Marcus Aurelius' Rain Miracle and the Marcomannic Wars (Mnemosyne, History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity, Supplements, 308)

The rain and lightning miracles are the best-known events of Marcus Aurelius' northern wars. Several pagan and Christian versions existed in Antiquity. The author studies and publishes for the first time all the sources and the development of the legend from Antiquity to the 14th century. Brill Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 List of Abbreviations 10 List of Illustrations 14 Introduction 18 Chapter One The rain miracle 20 Chapter Two Research history of the rain miracle 22 Chapter Three Sources for the rain miracle 42 Chapter Four The rain miracle in medieval Latin and Byzantine sources 114 Chapter Five Coins and the rain miracle 126 Chapter Six The forged letter attributed to Marcus Aurelius 132 Chapter Seven Julian Theurgistes and the rain miracle 142 Chapter Eight The lightning and rain miracles 156 Chapter Nine The Column of Marcus Aurelius 174 Chapter Ten The scenes on the Column of Marcus Aurelius 188 Chapter Eleven Marcomannic-Quadian assault on Italy 200 Chapter Twelve Pannonia and the Marcomannic wars 220 The names of the 'Marcomannic' wars 220 The history of the first Marcomannic war (A.D. 166–167/175) 222 The history of the second Marcomannic war (A.D. 178–180) 261 The rule of Commodus and the end of the war (A.D. 180–182) 269 Chapter Thirteen The dating of the scenes on the Column of Marcus Aurelius 284 Bibliography 296 Index of Names 308 Index of Sources 314 9004166394,9789004166394 "The longest war of the Roman imperial period is the war Marcus Aurelius waged with the northern German and Sarmatian tribes. The best-known events of these wars were the lightning and rain miracles. Divine intervention saved the Roman troops who were surrounded by the Germans and suffering from a water shortage, by means of a lightning and rain miracle. Thunderbolts struck the enemy while the rain soothed the Romans' suffering. Several pagan and Christian versions of the miracle existed already in Antiquity." "Peter Kovacs examines these events and their sources in detail. The most important source is the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. The scenes of the column depict the miracles as well and therefore it was studied separately. The author also sketches the history of the Marcomannic wars. He publishes all the sources of the miracles and examines the development of the legend from Antiquity to the 14th century."--Jacket.

The longest war of the Roman imperial period is the war Marcus Aurelius waged with the northern German and Sarmatian tribes. The best-known events of these wars were the lightning and rain miracles. Divine intervention saved the Roman troops who were surrounded by the Germans and suffering from a water shortage, by means of a lightning and rain miracle. Thunderbolts struck the enemy while the rain soothed the Romans’ suffering. Several pagan and Christian versions of the miracle existed already in Antiquity. Péter Kovács examines these events and their sources in detail. The most important source is the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. The scenes of the column depict the miracles as well and therefore it was studied separately. The author also sketches the history of the Marcomannic wars. He publishes all the sources of the miracles and examines the development of the legend from Antiquity to the 14th century.