Abstract:
Antioch, the metropolis of the province of the Syria Coele, was one of the biggest towns in the Roman Empire, and, in the 4th century AD, the residence of several emperors, such as Diocletian, Constantius II, Gallus, Julian and Valens. Sometimes the relationship between the emperor and the population was openly hostile, but in certain cases harmony prevailed. Truth to tell, every sovereign strived to leave, on the city, the mark of his government as a strategy adopted in order to preserve his memory. Therefore, Antioch was a city that could always count on the lavish generosity of the emperors. In this article, we intend to revisit the episode regarding the Valens’ stay at Antioch. Such episode is deeply influenced by the negative image created by Ammianus Marcellinus and by the authors of the ecclesiastical histories (Socrates, Sozomenus and Theodoretus of Cyrus) due to the persecution against the practitioners of magic and the Nicene believers decreed by the Roman government. Notwithstanding such narratives, we should recognize that Valens was responsible for building a new forum in downtown Antioch which quickly became one of the focal spots of the urban landscape, what reveals the importance of the city to him. In our opinion, it is necessary to revaluate the Ammianus’ and ecclesiastical historians’ narratives that spread the image of Valens as an irascible and merciless emperor hated by the population of Antioch.
Keywords:
Late Antiquity; Antioch; Valens; City; Memory