Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D. (Transformation of the Classical Heritage): 34 - Hardcover

Lenski, Noel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520233328 ISBN 13: 9780520233324

Publisher: University of California Press, 2003

Synopsis

Failure of Empire is the first comprehensive biography of the Roman emperor Valens and his troubled reign (a.d. 364-78). Valens will always be remembered for his spectacular defeat and death at the hands of the Goths in the Battle of Adrianople. This singular misfortune won him a front-row seat among history's great losers. By the time he was killed, his empire had been coming unglued for several years: the Goths had overrun the Balkans; Persians, Isaurians, and Saracens were threatening the east; the economy was in disarray; and pagans and Christians alike had been exiled, tortured, and executed in his religious persecutions. Valens had not, however, entirely failed in his job as emperor. He was an admirable administrator, a committed defender of the frontiers, and a ruler who showed remarkable sympathy for the needs of his subjects.

In lively style and rich detail, Lenski incorporates a broad range of new material, from archaeology to Gothic and Armenian sources, in a study that illuminates the social, cultural, religious, economic, administrative, and military complexities of Valens's realm. Failure of Empire offers a nuanced reconsideration of Valens the man and shows both how he applied his strengths to meet the expectations of his world and how he ultimately failed in his efforts to match limited capacities to limitless demands.

About this title

Synopsis:

A comprehensive biography of the Roman emperor Valens and his troubled reign (AD 364-78). Valens will always be remembered for his spectacular defeat and death at the hands of the Goths in the Battle of Adrianople. The text incorporates material from archaeology to Gothic and Armenian sources.

About the Author:

Noel Lenski is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0520233328
• ISBN 13: 9780520233324
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 460