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History, Volume I: Books 14-19 (Loeb Classical Library 300) Hardcover – 1 July 1989

Latin edition by Ammianus Marcellinus (Author), John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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Ammianus Marcellinus, ca. 325–ca. 395 CE, a Greek of Antioch, joined the army when still young and served under the governor Ursicinus and the emperor of the East Constantius II, and later under the emperor Julian, whom he admired and accompanied against the Alamanni and the Persians. He subsequently settled in Rome, where he wrote in Latin a history of the Roman empire in the period 96–378 CE, entitled Rerum Gestarum Libri XXXI. Of these 31 books only 14–31 (353–378 CE) survive, a remarkably accurate and impartial record of his own times. Soldier though he was, he includes economic and social affairs. He was broadminded towards non-Romans and towards Christianity. We get from him clear indications of causes of the fall of the Roman empire. His style indicates that his prose was intended for recitation.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Ammianus Marcellinus is in three volumes.

ISBN-10

0674993314
ISBN-13

978-0674993310
Edition

Revised
Publisher

Loeb
Publication date

1 July 1989
Language

English, Latin
Dimensions

10.8 x 3.33 x 16.19 cm
Print length

640 pages
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About the Author

John Carew Rolfe (1859–1943) taught at Cornell, Harvard, and the Universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Loeb; Revised edition (1 July 1989)
Language ‏ : ‎ English, Latin
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674993314
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674993310
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.8 x 3.33 x 16.19 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 665,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,124 in History of Greece
- 1,708 in Ancient Greek History
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LES DEUX HIBOUX

A first-rate edition of a compelling and lively history

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 23 November 2021

If you ask people who the most important Roman historians are, most of them will probably think of Livy, or Tacitus, or maybe even Suetonius. But that simply reflects the fact that, when they think of ancient Rome, most people think of the Roman Republic or the High Empire (‘the Principate’). The Later Empire is a subject in its own right – and Ammianus Marcellinus is the foremost historian of the Later Empire, and an invaluable source of information about the politics and warfare of his time. Ammianus’s ‘Res Gestae’ is one of the most lively, compelling historical works I know, and it deserves to be far more widely known and read than it is.

The first 13 books of Ammianus’s work are lost, so Volume I of the Loeb edition begins with Book 14 and ends with Book 19. In this volume, we read of the awful career of the Caesar Gallus, the elevation of Julian to the rank of Caesar, Julian’s successful war against the Alamanni (including an account of his victory at the battle of Argentoratum, ie Strasbourg) and the Persian invasion of Mesopotamia (including Ammianus’s superb description of the siege and capture of the fortified city of Amida).

As with all Loeb editions, you have the original text on the left-hand page and the English translation on the right-hand page. Consequently, whenever you want to look across and see exactly what specialised term (military or otherwise) Ammianus used, you can do so easily. There are other, more idiomatic translations on the market, but if you are interested in the detail of 4th Century Roman military matters then you really need an edition like this one from Loeb. Loeb editions are more expensive, of course – but they are worth it!

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Gripping account of a dramatic period in western history.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 6 May 2022

I first read this opening volume of the Loeb edition of Ammianus’ history of Rome in 1997 and I then went on to read the second and third volumes of what survives of Ammianus’ work. Sometime towards the end of the fourth century he wrote a history of the Roman empire from 96 to 378 CE in 31 books. Books 1 to 13 are entirely lost, a pile of dust in the crypt of some monastery, I suspect. They must have been a fairly brisk canter covering over 250 action-packed years in the history of the Roman empire because what’s left (books 14 to 31) is a very detailed account of the period from 353 to 378, ending with the Battle of Adrianople when the Goths hammered the eastern Roman army.
Unlike many historians, Ammianus was not an armchair kind of bloke. While he was preparing to write his history, he travelled to many of the places mentioned in the work and he also took an active part in some of the events that he chronicles. He was born around 325 CE in Antioch, which was then in the Roman province of Syria and is now in Turkey. He served in the army for about twenty years as an officer in an elite unit called the protectores domestici. They were something of a cross between an imperial bodyguard and today’s special forces. For a long time it was thought that he was an artillery officer as he shows a detailed knowledge of siege engines, but it’s now generally believed that his schtick was military intelligence. He also took part in special operations. Early in this volume he describes how he was part of a team sent to Cologne to assassinate a senior general, Silvanus Francus, who had declared himself emperor. It’s a tricky operation as the usurper has managed to win over his troops, but ultimately it’s a success and Silvanus’ bid to become emperor bites the dust.
Ammianus has traditionally been regarded as an impartial chronicler and interpreter of events and peoples, though recent historians have questioned this. He appears to make an effort to overcome most of his prejudices. These include a dislike of the empire’s enemies (especially Germanic peoples and the Huns), a suspicion of Christians and a marked antipathy towards eunuchs. That said, he gives a reasonably balanced ethnographic account of peoples inside and outside the empire. Interestingly, he describes the men in Gaul – after four hundred years of Roman occupation – pretty much as Julius Caesar found them: physically big, belligerent and quarrelsome. However, he goes on to say that the women are far more terrifying than the men. When a Gallic woman rolls her sleeves up, you really don’t want to mess with her.
Volume I opens at the point when the Emperor Constantius II has overcome internal rivals and established himself as sole emperor. He appoints his cousin Gallus as his deputy in the East while he focuses on dealing with invasions by Germanic tribes. Ammianus describes Gallus’ tyranny and incompetence and his subsequent recall and murder (or execution without trial, if you prefer) on Constantius’ orders.
Volume I also covers the Persian invasion of Roman territory in what is now Iraq and Turkey. Ammianus describes how he was sent to Armenia to spy on the Persian advance. He watches the Persian army marching across the desert in a very dramatic scene. He describes the chaos and fear as columns of refugees head west and the Roman soldiers destroy bridges to try to slow down the Persian advance. At one point he rescues a little boy who has lost his parents. Later he is trapped in the city of Amida (modern Diyarbakir in Turkey) which is besieged by the Persians for 73 days. He recounts some grisly episodes, including waking up one morning to find that the soldier next to him has had his head sliced in two. After escaping from Amida with two comrades, he hears a horse galloping along behind him. As it approaches he sees that it is dragging the headless body of its erstwhile rider who had obviously fallen off but was unable to free himself from the reins that he had tied around his hand. As the ranking officer Ammianus commandeers the horse for himself while his comrades have to carry on walking.
Ammianus’ great hero is Julian the Apostate and he is happy to sing his praises whenever possible. However, we’ll find in Volume II that he does not shirk from criticising Julian when the latter deserves it, including for his treatment of Christians…..
If Julian is the hero, Constantius II is definitely the villain, along with his sycophantic courtiers and the sinister agentes in rebus (secret police). These blokes always seem to pop up at a dinner party where one of the guests remarks that the purple tablecloth could be turned into an imperial cloak. The result is that within days, the host and his guests will come to a sticky end. Some of the most entertaining parts of the history are the accounts of court intrigues. Some of them make Game of Thrones look like the proverbial kindergarten. This isn’t in Ammianus’ surviving books but I’m sure he covered it: Julian was a mere six years old when he was forced to watch while his father and eldest brother were strangled on Constantius’ orders. Julian and Constantius were cousins, by the way.
Ammianus’ native tongue was Greek and he spoke Latin as a second language. Perhaps this is why his Latin is a bit of a challenge, though it must have been accessible in his day because he was often invited to give public readings of his history and by all accounts these were pretty popular. If you don’t want to engage with Ammianus’ weird Latin, the accompanying English translation is fine, although it’s getting a bit dated now (1930s). The introduction is very useful and cuts through some of the bureaucratic complexities of the imperial civil service.
I would therefore recommend the Loeb editions over any alternatives that I’ve come across.

Helpful

Arch Stanton

Late Rome's Greatest Historian

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 4 December 2011

Since there are so many of these darn things the review shall be divided into three sections. First, a brief description of the Loeb series of books and their advantages/disadvantages. Second shall be my thoughts on the author himself, his accuracy, as well as his style and the style of his translator. This is of course only my opinion and should be treated as such. The final part shall review what this particular book actually covers.

The Loeb series date back to the turn of the last century. They are designed for people with at least some knowledge of Greek or Latin. They are a sort of compromise between a straight English translation and an annotated copy of the original text. On the left page is printed the text in Greek or Latin depending on the language of the writer and on the right side is the text in English. For somebody who knows even a little Greek or Latin these texts are invaluable. You can try to read the text in the original language knowing that you can correct yourself by looking on the next page or you can read the text in translation and check the translation with the original for more detail. While some of the translations are excellent mostly they are merely serviceable since they are designed more as an aid to translation rather than a translation in themselves. Most of them follow the Greek or Latin very closely. These books are also very small, maybe just over a quarter the size of your average hardcover book. This means that you'll need to buy more than just one book to read a complete work. They are also somewhat pricey considering their size. The Loeb Collection is very large but most of the more famous works can be found in better (and cheaper) translations elsewhere. If you want to read a rarer book or read one in the original language then you can't do better than the Loeb Editions.

There are three volumes of Ammianus' surviving works. Ammianus is the Tacitus of the 4th Century. His work was originally a continuation from the time of Tacitus but only the portion from 353-378 AD has survived. His work is easy to read, generally accurate, and filled with exciting events and interesting characters. Ammianus was a career soldier who was an active participant in many of the events he describes. He knew personally many of the people who's deeds he relates. The real hero of his book is the emperor Julian. Julian the Apostate is a very sympathetic character to modern minds, and Ammianus both liked and admired him. Further sources on Julian's campaigns include his own writings ( Volume I , Volume II , and Volume III ), Zosimus' Historia Nova, and the remains of Eunapius in 'The Classicising Roman Historians.' Ammianus was the last great Latin historian. All of those other sources are in Greek. A better translation would probably be the Penguin one called The Later Roman Empire , although the translation here is alright. The other Loeb editions are available here and here .

This volume begins with Julian's brother Gallus and his disgraceful actions while ruling as Caesar in Antioch. It details Julian's ascension to the position of Caesar (Junior Emperor) and his campaigns against the Germans, including the famous victory at Strasbourg. On the Eastern front it details Rome's conflicts with Persia and Constantius' attempts to handle them. the highpoint of this book is undoubtedly the description of the siege of Amida. Ammianus was there and he narrates his adventures in and around the city with a great deal of personal touches. This is as close as you get to having a Roman military memoir, although the Greeks have their own in Xenophon's Anabasis .

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