Barbarians and brothers-in-arms: Byzantines on barbarian soldiers in the sixth century
The modern explanation of the Byzantine distinction between Roman and barbarian has focused on a dichotomy based on political allegiance to the emperor. In this interpretation, while individuals could change identity by changing loyalty, the categories themselves did not change. This essay argues th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2016
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| In: |
Byzantinische Zeitschrift
Year: 2015, Volume: 108, Issue: 2, Pages: 809-826 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The modern explanation of the Byzantine distinction between Roman and barbarian has focused on a dichotomy based on political allegiance to the emperor. In this interpretation, while individuals could change identity by changing loyalty, the categories themselves did not change. This essay argues that sixth-century Byzantine military elites had more complex opinions about identity and loyalty. In particular, they could accept that many who served the emperor loyally were in fact non-Romans and even barbarians, even if they liked them and refrained from using that term pejoratively. In fact, Byzantines could exhibit approval and fondness of non-Romans in loyal service to the emperor. The application of the pejorative label “barbarian” to non-Romans serving in the Byzantine military was limited to occasions when criticism was deemed appropriate (such as the misbehavior of the non-Roman) and those situations in which a reference to traditional barbarian tropes served a literary purpose. |
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| ISSN: | 1868-9027 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/bz-2015-0025 |