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Ammianus, Magnus Maximus and the Gothic Uprising

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2020

Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele
Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele*
Affiliation:
Department of History, Ghent Universityjeroen.wijnendaele@ugent.be
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Abstract

It has been asserted that the usurper Magnus Maximus can be identified with the commander Maximus who served during the Gothic uprising of 376–77. This assertion is tempting because it connects imperial events in Africa, the Balkans and Britain during a pivotal period. However, this note aims to dispel this identification. It does so by both examining the socio-institutional ramifications of promotion in the imperial chain of command and cross-examining literary traditions previously overlooked in this identification.

Keywords

AmmianusBritainBalkansGothsMagnus Maximus
Type
Shorter Contributions
Information
Britannia , Volume 51 , November 2020 , pp. 330 - 335
Copyright
Copyright © The Author, 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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Footnotes

I would like to thank Gavin Kelly and Philip Rance for elucidating a few aspects pertaining to the arguments discussed and the reviewers of Britannia for their generous feedback. All have helped to improve the final version of this article, which was made possible thanks to the support of the Special Research Fund (Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds (B.O.F.)) of Ghent University.

References

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