Description
Book SynopsisLate Roman Warlords reconstructs the careers of some of the men who shaped (and were shaped by) the last quarter century of the Western Empire. There is a need for a new investigation of these warlords based on primary sources and including recent historical debates and theories. 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, Penny MacGeorge 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
Trade Reviewa painstaking...sound reworking of the conventional narrative of the period. * Early Medieval Europe *
It is likely to be some time before these shadowy warlords receive suc detailed treatment again in English. * Michael Whitby *
The author has provided a generally intelligent guide through the tangled web of sources and events for the final decades of the western empire, and in so doing has helped to shed further light on the important theme of late Roman warlords. There is still scope for a comprehensive, analytical study of this phenomenon, but any such study will find the volume under review an invaluable source. * Nottingham Medieval Studies *
