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Magnus in Ammianus, Eunapius, and Zosimus: New Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

A. F. Norman
A. F. Norman
Affiliation:
Universtiy of Hull
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Extract

This passage seems to have escaped identification so far. This is somewhat surprising, since it clearly refers to an incident at the sack of Maiozamalcha during Julian's Persian campaign which has been much discussed by editors ind critics of Ammianus and Zosimus. The reason may well be that in some ilder editions of Suidas (e.g. Küster) the name appears as.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Classical Quarterly , Volume 7 , Issue 3-4 , July 1957 , pp. 129 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1957

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References

1 If Seleucus (cf. Seeck, , Briefe des Libanios, p. 272Google Scholar) is to be identified with Seleucus of Eraesa (cf. Suidas, s.v.) author of a work entitled ‘Perthica’, then Eunapius {fr. 21) is not the only one of his time to misuse the term Parthian for Persian. The parallel of fr. 21 with Amm. 24. 2. 10 would then be above suspicion

1 Maenchen-Helfen (’The Date of Ammianus Marcellinus’ Last Books’, A.J.P. lxxvi. 392, n. 45) follows Thompson's suggestion of access by Eunapius to information from Ammianus, and develops it to explain the parallelism in the description of the Huns in Amm. 31.2. 6–7 ff. and Zosimus 4. 2. 4. The view is naturally weakened by the removal of the arguments for it based on the Magnus episode; and the use of some common source by both authors seems a more likely explanation. Neither Ammianus nor Eunapius had any personal acquaintance with the Huns apparently, and, in any case, there is little evidence for a knowledge of Latin on Eunapius' part adequate for him to be able to copy Ammianus so faithfully.