The Roman Empire Divided, 400-700 [2 ed.] 1408249634, 9781408249635

Table of contents :
List of illustrations viii
Acknowledgements ix
Preface to the first edition x
Preface to the second edition xi
Maps xii
Introduction 1
1. The Empire 7
Frontiers 11
Barbarians 14
Non-Romans 17
Names and clothing 24
Roman society 27
Religion 34
2. The western Mediterranean to the mid-sixth century 39
Italy 39
Africa 54
Spain 65
3. From Gaul to France 72
Newcomers and the old establishment 74
Clovis 79
The sixth century 82
Franks and indigenes 84
A powerful woman 89
Centre and peripheries 92
Control of resources 96
The rise of the north 99
Changes in Latin 103
4. From Britain to England 106
Roman Britain 107
Newcomers 110
Indigenes 114
Newcomers and indigenes 116
Frankish influence 121
Scandinavian influence 123
Irish influence 125
Mediterranean influence 127
Underground wealth 132
Monarchy 134
Old and new 137
5. The western Mediterranean from the time of Justinian 140
Byzantium and the West 140
Africa 142
Catastrophes? 147
Italy 149
Spain 165
6. South of the Danube 174
The fifth century 178
The loss of Noricum 180
Justinian 182
Slavs and Avars 186
The seventh century 191
Supernatural defenders 194
Thessaloniki 196
The Empire fights back 200
Bulgars 203
7. The East to 661 207
A city and its empire 207
The Arabs 217
Muhammad 221
Persians and Jews 224
Preparation for expansion 229
Expansion begins 232
The initial impact of the Arabs 235
8. The East from 661 240
The new regime 240
Expansion to the west 242
Continuities 247
Discontinuities 249
Buildings 251
Iconoclasm 258
The balance of power 260
Co-existence 263
The end of the world? 265
Structural change 267
9. Systems great and small 274
The Pirenne thesis I 274
World systems 283
The Pirenne thesis II 289
The Mediterranean 291
The West looks back 294
Retrospect and prospect 296
Abbreviations 299
Notes 300
Bibliography 327
Index 342

Citation preview

THE ROMAN EMPIRE DIVIDED, 400–700 ◆

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THE ROMAN EMPIRE DIVIDED, 400–700

John Moorhead Second edition

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Routledge Taylor & Francis Group

L O N D O N A N D NEW YORK

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ISBN: 978-1-4082-4963-5 QCL

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Moorhead, John, 1948The Roman Empire divided, 400-700 / John Moorhead. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4082-4963-5 (pbk.) 1. Rome--History--Empire, 284-476. 2. Byzantine Empire--Relations--Rome. 3. Rome--Relations--Byzantine Empire. I. Title. DG319.M66 2012 937′.63--dc23 2012011754

Set by 35 in 11.5/14pt Garamond MT

C ONTENT S ◆ List of illustrations Acknowledgements Preface to the first edition Preface to the second edition Maps

Introduction

viii ix x xi xii 1

1 The Empire

7 11 14 17 24 27 34

Frontiers Barbarians Non-Romans Names and clothing Roman society Religion

2 The western Mediterranean to the mid-sixth century Italy Africa Spain

3 From Gaul to France Newcomers and the old establishment Clovis The sixth century Franks and indigenes A powerful woman Centre and peripheries Control of resources The rise of the north Changes in Latin

∙v∙

39 39 54 65 72 74 79 82 84 89 92 96 99 103

C o n te n ts

4 From Britain to England Roman Britain Newcomers Indigenes Newcomers and indigenes Frankish influence Scandinavian influence Irish influence Mediterranean influence Underground wealth Monarchy Old and new

5 The western Mediterranean from the time of Justinian Byzantium and the West Africa Catastrophes? Italy Spain

6 South of the Danube

106 107 110 114 116 121 123 125 127 132 134 137

140 140 142 147 149 165 174 178 180 182 186 191 194 196 200 203

The fifth century The loss of Noricum Justinian Slavs and Avars The seventh century Supernatural defenders Thessaloniki The Empire fights back Bulgars

7 The East to 661

207 207 217 221 224 229

A city and its empire The Arabs Muhammad Persians and Jews Preparation for expansion ∙ vi ∙

C o n te n ts

Expansion begins The initial impact of the Arabs

8 The East from 661

232 235 240 240 242 247 249 251 258 260 263 265 267

The new regime Expansion to the west Continuities Discontinuities Buildings Iconoclasm The balance of power Co-existence The end of the world? Structural change

9 Systems great and small The Pirenne thesis I World systems The Pirenne thesis II The Mediterranean The West looks back Retrospect and prospect

274 274 283 289 291 294 296

Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

299 300 327 342

∙ vii ∙

LIST OF ILLUSTRAT I ONS ◆ M ap s 1 The late Roman Empire 2 The western Mediterranean 3 Gaul 4 Britain 5 The Middle East 6 The Balkans and environs

xii xiv xvi xvii xviii xx

Pl at es 1 The contrast between a Roman medallion of the fourth century and a representation on a brooch found near the Rhine 2 A villa of the fourth century in a rural setting, depicted in a mosaic at Carthage 3 Theoderic’s palace at Ravenna, as represented in a mosaic in the church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo 4 The gold seal ring of King Childeric 5 Empress Theodora with her court of two ministers and seven women 6 Part of a treasure laid down at Hoxne in the fifth century 7 A gold strip from the Staffordshire hoard, with a biblical inscription 8 The emperor Justinian (527–65), in a mosaic in the church of San Vitale at Ravenna 9 A mysterious artefact interpreted as the helmet plate of the Lombard king Agilulf, found near Lucca 10 Votive crown of king Reccesuinth 11 A mosaic of the mid-sixth century at Poreb 12 St Demetrius, the protector of Thessaloniki, in a mosaic of the early seventh century 13 Silver paten, showing the Communion of the Apostles, produced during the reign of Justin II (565–78) 14 Jerusalem, as shown in a map of the second half of the sixth century in a mosaic on the floor of a church at Madaba in Jordan 15 The great mosque of Damascus 16 Landscapes on the mosaics of the mosque of Damascus ∙ viii ∙

19 28 51 79 91 113 133 151 157 170 175 199 209 216 254 255

AC KNOWLED G E ME NT S ◆

W

e are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material:

Plate 2 © C M Dixon/ Ancient Art & Architecture Collection Ltd; Plate 3 © Mary Evans Picture Library; Plate 4 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford; Plate 5 © Giraudon/ Bridgeman Art Library; Plate 6 © The Trustees of the British Museum, All rights reserved; Plate 7 © Birmingham City Council; Plates 8, 14 and 15 Ronald Sheridan/ Ancient Art & Architecture Collection Ltd; Plates 9 and 16 © Ancient Art & Architecture Collection Ltd; Plates 10 and 11 © Alamy Images; Plate 12 © Sonia Halliday Photographs; Plate 13 © Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University. In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material, and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.

∙ ix ∙

PREF AC E TO TH E FIRS T E DIT I ON ◆

I

t is a pleasure to thank those people and institutions without whose help this book would not have been written. I am grateful to the Australian Research Commission for a Large Grant which gave me time away from teaching, and to Andrew Maclennan, who commissioned it. The staff at Longman have been a model of efficiency and tact. I also thank the scholars, their identities unknown to me, who reported on a draft. While a book on the scale of this one must contain errors of fact and interpretation, they will be fewer because of their comments. Finally, if the readers of this book detect a certain authorial tone, the voice they hear will be mine, in conversation with students at the University of Queensland, for whose intriguing questions and sense of delighted surprise I am grateful beyond words. John Moorhead Feast of the Ascension, 2001

∙x∙

PR EFA C E TO T HE SEC O ND ED I T I ON ◆

A

kind suggestion from Mari Shullaw that, after eleven printings, a second edition of this book was opportune led me to read it from cover to cover for the first time in over a decade. I was pleased to see how well it had worn. But there were new insights to incorporate, issues that had to be rethought, and, regrettably, errors to correct. While it is not quite the book I would write were I starting again from scratch, I hope the new edition will succeed in introducing more readers into an area of history that is both pivotal and fascinating. The seed of one of the directions the argument takes in the last chapter was planted years ago by my former colleague the late Clayton Bredt, and my acknowledgement of how much I owe his restless curiosity comes all too late. I am grateful too to Chi Kong Lai, whose expertise and energy allowed me to develop this idea, and to Serena Bagley, the ballerina of the computer keyboard, for many kindnesses. This author is fortunate in his friends. John Moorhead Feast of St Maximus the Confessor, 2012

∙ xi ∙

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