Ammianus Marcellinus and the representation of historical reality

Much of what we know today of Rome in the fourth century depends on the surviving eighteen books of the Res Gestae of the historian Ammianus Marcellinus. The accuracy of Ammianus' reporting has come under question over the past fifty years, however, and Timothy D. Barnes here offers new grist for skepticism.

This is the first book on Ammianus to place equal emphasis on the literary and historical aspects of his writing. Barnes assesses Ammianus' depiction of historical reality by simultaneously investigating both the historical accuracy and the literary qualities of the Res Gestae. He examines its structure and arrangement, emphasizes its Greek, pagan, and polemical features, and points out the extent to which Ammianus drew on his imagination in shaping the narrative.