THE PANNONIANS IN АNCIENT HISTORIOGRAPHY FROM 1ST TO 4TH CENTURY Cover Image

ПРЕДСТАВА О ПАНОНЦИМА У НАРАТИВНИМ ИЗВОРИМА ОД 1. ДО 4. ВЕКА
THE PANNONIANS IN АNCIENT HISTORIOGRAPHY FROM 1ST TO 4TH CENTURY

Author(s): Sara Lazić
Subject(s): History, Ancient World
Published by: Institut za strategijska istraživanja
Keywords: barbarians; Pannonians; Later Roman Empire; Ammianus Marcellinus

Summary/Abstract: The Pannonians (as well as other ethnic groups from Illyricum) were depicted as primitive barbarians in ancient historiography. Ancient writers emphasize their bodily strength and military prowess, but also attribute boorishness and cruelty to them. A particularly unfavorable image of Pannonians can be found in testimonies from the 4th century. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, the Pannonian dignitaries in imperial service under Valentinian I were people of ”the most despicable kind”. They are bloodthirsty and often compared to wild beasts in Ammianus’ work. In this paper we will show the general representation of barbarians in Greco‐Roman world, and then we will go through some important testimonies about the Pannonians from 1st to 4th century. In the end, we will try to shed more light on 4th‐century events that made an impact on, without any doubt, exaggeratedly negative image of the Pannonians in the historiography of the Late Antiquity.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 9-21
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Serbian
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