosmas, who sails to India, begins writing a text that will win him a lasting nickname, Indicopleustes

  610 Heraclius is proclaimed ruler of the Roman Empire in Constantinople

  614 Sasanian Persians attack Jerusalem; Heraclius vows to restore the true cross to Jerusalem

  622 Rejected by local leaders, Muhammad and his followers, the “Believers,” move from Mecca to Yathrib – an event to become known as the hijra; a “constitution” is drafted

  632 Muhammad’s death

  636 An army of the “Believers” seizes Jerusalem from Roman control

  641 An army of the “Believers” captures Egypt from the Roman Empire and establishes their own capital at Fustat (Cairo)

  651 An army of the “Believers” overthrows the Sasanian Empire

  c.690–691 For the first time since 70 CE, a building rises on the old Temple Mount in Jerusalem: the “Dome of the Rock,” paid for by ‘Abd al‐Malik

  c.723–743 A member of the Umayyad family, with an eye towards engaging his Greek‐speaking neighbors, builds a hunting lodge at Qusayr ‘Amra; the paintings are labeled in Greek and Arabic

  1776 Edward Gibbon publishes his epic narration on The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

  1980s Archaeologists in Rome begin excavating the site that will become known as the Crypta Balbi Museum

  1997 Fifty‐eight tourists are murdered by religious extremists at Queen Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir el‐Bahari, Egypt

  2001 Islamic extremists detonate the Buddhas at Bamiyan, Afghanistan

  2015 Explosions at Palmyra. Temples crumble. The Syrian people suffer the humanitarian crisis of ongoing civil war

  Map: The Late Antique World At‐A‐Glance

  Part I

  The “Vanishing” of Rome

  1

  Who and What Is Late Antiquity?

  Rutilius Namatianus did not want to leave Rome; but as news of the attack trickled in, he managed his goodbyes and rushed down the Tiber to board the next ship. It cannot have been an easy decision, to give up his comfortable life in the imperial city to sail, at moment’s notice, back to Gaul. But crisis had struck. The luxury of living away from home had come to a sudden halt. Friends and colleagues in Italy would have to understand. Many of them would probably have seen Rutilius’ look of anxious confusion, for “eyes cannot, tearless, say goodbye.” That, at least, is the way he describes his own departure in a Latin poem (Rutilius Namatianus, On His Return to Gaul 1.165, LCL translation by J. Duff and A. Duff [1935]).

  The poetry of the line, like Rutilius’ work as a whole, is arresting for many reasons, not the least of which are related to Rutilius’ upbringing and career. A member of Rome’s wealthy senatorial class, Rutilius had been raised by a hard‐working father, a dedicated government official who had held the position of governor in central Italy and, perhaps more importantly, had fulfilled his duties without scandal. It was a solid reputation that would loom large over Rutilius’ life for many decades. Stopping in Tuscany on his journey home, in 417 CE, Rutilius tells us how touched he was to learn that the citizens there fondly remembered his father’s time in office. The residents of Pisa had paid to erect a statue of him in their Forum. “The honor done to my lost parent,” Rutilius wrote, “made me weep” (On His Return to Gaul 1.575–580).

  Rutilius’ upbringing helped determine his career. An educated male, from a family who had already served the emperor, he can be counted among an elite group of people who, in the early fifth century CE, stood in the top 1 percent of Roman society. People like Rutilius moved easily through the halls of power. Three years earlier, in 414 CE, Rutilius himself had been Prefect of the City of Rome, praefectus urbi. Prior to that, he had already served at the pleasure of the emperor, acting as magister officiorum, “Master of the Imperial Offices.” Like a modern politician’s indispensable chief‐of‐staff, he oversaw the couriers, communications, interpreters, and audiences that kept the emperor’s day in some semblance of order. Prefect of the City of Rome – a twelve‐hundred‐year‐old city by Rutilius’ day – was an extraordinary accomplishment. No surprise he was morose as he watched it disappear.

  That’s precisely why this chapter begins with him. Of all the writers who could have delivered the first lines of our story, of all the objects and monuments that could have been used to set the stage for what comes next in history, Rutilius Namatianus is indisputably not the most famous voice of his age. Yet I believe his minor, though heartfelt, reflections do merit top billing for an altogether different
reason. I think the unhappiness that pervades his poem – the result of a highly educated, successful Latin speaker being forced to walk away from the ancient city he so deeply loved – is something that should resonate with many readers who pick up this book.

  Planned as the last in a new series of volumes which explore the social and cultural world of the ancient Mediterranean, starting in Archaic Greece and finishing in Late Antiquity, this work is designed to take readers across the bridge that passes from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Now that the story has arrived in the fifth century CE, the time has come for us to bid goodbye to Rome, too. For students and scholars trained in classical history, who wouldn’t be – like Rutilius Namatianus – just a tad nostalgic when they set foot nervously towards Late Antiquity? Many readers are leaving the world they love.

  1.1 An Overview of the Book

  History from the ground‐up, all the way to the top

  This book is built around people like Rutilius, second‐ or third‐tier historical figures who are usually passed over in many traditional narratives of the time. That is not to say students won’t learn about marquee names and dates, too: Constantine, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, is here, as is the sixth‐century Christian emperor of Constantinople, Justinian. Muhammad, the prophet who formed an important movement on the Arabian peninsula during the early seventh century, occupies these pages as well. But the emphasis throughout is not on the day‐to‐day record of wars, battles, and palace intrigue that largely predominates in our source material and gives us a narrative of what was happening at the top of society. This book focuses on reconstructing the period from the ground‐up.