Questo sito usa cookie di analytics per raccogliere dati in forma aggregata e cookie di terze parti per migliorare l'esperienza utente.
Leggi l'Informativa Cookie Policy completa.

Rare and modern books

Lenski, Noel Emmanuel

FAILURE OF EMPIRE Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D. Fine in Fine dust jacket

University of California Press, 2003

80.00 €

Ancient World Books Bookshop

(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Ask for more info

Payment methods

Details

Year of publication
2003
Author
Lenski, Noel Emmanuel
Publishers
University of California Press
Keyword
Biographies & Memoirs Historical Ancient History Europe Germany, Greece Valens Roman Empire
Cover description
Fine in Fine dust jacket
Binding description
Hardcover ISBN 0520233328

Description

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. ; 1.35 x 9.86 x 6.24 Inches; 454 pages