Název: The roles of Marcian, Aspar and Zeno in the interregnum between the death of Theodosius II and the accession of Marcian
Zdrojový dokument: Graeco-Latina Brunensia. 2025, roč. 30, č. 1, s. 5-18
Rozsah
5-18
-
ISSN1803-7402 (print)2336-4424 (online)
Trvalý odkaz (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/GLB2025-1-1
Trvalý odkaz (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/digilib.82279
Type: Článek
Jazyk
anglicky
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 International
Přístupová práva
otevřený přístup
Upozornění: Tyto citace jsou generovány automaticky. Nemusí být zcela správně podle citačních pravidel.
Abstrakt(y)
In scholarly literature, it is often assumed that the elevation of Marcian (450–457) was a result of an agreement between Aspar and the Empress Pulcheria; sometimes another general, Zeno, is thought to be a significant figure in this election. However, it is unclear how Zeno was involved and whether he even was in Constantinople at the time. Equally unclear is what Aspar's official position was – he may have been a general, but what sort of general? The article offers some possibilities and further argues that Zeno, although absent, was essential for Aspar's plans. Aspar may have managed to convince the Empress and all the courtiers that Marcian was the best choice; however, he still needed to secure Zeno's support and avoid a civil war, as Zeno had been suspected of mutiny. Further, we may well ask whether the accession of Marcian was an election at all, or rather a "surrogate usurpation" which was a common thing in the 5th century in the West: it can be argued that just like Ricimer, Aspar did not aspire to the imperial title himself, but conveniently, there was a suitable candidate among his servants. Another puzzle is the interregnum between the death of Theodosius II and the accession of Marcian. It lasted for 28 days, which is much more than with any other case of imperial election. The logical conclusion is that several weeks were required to find Zeno (whose location in the East was apparently unknown), brief him and ask him to come to Constantinople to give his approval and support for the choice of Marcian. The article thus tries to answer an important question: was the accession of Marcian a convenient way of Aspar to preserve and even enhance his own standing without altering or disrupting the power structure in the East?
Reference
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[2] Bleeker, R. A. (2022). Aspar and the Struggle for the Eastern Roman Empire, AD 421–71. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
[3] Blockley, R. C. (1981). The Fragmentary Classicizing Historians of the Later Roman Empire. Eunapius, Olympiodorus, Priscus and Malchus. Liverpool: Francis Cairns.
[4] Blockley, R. C. (1983). The Fragmentary Classicizing Historians of the Later Roman Empire. Eunapius, Olympiodorus, Priscus and Malchus (II. Text, Translation and Historiographical Notes). Liverpool: Francis Cairns.
[5] Boak, A. E. R. (1915). The Roman Magistri in the Civil and Military Service of the Empire. Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 26, 73–164.
[6] Burgess, R. W. (1994). The Accession of Marcian in the Light of Chalcedonian Apologetic and Monophysite Polemic. Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 86(1), 47–68.
[7] Busch, A. (2023). Representatives and co-rulers: imperial women and the court in late antiquity. In C. Davenport, & M. McEvoy (Eds.), The Roman Imperial Court in the Principate and Late Antiquity (pp. 203–217). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[8] Busch, A. (2015). Die Frauen der theodosianischen Dynastie. Macht und Repräsantation kaiserlichen Frauen im 5. Jahrhundert. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
[9] Croke, B. (1978). The Date and Circumstances of Marcian's Decease, A.D. 457. Byzantion, 48(1), 5–9.
[10] Croke, B. (1981). Anatolius and Nomus: Envoys to Attila. Byzantinoslavica, 42, 159–170.
[11] Croke, B. (2001). Count Marcellinus and his Chronicle. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[12] Croke, B. (2005). Dynasty and Ethnicity: Emperor Leo I and the Eclipse of Aspar. Chiron, 35, 147–204.
[13] Croke, B. (2015). Dynasty and Aristocracy in the Fifth Century. In M. Maas (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila (pp. 98–124). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[14] Demandt, A. (2007). Die Spätantike. Römische Geschichte von Diocletian bis Justinian, 284–565 n. Chr. München: Beck.
[15] Doležal, S. (2022). The Reign of Constantine, 306–337. Continuity and Change in the Late Roman Empire. Cham: Palgrave.
[16] Elton, H. (2009). Imperial Politics at the Court of Theodosius II. In A. Cain, & N. Lenski (Eds.), The Power of Religion in Late Antiquity (pp. 133–42). Farnham: Ashgate.
[17] Elton, H. (2018). The Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. A Political and Military History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[18] Feld, K. (2005). Barbarische Bürger. Die Isaurier und das Römische Reich. Berlin – New York: Walter de Gruyter.
[19] Goffart, W. (2006). Barbarian Tides. The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
[20] Gregory, T. E. (2005). A History of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[21] Hohlfelder, R. (2017). Marcian's Gamble: A Reassessment of Eastern Imperial Policy toward Attila AD 450–453. In E. Badian (Ed.), American Journal of Ancient History (91, pp. 54–69). Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press.
[22] Holum, K. G. (1982). Theodosian Empresses. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[23] Jones, A. H. M. (1964). The Later Roman Empire 284–602. A Social Economic and Administrative Survey (Vols. I–III). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[24] Kaldellis, A. (2024). The New Roman Empire. A History of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[25] Kaldellis A., & Kruse, M. (2023). The Field Armies of the East Roman Empire, 361–630. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[26] Kelly, Ch. (2010). The End of Empire. Attila the Hun and the Fall of Rome. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
[27] Lee, A. D. (2013a). From Rome to Byzantium, AD 363–565. The Transformation of Ancient Rome. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
[28] Lee, A. D. (2013b). Theodosius and his generals. In Ch. Kelly (Ed.), Theodosius II. Rethinking the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity (pp. 90–108). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[29] Lee, A. D. (2008). The eastern empire: Theodosius to Anastasius. In A. Cameron, B. Ward-Perkins, & M. Whitby (Eds.), The Cambridge Ancient History (Vol. XIV, Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, A.D. 425–600; pp. 33–62). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[30] Lee, A. D. (2007). War in Late Antiquity. A Social History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
[31] Lenski, N. (2002). Failure of Empire. Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D. Berkeley – Los Angeles – London: University of California Press.
[32] Maenchen-Helfen, O. (1973). The World of the Huns: Studies in their History and Culture. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[33] McEvoy, M. (2016). Becoming Roman?: The Not-So-Curious Case of Aspar and the Ardaburii. Journal of Late Antiquity, 9(2), 483–511.
[34] Mitchell, S. (2015). A History of the Later Roman Empire AD 284–641. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
[35] Norwich, J. J. (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. Vintage Books: New York.
[36] Potter, D. S. (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay AD 180–395. London – New York: Routledge.
[37] Szidat, J. (2010). Usurpator tanti nominis. Kaiser und Usurpator in der Spätantike (337–476 n. Chr.). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
[38] Thompson, E. A. (1950). The Foreign Policies of Theodosius II and Marcian. Hermathena, 76, 58–75.
[39] Treadgold, W. (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
[40] Treadgold, W. (2007). The Early Byzantine Historians. Houndmills – New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
[41] Van Nuffelen, P., & Van Hoof, L. (2020). Jordanes: Romana and Getica. (Translated with an introduction and notes). Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
[42] Wolfram, H. (1998). Das Reich und die Germanen. Berlin: Siedler Verlag.
[43] Zuckerman, C. (1994). L'empire d'Orient et les Huns: Notes sur Priscus. Travaux et Memoires Byz., 12, 159–82.