Free The Historians of Late Antiquity by David Rohrbacher

eunuch Eutherius may also indicate an informant. Eutherius had served the imperial court since the reign of Constantine, had an “excellent memory,” and had retired to Rome (16.7). He undoubtedly could have provided Ammianus with vast amounts of information about events at court. Praetextatus was another official who may have been a source for the historian. After relaying several anecdotes concerning the acts of Julian at Constantinople, Ammianus tells us that Praetextatus was present for all these events (22.7.6). This Praetextatus, who served later as prefect of Rome, was appointed governor of Greece by Julian, and surely was the source for Ammianus’ information.
    The Res Gestae is distinguished by its wild profusion of detail, and Ammianus was the author of the most colorful, readable, and elegant history of the fourth century. The Res Gestae is the product of an attempt not only to revive the grand style of history which had lain dormant in the Latin-speaking world for two centuries, but also to surpass previous histories with the addition of exempla drawn from all of ancient history and with the addition of digressions covering every facet of ancient knowledge. While modern readers may not find the relentless moralizing or the encyclopedic detail entirely to their liking, Ammianus’ colossal ambition cannot be denied. Ammianus’ diction and imagery provide a scathing portrait of a squalid and violent age. His evidence must be approached with caution, since his distaste for Christianity and partisanship for Julian have resulted in subtle but systematic distortion. Nevertheless, the Res Gestae remains the essential source for the reconstruction of the history of the later fourth century, and stands out among late antique histories as one of the enduring creations of antiquity.

Text and translation
    Latin text edited in two volumes by W. Seyfarth (1978), Teubner. English translation of entire work in three volumes by J.C. Rolfe (1935), Loeb edition, and of most of the work by W. Hamilton (1986), Penguin.

2
AURELIUS VICTOR
    Life
    The life of Sextus Aurelius Victor has been comprehensively limned by H.W. Bird in several works (Bird 1975, 1984: 5–15, 1994: vii–xi. See also Nixon 1971; den Boer 1972: 19–20; Dufraigne 1975: ix–xv). Victor tells us that he, like the emperor Septimius Severus, was born in the country, the son of a poor and uneducated father (20.5). Several pieces of evidence suggest that he was from Africa. He treats the African emperor Septimius Severus favorably and at great length (20), he includes a digression on a relatively minor event in the African town of Cirta (40.28), and he refers to Carthage as terrarum decus (40.19), the “glory of the world” (Bird 1984: 128 n. 2). He was probably born around 320, since he held the position of consular governor of Pannonia Secunda in 361, and his humble background would have prevented him from rising more rapidly through the imperial service (Bird 1975: 49). Victor may have been in Rome from 337 to 348. It has been suggested that his remark on the unhappiness of the people of Rome in the year 337 over the burial of Constantine at Constantinople (41.17) might be evidence of his presence in the city, as might his comment on the lack of celebrations at Rome to mark the eleven hundredth anniversary of the city (28.2), although neither of the passages demands such an interpretation (Bird 1975: 50).
    In 361, when the usurping emperor Julian prepared for the looming campaign against Constantius II, he met Victor at Sirmium in northern Italy, and he urged the historian to join him at Naissus in modern-day Serbia (Amm. 21.10.6). Sirmium was an important center of the imperial administration in the fourth century, serving as an imperial residence as well as the headquarters for both the governor of Pannonia Secunda and thepraetorian prefect for Illyricum (Bird 1984: 8–9). Victor must have been in imperial service for some time before 361, beginning