Is Emperor Marcian a Successor of Theodosius II or an Innovator?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52575/2687-0967-2022-49-3-528-534Keywords:
Early Byzantium, Theodosius II, Marcian I, Pulcheria, HunsAbstract
Emperor Marcian was highly appreciated for his activity in the writings of Byzantine historians such as Hermias Sozomen, Socrates Scholasticus, Evagrius, etc. In their writings, he was described as an ideal ruler, compared with Constantine the Great. For a long time, the same opinion was held by many subsequent researchers of Late antiquity, who considered the era of Marcian as the «golden age» of Byzantium, and the activities of his predecessor Theodosius the Younger as the fruitless. However, recently the reverse process has been taking place in historiography – a decrease in the assessment of the Marcian era, which reflects the progress and development of the study of Byzantine history by expanding horizons and analysis from a more objective and neutral point of view, as far as possible. In general, Marcian is not a ruler who had a significant impact on the history of the Byzantine Empire, since the foundations of statehood were laid by Theodosius II. The era of the latter is characterized by the first long reign of an emperor born in Constantinople; the first regime carried out from there (taking into account minor campaigns) continuously for four decades; kingship most marked by Christian piety; close relationship between the emperor and the Greek-speaking Church.
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