BARBARIC INVASION AND THE MILITARY SITUATION OF CYRENAICA IN THE 4TH – THE BEGINNING OF 5TH CENTURIES (ON THE BASIS OF SYNESIUS’ LETTERS)

Abstract

In the focus of this study, the martial law of Cyrenaica, the barbarians' raids on the province according to data from the letters of Synesius of Cyrene. Synesius became an eyewitness to the barbaric raids, as well as embezzlement, corruption, which led to the collapse of the military apparatus, as a result, to the death of the province. The article contains letters in which Synesius openly writes about his anxiety about the state of affairs in the province. The study of letters, materials, clarification of the characteristics of the socio-economic development of Cyrenaica will help us to better understand the processes that caused the transition from the ancient society to the medieval. The letters of Sinesia shed light on many questions concerning the provincial life of the empire, agriculture, the social composition of the population, occupations and trades; these are questions that still have not received widespread attention in research circles. In this article we are interested in a separate aspect of Cyrenaica‘s life, namely the martial law and the attitude of Sinesia to the raids of the barbarians, as well as the barbarization of some institutions of society.