The Shields of the Empire Eastern Roman Military Elites During the Reigns of the Emperors Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I (Byzantina Lodziensia)

Contents 6 Introduction 10 I. The Military in the Fifth Century 14 Who Constitutes ‘Military Elites’? 14 An Overview of the Sources 16 The Roman Army 21 The Foederati 24 Commanding the Roman Army 25 The Prerogatives of Magistri Militum 28 Sources of Power and Influence 30 II. The Military Elite during the Reign of Theodosius II 34 The Regime of Anthemius 35 The Fall of Anthemius and the New Regime of Pulcheria 41 The War with Persia 44 The Campaign against the Usurper John 50 The First Vandal Expedition 53 Plintha and the Huns in the Twenties and the Thirties 56 The Second Vandal Expedition (441) 61 The Developments in the East 65 The War against the Huns of 441–442 66 The Road to the Next War 69 The War of 447: A Conflict Shrouded in Mystery 70 The Course of the War 72 The Peace of 447 78 The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back: The Conflict over the Hunnic Question 80 The Curious Case of Berichus 82 The Developments of 448–450 84 Conclusion 86 III. The Military Elite during the Reign of Marcian 88 The Perception of Marcian by his Contemporaries and in the Scholarship 88 Accession to the Throne… 90 … and Its Presentation 91 The Month of Power Struggle 93 Aspar’s Right Hand Man 95 All Marcian’s Men 97 The Wars of Marcian 102 The War of 452 105 The Conclusion of the Hunnic Problem 109 The Northern Border and the Career of Procopius Anthemius 112 The Problem of the Vandals 114 The Eastern Policy of Marcian 117 The Arab Raids 118 The Blemmyes and Nobades 119 The Expeditions to Lazica 120 The Soldier Emperor 122 The Emperor of the Soldiers 122 The Puzzling Last Years of Marcian’s Reign 123 Conclusion 127 IV. The Military Elite during the Reign of Leo I 128 The Question of Succession 128 The Role of Aspar in the Succession 130 A Dangerous Precedent 131 Leo, the comes et tribunus Mattiariorum 132 The Influence of Aspar 134 Leo’s Own Ambitions 135 The Ostrogoths and Marcellinus of Dalmatia 136 Timothy Ailuros and the Religious Unrest in Alexandria 139 463: the Birth of Leo’s Dynastic Ambitions? 140 Behind Every Great Man… The Role of Verina 142 The Turn to the West 144 The Arrival of Tarasikodissa and the Situation in the East 146 The Conflict between the Goths and the Sciri 148 The War with Dengizich 150 Aspar’s Opposition 156 The Expedition of Basiliscus 157 The Aftermath of the Defeat 162 The Campaign of Heraclius and Marsus 164 The Revolt of Anagastes 167 Aspar’s Return to Power 170 Leo the Butcher 172 A Pyrrhic Victory 174 Conclusion 175 Conclusion 178 Ethnicity: Solidarity and Division 178 Kinship and Family Matters 181 Faith and Religious Policy 183 The Question of Identity: Becoming Byzantine? 184 Closing Thoughts 186 Appendix 1 190 The Question of the Illyrian Command 191 Tenures of Magistri Militum 193 Appendix 2 196 List of Abbreviations 202 Bibliography 204 Primary Sources 204 Secondary Literature 208 Index of People 218 Index of Ethnicand Geographic Names 224 Abstract 228 Maps 230 Eastern,Roman,Empire;,military,elites;,Aspar;,Theodosius,II;,Marcian;,Leo,I Eastern Roman Empire,military elites,Aspar,Theodosius II,Marcian,Leo I