Synopses & Reviews
In this illuminating study Liebeschuetz examines two fundamental themes of Late Antiquity: the barbarization of the Roman army and the interrelation of Church and secular government. He discusses Alaric's Goths in the West, who were treated as a federate regiment rather than a migrating tribe; how the civilian authorities at Constantinople maintained control over the largely German army in a conflict that culminated in the Gainas rising; and how the same authorities came into conflict with John Chrysostom, the bishop of Constantinople, and had him deposed.
Review
"Adducing the familiar texts, disparate and often tendentious, he has constructed a novel explanation of the survival of the East more persuasive than any of his predecessors. No mean achievement in a tradition inspired by Gibbon."--American Historical Review