Sasanika Sources: Priscus (original) (raw)

Throughout the whole existence of their Empire, the Romans used the divide et impera polity against the European barbarians. The Romans tried to prevent the establishment of larger and more powerful political entities which could endanger them. Simultaneously, they supported rivalry amongst the tribal chieftains and provided the friendly ones with gold and goods. The arrival of the Huns into Europe did not initially bring any change to this international system. Since the 420s the Huns unified their own tribe and created close alliances with other tribes in Middle and Eastern Europe. This alliance had at last the military power to clash with the Romans and disrupt Roman international order across Europe. Because the Hunnic military power was not sufficient, their state was more of a tribal confederacy than a hierarchical and tightly controlled empire. The Hunnic Empire was also a short-termed affair limited to Attila's life.

Based on the analysis of an early Byzantine source, The History of Byzantium and of the Period of Attila by Priscus of Panium, the author tries to form a plausible conjecture about the true purpose of the western Roman embassy to the court of Attila in 449, associating it with the Iusta Grata Honoria affair and taking into account some new aspects. The paper also deals with the encounters between the western Roman envoys and Priscus, and it gives a summary of Priscus’ account of the journey of the eastern Roman envoys and their stay at the court of Attila.

The Huns are perhaps the most intriguing adversaries of the later Roman Empire. This paper examines the account of Priscus, which details his personal interactions with Attila, and compares it to other accounts of nomadic barbarians. Originally written as an assessed paper for my Master's degree at Swansea University. Awarded distinction.

The East Roman scrivener who wrote abstracts from the travelogues of the Byzantine historian Priscos rhetor - or Priscus - cannot have thought that one thousand years later the excerpt, the fragment describing Priscos rhetor’s diplomatic visit to Sovereign Attila’s residence in 448 AD would cause an ’earth tremor’.

This paper intends to discuss the proactivity, originality, degree of success and historical-political implications of the diverse diplomatic initiatives implemented by the imperial administration in the Balkan provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire during the second half of the 5th century as well as in the early 6th, particularly to those developed during the reign of emperor Anastasius I (491-518), from the eminent perspective of the main literary sources. El presente estudio pretende analizar la proactividad, originalidad, grado de éxito e implicaciones histórico-políticas de las diversas iniciativas diplomáticas implementadas por la administración imperial en las provincias balcánicas del Imperio Romano de Oriente durante la segunda mitad del siglo V y comienzos del VI, con especial atención a aquellas desarrolladas durante el reinado de Anastasio I (491-518), desde la eminente perspectiva de las principales fuentes literarias.

This Chapter on the major battle of the Huns is only available here on academia.edu. It is published separately from the book because this chapter is voluminous and weakly linked to the other parts and because it deals with one particular topic only. The book itself is dedicated to the quest to find Attila’s capital (Chapter 5) and his tomb (Chapter 6). This required inquiries into the origins of the Huns and the situation in Eurasia at the time of their arrival in Europe in the 360s (Chapter 2). It was mandatory to study the history of the Huns in Europe and to locate the former Hunnic capitals and the tombs of Attila’s royal ancestors (Chapter 3). It is the common understanding that the major battle of the Huns was fought in June 451 on the “Catalaunian Plains”. The precise location of this battle between the Huns, Western Romans, and Visigoths, however, has remained elusive. Chapter 4 rejects all of the former locations, in particular Troyes and Châlons. It dismantles Châlons as a fairy tale of the Gothic narrator Jordanes, based on a location error of Hydatius from Chaves. It explains what pugna Mauriacensis of the Lex Burgundionum really meant and that this term has nothing to do with a locus Mauriacus and is devoid of any connection to Troyes. Chapter 4 starts with the facts we know for sure from mid-451. It generates the most likely scenario for this major battle. It names the four, misunderstood or overlooked, ancient sources which concordantly reveal the true location of this battle. It demonstrates that eighteen artefacts, belonging to the Huns, Romans, and Visigoths, which were excavated in the late 19th century, corroborate the true location of this battle in the afternoon of June 15, 451. The book is available from BoD in printed form or as e-book: https://buchshop.bod.de/attila-the-quest-for-the-sword-of-mars-m-traugott-huber-9783759756879

Published in the Classical Review.