The following is a list of the passages you are required to read from Ammianus Marcellinus over the next two weeks.  Ideally you should read the passages that correspond with the dates listed below because these passages have most to do with the lecture for that day.  However, you are free to divide up the assigned readings as you choose as long as you eventually finish all of them and are prepared for discussion of the relevant texts and the short written assignment on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

The first 13 books of Ammianus Marcellinus’s history are lost.  The text we know begins in the wake of Constantius II’s campaign in the West against the usurper Magnentius in the year 353.   (Constantius II was one of the sons of Constantine the Great.)  Bk. 14.1 moves to the East, to the administration at Antioch of Constantius’s Casear, his cousin Gallus.

Be sure to use the resources in the Penguin edition of the text!  For those who have time, there is a good introduction.  But even if you do not read the introduction, you should be aware of the family tree of Constantine the Great (28), the “Introductory Note” (39) the identification of individuals in the text (478-487), dates of emperors (488-489), & the maps & geographical key at the back of the book.

Finally, I have prepared a list of questions for reflection as you read through the text.  Hopefully these will help you to focus on key issues, events and ideas as well as to note Ammianus’s particular perspective in narrating his history.  (One of the questions for Friday, 2/23, should be the subject of your 1-page written response.)

For Tuesday, 2/10

Bk. 14.1, 5, 7, 9-11;  Bk. 15. 1-3 & 8;  Bk. 16.1-8 & 11-12;  Bk. 20.4-5 & 8-10;  Bk. 21.1-5 & 15.

(Do not forget to read the the short text of Emp. Julian for Friday (2/16) and the dispute between Ambrose and Symmachus for Monday (2/19)!  Get started reading Ammianus as soon as possible.)

1. How does Ammianus characterize Gallus?  What sort of ruler was he, and how does Ammianus go about reporting Gallus’s actions & motivations to leave his readers with a particular impression?

2. Why does Gallus get in trouble with Constantius?  What does he do to make things worse?  What does Gallus’s fate imply about Constantius & his rule?

3. Trace Julian’s activity in his first years as Caesar.  What tasks does he undertake?  How well does he succeed?

4. As Ammianus describes it, what sequence of events leads to Julian being proclaimed Augustus?  Who initiates what actions?  What motivates them?

5. How does Julian act toward Constantius after his troops have proclaimed him Augustus?  In what other ways does he assert his new status?  When does he move to make his claims more aggressively?

Bk. 22.1-5 & 9-14; Bk. 23.1;  Bk. 24.1-5 (skim) & 6-8;  Bk. 25.3-5, 7, 9; Bk. 15.12-13;  Bk. 18.4-19.9;  Bk. 31.1-4 & 12-16

(Choose any one of these questions or the questions listed for Tues., Feb. 22 for your one-page assignment.  In responding to these broad questions you may need to refer to the reading from last week as well.  Be sure to refer to one or two specific examples from the text to make your point.)
 

1. Looking back at Julian’s rise to Augustus, how does he manage to succeed?

2. Trace how Julian’s religious goals influenced his policies & acts as emperor.

3. What aspects of Julian’s leadership does Ammianus emphasize?  What techniques does he use to portray Julian in the way that he does.

4. What techniques does Ammianus use to portray personalities, actions & symbols so as to legitimize Julian’s semi-usurpation of the title of Augustus?

5. How does Ammianus use his own personal experiences in writing his national history?  To what information about events & persons did he have direct access?  What does he include in his account besides  factually reporting events & persons?

For Tuesday, Feb. 22

Bk. 14.6; 15.7; 16.10; 17.4; 19.10

1. What types of social & political activities does Ammianus report as going on at Rome?  Which ones does he approve of?  Which ones does he disapprove of?  Why?

2. What does the city of Rome mean for Ammianus & his readers, or what does he think it should mean for the residents of Rome?  What elements of the city & its history contribute to this meaning?  How?  (Note specific examples.)

3. What values & assumptions do his views reflect about 1) style of government, & b) social class?

For Thursday, Feb. 24

Bk. 29.1-2

(No questions on Ammianus for today.)