COMPTES RENDUS 523

Hugh ELTON, The Roman Empire in Late Antiquity: A Political and Military History,
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018, 23 × 16 cm, XXII-378 p., fig., 21,99 £,
ISBN 978-1-108-45631-9.

Hugh Elton will probably need no introduction as someone who, over the past quarter
century, has positioned himself as one of the leading scholars of the late empire’s mili-
tary history. His latest book provides what it says on the tin: a coverage of political and
military history from the sole reign of Gallienus to the death of Heraclius (c. 260-
641 CE). Nevertheless, its title ingeniously tries to bridge the divide that occasionally
exists between some academics who study either the political, institutional or economic
history of this period, and prefer to speak of a ‘Late Roman Empire’, and others who
focus on cultural and religious developments, and accordingly favour the term ‘Late
Antiquity’. While Elton concedes that he is mainly following a tradition going back to
J. Bury and A. H. M. Jones – very much one of the Late Roman Empire – his full cov-
erage of the rise of Christianity, and its intertwining with the imperial fabric, means that
his book does not carry its title in vain. Before engaging with this work, one should
respect its self-avowed aim of being “directed toward undergraduate students” (p. 2).
Hence we do not come across foot- or endnotes, though every chapter contains a ‘further
reading’ section containing good surveys of the ancient sources and key modern litera-
ture, with incidental references to primary sources inside chapters (or even citation of
them). The reader finds nine maps, and twenty-one images of art work, including some
of the usual suspects (e.g. the Naqsh-i Rustam relief or the San Vitale mosaics), but also
more original pieces that rarely feature in this sort of textbook (e.g. the silver bowl for
Licinius’ decennalia or illustrated pages from the Ravenna Annals). There is no need
to pen down a summary of the various chapters, with eight covering familiar threads
from the nadir of the “crisis of the third century” and the enduring establishment of
Mehrkaisertum (ch. 1), to the Constantinian dynasty (ch. 2), the diverging fates of the
twin regimes of Romania in East and West (chs. 4, 5, 6), the resurgence of the Late
Roman East and the tempestuous reign of Justinian (ch. 8), the poisoned chalice he left
to his successors (ch. 9), until the last clash of the titans between Romania and Persia,
setting the scene for the advent of Islam and the end of Antiquity (ch. 11). Three chap-
ters, however, provide broader analysis of the empire’s military situation c. 260-395
(ch. 3), c. 395-493 (ch. 7), c. 491-610 ch. 10). Elton’s main focus throughout remains
the emperor, and all the emperor’s men. In this we find a – in the present reviewer’s eyes
justified – Weberian focus on assessing the Late Roman Empire by its capacity to organ-
ize armies and bureaucracies (coincidentally creating a new imperial aristocracy in the
process), to protect its inhabitants, and to organize the tax collection to sustain these
foundations of empire. Indeed, the emperor’s ability to raise recruits and taxes are seen
as a paramount criterion to determine whether a region was imperial at all (by this logic,
Italy was not part of a Constantinopolitan empire for more than six decades, after the last
western emperors had gone the way of the dodo). Correspondingly, the ability of sub-
jects to petition their emperor on pressing concerns, and the latter’s responsibility to
respond, is one of the ever-present highlighted features of this period. Due to its specific
institutional focus, there is understandably less attention on wider developments in the
economy, society or culture, though the most significant ones are noted. Remarkably,
there is very little engagement with archaeology, despite few scholars in the Anglo-
sphere having as good a knowledge of Late Antique Asia Minor’s material record as the
author. This is evidently an intellectual choice, compensated by inclusion of imperial
building activities, and competent discussion of coinage and inscriptions. If this book
had come out fifteen, or even ten years ago, it would stand unrivalled as a solid synthesis

102287_Latomus_2020-2_12_ComptesRendus.indd 523 17/08/20 09:35

 524 COMPTES RENDUS

of one of the most important periods in Mediterranean and European political history.
Yet since then, there has been no dearth of textbooks which provide just that, nor has
one to bemoan their absence whilst harking back to the tomes of Bury, Jones or E. Stein.
So how does this textbook fare, compared to the rest of the recent competition specifically
focusing on the Late Empire? Its chronological scope is matched only by S. Mitchell’s
History of the Later Roman Empire (2007). Mitchell’s remains the most accessible intro-
duction, despite still being marred by a plethora of factual errors in its second edition.
M. Kulikowski’s twin volumes, Imperial Triumph (2016) and Imperial Tragedy (2019),
follow a different chronology (c. 100-565 CE), and provide more in-depth coverage of
political events, despite its breakneck speed even at 800 pages. A. D. Lee’s From Rome
to Byzantium (2013) mainly focuses on the period 363-565, though given its thorough
introduction to the earlier fourth century, it does not entirely trail behind the present
book’s timespan. Lee’s is still the best textbook for students due to its balanced coverage
of politics, economy, society, culture and religion in a similarly compact format, and a
lesser focus on names, dates and places. The latter naturally comes with the territory of
political history, but does the average student really need to know, to give just one
example, that Constantine’s half-brother Dalmatius defeated and executed the obscure
rebel Calocaerus near Cyprus in 334 (p. 64)? Precisely because it is aimed at undergrad-
uates, lecturers will have to be careful when assigning this text as required reading, due
to an unfortunate series of factual errors that could easily be replicated in assignments
or exams. The following is not an exhaustive list: Maximinus Daia was already dead
when he supposedly campaigned in Armenia and Persia in 314 (p. 69); Theodosius ‘the
elder’ was not executed in 373 but 375/6 (p. 95); it was not Carus but Carinus who was
deserted by his troops at Margus (p. 115); Ambrose’s father was praetorian prefect not
to Constans but Constantine II (p. 124); western troops defecting to Theodosius at the
Frigidus were not part of Maximus’ army but Eugenius’ (p. 148); it was not Heraclius
but Heraclian[us] who blocked Rome’s grain supply in 410 (p. 179); Leo I did not send
Olybrius in 472 to the west as emperor but as an envoy (p. 196); the Burgundian king-
dom was not established in western but eastern Gaul (p. 211); the Spanish campaign of
Castinus was not aimed at the Sueves but the Vandals (p. 236); it was not Odoacer who
was deposed in 476 but Romulus Augustu[lu]s (p. 245); the eastern Roman commander
recovering Dalmatia in 536 was not Constantinus but Constantinianus (p. 272). Simi-
larly, the lack of referencing will make it hard for the average student to consider, when
something is presented without discussion, whether it derives from the ancient sources,
modern consensus, or Elton’s own interpretation. Many advanced readers, however, will
not prima facie accept that the emperor Jovian “died of natural causes” (p. 120), that the
Gothic settlement in Aquitaine was “an independent state” from 418 (p. 184), or that the
emperor Avitus was “starved to death” by his successor Majorian (p. 212). Even more
problematic is the recurring description of non-Roman communities in continental
Europe as “Germans” (p. 92, 94, 101, 105), a pervasive anachronistic label with a long
troublesome pedigree. Finally, the absence of any of Lee’s works in the ‘Further read-
ing’ sections of the military chapters, which otherwise contain the most relevant litera-
ture (e.g. studies by P. Brennan, P. Rance or M. Whitby), is curious. All of that being
said, the present reviewer wants to stress that this remains a solid and well-written text-
book, and there are sufficient reasons to point undergraduates’ attention to it (even more
so in its, hopefully soon, revised second edition). In less than eighty pages, students will
encounter in the military chapters the shortest and best available introduction to a topic
spanning four centuries. The political chapters are noteworthy for their thoughtful
approach to all emperors under consideration (even bêtes noires such as Honorius or
Phocas), and students will certainly be entertained with anecdotes, such as inhabitants of

102287_Latomus_2020-2_12_ComptesRendus.indd 524 17/08/20 09:35

 COMPTES RENDUS 525

Edessa spanking a statue of Constantius II (p. 83), the poem about Agathias’ cat eating
Agathias’ pet partridge (p. 275), or captured Persian war elephants learning to make the
sign of the cross with their trunks (p. 290). Last but not least, many a scholar working
on the political history of Romania cannot help but earnestly nod along to Elton’s closing
sentence: “[B]etween these two periods, there stood a flourishing Late Roman Empire
characterized by diversity, good government, and hard-working emperors.”
Jeroen W. P. WIJNENDAELE.

Sabine FIALON, Mens immobilis. Recherches sur le corpus latin des actes et des passions
d’Afrique romaine (IIe-VIe siècles), Paris, Institut d’Études Augustiniennes (diff.
Turnhout, Brepols), 2018 (Collection des Études Augustiniennes. Série Antiquité, 203),
24 × 16 cm, 544 p., fig., 71 €, ISBN 978-2-85121-292-4.
Esta extensa obra se podría definir como un estudio sistemático de las actas y pasio-
nes de ámbito africano, contribución válida – es evidente que su construcción es pro-
ducto de un intenso trabajo y un tiempo prolongado – que ayuda a poner en su contexto
los escritos de que trata. El título Mens Immobilis, a nuestro parecer no explicado en el
volumen, se entiende a la luz del estudio de las virtudes morales de los mártires, en las
p. 329-332, especialmente la perseverancia y la constancia. Tras los Remerciements y las
Abréviations utilisées, se sitúa la Introduction (p. 13-33). En ella se describen la historia
de las ediciones de los textos hagiográficos, el status quaestionis del género, se hace un
análisis de la hagiografía tardo-antigua y se expone la metodología de la obra (este
último epígrafe falta en el índice general). En las p. 32-33 un cuadro resume los textos
hagiográficos africanos empleados en esta monografía. El cuerpo de la obra está dividido
en tres partes: Hagiographie africaine et histoire provinciale (p. 39-248); Du martyr au
saint : le héros dans l’hagiographie africaine (p. 249-358); La personnalité littéraire
des hagiographes (p. 359-446). La primera parte consiste en una lectura cursiva de todas
las pasiones, en que se analiza el contexto y los hechos narrados: podría describirse
idealmente como una edición de las pasiones sin el texto, tal es la riqueza de datos que
recoge de la abundante bibliografía consultada. Esta parte se articula en seis epígrafes
que agrupan, acertadamente, los textos por proximidad cronológica, geográfica o temá-
tica: nacimiento de la hagiografía, primeros desarrollos (s. III), mártires militares, actas
de la persecución de Diocleciano, actas doctrinales, pasiones de Mauritania. Sobre esta
parte cabría hacer algunas observaciones. Nada se dice sobre un aspecto, que podría ser
de importancia, como es la copia de las actas del tribunal por parte de los cristianos,
interesados en la pervivencia de la memoria de los mártires, y la simplificación de
elementos contenidos en las auténticas actas judiciarias, para evitar repeticiones innece-
sarias, especialmente por lo que se refiere a los scilitanos (p. 42-43). En la parte
dedicada a la Pasión de Perpetua y Felicidad, la opinión de Fialon acerca del significado
de conserui como concubinos (p. 48) parece un poco fuera de lugar, pues se trata de
fervorosos seguidores del cristianismo; el sueño de Dinócrates, como veremos después,
no se estudia en toda su profundidad; tampoco se dice nada sobre el contrato por el que
los mártires tienen derecho a no vestirse como divinidades paganas (p. 62); se podría
haber sacado más partido a la influencia de la Pasión de Perpetua y Felicidad en los
escritos posteriores: aparecen sólo algunas menciones (por ejemplo, p. 448). Más en
general, se podría haber citado un útil estudio sobre las torturas y condenas a muerte
(Mª Amparo Mateo Donet, La ejecución de los mártires cristianos en el imperio romano,
Universidad de Murcia, Centro de Estudios del Próximo Oriente y la Antigüedad Tardía,
Murcia, 2016). Y concretamente para las pasiones militares, habría sido útil citar algunos
estudios recientes (J. Leoni, Alcune note critiche agli Acta sancti Maximiliani martyris

102287_Latomus_2020-2_12_ComptesRendus.indd 525 17/08/20 09:35