This book reflects a preoccupation with analysing the early Byzantine chronicles, above all the very different works of Marcellinus and Malalas, both as historiographical artefacts and as testimony for the years they cover. Many of the studies here demonstrate that, when set in context, even the briefest chronicle entry may shed new light on some aspect of early Byzantine politics, topography or prosopography. Particular themes are the development of the Christian chronicle as a form of presenting the past, the ceremonial life of Constantinople, and the relations between the Roman government and the tribes invading the Balkans.Cet ouvrage traduit une préoccupation certaine se rapportant à l'analyse des chroniques byzantines et surtout des travaux bien différents de Marcellin et de Malalas; l'un et l'autre en tant au'artefacts historiographiques et que témoignages des années qui y sont couvertes. Bon nombre des études contenues dans ce volume démontrent que, lorsqu'on la replace dans son contexte, ne serait-ce que la plus brève des chroniques enregistrées peut apporter un nouvel éclaircissement quant à un aspect ou un autre de la politique, de la topographie ou de la prosopographie byzantine. On retrouve parmi les thèmes ceux du développement de la chronique chrétienne, en tant que modèle de présentation du passé, de la vie cérémonielle de Constantinople et des rapports entre le gouvernement romain et les tribus qui envahissaient les Balkans.

Byzantine chronicles have traditionally been regarded as a somewhat inferior form of Byzantine history writing, especially in comparison with 'classicizing' historians. The aim of many of these papers is both to rescue the reputation of the Byzantine chroniclers, especially Malalas and Theophanes, and also to provide some examples of how these two chroniclers in particular can be exploited usefully both to reveal aspects of the past itself, notably of the period of Justinian, and also of how the Byzantines interpreted their own past, which included on occasions rewriting that past to suit altered contemporary needs. For the period of Justinian in particular, proper attention to aspects of the humble Byzantine chronicle can also help achieve a better understanding of the period than that provided by the classicizing Procopius with his emphasis on war and conquest. By considering more general aspects of the place of history-writing in Byzantine culture, the papers also help explain why history remained such an important aspect of Byzantine culture.

This book considers the great cultural and geopolitical changes in western Eurasia in the fifth century CE. It focuses on the Roman Empire, but it also examines the changes taking place in northern Europe, in Iran under the Sasanian Empire, and on the great Eurasian steppe. Attila is presented as a contributor to and a symbol of these transformations.

"Croke also casts new light on the career of Marcellinus, his range of literary output, which included books on topography and chronology, and the course and impact of the fifth- and sixth-century raids into Roman Illyricum. This book also enriches our understanding of society and politics in the imperial capital and raises broader questions about Christian life, liturgy, and culture in the sixth century, particularly the role of imperial and religious ceremonial in Byzantine public life."--BOOK JACKET.

Annotation. Contents Contributors Preface Sophia Menache: Written and Oral Testimonies in Medieval Chronicles: Matthew Paris and Giovanni Villani Roger Scott: Byzantine Chronicles Alan Deyermond: Written by the Victors: Technique and Ideology in Official Historiography in Verse in Late-Medieval Spain.

Peter Crawford examines the life and career of the fifth-century Roman emperor Zeno and the various problems he faced before and during his seventeen-year rule. Despite its length, his reign has hitherto been somewhat overlooked as being just a part of that gap between the Theodosian and Justinianic dynasties of the Eastern Roman Empire which is comparatively poorly furnished with historical sources. Reputedly brought in as a counter-balance to the generals who had dominated Constantinopolitan politics at the end of the Theodosian dynasty, the Isaurian Zeno quickly had to prove himself adept at dealing with the harsh realities of imperial power. Zeno's life and reign is littered with conflict and politicking with various groups - the enmity of both sides of his family; dealing with the fallout of the collapse of the Empire of Attila in Europe, especially the increasingly independent tribal groups established on the frontiers of, and even within, imperial territory; the end of the Western Empire; and the continuing religious strife within the Roman world. As a result, his reign was an eventful and significant one that deserves this long-overdue spotlight.

For centuries, Rome was one of the world's largest imperial powers, its influence spread across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle-East, its military force successfully fighting off attacks by the Parthians, Germans, Persians and Goths. Then came the definitive split, the Vandal sack of Rome, and the crumbling of the West from Empire into kingdoms first nominally under Imperial rule and then, one by one, beyond it. Imperial Tragedy tells the story of Rome's gradual collapse. Full of palace intrigue, religious conflicts and military history, as well as details of the shifts in social, religious and political structures, Imperial Tragedy contests the idea that Rome fell due to external invasions. Instead, it focuses on how the choices and conditions of those living within the empire led to its fall. For it was not a single catastrophic moment that broke the Empire but a creeping process; by the time people understood that Rome had fallen, the west of the Empire had long since broken the Imperial yoke.