In dem Beitrag wird versucht, Geschehnisse der spätrömischen Geschichte im 5./6. Jahrhundert n. Chr. stärker in einen eurasischen Verflechtungszusammenhang einzubetten. Am konkreten Beispiel des ...Untergangs des Attila-Reiches (453) wird nach regionalen und weiträumigen Konsequenzen politischer Großereignisse gefragt. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, wie es nach dem Ende der hunnischen Machtbildung zunächst im Donauraum zu gravierenden ethnisch-politischen Neukompositionsprozessen kam (in die Ostrom immerhin noch gestaltend eingreifen konnte). Gleichzeitig lässt sich eine beträchtlicher Kriegerdrift nach Westen nachweisen, die den Untergang des weströmischen Kaisertums beschleunigt haben dürfte. Da ein größerer Teil ehemals unter hunnischer Kontrolle stehender Kriegerverbände sich zudem in den nordpontisch-kaukasischen Raum bewegte, kam es auch dort zu Unruhen. Diese wirkten sich direkt auf das Sāsānidenreich aus, das insbesondere in Armenien Aufstände und Unruhen zu gewärtigen hatte, die durch den Druck herandrängender Krieger aus den Kaukasusgebieten verschärft wurden. Sie zwangen die persischen Großkönige mehrfach in Zweifrontenkriege, da gleichzeitig an der Nordostflanke des Reiches Kidariten und vor allem Hephthaliten herandrängten. Die katastrophale Niederlage des Perozes 484 gegen die Hephthaliten ist in diesem geopolitischen Zusammenhang zu sehen; sie war keineswegs Folge eines unüberlegten militärischen Abenteuers, sondern sollte offenbar Zusammenschlüsse nordpontischer, ehemals hunnischer Kriegergruppen mit den Hephthaliten verhindern. Nach der Niederlage verloren die Sāsāniden jedoch für mehrere Jahrzehnte ihre Vormachtstellung in Zentralasien an die Hephthaliten, die sich Sogdiens und der dortigen Handelsnetzwerke bemächtigten, dadurch den Seidenstraßenhandel kontrollierten und in der Folge auch verstärkt mit den nordchinesischen Herrscherhöfen interagierten, die möglicherweise das türkisch-sāsānidische Bündnis, dem das Hephthalitenreich 560 nicht mehr standzuhalten vermochte, unterstützten.
W niniejszym artykule podjęto szczegółową analizę losów pogańskich świątyń położonych na terenie cesarstwa zachodniorzymskiego, zwłaszcza w rejonie Galii. Ramy czasowe badań, z uwagi na obszerność i ...wielowątkowość zagadnienia, obejmują tylko IV w. Głównym wątkiem przedstawionych badań jest przede wszystkim stosunek władz kościelnych, głównie niektórych biskupów, zarządzających zachodnimi diecezjami i samych wiernych do świątyń kultu pogańskiego. Badania zostały uzupełnione krótkim odniesieniem do obowiązującego prawa rzymskiego, a więc stanowiska cesarzy chrześcijańskich, które w niektórych kwestiach zostały wsparte źródłami historycznymi. Analiza źródeł pozwoliła wyciągnąć wnioski, że akcje niszczenia pogańskich świątyń na terenie cesarstwa zachodniorzymskiego nie były powszechne i zdarzały się znacznie rzadziej niż na wschodzie czy w Afryce. Wiele z nich nadal funkcjonowało w stanie nienaruszonym. Niektóre zostały zburzone (działalność św. Marcina z Tours), inne przeszły proces adaptacji, m.in. na kościoły chrześcijańskie, były również i takie, które opuszczone naturalnie niszczały pod wpływem niesprzyjających czynników atmosferycznych. Prezentowane opracowanie jest kontynuacją badań prowadzonych przez autorkę nad kwestią pogańskich świątyń w zakresie udziału biskupów w procesie niszczenia świątyń pogańskich na wschodzie Imperium w późnym Cesarstwie Rzymskim (IV–V w.).
Im Jahr 395 wurde der zehnjährige Honorius Kaiser des Weströmischen Reiches. Honorius verbrachte die meiste Zeit seiner Herrschaft zurückgezogen im Palast und überließ seinen Heermeistern die ...Kommandogewalt bei militärischen Operationen. In der Forschung hat man die Regierungsphase des Honorius oft als Symptom für einen Niedergang angesehen. Das neu entstandene Palastkaisertum habe den Machtkämpfen am Hof und innerhalb des Reiches Vorschub geleistet und die Zentralgewalt sukzessive ausgehöhlt, so dass Rom – vor allem im Westen – den Bedrohungen an der Reichsgrenze schutzlos ausgeliefert gewesen sei. Die vorliegende Studie wendet sich gegen eine solche Sichtweise und argumentiert stattdessen, dass das Palastkaisertum des Honorius nicht dem jungen Alter des Kaisers geschuldet war und auch nicht den Niedergang des Weströmischen Reiches einläutete; das vermeintlich ,passive‘ Regieren stellte vielmehr eine adäquate Reaktion auf die komplexen außen- und innenpolitischen Herausforderungen der Zeit dar und trug zu einer Stabilisierung der Verhältnisse bei. Die Konsolidierung der Zentralgewalt erfolgte nicht über herkömmliche, traditionelle und geradezu stereotype Manifestationen von Macht, sondern durch die Kombination aus scheinbar diskreditierenden Faktoren und paradox anmutender Entwicklungen.
It has been frequently asserted that the western Roman supreme commander Stilicho’s neglect of the Transalpine provinces during the usurpation of Constantine III contributed to his eventual downfall ...in 408. Stilicho’s fatal flaw, in this recurring opinion, seems to have been a desire to annex eastern Illyricum for which he sought to employ Alaric. In a volte-face, he then wished to use Alaric as the leader of the western field army that was supposed to bring down Constantine. The aim of this article is to advance several notes of critique on this narrative that has had a long life in Stilichonian scholarship. Instead it will demonstrate that a) the threat of Constantine has been overestimated, b) Stilicho had no designs on annexing eastern Illyricum, c) he had a military strategy ready against Constantine that was sound and in tandem with earlier civil wars, and d) that the intended role of Alaric during this enterprise has been misunderstood. Nevertheless, Stilicho’s military strategy in 408 proved to be fundamentally corrosive towards his hitherto carefully built-up political capital. Olympius, the architect of his demise and his precise knowledge of Stilicho’s army preparations, as befitted the
, provided the former with the perfect material to fabricate stories of Stilicho coveting a throne while neglecting the west. This set in motion the plot that ultimately brought down Stilicho.
The present study deals with the foreign policy of the Western Roman Empire towards those Germanic tribes that were able to form sovereign states on Roman soil in connection with the fall of Western ...Rome: the Burgundians, the Vandals, the Suebi and the Visigoths. The central object of investigation is the international legal relations between the Empire and the various gentes in the 5th century. A collection of the West Roman-Germanic treaties - together with a presentation of their historical background - provides a sufficient overview of the political attitude of the Western Empire towards the Germanic peoples in the final phase of its disintegration process. Is there a certain "red thread" in West Rome's foreign policy?
This article wishes to re-examine the early career of Aëtius, with special emphasis on his elimination of the magister utriusque militiae Felix in 430. Scholars have often treated this episode ...superficially, but it is of fundamental importance to understand how Aëtius managed to break the western Roman court’s monopoly of violence. By carefully considering the historiographical record of Aëtius’ campaigns during the late 420s, the chronology of his itinerary, and the wider context of the Vandal invasion of Africa, it will both offer a new interpretation of how Aëtius managed to achieve Felix’ murder and its implications for western Roman unity.
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In the second half of the VI century there has been intensified expansion of Slavs and Avars in the areas of the former Roman Empire, and thus in the regions of the Roman province of Dalmatia. They ...were unscrupulously killing and looting the existing population and destroying their material goods of every kind on a mass scale. The expansion of Avars and Slavs marked the beginning of the destruction and complete suppression of all the achievements of ancient culture and civilization. Both first came to the regions of the Roman province of Pannonia, and then, a little later, on the areas of the province of Dalmatia. The Avar conquest of Sirmium, a strategically important town in Pannonia, opened the path to joint Avar-Slavic tribes for their breakthrough into the areas of Roman province of Dalmatia. During their expansion many cities on the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the present-day Croatian coastal area and in part of present-day western Serbia, have been destroyed. With conquering of Salona, the capital of the province of Dalmatia, Avars and Slavs have achieved their ultimate goal
The Roman strategy of establishing their rule in the Province of Dalmatia was implemented systematically and following an established pattern. It was based on four separate processes: the first ...process is pacification, the second is colonisation, the third is urbanisation, and the fourth is Romanisation. The main role in the implementation of these processes was with the Roman citizens and soldiers-veterans. They were the creators of both political and cultural lives in the Province of Dalmatia. Roman citizens were elected as members of the ordo decurionum, ediles, duumvirs, procurators, protectors and other officers. It was via them that the Empire authorities established full control over the subjected populations in newly-conquered regions, with clearly defined political and cultural objectives. Such a strategy was particularly present in the course of the Republican and Early Empire Ages. After that, the Empire began to weaken, coupled with the decline in its influence on both political and cultural developments of life and work in the Province of Dalmatia. This development lasted until 476 A.D., i.e., until the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
After Theodosius’ division of the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern Empire, the Roman province of Dalmatia fell under the western part of the Empire. During the first half of the fifth ...century, the province of Dalmatia faced numerous problems. Among other problems, the following two are the most important. The first problem is related to an increase in invasions of barbarian tribes, which killed local population in large numbers and ravaged it, while the other problem is related to the crisis of the Empire, which was manifested in the violent rise to power on the part of usurper emperors. This situation would last until 437, when the province of Dalmatia, at the discretion of Galla Placidia, was ceded to the eastern part of the Roman Empire. However, such situation did not fundamentally change anything. The problems that the province of Dalmatia faced were still the cause of all of its misfortunes and difficulties.
The year 395 marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Roman Empire. The division of the imperial territory into two portions proved to be final and, in the short-term historical perspective, led ...to the downfall of the western part. The article suggests that this event was caused by a deliberate position taken by the ruling elites of the Eastern Roman Empire toward their western counterparts. The main reason for the downfall of the West thus lies in the fact that the eastern government refused to subsidize the western infrastructural and military needs with its money and other resources, which up to that time had been the necessary condition for the maintenance of the Roman civilization in the westernmost part of the Roman Empire—praefectura Galliarum. The eastern ruling class used the unique situation of the virtual absence of the Roman army and its commanders, which had withdrawn for operations in Italy, to establish the rule of a civilian government. The refusal to support the West economically led to the rise of the eastern economy, as well as to the growth in importance of eastern regions such as Syria and Egypt, which were economically the strongest. These conditions, created within the Eastern Empire after the secession of the West, in many respects resembled those of the same territories during the Hellenistic period, with the exception that now they were kept together by the efficient unifying institutions of the Roman state of Late Antiquity.
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