Conversations about imperialism and societal progress gave taken centre stage, and, in terms of historical scholarship, the Roman Empire has been a key focus. Understanding its imperial system is, therefore, more important than ever. Yet, some periods of the Empire remain obscure, due to a lack of written historical accounts. Indeed, after Hadrian\u2019s reign (117-138), Roman historical writing faded, leaving gaps in our knowledge of the period between the reigns of this emperor and Constantine and his successors – a crucial era in Roman history. This changed around AD 360 when Sextus Aurelius Victor<\/a> revived Latin historical writing with his Historia Abbreviata<\/em>, sometimes called De Caesaribus<\/em>. His work inspired a new generation of historians, including Eutropius<\/a>, Festus<\/a>, Ammianus Marcellinus<\/a>, and the authors of the Historia Augusta<\/a><\/u><\/em>. Therefore, to Victor and other secular historians writing in the following four decades \u2013 Eutropius, Festus, Ammianus Marcellinus, and the author(s) of the Historia Augusta<\/em> \u2013 we owe much of our knowledge of Roman imperial history over nearly three centuries between Hadrian and Theodosius I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018The Last Historians of Rome\u2019 Project<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Roman history has often been shaped by a few well-known historians, but recent scholarship is reshaping our understanding of that era. Key figures like Ammianus Marcellinus, Sextus Aurelius Victor, and the Historia Augusta<\/em>\u2014once dismissed or overlooked\u2014are now being reconsidered as essential sources of historical insight. The <\/a>Last Historians of Rome<\/a><\/em> project<\/a>, hosted at the Universities of Edinburgh and Nottingham, funded by the generous support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant number: AH\/Z505936\/1], seeks to break new ground in the study of these historians, by systematically exploring the manuscripts that transmit these historical works, rethinking their historical value and place in Roman historiography, and ultimately producing new critical editions and English translations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The changing view of Key Roman Historians<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ammianus Marcellinus<\/a><\/u><\/strong>: Traditionally seen as the final great historian of the Roman Empire, his work (covering AD 353\u2013378) has been re-evaluated. Scholars like Kelly argue that Ammianus\u2019 prose style and relationship to earlier historians, such as Tacitus and Livy, require further exploration. At Kelly has shown, there\u2019s a particular need for more emendation, alongside a more comprehensive analysis of the manuscript tradition and the early printed editions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sextus Aurelius Victor<\/a><\/u><\/strong>: Once regarded as a minor historian, Victor\u2019s work De Caesaribus<\/em> has been shown to be more complex than initially thought. Stover and Woudhuysen’s research<\/a> reveals that Victor\u2019s writings were a significant abbreviation of a larger, lost work, making him an important figure in late Roman historiography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Historia Augusta<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/strong>: While still considered a patchwork of fiction, recent findings by Stover<\/a> have uncovered previously ignored manuscript sources, revealing that the Historia Augusta<\/em> contains authentic historical elements hidden beneath its fictional layers. This should require rethinking its historical value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s Missing in Current Scholarship?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite recent progress, several gaps remain in how Roman historians are studied:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s Needed Moving Forward<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To address these gaps, the Last Historians <\/em>project aims to achieve the following goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Textual and Manuscript Reassessment<\/strong>: A comprehensive review of the primary texts and their manuscript traditions is needed. Kelly<\/a> and Stover\u2019s work on Ammianus<\/em> and the Historia Augusta<\/em> highlights the importance of re-evaluating these texts with an eye toward neglected manuscript branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reevaluation of Minor Historians<\/strong>: The works of Victor, Eutropius, and Festus deserve a fresh perspective. Stover and Woudhuysen\u2019s<\/a> studies on Victor show that his works were deeply engaged with earlier historiography, offering more historical value than previously recognized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern Translations<\/strong>: New translations of these texts are crucial for making them accessible to a wider audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why This Matters<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The reexamination of these texts isn\u2019t just about correcting historical errors\u2014it\u2019s about transforming our understanding of Roman historiography. This new approach highlights several key points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collective Contribution<\/strong>: By viewing historians like Ammianus, Victor, and the Historia Augusta<\/em> as a collective group, we can better understand how their works influenced each other and contributed to the development of Latin historical writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Incorporating Archaeology<\/strong>: Modern archaeological discoveries, such as those from Harzhorn<\/a> and Glac<\/a>, are shedding new light on both the Historia Augusta<\/em> and Victor\u2019s texts, offering fresh insights into these works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Onomastics<\/strong>: The study of names (onomastics) is helping to correct errors in manuscripts and trace their transmission through medieval scribes. This is crucial for understanding how these texts evolved over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accessible Translations<\/strong>: The goal of this project is to produce new, comprehensive English translations that are both accurate and transparent, making these foundational texts available to a modern audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The re-evaluation of Ammianus, Victor, and the Historia Augusta<\/em> is reshaping our understanding of Roman historiography. By addressing gaps in editorial work, re-examining manuscript traditions, and producing new translations, scholars are uncovering a much richer and more complex history of the late Roman Empire than previously thought. This fresh approach is not just about updating old editions but about ensuring these texts remain relevant and accessible for today\u2019s readers, offering valuable insights into the development of Roman history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The inscription on the base of the now-lost statue that Sex. Aurelius Victor erected in honour of the Emperor Theodosius (CIL 6.1186) during his urban prefecture (389?).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Agnese Bargagna The Crucial Role of Fourth-Century Historians Conversations about imperialism and societal progress gave taken centre stage, and, in terms of historical scholarship, the Roman Empire has been a key focus. Understanding its imperial system is, therefore, more important than ever. Yet, some periods of the Empire remain obscure, due to a lack […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141,"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasthistorians.shca.ed.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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