AMMIANUS WHO?
When I meet a fellow collector who likes
Roman coins from the 300’s, I usually get around to asking, "Have you read Ammianus Marcellinus?" Nine times out of ten I get a blank stare of utter incomprehension.
Since most of the surviving
work of Ammianus is easily available in a Penguin Classics paperback, available in most large
bookstores and certainly on line, I thought I would give him
a post on this site.
Teaser: Did you know that
Gratian was married to a lady that the Penguin book’s introduction terms
Constantia 2. She was a daughter of
Constantius II and
his third wife,
Faustina.
Constantius II was the son of
Constantine I and
Fausta.
Constantine I was the son of
Constantius I and
Helena, and
Fausta was a daughter of
Maximianus Herculius,
Gratian certainly nailed down
his claim to the throne by
his marriage. This was one well-connected lady. I have never seen her mentioned in any coin book.
So, for this and other
good reasons, the Penguin paperback is certainly worth a look.
Who: Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 330 - c. 390/395 ?) was an army officer who served under
Constantius II and Julian. He retired to
Rome after discharge (c. 371?), where he lived till
his death. He wrote a
history that presents the late Roman world vividly. He is considered "
Rome’s last great historian."
What:
His history covered from
Nerva till
Gratian’s defeat at the battle of Adrianople in 31 books. Books 1 through 13 are lost. The surviving books, 14 through 31 cover the years 354 – 378. Ammianus witnessed many of the events and knew most of the people he writes about.
Where: Ammianus wrote at
Rome in Latin.
Ronald Syme often infers that the author of the "
Historia Augusta" knew Ammianus’ book. The author of "
Historia Augusta" claims that book written during the reign of
Diocletian as
Augustus, which ended in 305; however, he writes that
Constantius I, and thus
Constantine I, are descendants of
Claudius II Gothicus. This false claim was first made in 311, and
Constantine I even issued coins to promulgate the myth. Syme thinks the author of "
Historia Augusta" lifted this detail out of the lost
part of Ammianus, then misdated it.
Why: If you like Roman
history, don’t miss this book. A few details may whet your appetite.
On
Constantius II’s entrance into
Rome in 357: "Though he was very short, he stooped when he passed under a high gate; otherwise, he was like a dummy, gazing straight before him as if
his head were in a
vice and turning neither to right
nor left." (Penguin translation; p. 101)
On the papal election of 366. The election of Damasus (305-384) as the 37th pope provided Ammianus, a pagan, a chance to prove that he was not shy about commenting on Christianity. Because John Paul II, the 263d pope, looks ill, and a papal election looks likely, the following quote has a timely interest:
"Damasus and Ursinus, whose passionate ambition to seize the Episcopal throne passed all bounds, were involved in the most bitter conflict of interest, and adherents of both did not stop short of wounds and death…The efforts of
his partisans secured
victory for Damasus. It is certain that in the
basilica of Sicininus, where the Christians assemble for worship, 137 corpses were found in a single day, and it was with difficulty that the long-continued fury of the people was brought under control."
Ammianus
Maximus. "The Later
Roman Empire (A.D. 354 - 378). trans. Walter
Hamilton. Penguin Books, 1986,
New York, 1986 (many printings), paperback, 506 pages.
